The Joe Burrow Touchdown Bracket: Day Nine

Today’s the final day of the Big Dick Joe opening round. After a week of chalk, we’ve finally seen some upsets with the No. 10 and 11 seeds advancing to the Round of 32. But before we can turn our attention to a new region tomorrow, we still have the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup to vote on.

No. 8 Ja’Marr Chase’s 34-yard throw on the run vs. Ole Miss

The context:

Everything about the Ole Miss game screamed trap. LSU’s riding the high of last week’s dramatic and long-awaited win over Alabama and is about to take on a reeling Ole Miss team. But the thing about Ole Miss is that Ed Orgeron hates Ole Miss and he’ll be damned if his team doesn’t come out sharp against his former team. That’s not to say Ole Miss will never beat LSU as long as Coach O’s in charge, but I sincerely doubt the Tigers will ever come out flat against the Rebels.

Any concerns about this particular game go out the window fast as LSU scores points on five of its first six first half possessions. Four end with touchdowns, one results in a field goal and the one non-scoring drive was a missed 48-yard kick.

This particular touchdown is the game’s first. After Clyde Edwards-Helaire gets the Tigers across midfield, Chase takes LSU to the finish line. It starts with Burrow hitting Chase for 13. On the ensuing play, Ole Miss brings pressure off the corner forcing Burrow to climb the pocket and roll to his right. Burrow keeps his eyes downfield and finds Chase who makes a break and heads up field. One flick of the wrist later and Chase is streaking down the sideline to put LSU up 7-0.

No. 9 Justin Jefferson’s 39-yard deep shot vs. Utah State

The context:

When we last talked about the Utah State game, the game was much tighter than in this instance. LSU was only up 7-6 and then Burrow was able to sneak into the end zone on a goal to put the Tigers up eight.

That got the ball rolling for the LSU offense and the Tigers would go on to score two of its next three possessions. There were still some second half warts for LSU as the Tigers would lose a possession due to a John Emery fumble; but the LSU offense would bounce back the next time it took the field, covering 63 yards in four plays.

LSU would find the end zone as Burrow would hit Justin Jefferson with an absolute dime from 39 yards out. Jefferson’s working out of the slot and after cutting outside, puts his foot in the ground and cuts hard up field. Utah State corner DJ Williams does a good job of staying with Jefferson but there’s no defense for a perfectly thrown ball and Burrow drops the ball right into Jefferson’s outside shoulder.