The Joe Burrow Touchdown Bracket: Day Five

Still no upsets in our Joe Burrow touchdown bracket. The current region, now affectionately deemed the Big Dick Joe Region, has seen the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds advance in pretty lopsided votes.

Today’s pairing features beginnings and endings. We have the No. 4 seed, Justin Jefferson’s first of four touchdowns against Oklahoma, going up against Terrace Marshall’s third and final touchdown grab against Georgia Southern.

No. 4: Burrow’s 19-yard post route to Justin Jefferson vs. Oklahoma

The context:

There was not a single iota of my being that thought LSU wouldn’t advance past Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Even with LSU being new to the playoff stage and Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s status up in the air because of a hamstring injury suffered in a practice leading up to the Peach Bowl, there was no doubt in my mind that LSU would at the very least dispatch of Oklahoma and advance to New Orleans.

Then the game started and my mind was put at even further ease.

The first play from scrimmage had K’Lavon Chaisson sacking Jalen Hurts and I texted everyone I knew watching the game that it was over. That one play was all I needed to see. But I’m glad I kept my eyes glued to the TV because otherwise I would have missed out on an epic performance by Justin Jefferson.

The thing I love about this score is that it’s not a fancy play or some specially cooked up concept specific for Oklahoma. It’s just a regular ole post route; but Jefferson’s effort to break past one tackle and then drag Sooner safety Pat Fields the final five yards to the end zone was the sign that it would be both a long afternoon for Oklahoma and the start of a monster day for Jets.

No. 13: Terrace Marshall’s 11-yard post route vs. Georgia Southern

The context:

It’s a testament to this LSU offense that a three-touchdown effort by its five-star No. 3 receiver wasn’t even the most impressive single game effort of 2019. Normally we’d sing praises about a wide receiver recording a hat trick; but this wasn’t a normal year for LSU. Catch three touchdowns in a non-conference game? Yawn. Wake me when you catch four in a playoff semifinal.

That said, Marshall’s third score was the end result of a truly impressive two-minute drive to close out the first half. The Tigers get the ball at their own 20 with 1:58 to play and Burrow is perfect. He hits Edwards-Helaire and Jefferson for 15 yards, then hits a streaking Thad Moss for 44. A false start moves LSU back five but it’s picked up immediately thanks to Edwards-Helaire catching an angle route. LSU’s got the ball at the 11, Marshall gets six yards upfield and then, with no Georgia Southern safety help, cuts hard inside and catches his third touchdown of the night.