LSU football will play for a national championship. The Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners face off in the Peach Bowl, which served as the 1-4 game in this year’s College Football Playoff, and in one of the most complete offensive performances we’ve ever seen in a game of this magnitude, LSU came out on top, 63-28.
You never want to say a game is over before the clock hits zero. However, this game wasn’t just over by the half — everyone in the stadium would have been wise to head home and make dinner and get comfortable before Clemson and Ohio State play a little later in the day. LSU so thoroughly dominated Oklahoma that there was no path back for the Sooners barring an historic collapse by the Tigers, one that did not end up happening.
In fact, to say the first half was thoroughly dominated by LSU is a gigantic understatement. Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winning signal caller who probably got unofficially selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals sometime in the second quarter, went 21-for-27 with 403 yards and seven touchdowns — bold and italics and all caps incoming — IN THE FIRST HALF. There was nothing the Sooners could do outside of hope for the best, and even then, it didn’t work.
Here, in order, are the seven touchdown passes Burrow threw:
LSU wastes no time‼️
Justin Jefferson scores on a 19-yard TD and the Tigers go up 7-0. #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/NHzrR3Mw0t
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
LSU and Joe Burrow are ROLLING #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/skkOVkc0qN
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
LSU making it look EASY.
Burrow ➡️ Jefferson AGAIN #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/LKlERruhbW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 28, 2019
JUSTIN JEFFERSON WITH HIS THIRD TD OF THE HALF 🔥 #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/sdkig3E8A4
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
F O U R
Jefferson is COOKING 🔥 #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/a9JrV3JsMJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 28, 2019
OKLAHOMA GOT MOSSED! pic.twitter.com/gz6nO64Nrk
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/FTBeard11/status/1211061033827106817
Burrow also did this, which made me scream “OH COME ON” from a sofa somewhere in upstate New York.
Joe Burrow making it happen! pic.twitter.com/EpIkRDx3JS
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
It wasn’t just a record-setting half for Burrow, as his favorite receiver on the afternoon, Justin Jefferson, set a playoff record with four receiving touchdowns. For the first 30 minutes of action, Jefferson had nine receptions and 186 yards.
Joe Burrow has…
– 7 passing touchdowns, an LSU single-game record and tied for the SEC single-game record.
– Tied for the most pass TD ever in any bowl.
– 403 passing yards.
All in one half.
LSU leads Oklahoma 49-14 at halftime. #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/1FSfZFtXFT
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2019
Joe Burrow has thrown for 5 touchdowns, the most ever in a #CFBPlayoff game.
Justin Jefferson has caught 4 touchdowns, the most in a #CFBPlayoff game and tied for the most ever in any FBS bowl game.
It's still the first half. pic.twitter.com/nJT6phSgZw
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2019
Joe Burrow finished the first half completing 21-27 passes with 403 pass yards and 7 Pass TD.
Burrow ties the record for most Pass TD in a half in FBS history. pic.twitter.com/1ztfawxOYH
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2019
Oklahoma had a few moments on offense in the first half, including this absolutely ridiculous grab from the brilliant CeeDee Lamb.
Just throw it up.
CeeDee Lamb will go get it. #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/ZMgIWaNhgo
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
But for the most part, the Sooners just could not get much of anything going. They were outgained in the half, 497-160, and struggled to run the ball. Jalen Hurts couldn’t really get going through the air, either, going 5-for-18 for 101 yards and a pick.
The second half started out similarly, with the Tigers getting the ball first and marching down the field. Upon getting the ball down to Oklahoma two-yard line, Burrow called his own number and snuck it in for his eighth touchdown of the afternoon.
Joe Burrow has 8 TOTAL TD 😱 #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/aTNiHGZWQ3
— ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
The remainder of the half was far less explosive — Oklahoma went onto score a pair of touchdowns via lengthy drives, while Burrow sat for the entire fourth quarter and the Tigers got some of their backups a bit of run, which resulted in one score in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Hurts runs it in for 6️⃣#CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/wxFr9JhI7D
— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019
Burrow ended the game 29-for-39 for 493 yards and seven scores along with his one rushing touchdown. In all, LSU gained a ludicrous 692 yards of offense, while the usually potent Sooner offense was limited to 322 yards of total offense. Now, the Tigers will sit it back and wait until a little later in the evening to find out whether they’ll take on Clemson or Ohio State in the national championship game. While they’d be the home team due to being the No. 1 seed, that’ll be bolstered by the fact that the title game will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Louisiana on Jan. 13.