Derrius Guice fills some big shoes in leading LSU to win over Louisville in the Citrus Bowl

Sophomore running back Derrius Guice did an excellent job of stepping in for Leonard Fournette.

Guice ran for 138 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and caught a scoring pass to help No. 20 Louisiana State Tigers to a 29-9 victory over No. 13 Louisville in Saturday’s Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.

Guice, who had to fill the shoes of Fournette who decided to skip the bowl game to concentrate on the NFL draft, consistently made explosive plays running the ball, as a receiver and a kickoff return man for the Tigers (8-4).

“LSU is Army U so when one man goes down you’ve got to step up,” said Guice, who averaged 5.3 yards per carry. “I feel like I’ve done a great job of stepping up this year. The line did a great job of helping me step up and (running backs coach Jabbar Juluke) has developed me all year.”

His performance was eclipsed only by the overpowering performance of the Tigers defense that completely shut down Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals. The Cardinals did not score a touchdown.

“I’m awfully excited about our football team, the way they bought into one team, one heartbeat,” said LSU Coach Ed Orgeron, who was officially at the helm for the first time since being hired as Les Miles’ replacement. “We’re like that right now and I’m so proud of them.”

Jackson was sacked eight times, including a safety for an eight-yard loss late in the second quarter. Jackson completed just 10 of 27 passes for 153 yards while leading the rushing attack with 33 yards as the Cardinals (9-4) ended their season with three straight losses.

“They’re very good up front and we knew that coming in,” Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino said. “We did make some assignment errors where we turned a couple of guys completely loose a few times and then there were a few times that they beat us on the pass rush and then there a couple of times where we needed to get the ball out of our hand and get open quicker, so it all plays together.”

LSU quarterback Danny Etling threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers moved the ball with balance all game. Malachi Dupre led LSU in receiving with seven catches for 139 yards.