Three Observations From LSU Football's Week 14 Victory Over Oklahoma

The LSU Tigers (8-4, 5-3) wrapped up the regular season on Saturday night with a 37-17 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners behind a gutsy performance from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

Nussmeier and Co. handled business from start to finish against the Sooners. Despite adversity hitting in the second quarter, the Bayou Bengals rebounded the way Kelly has trained his program to do so.

Now, LSU will end the regular season on a positive note after back-to-back wins over both the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Oklahoma Sooners.

What were the three biggest takeaways from Saturday night in Death Valley?

Three Observations: LSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

No. 1: The Complete Performance LSU Was Searching For

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has had a rollercoaster 2024 season, and despite the rough patches, has become one of the most productive signal-callers in the Southeastern Conference.

After arguably his most complete performance in Week 13 against the Vanderbilt Commodores, all attention shifted to the regular season finale versus the Oklahoma Sooners. How would Nussmeier respond? Would he carry the momentum?

LSU’s QB1 won over the locker room with his grit and fearlessness during the offseason. On Saturday, he showcased why that was the case.

Midway through the second quarter, LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell allowed a sack that resulted in Nussmeier hitting the ground with force.

The sack took Nussmeier out of the game and into the medical tent where he eventually went back to the locker room for X-rays, according to LSU head coach Brian Kelly.

He was 10-for-15 with 87 yards and a touchdown through one and a half quarters with his status looking doubtful.

Then, with less than three minutes to go in the half, Nussmeier marched out of the tunnel, told Kelly he was good to go, and returned to the field in Tiger Stadium.

A flip switched for Nussmeier where he clicked on all cylinders. He was utilizing his legs to get first downs, diving across the grass and taking the top off the defense with deep balls to wideout Chris Hilton.

It was as heroic of a performance as LSU could’ve asked for to cap off the regular season in the win column.

Nussmeier ended the night with 277 yards on 22-for-31 passing with three touchdowns through the air. It was as complete of a performance from the Tigers’ signal-caller as LSU has received all season.

On defense, it was the Whit Weeks Show from start to finish.

He ended the night with 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack, but it was the energy that paved the way for the defense.

It was a complete performance for coordinator Blake Baker’s unit. The scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story after Oklahoma scored a touchdown on a scoop and score following a strip sack from the Sooners’ defense.

Baker’s group wreaked havoc in the backfield through four quarters with the linebacker trio of Weeks, Greg Penn III and Davhon Keys stepping up when called upon.

Penn logged eight tackles while the true freshman in Keys tallied an impressive nine tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack.

LSU’s defense forced the Sooners into going 4-for-11 on third down while earning only 277 total yards on the day.

Oklahoma signal-caller Jackson Arnold logged 131 rushing yards on 25 carries last week in a victory against Alabama. On Saturday night, LSU held him to 69 total yards on 16 carries.

It was a masterclass from the defense with the second-level making the most of their chances.

No. 2: Chris Hilton Makes a Statement

LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. has been virtually nonexistent in 2024 after missing the first seven games of the season with an ankle injury.

The redshirt-junior wideout suffered the injury during Fall Camp before rehabbing for over two months.

Once Hilton returned to the field, it was clear his timing was off with Nussmeier and the rest of the offense.

In Week 14, he showcased why it's better late than never.

Hilton hauled in a pair of 40+ yard touchdowns with Nussmeier connecting with his deep threat to put the nail in the coffin against the Sooners.

He ended the night with two receptions for 85 yards and a pair of scores with both providing a boost the program needed.

"I think we have talked about this all year. The deep threat has been missing from our offense and it has been difficult," head coach Brian Kelly said on Saturday. "Teams have sat down on us. Teams have made it difficult for us because we have not had that vertical threat. He was out eight weeks, and it takes a while to get back into rhythm. We either missed him on overthrows, or the timing was not quite where it needed to be.

"It normally takes about four weeks to kind of get that (rhythm). That is why you have preseason camp, and he missed all that time. I am happy for him. He got the game ball, and he made two big plays. That is part of the offense that we were missing, and we needed desperately. When you can push the ball down the field and have the other options that we have within our offensive structure, it allows you to run the football, it allows you to have that intermediate passing game, and then the vertical stretch. It was huge for us, so we are happy to see that for Chris."

Bend, Don't Break Mentality

When LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier briefly exited Saturday night's game against the Sooners, the Tigers easily could've rolled over and shut down.

Instead of backing down, the Bayou Bengals earned a defensive stop and kept their heads up with Nussmeier in the locker room.

LSU entered the game with a 7-4 record and a chance to fall to an abysmal 7-5 status on the year. Despite having no significant postseason opportunities to play for, the program played for the three letters on their chest.

It started with Nussmeier fighting through an injury and ended with the Tigers piecing together arguably their most complete performance of the season.

"There was no way I was sitting out. A lot of these guys have I busted their butts for the last year, and a lot of these seniors," Nussmeier said on Saturday. "LSU means a lot to me. It means the world to me, and I bleed these colors, no matter what anybody has to say about me.

"There was no way that I was going to watch the rest of that game from the sideline and let those seniors go out without me playing. There was no option really in my head, whatever we had to do to be able to get me back out there."

LSU dominated the stat sheet, ultimately winning the game, but their fight until the clock hit zero in the midst of adversity stole the show.

More LSU News:

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Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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