November 28, 2009
Tigers post emotional Senior Day victory, 33-30
By Stephen Evans
To borrow a line from Yogi Berra, it was like déjà vu all over again for the LSU football team.
After surrendering a late touchdown to give the Arkansas Razorbacks a 30-27 lead with 1:18 left in the game, the LSU offense faced a do-or-die situation for the second consecutive week.
This time, however, the Tigers were able to put together a game-tying drive and send the contest into overtime, where the Tigers held on to defeat the Razorbacks 33-30 and bid farewell to 24 Tiger seniors in style with a triumph in Tiger Stadium
The victory gave LSU a 9-3 overall regular-season record and improved the Tigers’ SEC mark to 5-3. LSU also set itself up for a possible bowl trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando after Ole Miss’ loss earlier in the day to Mississippi State.
LSU will likely play in either the Capital One Bowl or Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Tex. The Tigers will know their bowl destination on December 6 following the announcement of the BCS match-ups.
While the Tigers were able to pick up a Senior Day victory for the first time in three years, it didn’t come without any angst. Donning new all-white uniforms with dark gold helmets, LSU led for much of the contest but fell behind late in the fourth quarter when the Razorbacks were able to take advantage of their ground game.
Arkansas continued to chip away at the LSU lead, which ballooned to 24-13 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Jefferson to tight end Deangelo Peterson with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
But the Arkansas running game, which was non-existent in the first half, gashed through the LSU defense at times in the second half and made the Arkansas offense difficult for the Tigers to contain.
Arkansas, which scored its first touchdown of the second half on a three-play drive that featured three rushes, pulled to within 24-20 on an eight-yard run by Broderick Green. Arkansas then tacked on three more points on a 40-yard Alex Tejada field goal with 9:52 left in the game to pull the Razorbacks to within 24-23. The 11-play, 62-yard drive featured seven rushing attempts by the Hogs.
A 47-yard Josh Jasper field goal gave the Tigers a 27-23 cushion with 4:05 left in the game, but Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett engineered a late touchdown drive to give the Razorbacks the lead for the first time in the game. The drive culminated with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Joe Adams on fourth down and put the Razorbacks ahead 30-27 with just 1:18 left in the game.
Facing a similar situation as the previous weekend at Ole Miss, it was up to the LSU offense to put together a drive and get the Tigers in position to score to either win the game or tie the contest and send it into overtime.
And that’s just what the Tigers did.
The drive started off ominously, with Jordan Jefferson taking a sack at the LSU 31-yard line. However, he then hit Rueben Randle on a 10-yard pass and found senior Richard Dickson on a short pass. Dickson pulled a pile of would-be tacklers to the Arkansas 48-yartd line for an LSU first down, which stopped the clock momentarily.
A screen pass to Stevan Ridley then picked up eight yards before an incomplete pass stopped the clock with 23 seconds left to play. Ridley carried for nine yards on the next play and then followed with an eight-yard reception to move the Tigers to within field goal range as LSU called a timeout with nine seconds showing on the clock.
LSU head coach Les Miles, who last weekend was also forced to call a play with nine seconds left, called for the field goal unit. Jasper was perfect from 41 yards out, sending the game into overtime.
In the extra session, LSU could do little to move the ball and failed to pick up a first down. Instead, the Tigers relied on a 36-yard Jasper field goal to put them back on top, 33-30.
Arkansas also failed to pick up a first down on its overtime possession. On fourth down from the LSU 19-yard line, Tejada lined up for an identical 36-yard attempt, but missed wide right, setting off a huge celebration and sigh of relief on the Tiger Stadium turf.
“I’m proud of this team,” Miles said after the game. “They fought like hell in an area where there is a swirling backdrop and agendas. It didn’t bother them. They got the distraction behind them and played as a team. I’m proud of this team. I’m proud of this coaching staff.
“You have to give it to Josh Jasper for a guy who comes onto the field and gets us into overtime and gets us the win in overtime. You count on a guy like that to play big at big times, and he does. We’re looking forward to the opportunity for the 10th victory and a bowl game of our team’s liking.”
Early on it didn’t seem as though the game would come down to the wire. LSU raced out to a 17-3 lead after the Razorbacks got on the board first with a Tejada 47-yard field goal with 8:17 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers scored their first touchdown of the game on the ensuing series when Jefferson connected with Brandon LaFell on a 16-yard strike. The drive went 60 yards on six plays and featured a number of new looks, including an unbalanced line with just Ciron Black to the left of center T-Bob Hebert and three linemen and a tight end to the center’s right. It also included a pass to Russell Shepherd and some exciting runs by Trindon Holliday.
LSU tacked on a 47-yard Jasper field goal to make it 10-3 with just eight seconds left in the first quarter. LSU forced an Arkansas punt on the ensuing possession, a punt which Holliday secured on his 13-yard line and raced 87 yards for a touchdown. It was his second career punt return for a touchdown and the second for LSU this season.
Arkansas would add a 35-yard field goal from Tejada just 35 seconds before halftime to send the teams into the locker room with LSU maintaining a 17-6 advantage.
Arkansas outgained the Tigers 375-326 in total offense in the game. LSU had 179 yards through the air and 147 yards on the ground.
Jefferson completed 17-of-25 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an interception. Dickson was LSU’s receiving leader with six catches for 44 yards on a night when he set the LSU career record for receptions by a tight end. Dickson’s 89 career catches surpasses the 87 catches of Mitch Andrews, who played at LSU from 1982-85.
Holiday was LSU’s leading rusher with nine carries for 57 yards. He also added 109 punt return yards and 46 kickoff return yards for a career-high 212 all-purpose yards.
Ridley finished with a game-high 14 carries for 48 yards to go along with four receptions for 30 yards.
LSU’s defensive leaders were Harry Coleman and Karnell Hatcher, each of whom had nine tackles. Seniors Jacon Cutrerra and Perry Riley each added eight tackles, while Coleman and Drake Nevis had sacks. Lavar Edwards and Rahim Alem also shared a sack.
For Arkansas, Mallett completed 17-of-39 throws for 227 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted once by Chad Jones. Greg Childs led the Razorbacks with five catches for 124 yards, while Dennis Johnson had nine carries for 78 yards.
