By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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For all of his success this season, Burrow’s momentum has been in place for quite some time.

The story of Joe Burrow’s career, transferring from Ohio State to LSU and ultimately rewriting the SEC record books, is one well told. He has led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff, helped expand and reintroduce LSU’s offense and, now, joined the legendary Billy Cannon as the progam’s second Heisman Trophy winner ever. Burrow is part of college football history, a journey that, relatively-quietly and modestly, began last November. For all of his success this season, Burrow’s momentum has been in place for quite some time.

After a shutout loss against Alabama, Burrow, still settling in with the Tigers, responded by promptly becoming one of the nation’s most efficient and productive players.

Burrow, without the national spotlight a year ago, had a finish that proved to be the start of a run to history. Over his last four games, Arkansas, Rice, Texas A&M and Central Florida, Burrow completed 67.2% of his passes for 1,242 yards, eleven touchdowns and just one interception, adding a 100-yard rushing performance with three scores in a seven-overtime thriller against the Aggies. He finished the season as one of the hottest signal callers in the game, finishing with the second-highest bowl passing yardage total and third-highest quarterback rating.

A signature performance in the Fiesta Bowl was also a springboard into his senior showcase. Burrow earned Fiesta Bowl MVP honors with 394 yards passing and four touchdowns in LSU’s triumph over UCF; the victory snapped the nation’s longest winning streak, with the Golden Knights entering having won 25 straight. In leading the Tigers to a statement performance, Burrow set the tone and table for both he and LSU’s 2019 season on the very first day of the year. Nearly 350 days later, the Tigers are undefeated and Burrow has won the most famous individual trophy in sports.

Following the Alabama loss, Burrow had thrown four interceptions and zero touchdowns in his previous four outings; LSU went 2-2 in that stretch. The now likely number one overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft turned that adversity into opportunity, continuining to stay focused, determined and, correspondingly, improve. In a year of transition, Burrow, laying the foundation for his future success, remained steadfast.

Impressively, Burrow turned an early season’s ebb-and-flow into a clear and consistent rhythm. That cadence now has LSU contending for a championship; that tempo has come with the Heisman Trophy.

All that Burrow has done this year marks one of the best seasons the SEC has ever seen. The new league record holder for passing yards with 4,715 and passing touchdowns with 48, Burrow is on pace to set a new FBS passer rating mark with a current rating of 201.47, proficiency which includes a potentially all-time high completion percentage now at 77.9%. Across the board, the numbers are revolutionary. For point of reference, the SEC’s modern completion percentage belongs to Kentucky’s Tim Couch at 72.3%; Burrow has not had a single game below 71.1% this fall.

What has made Burrow a legend isn’t just what he has done, but who he has done it against. In five games versus top ten competition, Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Georgia, Burrow

In four contests against then-top ten opponents, Texas, Florida, Auburn and Alabama, Burrow has gone 143-of-182, 78.6% passing, for 1,827 yards, 15 touchdowns, two interceptions and, most impressively, five wins. Counting only his production against the aforementioned elite competition, Burrow would be tied for seventh in the SEC in touchdown passes. The work he has done against the best on LSU’s schedule stands as the defining trait of his Heisman Trophy season and one of the great comprehensive efforts against nationally-ranked foes ever.

Notably, Burrow’s 181.96 passer rating against ranked teams this year is the highest tally for any quarterback with multiple opportunities. Simply put, he earned all of his totals. Burrow threw 32 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions in nine SEC games, setting multiple league records and ranking second in the country with 361 passing yards per game in conference play; an SEC Championship, one which came with MVP honors, obviously figures in.

Now with Heisman-in-hand, Burrow has been playing his best football as of late. He has at least 325 passing yards in seven consecutive contests and at least three touchdown passes in three straight outings. Burrow’s recent efforts in Atlanta, coming against Georgia’s highly-touted defense, featured title game for the ages: 349 passing yards, four touchdowns and, for LSU, 37 points and a championship ring.

Burrow is the face of this college football season, with a smile that will forever be on display at the Downtown Athletic Club. In a season filled with memories, the most important moments fittingly came against a familiar foe. One year after a low point loss to Alabama, Burrow completed 31-of-39 passes for 393 yards and three scores in a defining triumph over the Crimson Tide. Columbus to Baton Rouge to New York City on this past Saturday night, Tuscaloosa was an important stop along the way.

A full-circle career, for Burrow, is now and will long be directly in the spotlight.

This story quite some time in the making continues. After having his efforts immortalized in bronze, Burrow, looking ahead to New Orleans, now turns to diamond and gold.