2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 13
13
T
he 2020 football season will certainly be one to
remember. For LSU, it may be one we wish to
forget. LSU was No. 6 in the preseason rankings
coming into its first game at home against Mississippi State.
Hot off the National Championship victory, LSU fans were
confident in their team’s chances this season. However,
the Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL Draft and also had
significant turnover on the coaching staff.
LSU fell to Mississippi State in Death Valley, becoming the
first defending national champion to lose its opening game
in over two decades. The final score was a heartbreaking 4434. LSU followed that loss up with a huge win at Vanderbilt,
although as Vanderbilt’s season progressed, that proved not
to be such a triumph.
The Tigers then fell to Missouri 45-41 after Hurricane
Laura forced the Tigers to travel for the second week in a
row instead of hosting Mizzou at home. The loss meant LSU
opened the season 1-2 for the first time since 1994.
When the Tigers returned home the next game, they
pulled out a 52-24 win over South Carolina. Starting
quarterback Myles Brennan went on to miss the remainder
of the season with an injury, so freshman TJ Finley got his
first collegiate start this game and performed well.
After the exciting win against South Carolina, the Tigers
traveled to Auburn and struggled once again. LSU’s offense
rushed for only 32 yards on 27 carries—excluding sacks—
averaging only 2.5 yards per carry. Ultimately, LSU lost 48-11.
The 48 points scored by Auburn were the most it has ever put
up in a game against LSU.
The game on the road against Arkansas was a close one
per usual. It came down to a targeting call and ejection of an
Arkansas player with four minutes left in the game, giving
the Tigers a first down. Ultimately, LSU pulled out a 27-24
win.
LSU then lost on the road at Texas A&M, before suffering
a devastating 55-17 loss at home to Alabama. The 38-point
defeat was the largest point deficit between the two teams
since LSU’s defeat in 1925, and Alabama’s 55 points is more
than either team has ever scored against the other. LSU and
Alabama have been playing each other since 1895. This was
the second-most points allowed by LSU in the history of Tiger
Stadium, which opened in 1924.
LSU came back from that stinging defeat with a miraculous
win at No. 6 Florida. Quarterback Max Johnson earned his
first collegeiate start on the road and led the rag-tag LSU
team without several key players. The Tigers were missing
important pieces due to injuries, opt-outs and COVID-19.
Cade York kicked a 57-yard field goal through a dense fog
after Florida’s Marco Wilson got an unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty for throwing Kole Taylor’s shoe 20 yards down the
field.
The Tigers rounded out the season with a 53-48 win at
home against Ole Miss, allowing for them to finish the
season 5-5 and avoid their first losing season in two decades.
Kayshon Boutte set a Tigers record for receiving yards in
a game, catching 14 passes for 308 yards. Unfortunately,
since school let out after Thanksgiving, two weeks before the
game, the stadium was almost completely empty.
football