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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Inspired by their quarterback's tour de fource outing of primal toughness, Garrett Nussmeier's LSU Tigers throttled Oklahoma 37-17 on the back of constant, consistent big plays on offense & special teams, while Blake Baker's defensive unit delivered the goods, pocketing Oklahoma's running QB system.
Jettisoned by WR Aaron Anderson's 100 yard 1st half kickoff return touchdown (the first for LSU since October 2020), Nussmeier's duo of 40+ yard touchdown bombs to WR Chris Hilton Jr, long downfield plays by Ka'morreun Pimpton or Caden Durham, and another 15 tackle performance by LB Whit Weeks, LSU was able to ride the turbulent waves of a scary 2nd quarter injury to Nussmeier's throwing shoulder, alongside a shaky defensive start, and find a way to stamp home their 8th win.
Early on, following senior Kyren Lacy's 9th touchdown catch of 2024, Nussmeier was driven into the ground, sacked from behind, with his right shoulder taking the brunt of the impact.
Nuss fought through the pain, but was forced to head to the sideline medical tent, and later to the locker room as LSU faced an uncertain next 2 1/2 quarters without their talisman....AJ Swann taking snaps as Nuss underwent treatment.
But right as LSU found themselves in a back and forth early contest vs Oklahoma, Aaron Anderson's mazy, deliriously brilliant 100 yard kickoff return touchdown gave the Tigers a major shot of adrenaline, lighting up the Tiger Stadium crowd, and injecting life into a team that had just lost their starting quarterback.
A young Tiger who's become a consistent, definitive playmaker for LSU, Anderson stepped up in perhaps his 2nd biggest moment of the campaign, handing LSU the advantage & buying Nussmeier another drive of rehabilitation on the sidelines thanks to his special teams score.
What came directly after Anderson's touchdown was something else entirely....
Nussmeier jogged out of the locker room, began warming up with a few passes, and then turned to a concerned Head Coach Brian Kelly, uttering, "I can fucking throw the ball....I'm playing..."
Completing a few intermediary or underneath throws thereafter, looking at least comfortable, nobody could've predicted what was about to happen next:
Out of nowhere, Nussmeier cocked back and unleashed a howitzer bomb 42 yards down the field for Chris Hilton Jr, who turned midair and hauled in his first touchdown catch of the season.
Against Oklahoma, fighting through a few different injuries, Nussmeier displayed the kind of steely resolve you only witness in the most elite of quarterbacks, now ascending to a hallowed position among his teammates & the LSU fanbase after giving everything, specifically his body, for the win tonight.
A fanbase that waited all season for Chris Hilton Jr's downfield playmaking.....need not wait any longer, as minutes later, Nussmeier and Hilton Jr connected on yet another deep shot touchdown over 40 yards (Hilton: 2 targets, 2 catches, 85 yards, 2 TDs).
How was Nussmeier, only moments following a near separated shoulder, throwing bombs downfield like it was the D-Day invasion???
Hilton's 2nd TD put the game far away from Oklahoma's grasp & set Tiger Stadium off....becoming a gallery of raging, foaming-at-the-mouth heathens tasting victory via the kind of big plays they've waited all season long for.....
Running back Caden Durham ran for 80 yards on 11 carries against a top 15 rush defense, making holes where they didn't exist with his slippery moves & agile buoyancy....his production now leading all freshman SEC running backs (689 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs, 2 receiving TDs).
Defensively, LSU may have been burnt a time or two by Jackson Arnold on the ground (75 yards on 17 carries, with a long of 38, his first carry of the game), but it amounted to little of consequence, as Whit Weeks, Bradyn Swinson, Saivion Jones, Davhon Keys savaged Oklahoma's front under a tidal wave of fundamentally sound team defense, before an interception by Sage Ryan buried the Sooners' chances:
10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks (2 by freshman DT Dominick McKinley), 4 additional QB hits, 2 PBUs, 1 INT, surrendering just 277 total yards, as 4 players amassed 8+ tackles......this was a fantastic showing by LSU's defensive unit, allowing 4/11 on 3rd down, a paltry 110 passing yards, and 167 yards on the ground that amounted to nothing after the 1st half.
LSU still have trouble defending a running quarterback, however, due to the team's complete performance in every phase, as well as Oklahoma's own very limited offensive capabilities, Blake Baker's defense pinned their ears back and ate over the final 2 1/2 quarters.
Slade Nagle's special teams more than did its job, accounting for 13 game-swinging points: kicker Damian Ramos nailed 3 field goals, before Aaron Anderson supplied the aforementioned 100 yard kickoff return touchdown (to go with 153 total in the return game, adding another monstrous return later on).
This was the 2024 LSU Tigers at their peak, a big play machine built on dynamic offensive weapons, given a major advantage by their opportunistic special teams play, anchored by a meat and potatoes defense, led by a quarterback who's ready to take that next step into superstardom.....this was the team we thought we'd see all year....
Better later than never, especially when you consider the Tigers may be retaining more veterans than initially expected, tonight was an LSU team showing flashes of their exciting future ahead....all while giving a stiff, knowing nod to "what could've been" this year.
Tonight we watched a fantastic all around team win for Brian Kelly's Tigers to end the regular season on, but for this writer, we witnessed something of even greater future importance for LSU's 2025 season:
For all the narratives, hot takes, and doubts his way, we witnessed the true, ultimate rise of QB Garrett Nussmeier....not merely proving himself as an elite caliber SEC QB (as he's done most of the year), not just showcasing his unfathomable toughness or Burrow-ian pain tolerance (as he displayed many times this fall).....tonight, Nuss took an otherworldly beating, and responded with, "Fuck You! Here's a 40 yard touchdown bomb! I'd like some more!", undeterred, unbroken, unbowed, inspiring & whipping up his offensive linemen into a desolation storm, tonight was the night Nussmeier told the world, "this is my team...", becoming the heroic LSU starting quarterback he always dreamed of being.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
Happy for so many Tigers, but how can we not be overjoyed by Chris’ performance tonight. He truly rose from the ashes.