LSU faced a fourth-and-4 early in the second half. In a vacuum, that doesn’t seem significant, but down by 10 with a defense that couldn’t get off the field, LSU couldn’t afford to give the ball away.

The ball was snapped, the pocket collapsed, and Jayden Daniels worked his magic.

The senior Heisman Trophy hopeful avoided the rush and ran 49 yards inside the Texas A&M 5-yard line. Three plays later, LSU was in the endzone, and, more importantly, back in the game.

That sparked a 21-6 run to end the game for LSU where the offense found its rhythm and Daniels once again made his case for the Heisman. He threw for 163 yards in the fourth quarter alone and finished the game with 355 total yards and four touchdowns.

The day started slow, but it finished as the type of day fans come to expect from Daniels and the LSU offense. 42 points, three receivers caught a touchdown, and Malik Nabers became the all-time program leader in receptions.

It closed a chapter on a season that will be remembered in the record books, and maybe by the most prestigious individual award in the sport.

When Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy in 2019, many thought there would never be another season like his in LSU history. Through 12 regular season games, Burrow had 4,614 total yards and 47 touchdowns.

Through 12 regular season games in 2023, Daniels has 4,946 total yards and 50 touchdowns. 

There’s no doubt that Daniels’ numbers are Heisman-worthy. But with Bo Nix stride for stride with him in the race, he needed a win in his final game, and more eye-popping numbers wouldn’t hurt either.

For three quarters, both of those things were in doubt, but as he often does, Daniels took over.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in games like this,” head coach Brian Kelly said.

The saying is cliché, but it has held true for Daniels all season. Despite three losses and a bad defense, he continued to make plays and put the team in positions to win, and Saturday was no different. When asked if his latest performance made his case for the Heisman, Daniels was confident.

“Most definitely I do,” he said.

The numbers didn’t pop off the page against Texas A&M the way they sometimes do, but that wasn’t what the game called for.

LSU only ran 52 plays in the game, but in the 35 plays Daniels accounted for, he averaged just over 10 yards per play. 

The performance was also against arguably the best defense LSU had played all season. Texas A&M came into the game eighth in the country in total defense, which led the Southeastern Conference. Only one other team had scored more than 40 points on the Aggies coming into the game, and that was back in Week 2.

“I arguably would say that this was a top-10 defense in the country. I think their defensive line was outstanding, and he had four touchdown passes,” Kelly said.

Daniels was the poster child of a senior class that has seen everything there is to see in college football.

Josh Williams and John Emery started their careers with a national championship before seeing their first coach fired, only to go back to the SEC Championship with their new coach.

Noah Cain transferred to LSU from Penn State, looking to make an impact at his hometown school. He never became the feature running back, but he stayed the course, and Kelly often voiced his appreciation for Cain.

Daniels’ story wasn’t always a fairy tale either.

He came to college as a highly-sought after prospect, but after three years at Arizona State, he needed a change. Two years removed from a video of his former teammates cleaning out his Arizona State locker going viral, he became a beloved figure in his new home, and could be two weeks away from having his name etched in stone.

“Being able to come here last year and really believe in myself and trust the unknown, I didn’t know what I was gonna get myself into,” Daniels said. “Now just going through it in my last game here, I haven’t really sat down and really embraced what I went through, but I was just trying to enjoy every little moment.”

Daniels didn’t completely rule out the possibility of him playing for a bowl game, but Saturday was the official end to his career inside Tiger Stadium. 

A cynic could tell you he was let down, could argue that his time at LSU might be looked at as disappointing given the absence of a championship to go with his astonishing season.

The record books will hold onto his name forever, and maybe, just maybe, the Heisman Trophy will do the same.