NEW ORLEANS — Years from now, the details will be blurry. The memories will be in short supply.
It will sound impossible, but the Superdome was silent on the night LSU broke its 12-year championship drought. It will sound implausible, but the Heisman-winning quarterback sucking on a cigar couldn’t move the chains.
Joe Burrow opened Monday’s national championship game with back-to-back three-and-outs. The highest-scoring team in the nation’s third drive also ended with a punt.
The plans that had worked to perfection were crumbling against an opponent which hadn’t lost in two calendar years, 12 months removed from embarrassing the greatest dynasty in college football history.
Clemson scored first. It had won 50 straight games when scoring first. In the second quarter, Clemson led by 10. It was LSU’s largest deficit of the season, its first deficit since Oct. 26. Trevor Lawrence had never lost and looked like he never would, sculpting the foundation for the greatest college career of all time.
Then, Burrow solidified the greatest season the sport has ever seen.
Less than six minutes later, LSU was in front and permanent hearing damage was the price. LSU would finish its first undefeated season since 1958 because of a quarterback who approached perfection, concluding his college career with 463 yards passing and six total touchdowns, while setting the all-mark for single-season passing touchdowns (60) and adding 58 yards rushing in top-ranked LSU’s (15-0) 42-25 win over Clemson.
“This is what I’ve wanted from the time I was 5 years old is to hoist this trophy,” Burrow said. “This is special.”
All season, Burrow made most second halves irrelevant, leading LSU to wins by an average of more than 32 points since mid-November.
Then, the dome got silent. The title drought threatened to stretch into another decade. Burrow wouldn’t allow doubt to get comfortable.
It took 81 seconds for LSU to end its first double-digit deficit, following a 56-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase and 3-yard touchdown run by Burrow. The graduate transfer continued humiliating future first-round pick A.J. Terrell, who surrendered a beautifully thrown 14-yard score in the corner to Chase. Just before halftime, Burrow ran for 29 yards on third-and-long, setting up a 6-yard strike to Thaddeus Moss just 10 seconds before halftime, putting LSU up 28-17.
“We weren’t going to let someone come in here and steal this from us in our home state,” Burrow said. “We were going to keep this thing right here.”
There would be fireworks in the air and purple and gold confetti on the ground. There would be chaos in the French Quarter. There would be a statue of Burrow built in Baton Rouge.
There would be immortality for the Ohio native who threw a total of 37 passes in his first three years at Ohio State, whose forgettable first SEC season strengthened the belief that prohibition would come to Bourbon Street before a legendary quarterback would come to LSU.
“I don’t know about the whole hero thing, but I know this national championship will be remembered for a long time in Louisiana,” Burrow said. “To do it in New Orleans is even more special.”
LSU was never short on stars. They came from out wide, in the trenches and in the backfield. They came from everywhere, but under center.
Since 1973, only one LSU quarterback has been taken in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. He, JaMarcus Russell, may be the biggest bust in NFL history, the No. 1-overall pick in 2007, who played his final game in 2009.
There was a decade of reliance on the likes of Jarrett Lee, Jordan Jefferson, Zach Mettenberger, Anthony Jennings, Brandon Harris, Danny Etling. There was eight straight years of torture from Alabama, including shutouts in two of the previous three years.
Burrow looked set to become an undrafted free agent after completing 57.8 percent of his passes last season. He finished this season completing 78 percent of his passes, becoming the consensus first player off the board in the next NFL draft.
Burrow threw for 493 yards and totaled eight touchdowns in the semifinal win against Oklahoma. He topped it by taking apart the nation’s top-ranked defense.
“We wouldn’t be here without Joe Burrow,” head coach Ed Orgeron said. “We are so grateful to Joe Burrow.”
In LSU’s final practice, Burrow defied tradition, refusing to be carried off the field. After the SEC title game, he wouldn’t accept the game ball.
After taking a knee on the game’s final possession, Burrow pointed to his left ring finger, soon to have company. He clutched the ball in his left arm for several minutes. Soon, it was replaced with a championship trophy.
Then came the cigar.