BATON ROUGE, La - Garrett Nussmeier passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns, with two passes over 40 yards to Chris Hilton after receiving shoulder treatment, leading LSU to a 37-17 win over Oklahoma on Saturday night.
Aaron Anderson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for LSU (8-4, 5-3 SEC), which concluded the regular season with two straight wins after a three-game losing streak had removed the Tigers from the AP Top 25.
"They heard the talk that they weren't motivated and that the season was over — and they just went out and played inspired football the last two weeks," LSU coach Brian Kelly stated defiantly, even predicting a return to national title contention in the coming seasons.
"We’re taking notes, and we’ll see you at the national championship," Kelly said. "This team’s building and we’re excited about it. And we're really proud of them."
Nussmeier briefly left the game in the second quarter after a hard blind-side sack by defensive end R Mason Thomas.
"That’s an easy moment to give up for most people. Right? That’s an easy one to say: ‘I’m not coming back,’" Kelly remarked.
But the LSU quarterback returned to the field from the locker room after X-rays showed no damage, quickly challenging Oklahoma (6-6, 2-6) with deep throws.
"That’s the kind of player he is; that’s the kind of competitor he is," Kelly said.
Nussmeier completed his first series back with a 40-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to Hilton, giving LSU a 24-17 lead with 45 seconds left before halftime.
He risked further contact on several runs in the second half but said he “didn't care at all” about the chance of aggravating his right shoulder.
"My job is to lead my team and do whatever I have to do to win the football game and I wasn't thinking about my shoulder at all," Nussmeier said. "Once I made the decision I was going, I was going."
Nussmeier connected with Hilton for a 45-yard touchdown on LSU's first drive of the third quarter, extending the lead to 31-17.
LSU's Kyren Lacy caught three passes for 41 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown for the opening score.
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