LSU and Arkansas’ annual Battle for the Boot on Saturday looked very different from years past.
Last time the two met, LSU brought itself to 6-1 with a ferocious 34-10 victory in Fayetteville. This year, the Tigers were 5-4 and entered Tiger Stadium under an interim head coach.
The Razorbacks were in a similar boat, though. They’ve lost seven straight games and, hence, fired their head coach.
On Saturday afternoon, quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. earned his first start with LSU. The team was forced to fight from behind until the fourth quarter, when they took a one-point lead over Arkansas, which eventually sealed a 23-22 victory.
“We had what it takes to win this game,” interim head coach Frank Wilson said in his post-game press conference. “I am so proud of this team and how they represented themselves and this university in a never-say-die spirit.”
In his final season with the Tigers, Garrett Nussmeier’s inability to lead the offense to success left questions about his position as the starting QB when a healthy Van Buren was sitting on the sidelines.
LSU’s last three opponents showed no mercy to an error-prone offense and a defense losing its confidence. Van Buren was assigned clean-up duty, with late-game appearances against both Texas A&M and Alabama.
Wilson planned to keep it that way, but when Nussmeier aggravated an injury in Thursday’s practice, Van Buren finally got his shot at playing a full four quarters.
Defense was quick to set the tone in Arkansas’ first drive. Short passes got the Razorbacks down to LSU’s 26, but Jack Pyburn recovered a loose ball for the turnover.
With its backup QB at the helm, the offense immediately showed signs of struggle and couldn’t push past the first 10 yards. Forced to punt, an already bad situation took a turn for the worse.
The ball is blocked, recovered and returned for an Arkansas touchdown.
The cycle continued as the offense immediately threw away another drive. Only one of Van Buren’s three pass attempts was completed, and that wasn’t enough to get the home team a down. LSU punts again.
After two fourth-down conversions and advancing to LSU’s 11-yard line, Arkansas’s offensive drive ended in another touchdown.
The Razorbacks’ offense dominated time on the field and averaged 6.3 yards per play.
“My pregame speech to them was saying when adversity hits you, you find a way and will a way and keep punching,” Wilson said. “The reality is you have to earn everything you get, and they will not give it to you.”
Van Buren and the receivers finally found a rhythm just as the first quarter concluded, picking up 48 yards. The Tigers picked up at 2nd-and-10 with 32 yards to go.
For Caden Durham, that was nothing. On the first play of the second quarter, Van Buren tossed the ball to the running back, who weaved through the defense and ran 27 yards to the endzone. Kicker Damian Ramos set the score 14-7.
Later in the second, he was brought out again for a 50-yard field goal attempt, which he drove between the posts. Ramos would go 3-3 on his attempts, including two from 42 yards out.
As Van Buren and the offense progressed, so did the defense. Most notably, two sacks and two turnovers, one of which was a Mansoor Delane interception on 2nd-and-9 right in front of Arkansas’ endzone.
The defense continued to make key turnovers in crucial red zone situations. An 87-yard drive in the third quarter was highlighted by a 55-yard rush by Arkansas QB Taylen Green. With a single yard between the ball and the endzone, LSU held them to 4th-and-1 and made the block in the big play.
Yet, that wasn’t always the case. Back within striking distance, an Arkansas running back made the nine-yard rush necessary for another touchdown. The Razorbacks went for the extra two points, which Green converted on a rush.
LSU’s offense didn’t have as much success with the red zone, only managing two attempts in the entire game compared to Arkansas’ four.
But LSU wasn’t about to give up the Golden Boot that easily.
A monstrous offensive drive in the fourth saw the Tigers make up 91 yards, and finally in the red zone, a 12-yard pass into the endzone landed right in the hands of tight end Bauer Sharp to tie it up 22-22.
For the first time all game, LSU took the lead after Ramos’ kick was declared good.
The Razorbacks’ final Hail Mary was a 48-yard field goal attempt, but their fate was practically sealed when the ball went wide.
“Remarkable day for our university and our football team,” Wilson said. “One that displayed resiliency and toughness. All things that make us Tigers.”
Van Buren got the perfect ending to his debut as the starter. Going 21 for 31 on pass attempts and a total of 221 yards, he has made a real case to keep the role. He proved he can use his legs with 36 rushing yards.
“[Van Buren] knew what was in front of him,” Wilson said. “He got comfortable and began to take control of the game, of the football team, and picked up huge yardage at opportunities in rushing and great throws at times as well. I was proud of him. I thought he played admirably and got the game into a point where he was able to affect change and dictate for our football team.”
In a season full of adversity, LSU proved its endurance in a grueling battle back, retaining the team’s title as the reigning champions of the Boot.
“It’s football,” Van Buren said after the game. ” Sometimes you go out there and you have a slow start and have to settle in. We were able to fight through adversity.’
