Joe Burrow entered the College Football Playoff National Championship game on the verge of breaking a couple records, and, given the way he played throughout the season, in-game marks seemed like they were his to take.
Leading No. 1 LSU to a 42-25 victory over No. 3 Clemson, the defending national champs, late Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Burrow capped his spectacular season with a dominant performance college football fans have come to expect from the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner.
Coming into the game with an astounding 77.6 completion percentage, 5,208 passing yards and 55 touchdown passes, Burrow lived up to all expectations.
ON. THE. MONEY. đ°
LSU strikes back with a perfect pass from Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase! #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/WdFOlYIrZY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 14, 2020
Against Clemson, he threw 31-for-49 for 463 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for 58 yard and another touchdown, and in the process, he broke these records, according to ESPN:
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- Most touchdown passes in a single season: 60
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- Most touchdowns responsible for in a single season: 65
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- Most passing yards in a BCS/CFP championship game: 463
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- Most touchdowns responsible for in a BCS/CFP championship game: 6
And this was after he shattered several records a couple weeks ago against No. 4 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal game.
LSU also finished with a perfect 15-0 record, a first for an SEC team, according to ESPN Stats & Info. It was the Tigers’ fourth national championship and first since 2007.
Joe Burrow has been responsible for 14 TD in 2 playoff games this year.
The Big Ten has scored a total of 13 TD in its playoff history.
The Pac-12 has scored a total of 11 TD in its playoff history.#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/I94Jcm885j
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 14, 2020
Connecting with tight end Thaddeus Moss for their second touchdown play of the game with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter, Burrow officially broke the single-season record for passing touchdowns. This play gave LSU a 35-25 lead, as the team pulled away from the defending champions.
Another one.
Thaddeus Moss scored TD No. 2 ⌠and @randymoss was all about it đ pic.twitter.com/NTvQbYCSwK
— ESPN (@espn) January 14, 2020
It came immediately after a controversial moment in the game when Clemson linebacker James Skalski was ejected for targeting.
Burrow also ran for a three-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-goal with about nine minutes left in the first half when LSU trailed, and he helped shrink the deficit to 17-14 before his team exploded at the end of the quarter to take a 28-17 halftime lead.
Burrow rumbles in to keep LSU close đ¤#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/PsRxA0CQ5A
— ESPN (@espn) January 14, 2020
In only his second season with LSU after transferring from Ohio State, Burrow looked like an entirely different player this season compared with last, when his completion percentage was at 57.8 and threw for 2,894 yards and only 16 touchdowns.
But this time around, he was a lock for the Heisman Trophy weeks before the ceremony in early December. He’s only thrown six interceptions this year, and his last one was in mid-November during a beatdown of Ole Miss.
He dazzled college football fans throughout the season, escaping sacks and extending plays with one jaw-dropping performance after another. And the national championship game was no different, finishing off a magical season for LSU.
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