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Orlando, FL — When the 2018 Overton’s Citrus Bowl kicked off with the Louisiana State Tigers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, their seasons’ struggles had been well documented.
However, when the dust settled from both running games tearing up the field, it would be Head Coach Brian Kelly’s Irish who would prevail thanks to a 55-yard bomb from backup quarterback Ian Book to wide receiver Miles Boykin that would secure the 21 -17 victory. It would also be win No.10 on the year for the Fighting Irish.
A battle of defense and field position ensued to open the game. Both teams combined for 15 completions on 30 attempts in the air and individually were below 200 yards of total offense preceding halftime.
Notre Dame was forced to punt four times in the opening half but opened the scoring with only four seconds remaining before the break. Kicker Justin Yoon knocked in a 46-yard field goal for the 3-0 Irish lead. Just as significant, it was this same drive that starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush was benched for Book. Wimbush finished his day delivering 3-for-8 (37 percent) for 52 yards and 38 yards on four carries. From that point, the second string field general brought a balance that kept the Irish from fighting in only one dimension on offense.
That’s not to say that the Tigers were devoid of opportunities. LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron cited the day before that they still hadn’t determined who their kicker would be, but no one who heard that imagined the impact implied. The Bayou Bengals shanked two attempts wide of the goal posts with two different kickers previous to the both teams heading into the locker room — One from 11 yards by Connor Culp and the other from 37 by Jack Gonsoulin.
Louisiana State would open the third quarter having to punt four plays in. However, once punter Josh Growden launched the ball into the air, it came down and touched a Notre Dame player and re-established possession for the Tigers. Unfortunately for LSU, this would be their longest effort moving the ball in a single play. This led to 2017 Citrus Bowl Player of the Game, Derrius Guice, scampering in from 20 yards out on a pass to pay dirt for a 7-3 advantage.
After Yoon booted a 49-yarder to close the gap for Notre Dame to 7-6, Tigers cornerback Andreaz Williams recorded the game’s only interception and his fifth on the year. The Irish held tight after the turnover, so that didn’t lead to points thanks to linebacker Tre’Von Coney and his front seven. Coney himself had a great showing with 17 tackles.
As the final quarter began, Guice shined once more capping the quarter’s opening drive with his second receiving touchdown from quarterback Danny Etling for a 14-6 advantage. Had LSU repeated winning the Citrus Bowl, he would have again been made Player of the Game with his 98 yards on 21 ground attempts with 24 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions.
Etling’s performance in the air seemed to be enough as momentum was appearing to pull away. The senior went 19-for-33 (58 percent) for 229 yards and two touchdowns.
However, that’s when Book turned the page.
Responding to his opponent’s scoring drive, Book concluded a 10-play, 75-yard campaign with a six-yard strike to receiver Michael Young to tie the score 14-14 after a successful two-point conversion.
The Tigers came roaring back, taking the ball all the way inside the one-yard line where Guice was a just short of cracking the plane. Instead, LSU would have to settle for their only successful splitting of the uprights by Gonsoulin to regain the lead 17-14.
With 1:28 remaining, Boykin made the play that sealed his team’s joyous fate and earned him the honors for the Player of the Game with that 55-yard strike from Book where the 6-foot-4 junior made a great adjustment to haul in a one-handed catch over two defenders. Boykin’s stat line read three catches, 102 yards and the game-winning score.
Though the leader in reception yards was the Player of the Game, Book’s clutch play in a relief role was huge and didn’t go unnoticed by Coach Kelly, who complimented his quarterback.
“Ian is extremely accurate as a passer,” He added.”I think we saw if you do not play him in the option game, he is extremely capable of pulling it and being effective in the run game. He’s a quarterback at Notre Dame and so there’s high expectations. But we knew what he could give our football team.”
Notre Dame finished the season with a 10-3 record while the Tigers finished 9-4 on the year.
