A kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter gave LSU a spark and the Tigers rolled past the Oklahoma Sooners 37-17 in the regular-season finale Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
LSU completed the regular season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. Oklahoma dropped to 6-6 and 2-6 in its first season in the conference.
“I’m proud of our team,” LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly said.”The last two weeks they listened to the narratives out there that they weren’t excited to play for anything, that the season was over, and they simply went out and played inspired football the last two weeks.They put consistent performances together over the last two weeks.”
Despite the four losses, Kelly said he’s excited about the direction of the program. He said 21 freshmen dressed for the game and the Tigers are adding 16 more at mid-year. He also said he expects several key players to return.
“I know what the standards are here,” he said. “Everybody wants to win every game. We wanted to win every game. We’re not happy if we lose a game. But we’re happy about the foundation of this program playing with young players that are only going to get better and we’re going to supplement those players.”
Oklahoma took a 14-10 lead on a 2-yard run by Xavier Robinson. Aaron Anderson took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.
Anderson was on the return team because of an injury to Zavion Thomas.
“He was really our backup,” Kelly said. “That’s how smart we are. It was a momentum boost for us and it carried us throughout the game.”
Damian Ramos’ PAT gave LSU a 17-14 lead with 7:08 left in the first half.
Oklahoma tied it on a Zach Schmidt 44-yard field goal. But LSU took the lead for good on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Nussmeier to Chris Hilton Jr. with 45 seconds left in the half.
Hilton also caught a 45-yard touchdown pass for the only score of the third quarter.
The LSU defense
The Tigers gained 395 total yards and held the Sooners to 277. Oklahoma had only 68 yards in the second half until a meaningless 75-yard drive that ended at the LSU 5 at the end of the game.
LSU’s Sage Ryan had an interception late in the third quarter that led to a 22-yard Ramos field goal early in the fourth.
The Tigers also forced a turnover on downs with a sack on fourth-and-6 from the OU 37.
“We had five freshman and two sophomores on defense today playing their tails off,” Kelly said.
Nussmeier completed 22-of-31 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Caden Durham led the Tigers in rushing with 80 yards on 11 carries, including a 50-yard run.
Nussmeier completed an 18-yard pass to Kyren Lacy for the game’s first score. OU tied it on a 9-yard fumble return after a hit on Nussmeier with 3:26 left in the first quarter.
Ramos kicked a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Sooners answered with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Jackson Arnold completed a 50-yard pass to J.J. Hester on the first play.
Arnold passed for only 60 more yards in the game, completing 14-of-21 for 110 yards. He led the Sooners on the ground with 75 yards on 17 carries.