The 2016 Citrus Bowl matched the 7-4 LSU Tigers up against the 9-3 Louisville Cardinals.
It marked the first bowl matchup for the Tigers with new full-time head coach Ed Orgeron, who led the Tigers to a 6-2 record after taking over as the interim head coach early in the season following the firing of Les Miles.
Louisville held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The Cardinals put together a five play, 55-yard drive in one minute and 11 seconds as kicker Blanton Creque booted a 24-yard field goal to give Louisville the first lead of the game.
With 14:54 left in the second quarter, LSU quarterback Danny Etling found Colin Jeter for a one-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead. The Tigers drove 52 yards down the field in seven plays and took 3 minutes and 41 seconds on their first scoring drive.
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With just under eight minutes left in the quarter, LSU running back Derrius Guice gave the Tigers a 14-3 lead on a one-yard touchdown reception from Etling.
With 1:08 to go before halftime, Tigers defensive end Arden Key sacked Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson in the end zone to put the Tigers up 16-3. As the clock struck zero, Creque knocked in a 47-yard field goal to trim the Tigers’ lead to 16-6 at the half.
The second half would prove to be all LSU as the Tigers scored 13 more points and only gave up another field goal to Louisville.
In the third quarter, Guice ran 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 23-6. Then, with 3:04 left in the quarter, LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye booted a 42-yard field goal to extend LSU’s lead to 26-6.
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Louisville scored its final points of the game just seven seconds into the fourth quarter as Creque hit a 30-yard field goal to make it 26, LSU.
With 10:38 to go in the final quarter of play, Delahoussaye kicked a 25-yard field goal to again extend the lead to 29-9. The Tigers took four minutes and five seconds on that drive, and went 41 yards in eight plays.
LSU had 20 first downs in the game and racked up 394 yards of offense oon 70 plays from scrimmage. The Tigers defense held Louisville to 220 total yards of offense, including 67 rushing yards.
The win for LSU solidified Orgeron’s place as the Tigers’ new head man. After four losses in the regular season, the Tigers handled the Cardinals in dominant fashion.
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