LSU football capped off the regular season strong on Saturday night with a commanding win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Tiger Stadium.
Following a three-game losing streak, LSU finishes on a high with back-to-back wins. From a narrative perspective, Brian Kelly and crew needed these wins. There will still be some noise, but the last two weeks should go a long way towards calming nerves at LSU.
LSU finishes the regular season 8-4 and will have a chance to get to nine wins with a win in the bowl game. The win was LSU’s fifth SEC victory of the year, allowing the Tigers to finish over .500 in conference play.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier played his best game of the year, completing 22 of 31 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns. It was a gutsy performance after he went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter.
Caden Durham led LSU on the ground with 11 carries for 80 yards. He was a weapon in the passing game too, catching four passes for 32 yards.
Here are five takeaways from the win.
Nussmeier plays game of the year.
Given the opponent, this was, by far, QB Garrett Nussmeier’s strongest performance. He was efficient and explosive, attacking all areas of the field and playing with a confidence we hadn’t seen before.
It looked murky at first. Oklahoma got on the board with a strip sack and score before knocking Nussmeier out of the game late in the first quarter.
Nussmeier wasn’t out long and led a scoring drive just before halftime.
The deep ball was working for LSU and Nussmeier connected with Chris Hilton Jr. twice. Once for a 45-yard touchdown and again for a 40-yard score.
Nussmeier took a big step last week after struggling vs. Florida. He took an even bigger step on Saturday. If Nussmeier elects to return, the last two games have LSU feeling good about its quarterback.
LSU was explosive
We noted Nussmeier’s two explosive touchdowns to Chris Hilton, but that wasn’t all. Nussmeier found Pimpton for a big play on a wheel route down the sideline. Running back Caden Durham found space for a 50-yard burst.
The big play element was lacking from LSU’s offense for most of the year, but the Tigers found it in a big way on Saturday night.
After the game, Brian Kelly talked about how critical it was for Hilton to provide that spark. It took time for Nussmeier and Hilton to get on the same page this year, but the two were in sync here.
According to GameOnPaper, LSU’s explosive play rate was 13%, putting the Tigers in the 90th percentile.
Defense plays shutout football in the second half
LSU’s defense had some hiccups in the first half. Jackson Arnold ripped off a few big runs while OU targeted Major Burns for a big play down the seam.
In the second half, LSU shut it down. As the LSU offense built the lead, LSU’s defense got more aggressive. Blake Baker’s unit played to its identity and began to live in the Sooners’ backfield.
On the night, LSU finished with ten tackles for loss and four sacks. Freshman defensive tackle Dominick McKinley came up big with two sacks.
The Sooners finished the night averaging -0.73 EPA/dropback, making it an elite performance for the LSU defense.
Aaron Anderson provides special teams spark
Aaron Anderson had a breakout year on the offensive side of the ball, but on Saturday night, he came up big on special teams.
With Garrett Nussmeier in the locker room, Anderson broke free for a 100-yard kickoff return at the perfect moment. The score put LSU back in front and bought Nussmeier the time he needed.
Senior night Josh Williams ran with Anderson the whole way, throwing a key block as the pair approached the goal line.
LSU wanted Anderson for his speed and playmaking ability. It was on display tonight.
LSU showed what it was made of
After LSU’s loss to Florida, we said we were about to learn a lot about this LSU team. Some threw the “quit” word out there, asking how LSU would respond after a three-game losing streak.
LSU was favored against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, but both were formidable opponents. Oklahoma just beat Alabama 24-3 a week ago.
Brian Kelly got his team up to play on both occasions. LSU’s veteran leadership pulled LSU together for a strong finish to the year.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Five takeaways from LSU’s commanding win over Oklahoma
