Finally, the end.
We debuted the Joe Burrow bracket April 2. Back then we asked you all to choose between a quarterback sneak vs. Utah State and a tunnel screen to Terrace Marshall against Georgia Southern. And every single day since that we chose between all 65 (SIXTY FIVE) touchdowns Joe Burrow was responsible for last season.
That’s 63 days and thousands of votes registered over the course of these last two months. It’s the most exhaustive project this website’s ever attempted and we’ve got one more vote to go. This vote will be special and will be live for more than 24 hours to allow for maximum voting time. You have until noon CST on Friday to pick your champion.
So we’ll ask you all one last time: what was the best Joe Burrow touchdown of 2019?
No. 1: 3rd and 17 vs. Texas
Why it should win:
Because it’s the definition of an iconic play. Ask any LSU fan and they’ll instantly know what 3rd and 17 is. It’s like The Bluegrass Miracle or the Kick Six, it is instantly recognizable.
3rd and 17 changed the very DNA of LSU football. Never in the 125 previous years of LSU football history would a coaching staff call that play, have a quarterback make that throw and have a receiver execute so flawlessly. Running the ball, punting and playing defense is how any other previous LSU team would have handled that situation.
But this was no ordinary LSU team. Indeed this was no ordinary college football team. The 2019 edition of the LSU Tiger football team had an uncanny knack for seizing moments. And this is a moment that will live on forever in LSU football history.
LSU never trailed in the fourth quarter of a game in 2019, so there was never an opportunity for a “traditional” game-winning touchdown to take the lead. But in a sense, this completed a comeback we never though possible. Our offensive philosophy put us in a permanent deficit against the rest of college football that we could not find a way to erase.
But this one play put us in the lead. We still haven’t surrendered that lead.
No. 1: The wheel route vs. Alabama
Why it should win:
Because to be the best you have to beat the best and brother did LSU ever beat the hell out of Alabama...for a half at least.
This game wasn’t the national championship. It wasn’t a playoff game or any kind of postseason game. But LSU-Alabama is the kind of game where if you go 1-11 but beat Alabama, you’d say it was a good season.
But LSU hadn’t had a good season in eight very long years. While Alabama was competing for national championships and playoff spots, LSU spent most of the decade on the outside looking in. LSU had it all: uber talented athletes, great uniforms, an even greater stadium, but it couldn’t conquer its biggest foe for eight long years and that bogged the program down.
In a lot of ways, this day in November was LSU’s national title game and LSU passed the test with flying colors thanks to its high-flying offense. The Tigers scored and scored and scored again. The last time LSU scored 20 on Alabama was in 2010 and LSU eclipsed that in a half.
But here’s the thing about when, after losing to your most bitter rival for eight long years, you’ve finally gotten the upper hand: you want that lead to keep growing and growing. For me at least, it wasn’t just enough that LSU was beating Alabama, I wanted them to humiliate Alabama. Being up 26-13 wasn’t enough, but luckily Patrick Queen, Burrow and Clyde Edwards-Helaire all came through for me, and Clyde scored arguably the most cathartic touchdown in LSU football history.
Poll
What was the BEST Joe Burrow touchdown of 2019?
This poll is closed
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71%
The 61 yard touchdown to Justin Jefferson on 3rd and 17 against Texas
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28%
The 13 yard pass to Clyde Edwards-Helaire just before halftime at Alabama