January 13, 2020 Postseason Neutral site Belt changed hands

LSU takes the belt, 42–25, at a neutral site over Clemson.

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LSU 42

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Clemson 25

AI-Written

Recap

LSU dominated this College Football Playoff National Championship Game from start to finish, with Joe Burrow orchestrating one of the most efficient offensive performances in championship history. Burrow connected with receivers across the field early and often, hitting Justin Jefferson for three touchdown passes in the first half alone (19, 35, 42, and 30 yards) while also finding Terrace Marshall Jr. twice and Thaddeus Moss for a spectacular 62-yard score. Clemson managed only one turnover and struggled to sustain drives, converting just 1 of 11 third-down attempts, while LSU's high-powered offense piled up 628 total yards with zero turnovers to secure the belt with a convincing 42-25 victory.

Justin Jefferson's 42-yard TD reception in Q2 12:13 - extended LSU's lead to 35-7 and put the game completely out of reach
Thaddeus Moss's 62-yard TD reception in Q2 4:18 - a perfectly thrown deep ball that showcased Burrow's arm talent and LSU's offensive firepower
Kary Vincent Jr. interception of Jalen Hurts in Q2 12:03 - LSU's defense forced the only turnover of the game, halting a Clemson drive
Joe Burrow's seven touchdown passes - clinical efficiency from the future #1 overall pick that demonstrated LSU's complete dominance

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

LSUClemson

Total yards628394

Rushing yards165160

Passing yards463234

First downs2923

3rd down conv.4/141/11

Turnovers01

Penalties–yards11–1187–65

Time of possession34:4525:15

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 12:03	LSU	+19 yd	Justin Jefferson 19 Yd pass from Joe Burrow (Cade York Kick)
Q1 7:34	Oklahoma	+3 yd	Kennedy Brooks run for 3 yds for a TD, (Gabe Brkic KICK)
Q1 7:55	Oklahoma	+51 yd	Jalen Hurts pass complete to CeeDee Lamb for 51 yds to the LSU 3 for a 1ST down
Q1 4:24	LSU	+8 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Terrace Marshall Jr. for 8 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q1 4:24	LSU	+33 yd	Avery Atkins kickoff for 60 yds , Charleston Rambo return for 33 yds to the Okla 38
Q1 2:29	LSU	+24 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Terrace Marshall Jr. for 24 yds to the LSU 46 for a 1ST down
Q1 1:16	LSU	+35 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Justin Jefferson for 35 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 12:13	LSU	+42 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Justin Jefferson for 42 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 12:03	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Jalen Hurts pass intercepted Kary Vincent Jr. return for no gain to the LSU 45
Q2 9:40	LSU	+22 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 22 yds to the Okla 30 for a 1ST down
Q2 9:17	LSU	+30 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Justin Jefferson for 30 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 4:45	Oklahoma	+2 yd	Jalen Hurts run for 2 yds for a TD, (Gabe Brkic KICK)
Q2 7:45	Oklahoma	+44 yd	Jalen Hurts pass complete to CeeDee Lamb for 29 yds to the LSU 49 for a 1ST down LSU Penalty, Roughing Passer (Patrick Queen) to the LSU 34 for a 1ST down
Q2 4:18	LSU	+62 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Thaddeus Moss for 62 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 0:50	LSU	+2 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Terrace Marshall Jr. for 2 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 1:32	LSU	+39 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 39 yds to the Okla 10 for a 1ST down
Q3 10:11	LSU	+3 yd	Joe Burrow run for 3 yds for a TD, (Cade York KICK)
Q3 15:00	Oklahoma	+20 yd	Gabe Brkic kickoff for 59 yds , Jontre Kirklin return for 20 yds to the LSU 26
Q3 12:51	LSU	+32 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Terrace Marshall Jr. for 32 yds to the Okla 25 for a 1ST down
Q3 4:19	Oklahoma	+12 yd	Jalen Hurts run for 12 yds for a TD, (Gabe Brkic KICK)
Q3 9:15	Oklahoma	+26 yd	Jalen Hurts pass complete to CeeDee Lamb for 26 yds to the LSU 46 for a 1ST down
Q4 14:06	LSU	+46 yd	Cade York 46 yd FG MISSED
Q4 9:39	Oklahoma	+1 yd	T.J. Pledger run for 1 yd for a TD (Gabe Brkic KICK)
Q4 14:00	Oklahoma	+21 yd	Jalen Hurts pass complete to Theo Wease for 21 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q4 8:45	LSU	+20 yd	Chris Curry run for 20 yds to the LSU 49 for a 1ST down
Q1 14:40	Clemson	+35 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Justyn Ross for 35 yds to the LSU 46 for a 1ST down
Q1 6:34	Clemson	+1 yd	Trevor Lawrence run for 1 yd for a TD (B.T. Potter KICK)
Q1 8:26	Clemson	+27 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Braden Galloway for 42 yds to the LSU 25 for a 1ST down CLEMSON Penalty, Illegal Block (Tee Higgins) to the LSU 40 for a 1ST down
Q1 7:28	Clemson	+25 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Tee Higgins for 19 yds to the LSU 12 for a 1ST down LSU Penalty, Personal Foul (Siaki Ika) to the LSU 6 for a 1ST down
Q1 2:20	LSU	+52 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 52 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q2 13:43	Clemson	+52 yd	B.T. Potter 52 yd FG GOOD
Q2 13:35	LSU	+20 yd	Joe Burrow run for 20 yds to the LSU 45 for a 1ST down
Q2 12:02	Clemson	+24 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Justyn Ross for 24 yds to the Clem 28 for a 1ST down
Q2 10:38	Clemson	+36 yd	Tee Higgins run for 36 yds for a TD (B.T. Potter KICK)
Q2 11:31	Clemson	+29 yd	Travis Etienne run for 29 yds to the LSU 43 for a 1ST down
Q2 9:17	LSU	+3 yd	Joe Burrow run for 3 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q2 9:53	LSU	+56 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 56 yds to the Clem 3 for a 1ST down
Q2 8:35	Clemson	+27 yd	Travis Etienne run for 12 yds to the LSU 37 for a 1ST down LSU Penalty, Face Mask (15 yards) (Grant Delpit) to the LSU 48 for a 1ST down
Q2 6:49	LSU	+22 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Justin Jefferson for 22 yds to the LSU 45 for a 1ST down
Q2 6:25	LSU	+23 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Clyde Edwards-Helaire for 23 yds to the Clem 32 for a 1ST down
Q2 5:19	LSU	+14 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 14 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q2 3:31	LSU	+25 yd	Clyde Edwards-Helaire run for 25 yds to the LSU 30 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:14	LSU	+29 yd	Joe Burrow run for 29 yds to the Clem 6 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:10	LSU	+6 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Thaddeus Moss for 6 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q3 13:26	LSU	+26 yd	Zach Von Rosenberg punt for 41 yds, downed at the CLEMSON 35 LSU Penalty, Kick Catching Interference (Jontre Kirklin) to the 50 yard line
Q3 12:02	Clemson	+22 yd	Trevor Lawrence run for 7 yds to the LSU 29 for a 1ST down LSU Penalty, Face Mask (15 yards) (K'Lavon Chaisson) to the LSU 14 for a 1ST down
Q3 10:49	Clemson	+3 yd	Travis Etienne run for 3 yds for a TD (Trevor Lawrence pass to Amari Rodgers for Two-Point Conversion)
Q3 5:13	LSU	+4 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Thaddeus Moss for 4 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q3 6:20	LSU	+43 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Ja'Marr Chase for 43 yds to the Clem 16 for a 1ST down
Q3 1:40	LSU	+45 yd	Cade York 45 yd FG MISSED
Q3 3:25	LSU	+35 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Justin Jefferson for 35 yds to the Clem 33 for a 1ST down
Q4 12:08	LSU	+24 yd	Joe Burrow pass complete to Terrace Marshall Jr. for 24 yds for a TD (Cade York KICK)
Q4 12:08	LSU	+30 yd	Avery Atkins kickoff for 65 yds , Travis Etienne return for 30 yds to the Clem 30
Q4 3:53	Clemson	+5 yd	Trevor Lawrence run for 12 yds to the LSU 45 Trevor Lawrence fumbled, forced by Grant Delpit, recovered by LSU Derek Stingley Jr. , return for 5 yds to the LSU 45
Q4 4:14	Clemson	+21 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Tee Higgins for 21 yds to the Clem 48 for a 1ST down
Q4 3:41	LSU	+21 yd	Clyde Edwards-Helaire run for 21 yds to the Clem 34 for a 1ST down

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Joe BurrowLSU	31/49	463	9.4	5	0
Trevor LawrenceClemson	18/37	234	6.3	0	0

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Clyde Edwards-HelaireLSU	16	110	6.9	0	25
Joe BurrowLSU	14	58	4.1	1	29
TeamLSU	2	-3	-1.5	0	0
Travis EtienneClemson	15	78	5.2	1	29
Trevor LawrenceClemson	10	49	4.9	1	12
Tee HigginsClemson	1	36	36.0	1	36
Lyn-J DixonClemson	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
TeamClemson	1	-2	-2.0	0	0

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Ja'Marr ChaseLSU	9	221	24.6	2	56
Justin JeffersonLSU	9	106	11.8	0	35
Clyde Edwards-HelaireLSU	5	54	10.8	0	23
Terrace Marshall Jr.LSU	3	46	15.3	1	24
Thaddeus MossLSU	5	36	7.2	2	13
Justyn RossClemson	5	76	15.2	0	35
Braden GallowayClemson	2	60	30.0	0	42
Tee HigginsClemson	3	52	17.3	0	21
Travis EtienneClemson	5	36	7.2	0	19
Amari RodgersClemson	2	8	4.0	0	5
Lyn-J DixonClemson	1	2	2.0	0	2

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Patrick QueenLSU	8	6	0.5	2.5	0
Jacob PhillipsLSU	8	5	0	0.5	0
JaCoby StevensLSU	7	5	0	0.5	0
Kristian FultonLSU	6	6	0	1	1
Grant DelpitLSU	6	5	1	1	0
Kary Vincent Jr.LSU	3	3	0	0	0
Rashard LawrenceLSU	3	1	0	1	0
K'Lavon ChaissonLSU	2	2	0	0	0
Derek Stingley Jr.LSU	2	1	0	0	0
Glen LoganLSU	2	0	0.5	1	0
Jontre KirklinLSU	1	1	0	0	0
Racey McMathLSU	1	1	0	0	0
Avery AtkinsLSU	1	1	0	0	0
Neil Farrell Jr.LSU	1	0	0	0.5	0
Nolan TurnerClemson	10	6	0	0	1
K'Von WallaceClemson	9	6	0	0	0
Isaiah SimmonsClemson	7	6	1	2	2
Derion KendrickClemson	7	5	0	0	0
James SkalskiClemson	5	4	1	1	1
A.J. TerrellClemson	5	4	0	0	1
Tanner MuseClemson	5	3	0	1	0
Denzel JohnsonClemson	4	2	0	0	0
Tyler DavisClemson	3	2	1	1	0
Jake VenablesClemson	3	1	1	1.5	0
Justin FosterClemson	2	2	1	1	0
Xavier ThomasClemson	2	1	0	0	0
K.J. HenryClemson	2	0	0	0.5	0
Amari RodgersClemson	1	1	0	0	0
Patrick PhibbsClemson	1	0	0	0	0
Logan RudolphClemson	1	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Preston StaffordLSU	0	0	1
Derek Stingley Jr.LSU	0	0	1
Trevor LawrenceClemson	1	1	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Travis EtienneClemson	1	30	30.0	30	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cade YorkLSU	0/1	0.0	0	6/6	6
B.T. PotterClemson	1/1	100.0	52	2/2	5

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Derek Stingley Jr.LSU	2	17	8.5	9	0
Amari RodgersClemson	2	0	0.0	0	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Zach Von RosenbergLSU	7	312	44.6	0	3	56
Will SpiersClemson	9	355	39.4	0	5	58

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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