What Brian Kelly said about Chris Hilton’s big win that night in Oklahoma

LSU needed a boost before halftime of its final regular-season game.

Chris Hilton gave LSU a spark when he caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, giving his team a seven-point lead over Oklahoma at halftime.

With less than seven minutes left in the third frame, the redshirt junior wide receiver hit a 45-yard strike that put the game out of reach and provided the only points of the third quarter.

Hilton led all receivers with 85 yards on those two touchdown receptions. Saturday was his fifth game of the 2024 season as he missed the first half with an injury that also kept him out of preseason camp.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly said Hilton got the game ball for his performance and praised the Zachary, LA native for his effort in the win.

“He’s been out for eight weeks and it’s taking a while to get him back into the rhythm,” Kelly said. “Either we missed him when he crashed or the timing wasn’t quite where it needed to be. It usually takes us about four weeks to get this done.”

In an offense that was lackluster during a midseason losing streak, Kelly said Hilton’s use of the deep ball created space for the rest of the offense.

“Our offense was missing a big threat,” Kelly said. “Teams came at us, teams made it difficult for us because we didn’t have that vertical threat.”

LSU had a balanced offensive performance in Saturday’s win. Nussmeier threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns and the running game totaled 110 yards, including a game-high 50-yard rush from Caden Durham.

Kelly cited the deep touches as the reason for the efficient performance, saying it was “much needed.”

“If you can push the ball down the field and have the other options within our offensive structure,” Kelly said. “It allows you to run the football, it allows you to do the intermediate passing game and the vertical passing game.”

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: What Brian Kelly said about Chris Hilton’s big win that night at Oklahoma