LSU Tigers vs Texas Longhorns Match Player Stats On Sep 07, 2019

Joe Burrow threw for 471 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Justin Jefferson, as No. 6 Louisiana State flew past No. 9 Texas 45-38 on Saturday in Austin, Texas, in a key early-season dustup between two of the top teams in college football.

The Tigers (2-0) led early thanks to two massive goal-line stands, then rode the hot hand of Burrow in the second half to win a contest that more than lived up its pregame hype. It was the first game in Austin between nonconference teams ranked in the top 10 since 2006, when No. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Texas.

Burrow hit on 31 of his 39 passes while three receivers (Jefferson, 163; Ja'Marr Chase, 148; and Terrace Marshall Jr., 123) eclipsed 100 yards receiving.

Sam Ehlinger passed for 401 yards and four TDs for Texas (1-1), with Devin Duvernay hauling in 12 balls for a career-high 154 yards and two of the scores.

The Tigers struck first, marching 71 yards in 11 plays to the Texas 18-yard line before settling for a 36-yard field goal by Cade York with 8:04 to play in the first quarter.

LSU denied Texas on fourth down from the 2-yard line twice in the final five minutes of the first quarter, with a wide open Keaontay Ingram dropping a would-be touchdown in the end zone to kill the first drive, and Ehlinger getting stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to end the second drive.

Nonetheless, Texas jumped to a 7-3 lead when Ehlinger hummed a pass to Brennan Eagles for a 55-yard catch-and-run TD. LSU immediately responded, however, with an eight-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Jefferson with 7:30 to play in the second.

Later in the quarter, the Tigers added a 33-yard field goal by York to extend their lead to 13-7. Following a Texas punt, Burrow rifled a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson to cap a three-play, 58-yard drive just 47 seconds before halftime to grant the Tigers a 20-7 cushion.

Texas used 19 plays to move 86 yards on its first possession of the second half, with Ehlinger scoring on a 2-yard keeper to make it 20-14. The Tigers countered with a 40-yard field goal from York on the ensuing possession to make it 23-14.

Ehlinger again answered, however, as he fit a pass into the smallest of windows to freshman Jake Smith for a 20-yard score that cut the LSU lead to 23-21 with 2:36 to play in the third quarter.

Marshall hauled in a 26-yard scoring pass from Burrow on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a little more breathing room, but Texas tightened it up again when Ehlinger found Duvernay on a short pass on fourth-and-3 at the LSU 44 and the receiver turned it into a catch-and-run touchdown to make it 30-28.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire's 12-yard scoring run made it 37-28 in favor of LSU with 10 minutes to play, and Texas kicker Cameron Dicker's 47-yard field goal with 3:59 to play cut the lead to 37-31.

Burrow and Jefferson then finished off Texas with a 61-yard touchdown pass with 2:27 remaining, with Burrow hitting Chase on the two-point conversion to make it 45-31. Ehlinger hit Duvernay with a 15-yard TD with 22 seconds left, but it was too little, too late.

--Field Level Media