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2016 Citrus Bowl: LSU Tigers pounds Lamar Jackson, Louisville Cardinals

By Corey Long, The Sports Xchange

ORLANDO, Fla. -- No matter what Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson tried to do, the LSU defense had all the answers Saturday.

Jackson was sacked eight times while LSU running back Derrius Guice rushed for a 70-yard touchdown to lift the No. 20 Tigers to a 29-9 win over No. 13 Louisville in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

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LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, who replaced Les Miles four games into the season, finished 6-2 with Saturday being his first win after being named head coach.

"I'm happy for the players and happy for the Tiger family," Orgeron said. "This was never about me."

Guice, who started in place of Leonard Fournette, also had a 1-yard touchdown reception. His touchdown run in the third quarter gave LSU a 23-6 lead to break the game open and he finished with 138 yards on 26 carries to earn MVP honors.

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"The coaches did a great job to prepare us for this game," Guice said. "The defense played a heck of a game and shut them down and with me the offensive line did a great job, the fullback and Danny (Etling) with the passing. We came out victorious."

LSU (8-4) scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter to take control of the game. LSU quarterback Danny Etling completed all three passes on the Tigers' first scoring drive and finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colin Jeter.

The Tigers took 7:14 off the clock on their second scoring drive of the quarter, going 79 yards in 13 plays. Etling's 39-yard pass to D.J. Chark gave LSU a first down at the Louisville 2-yard-line and set up Guice's touchdown catch for a 14-3 lead.

"(Guice) stepped in for Fournette and didn't blink an eye," Orgeron said. "He's one of the best players in the USA and I expect him to be the best next year."

That was all the LSU defense needed, as the Tigers began to turn up the pressure on Jackson. LSU defensive lineman Arden Key sacked Jackson in the end zone for a safety to make the score 16-3.

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"(Louisville) didn't do anything on offense that we hadn't seen before," LSU defensive back Tre'Davious White said. "Coach (Dave) Aranda had us prepared for everything they were going to do."

Louisville (9-4) was able to salvage points after cornerback Zykiesis Cannon intercepted Etling's pass to set up a 47-yard field goal from Blanton Creque to make the halftime score 16-6.

"We got beat by a good football team," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "I think we hurt ourselves early with negative plays. When you are going backwards and behind the sticks it's really hard to make first downs against them."

Jackson completed 10 of 27 passes for 153 yards and had 33 rushing yards on 26 carries.

"I didn't get frustrated," Jackson said. "I just tried to keep going the game, it's a long game, whether you're playing a 30-minute game or whatever and you got to go out there and attack and I just feel we didn't really attack how we should. We're a great team and people can say what they want to say, but I feel we just didn't play how we used to play. That's all."

Etling was 16 of 29 for 217 yards and two touchdowns for LSU. Wide receiver Malachi Dupre had seven receptions for 139 yards, both career highs.

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"I thought our defense competed hard but we got worn down and worn out," Petrino said. "They had a big run there that really hurt us."

Louisville's longest play from scrimmage came in the first quarter when Jackson completed a 53-yard bomb to James Quick to set up a 24-yard field goal from Creque.

The Cardinals had two red-zone possessions in the second half that yielded no points, including a 71-yard drive that stalled out at the LSU 5-yard-line.

"Our defense is bend but don't break," White said. "We let them in the red zone but kept them out of the end zone."

NOTES:

-- Defensive end Arden Key broke the LSU single-season sack record in the third quarter, finishing the season with 12 sacks.

-- Derrius Guice went over 100 yards for the sixth time this season.

-- Lamar Jackson's 10 completions and 33 rushing yards were season lows.

-- Louisville linebackers James Hearns and Henry Famurewa did not play after being injured by gunshot wounds in an off-campus party last month.

-- LSU defensive end Tashawn Bowers had three sacks.

-- RB Leonard Fournette decided to sit out the bowl game to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft.

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