The Joe Burrow Touchdown Bracket Round of 32: Day One

Welcome to the Round of 32. We’ve spent the past 32 days going through, quite literally, every. single. touchdown that Joe Burrow’s arm and legs were responsible for. The first round was fairly interesting. For reference, here’s the bracket as it stands through the opening round.

Evan Saacks

There were no major upsets, but several weird trends, such as all four 10 seeds upsetting each of the 7 seeds.

When we seeded the touchdowns, we took into consideration both the importance of the score and the physical feat. Based on the first round results, you, the voters, heavily lean toward voting for plays with significant magnitude. Thaddeus Moss’ 4-yard catch in the National Championship and Ja’Marr Chase’s 9-yard slant against Florida both upset higher-seeded 50 yard bombs to Chase in blowout wins. This will only get tougher as pivotal scores that punctuated LSU’s perfect season begin to face off in difficult matchups.

From here, the votes between touchdowns gets tighter; instead of our typical format where we talk about the context of each touchdown, we’ll try to make the case for why each choice should advance to the Sweet 16.

Now, with all that in mind, let’s get to today’s vote. We’re beginning the Round of 32 in the Big Dick Joe region with our No. 1 overall seed, 3rd and 17.

No. 1: 3rd and 17 vs. Texas

Why it should advance:

I mean, do I really need to make a case for this play? In a season that was full of explosive plays by the LSU offense, this might have been THE play of the season. For decades to come, when anyone says 3rd and 17, you’ll know exactly what play they’re referring to. It’s up there with The Earthquake Game or The Bluegrass Miracle. If LSU erects a statue of Joe Burrow, this is almost definitely the moment the university will choose to freeze in time forever.

LSU had to have this play. Not just to get out of Austin with a win, but to prove that it did indeed have the quarterback, the receivers and the play callers to execute a must have third and long against a quality opponent in hostile territory.

This play is vindication. It proved that Joe Burrow can make the throws when it matters most; it proved that Joe Brady and Steve Ensminger had brought the LSU offense into the modern world; whatever questions we may have had about LSU, they were answered with one throw by Joe Burrow and a devastating stiff arm by Justin Jefferson.

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

Why it should advance:

This play was vital because it showed that under no circumstances would there be an emotional hangover from the previous week’s monumental win over Alabama. LSU was methodical week in and week out. Why celebrate beating Alabama? That’s what they were supposed to have done. LSU had a constant focus all throughout the 2019 season and this drive encapsulated that.

Like the Texas throw, this play was another example of how good Burrow is on the run. Even in the face of three blitzing Rebels, Burrow maintains poise, eludes the rush and hits Chase. Also a play like this highlights just how in sync Burrow was with his receivers. Chase sees Burrow flushed out of the pocket, and makes a break for the one part of the field where a defender isn’t.