Once again, LSU found itself in a high-scoring thriller on Saturday against the Missouri Tigers. But unlike in Week 5’s loss to Ole Miss, the defense did just enough with the game on the line as a [autotag]Major Burns[/autotag] interception returned for a touchdown in the final minutes clinched a 49-39 win.
LSU fell behind early, trailing 22-7 in the second quarter, but it cut that deficit to 25-17 at halftime. The second half featured dueling touchdowns with the lead changing hands five times.
Trailing 39-35, the Tigers took the lead for good thanks to a 29-yard passing touchdown to [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag]. On Missouri’s final chance, quarterback Brady Cook threw a 17-yard pick-six to Burns with 34 seconds to play.
The turnovers helped, but it still wasn’t an ideal performance for LSU’s defense. While it wasn’t the 706-yard-allowing game we saw last week, the Tigers gave up 527 yards to Missouri, 395 through the air and 132 on the ground.
LSU had predictable struggles against star receiver Luther Burden, who had 11 catches for 149 yards but was held out of the end zone. Cody Schrader had quite a bit of success on the ground, as well, totaling 114 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries.
It was, however, another fantastic performance from LSU’s offense. Despite a slow start, [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] finished with 259 yards and three touchdowns on 15 of 21 passing. Nabers finished with 146 yards on six catches, while [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] caught a touchdown, as well, with 66 yards.
LSU’s rushing game had one of its best outings of the year as [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] went for 134 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, while Daniels added 130 of his own despite exiting the game briefly with an injury.
This win didn’t alleviate all of LSU’s concerns, but it was certainly a welcome win as the team moves to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play.
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