Saturday night in Death Valley was exactly the finale that LSU needed for this season. The Tigers finished 6-6 and 3-5 in conference play. Against the Aggies they had given up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and were nearly on the brink of succumbing to a sub .500 season.

LSU dug themselves a hole and miraculously climbed out of it in the final minute of the game. This victory allowed LSU to finish with back to back wins to close out the regular season and spark a potential run at a post-season bowl appearance. LSU has experienced a roller coaster of a season.

Before I discuss the bowl game situation, I must give credits to the players who led this team to an enormous upset game: Max Johnson, Jaray Jenkins and Damone Clark led the way for this team.

First I want to start with Johnson being absolutely poised with his decision making and maintaining good clock management. Johnson had 22-38 completions, completing around 57.6% of his passes. Johnson also had 306 yards total, with three TDs and zero interceptions on the night. Johnson also displayed two skills that were crucial to picking up this upset win. 

First, he showed deep ball accuracy when finding his targets downfield. A great example of this was in the second quarter on a 3rd and 2 where LSU needed to convert in order to stay alive on this drive. Numerous times this season we had seen very conservative play calling and execution on the field, but quite the opposite was on display Saturday night. 

Johnson catches the snapped ball uses, shows off his footwork with just a four step drop and throws a 45 yard bomb downfield to his favorite target of the evening Jaray Jenkins for the first of two touchdown connections between those two. 

Secondly, Johnson showed that when it comes to scrambling he can be a mobile quarterback, who is capable of keeping possessions alive. A perfect example of this was in the second quarter on 2nd and 10 when he was pressured in the backfield, but instead of going down, he elusively escaped, showing off his speed, managing to pick up a few extra yards after the first down. 

Finally, Johnson kept his focus laser sharp at the end of the game. With only 59 seconds on the clock, he kept yet another possession alive with two colossal plays. On 1st and 10 he completed a pass near the sideline to Jenkins which allowed for easier time management in the final moments. Around 33 seconds later on 3rd and 10, Johnson received the snap and took a huge hit in the backfield but still had the awareness to deliver a needle-threading pass to Jenkins to seal the victory for LSU.  

Jenkins had eight receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns and the game of his lifetime. He is in high regards as someone who is seen as a locker room leader, so when his time to be the man came, he seized it without hesitation and was available for this offense all night long. 

Lastly, Clark made a claim on why he should earn the Butkus Award this season. He has groomed himself all season from a linebacker, who shoots through gaps too fast to becoming the focal point of a hard–nosed and aggressive attacking defense. He finished the game with 10 tackles, two and a half sacks and three and a half tackles for loss, including the final play where he bolted into the backfield to squash any chances of Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada playing hero in the waning seconds. 

Fortune truly favored the bold–when the chips were at the table Coach Orgeron and Jake Peetz out–coached Jimbo Fisher and his coordinators. Calling an analytically sound game was what kept LSU’s head high and focused on winning this ball game. 

This was the last game for Coach Orgeron, but it was wonderful to have him ride off into the bayou sunset in the blades of glory one last time. Interim head coach Brad Davis is more than ready for the challenge of going up against any three possible opponents in the Birmingham Bowl. 
The contestants include: UH,UCF, or ULL. All of these games have interesting plots brewing if you read between the lines. LSU v. Houston could be a battle for state pride as it always is when two great organizations from Texas and Louisiana face off against one another. Another plot is UCF possibly seeking a rematch from what Joe Burrow did to them two years ago in that particular bowl game. However, given the circumstances an in-state bowl game may have the most magnitude out of all these games seeing LSU v. ULL could be something all Louisianians take great pride in. The Tigers will look to capture the bowl game trophy to finish off this year on a high note.