From earthquakes to barn fires, the Auburn and LSU matchup is a guaranteed fight to the end. Saturday’s football game was no different.
Auburn came into Saturday not having beaten LSU at Tiger Stadium since 1999.
Auburn’s last victory in Baton Rouge was then-head coach Tommy Tuberville’s 45th birthday. After the victory, Auburn celebrated the win with victory cigars in the stadium, irritating LSU players and fans, becoming one of thenmost memorable moments in this rivalry.
Looking to end that streak, No. 9 Auburn (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) came to Baton Rouge with arguably the best defense in the SEC, while some say No. 2 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) had the best offense in the conference.
Coming down to the last minute, per-usual, LSU escaped with a 23-20 win over Auburn, earning over 500 yards of total offense. LSU was led by Heisman front runner Joe Burrow. Junior running back and Baton Rouge native Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a game-high 136 rushing yards on 26 carries, helping led the Tigers to their 10th straight home win over the Auburn.
While the game moved as slowly as Tiger Stadium post-game traffic, it was filled with emotion and desire. Both Auburn and LSU battled back and forth, each team swapping the lead throughout the game.
The two teams have been known to play physical in years past. Both LSU and Auburn struggled with penalties as Auburn had 15 for 98 yards and LSU had 12 for 118 yards. A few scuffles even broke out between the two teams.
Burrow endured multiple big hits from Auburn, including a huge hit from defensive back Javaris Davis in the second quarter.
“I didn’t get the wind knocked out of me this time, so that was good,” Burrow said when comparing it to the hit he took against UCF in the Fiesta Bowl last season.
Burrow and the LSU offense bounced back. The senior quarterback completed 32 of 42 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown to go along with a rushing touchdown and 31 yards on 13 carries.
“I think a lesser team would not have won that game today,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron, who improved to 8-3 against top-10 teams as LSU’s coach. “They came to play, and adversity hit us. We weren’t playing very well in the first half. They got up ahead, but our guys kept fighting.”
After LSU’s win Saturday, the Tigers are 8-0 heading into a bye week before traveling to Tusacaloosa for the ever-electric matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tigers have not won a game against the Crimson Tide since the 2011.
Alabama has outscored LSU 193-73 in the eight games since the Tiger’s last win over the Crimson Tide. In that span, Alabama has shut LSU out three times.