The feel of the 2013 LSU football team fans came to know was nowhere to be found.
Gone was the gunslinging quarterback who turned the LSU offense from a run-and-run-some-more team into a balanced attack. Instead an inexperienced freshman held the reigns of LSU’s offense.
Gone too were most of the fans that fill Tiger Stadium on Saturdays. Instead the Tigers took the field on a wet and windy Raymond James Stadium that never exceeded 50 percent capacity.
But on the backs of a career day from junior runningback Jeremy Hill and a dominating performance by a defense shrouded in uncertainty, No. 14 LSU (10-3) pulled out a 21-14 Outback Bowl victory against Iowa (8-5) for the Tigers’ fourth consecutive season with at least 10 wins and its first postseason victory since the 2010-2011 season.
The Tigers looked to Hill early and often, opening the game with an eight-play, 77-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 42-yard burst from Hill and capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from freshman quarterback Anthony Jennings. The Tigers ran the ball on its next four plays as well to start its day with 12 consecutive rushing attempts before allowing Jennings to throw.
Hill received the Outback Bowl MVP award for his performance. He became the first player to rush for more than 200 yards in a game since Alley Broussard rushed for a school-record 250 against Ole Miss on Nov. 20, 2004. His 216 total rushing yards are third in Outback Bowl history, and the third most in LSU bowl-game history.
Leading up to the game, LSU’s defense, which was the lesser of the Tigers’ two sides of the ball this season for the first time in years, had even more question marks than usual. Junior defensive tackle Ego Ferguson didn’t travel with the team for undisclosed “health issues,” and for the first time all season LSU started a secondary with sophomore Jalen Mills at safety and freshman Rashard Robinson at cornerback.
But the defense never skipped a beat, holding Iowa to 72 total yards in the first half, including six punts and an interception by freshman cornerback Tre’Davious White. Hill outgained the Iowa offense on his own in the first half, tallying 103 rushing yards before halftime.
“They’re a tough defensive ball club,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “They’ve got a lot of good players, they’ve played pretty well traditionally and they certainly did this year. They just made it tough for us to move the ball consistently.”
In the second half, Iowa made adjustments and began to make plays to claw back into the game. Iowa began to get more pressure on Jennings, sacking him four times and causing an interception from defensive back John Lowdermilk, who seemed to return the pick for a touchdown.
Upon official review of the play, Lowdermilk dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, giving LSU a chance to stop the Hawkeyes from scoring. But the damage had been done, and Iowa runningback Mark Weisman punched in a 3-yard touchdown run on a third-and-goal attempt.
The Hawkeyes held Jennings to 7-of-20 passing and only 82 yards, including the Lowdermilk interception.
“It’s [Jennings’] first start, and he was tight as heck,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “It’s his first interception of note. He came to the sideline just sick. He’s got to drop it. We’re in the middle of a game. There are some lessons that he learned that will benefit him as he looks forward.”
Iowa’s defense also slowed LSU’s run game after halftime and kept the Tigers out of the endzone for most of the second half.
Hill helped the Tigers break through one more time late in the fourth quarter, leading a six-play, 92-yard drive to scores LSU’s final touchdown of the day.
“We just needed someone to make a big play so bad,” Hill said. “We felt like we had the momentum, and we felt like we were in control the whole time. They were one play away from getting back in the game and tying the game, so we needed someone to step up. Once it happened, it was like a huge weight lifted off the team.
Iowa responded with kick returner Jordan Cotton taking the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the LSU 4-yard line. Iowa scored soon after with 1:42 remaining in the game, to bring the game within a touchdown at 21-14. Both of Iowa’s scoring drives began from within the 5-yard line.
After LSU easily recovered an Iowa onside kick attempt, the Tigers ran the clock out, sealing their victory.
Senior linebacker Lamin Barrow said the Tigers’ defensive players knew they needed to take more responsibility with a freshman quarterback starting and the wet field conditions, and they took it as a challenge to respond adequately.
“It really means that this team is committed to each other,” Miles said. “We had a meeting last night in the hotel where we really gave the team the opportunity to speak to each other. You could tell that there was a bond between the guys in that room. They cared for each other and they were going to play for each other.”