In a weird way, the stage for the most impactful thing we saw on Sunday may have been set in a relatively meaningless Fiesta Bowl three years ago. You’ll have to follow me on this one.
If you Google “Joe Burrow UCF hit” you’ll see it. In the first quarter of that Jan. 2019 game, Burrow took a viscous blow while a defender was returning a pick-six that put LSU down 14–3 against undefeated Central Florida. After an up-and-down first year in Baton Rouge, after transferring from Ohio State, Burrow was leading a team some thought would pack it in that day.