No. 13 LSU claimed upsets of (at the time) No. 8 Miami and No. 7 Auburn, but neither of those teams are ranked in those spots now and surely the trend would end Saturday, when No. 2 Georgia came to Baton Rouge for the first time since 2008.
But the Tigers were the tougher and more prepared team, shutting down the Bulldogs’ explosive attack for a 36-16 win.
The Tigers opened the scoring with a 33-yard Cole Tracy field goal, and Georgia appeared ready to try for the equalizer on the ensuing drive, but Kirby Smart called a fake field goal on a 4th-and-9 from the LSU 14. The play never had a chance, and the LSU defense held.
LSU (6-1, 3-1 SEC) immediately took advantage, dinking and dunking down the field until Clyde Edwards-Helaire broke free on a 3rd-and-1 for a 47-yard gain to set up a 1st-and-goal. Burrow plunged in on a 1-yard keeper on 4th-and-goal, staking LSU to a 10-0 lead at the 13:34 mark of the second quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, Burrow hit a wide open Justin Jefferson for a 50-yard gain on LSU’s next play after the touchdown. The drive stalled, but Tracy’s 33-yard boot pushed the lead to 13.
Another Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) three-and-out lead to another long LSU drive, this one a 15-play, 50-yard push set up Tracy for his third boot of the half, a 39-yarder at the 5:09 mark of the first half.
Georgia accepted the ball to open the second half and moved 52 yards in 12 plays, but Fromm was sacked on a 3rd-and-9, setting up a 40-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal to get the Bulldogs on the board.
The Bulldogs forced a punt on LSU’s first drive, but another Fromm mistake -- this time an interception deep in his own end to Kristian Fulton -- gave the Tigers the ball at the Georgia 23, and a fourth Tracy field goal erased Georgia’s progress 12 minutes into the third quarter.
Trailing 19-3, Georgia inserted freshman quarterback Justin Fields, whose presence sparked the first good drive of the day -- seven plays, 75 yards and a 10-yard Elijah Holyfield touchdown. Georgia’s 2-point try failed, but the Bulldogs were within 19-9 with seven seconds left in the third quarter.
The teams traded three-and-outs, and LSU put the game away with its running game and a 36-yard pass to Jefferson. Burrow’s second 1-yard scoring run of the day pushed the Tigers up 26-9 with 9:31 remaining, and a fourth Tracy field goal pushed the lead to 20.
The Bulldogs again knifed 75 yards in five plays, scoring on a 27-yard strike from Fromm to Riley Ridley, but LSU answered yet again. On a first down from his own 37, Burrow took off for a career-long 59-yard run to the Georgia 4, and Nick Brossette added the capper one snap later.
Fromm threw all 34 passes for Georgia, hitting 16 of them for 209 yards with a touchdown and two picks. Holyfield and D’Andre Swift combined to rush 19 times for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Burrow, meanwhile, hit 15-of-30 passes for 200 yards while rushing 13 times for 66 yards and two scores. Clyde Edwards-Helaire led all runners with 126 yards on 15 carries, while Brossette added 44 yards and two scores on 10 carries.