NEW ORLEANS — Freeze the frame half a second before the throw that lifted Joe Burrow from legend to LSU immortal Monday night, and you’ll notice two things.
First, no one in the picture was open. Second, as Burrow brings his arm back, Clemson linebacker James Skalski is a yard and a half away, ready to wallop him with a shot to the ribs that would have made many quarterbacks question whether it was worth the price.
But, of course, Burrow delivered anyway. In that moment, he delivered a touchdown to Thaddeus Moss that struck the first blow to Clemson’s championship aura.