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LSU QB Joe BurrowRoss D. Franklin/Associated Press
Joe Burrow threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl as No. 11 LSU ended No. 8 UCF’s 25-game winning streak by a final score of 40-32.
In the buildup to this one, most of the conversation centered around McKenzie Milton—UCF’s Heisman-caliber quarterback who would not be playing due to a knee injury.
However, the postgame/preseason chatter should now revolve around Burrow as a dark horse in next year’s Heisman race.
LSU’s QB got out to a slow start. He squandered a huge opening kickoff return by Clyde Edwards-Helaire by only getting a field goal out of a drive that began at the UCF 16. And on the following possession, he threw a 93-yard pick-six to Brandon Moore—and took a vicious hit from Joey Connors while trying to tackle Moore along the sideline.
Joey Burrow @Joe_Burrow10
That’s Ight I’ll take the 4 tds and the dub https://t.co/VVDLdQbqNW
Apparently, that hit was just what he needed, because he was almost flawless the rest of the afternoon.
Burrow led the Tigers on three consecutive touchdown drives after the interception, including a gorgeous dime to Justin Jefferson in the back corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score. LSU took the lead and never looked back, padding it on Burrow’s fourth passing touchdown early in the third quarter. All four of his touchdowns came on strikes from at least 20 yards away.
He was on pace for approximately 500 yards at that point and probably should have broken the Fiesta Bowl records for passing yards (451) and touchdowns (five). However, the Tigers turned to the ground game to salt away the clock for much of the second half.
Burrow set career highs in both passing yards and touchdowns, but it actually would have been 404 yards and five scores if Jefferson hadn’t dropped a very catchable ball on 3rd-and-goal from the 10 early in the fourth quarter.
Nevertheless, Burrow had a sensational afternoon to make up for an LSU defense that was forced to delve deep into the depth chart due to players sitting out, suffering injuries or getting ejected for targeting penalties.
Even before this explosion in the Fiesta Bowl, though, it was easy to see Burrow’s potential as a breakout star in 2019.
He struggled with accuracy early in the season and had a hard time moving the ball against Florida, Mississippi State and Alabama. (Who didn’t?) But Burrow completed 69.0 percent of his pass attempts over the final three weeks of the regular season, averaging 257.3 passing yards, 44.0 rushing yards and 3.0 total touchdowns during that stretch.
While those aren’t exactly Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa numbers, it was plausible cause for major optimism for the leader of a young offense.
Joe Burrow and Coach Ed OrgeronRoss D. Franklin/Associated Press
LSU’s top receiver in the Fiesta Bowl was freshman Ja’Marr Chase, who emerged as a slant-route extraordinaire for season-high marks of six catches for 93 yards. The three other receivers with at least 75 yards in this game were either sophomores or juniors who aren’t expected to enter the NFL draft.
In addition to that quartet, freshman WR Terrace Marshall Jr. didn’t do much this season, but the consensus 5-star recruit is an obvious candidate for a sophomore leap. And while Texas Tech transfer Jonathan Giles had a tough debut year in the bayou, he had 1,158 receiving yards in 2016 and could be poised for a big comeback campaign.
In other words, there are plenty of returning weapons at the disposal of a quarterback who was clearly making positive strides in his final four games.
Keep in mind, Burrow didn’t transfer from Ohio State to LSU until after this past spring. By the time he made his debut as the Tigers starting quarterback, he had been with the team for less than four months. It’s no big surprise that he looked a bit out of sync against the defenses of Miami and Auburn, since he was just getting his feet wet with this offense.
Not only was Burrow new, but with the exception of tight end Foster Moreau, just about the entire offense was different, too. Jefferson didn’t make a single reception last year before leading the team in catches this year. And running backs Nick Brossette and Edwards-Helaire were both complete afterthoughts in 2017 behind Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams.
But now that Burrow has had a full year in the system—and now that both he and the coaching staff have a much better idea about which receivers are best suited for which routes/situations—he is in the perfect position to take another huge step forward this offseason.
I’m well-aware that beating up on UCF’s secondary won’t make Burrow the favorite to win the 2019 Heisman. He probably won’t even open the season in the top 10. According to OddsShark, he wasn’t one of the top 17 candidates as of Dec. 22.
But he should be.
This performance was a vivid reminder in a marquee bowl game that this is the same Joe Burrow who battled both J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins for the starting job at Ohio State, and who subsequently steered LSU to AP Top 10 wins over Miami, Auburn and Georgia in his first seven games with the team.
If that man doesn’t belong in the preseason Heisman conversation, why even have one?
Kerry Miller covers college football and men’s college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.
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Comedian Hasan Minhaj dedicated a recent episode of his Netflix show Patriot Act to skewering Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the criticism did not go unnoticed by Saudi officials.
The government reportedly complained to Netflix that the episode violated the kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law, according to the Financial Times. In response, Netflix removed the episode from the streaming platform in Saudi Arabia. The episode can apparently still be viewed by Saudi users on the show’s official YouTube channel.
“We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request — and to comply with local law,” Netflix said in a statement to the Financial Times.
SEE ALSO: Hasan Minhaj might be the next great American storyteller
The episode, which aired in October and is titled “Saudi Arabia,” took on the crown prince in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The CIA has determined that Prince Salman ordered Khashoggi’s death.
“Now would be a good time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Minhaj said. “And I mean that as a Muslim and as an American.”
Minhaj then rattles off the most important things the average viewer might want to know about Saudi Arabia’s history, including that American presidents often overlook the country’s transgressions because it’s a key ally in the Middle East.
.@hasanminhaj of @patriotact has been a strong, honest and (funny) voice challenging Saudi Arabia + Mohammed bin Salman in the wake of #khashoggi’s murder. He brought awareness about Yemen.
Quite outrageous that @netflix has pulled one of his episodes critical of Saudi Arabia.
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) January 1, 2019
“Saudi Arabia was basically the boy band manager of 9/11,” Minhaj joked, referencing how the country issued passports to the men who hijacked planes in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. “They didn’t write the songs, but they helped the group get together.”
On the subject of Prince Salman, Minhaj didn’t hold back.
“He’s been getting away with autocratic shit like this for years,” Minhaj said of the prince’s role in Khashoggi’s murder, “with almost no blowback from the international community.”
Netflix’s decision to remove the episode was met with outrage by proponents of free speech.
“Banning a comedy act that brings valid criticism of a government is a counterproductive measure and an affront to the freedom of expression that all citizens deserve,” Jillian C. York, director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the Financial Times.
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Some NBA front office personnel believe Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love is “available for the proverbial right price,” the New York Times‘ Marc Stein reported Tuesday.
Stein speculated the Denver Nuggets could be one team that makes a run at Love, based on their “longstanding fondness” for the five-time All-Star.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Sudan‘s President Omar al-Bashir is facing growing calls to step down following deadly protests over a dire economic crisis in the East African country.
Twenty-two Sudanese opposition political parties and groups demanded on Tuesday that Bashir transfer power to a “sovereign council” and a transitional government that would set a “suitable” date for democratic elections.
The groups, calling themselves the National Front for Change, include some Islamist factions that were once allied with Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup, as well as breakaway groups from large traditional parties.
“This government does not have the ability to overcome the economic crisis because the economic crisis is basically a political crisis,” Mubarak Elfadel, Chairman of the Umma Party, told reporters at a press conference in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
“The government needs to end its rule and step down. We need to form a provisional council and a transitional government that will run this new stage and prepare us for new elections.”
The groups said they will submit a memorandum with their demands to the president on Wednesday. They warned that failure to transition to a new political system would have “dire consequences” for Sudan.
The move came as a second party, Sudan Reform Now, announced it was withdrawing from the coalition government.
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WATCH: Sudanese parliament approves 2019 budget amid protests (2:28) |
It joins the Umma Party, which announced its withdrawal from the cabinet on Thursday, citing its support for the protesters and the government’s failure to implement recommendations that were outlined in the national dialogue that preceded the government’s formation.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said the decision by Sudan Reform Now would likely weaken Bashir’s government.
“Many opposition groups have come out to say they believe the protesters have legitimate reasons, but it is not clear yet if other parties will also follow in the footsteps of Sudan Reform Now and withdraw from the national coalition government.”
She added: “Now Sudan is at a cross roads – people protesting and calling for Bashir to step down and opposition parties backing them, but the president and the ruling party remain defiant and determined to hold on to power.”
The group of opposition parties said the proposed transitional government would introduce freedoms, democracy and halt the ongoing strife in the western regions of Kordofan and Darfur, and the Blue Nile region south of the capital, Khartoum.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to the memorandum.
At least 19 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests that erupted in cities including the capital Khartoum on December 19, after a government decision to hike the price of bread. The protests quickly developed into anti-government rallies demanding Bashir’s resignation.
Human rights group Amnesty International has put the death toll at 37.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bashir ordered authorities to set up a committee to investigate violence during the anti-government protests.
In an address to the nation on Monday, he sought to defuse the anger sweeping the country, promising better days ahead and pledging more “transparency, effectiveness and justice in all our national institutions”.
“Our country is going through pressing economic conditions that have hurt a large segment of society,” he said. “We appreciate this suffering, feel its impact and we thank our people for their beautiful patience.”
The 2019 budget would maintain state subsidies on many commodities, raise wages, refrain from introducing new taxes and do more for the poorest. He did not elaborate.
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