Basking in an incredible 46-41 victory over archrival Alabama in Tuscaloosa, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow stood calm, cool and collected — Remarkable considering the forgotten Ohio State quarterback emphatically had his "Heisman Moment" just minutes before. With his arm around running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Baton Rouge's unexpected superstar reaffirmed that winning matters most.
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"This is why I decided to transfer," Burrow said. "This is why I decided to come down here and play with [Edwards-Helaire] and all those guys over there. These are the games you live for and you work so hard for."
Burrow was near-flawless against Nick Saban's Crimson Tide. The graduate transfer finished 31-of-39 for 393 passing yards, three touchdowns, and tacked on 64 rushing yards for good measure. That performance rolled Burrow over 6,000 passing yards at LSU — he's the fifth Tiger to reach that mark — and put him 149 yards shy of breaking Rohan Davey's single-season record.
If Joe Burrow wasn't the outright front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy before, he sure as hell is now.
Louisiana State University released an incredible video chronicling Burrow's record-setting days at Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio. Interviews with Joe's parents, Jimmy and Robin Burrow, childhood friend Sam Vander Ven, youth football coach Sam Smathers, and former HS coaches Nathan White and John Rogers revealed one common thread.
Joe Burrow was born for greatness. All he needed was this chance.
Joe Burrow Documentary
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The feature titled That's Joe is the first part of LSU's campaign to boost their star quarterback even further into national prominence. The Heisman Trophy odds as of November 11 include Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, and Ohio State Buckeyes defender Chase Young among college football's five best.
Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, Oregon's Justin Herbert and even Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard received love from various sportsbooks listing Heisman odds throughout the year.
Burrow, however, is now the runaway Heisman favorite. It'll take a miracle for anyone to catch the 2020 NFL Draft's potential No. 1 pick as his LSU Tigers hurdle towards the College Football Playoff and SEC Championship Game behind coach Ed Orgeron.
Joe Burrow's probably going to receive votes for the 2020 Presidential campaign at this rate, too.
Heisman Trophy Odds
Yes, Burrow is rewriting LSU football's record book and shows no sign of slowing down, but to the humble Ohio kid, that's not what matters at all.
"That's all that's ever mattered to me: winning games," Burrow said. "When my stats weren't great last year, and we were winning games, I said the same thing. I'll say the same thing this year."
Need a new favorite football player? Look no further than Joey Burrow, easily college football's greatest story of 2019.
UPDATE (Nov. 21, 2019): LSU released Chapter 2 of the That's Joe series, and "Found Our Quarterback" might even be better than the first.
From earning the nickname "Shady" to taking a 60-yard QB sneak for a touchdown in youth football, it's more and more obvious that Burrow's athleticism from an early age destined him for greatness as an adult.
"When you have a guy like that behind the wheel, throw him the keys to that Ferrari, baby. Let him run it." Sam Smathers said.
This post was originally published November 14, 2019.
