Instant Reactions: LSU 44, Baylor 31

What a fun way to close out the season

Well that was fun!

LSU (9-4) closed out the 2024 season with a nice 44-31 win over Baylor in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl.

Coming into Tuesday’s game I was skeptical of LSU’s offense. Garrett Nussmeier wouldn’t have Kyren Lacy, CJ Daniels, or Mason Taylor to throw the ball to; he also wouldn’t have four starters missing from his offensive line, including no Will Campbell covering his blindside.

Turns out none of that mattered because the best returning quarterback in the country put on another show: 24-34, 304 yards, and three touchdowns. Nussmeier carved up Baylor all afternoon long, hitting the Bears with deep bombs to Chris Hilton, and showing off future superstar Trey’Dez Green.

Green came into the Texas Bowl with seven catches for 48 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Today he had six for 53 and a pair of scores and showed how devastating of a weapon he can be in the redzone thanks to his 6’7” frame.

No Will Campbell or Emery Jones? No problem. Nuss wasn’t sacked, Baylor was only credited with three tackles for loss, and the new-look offensive line paved the way for an LSU running game that ran for 114 yards on 27 carries. Caden Durham ran for 60 yards, while Josh Williams, the last man standing from the 2019 national championship team, capped his LSU career off with 42 yards and a touchdown.

Chris Hilton had his best game of 2024 and arguably the best game of his LSU career with four catches for 113 yards and a score. He stretched the field vertically in a way that LSU desperately needed this season, and if this is the Hilton they get in 2025, he can be a transformative piece. I know that’s the story of his whole career, but it’s true.

Bowl games are a chance for underclassmen to put themselves on the map for the upcoming season, and we saw a lot of youngsters on defense make statements. Dahvon Keys made the biggest splash as the true freshman linebacker had five tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter to put LSU up 14-0.

LSU wasn’t great on special teams today as Damian Ramos had a field goal blocked and saw his streak of 119 consecutive PATs snapped, but Zavion Thomas returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score to put LSU up three touchdowns. Even Steven as Jerry once said on Seinfeld.

While LSU had a lot of highlights, the most memorable moment came for all the wrong reasons. Late in the second quarter, Whit Weeks had to be carted off the field in an air cast after his right ankle got rolled over in a gruesome way. It’s best not to speculate on the severity of the injury so instead let’s all offer up our best wishes and prayers to Weeks. Hopefully he’ll make a complete recovery and be ready to go Week 1 against Clemson.

And with all that, the 2024 season is officially in the books for LSU. No, going 9-4 and spending New Year’s in Houston isn’t the most successful season, but winning these bowl games feels a whole lot better than losing ‘em—just ask Alabama—and now we look ahead to 2025.