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No. 1 LSU Way Too Much for No. 17 Florida, 41-11
BATON ROUGE -- No. 1 LSU
ran for two touchdowns, passed for two more and posted its largest
margin over the No. 17 Gators in 40 years, 41-11, on Saturday afternoon
in Tiger Stadium.
LSU (6-0, 3-0 SEC) beat its fourth ranked
opponent -- its first on the hallowed grounds of Death Valley -- and
did it in style. The Tigers became bowl eligible for the 12th-straight
season in front of the third-largest crowd in stadium history, 93,022.
The next opponent for the Tigers is Tennessee on Oct. 15 in Knoxville. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
Offensively,
the only thing that kept the Tigers out of the endzone was a new
taunting penalty on a would-be 52-yard fake punt for a touchdown -- and
perhaps some conservative play calling with a big lead.
Defensively,
the Tigers were again quick to the ball and difficult to move against,
holding the freshmen-led Gators to 213 yards of total offense on only
48 plays. Florida needed the full width of the field -- and more -- to
score its only touchdown, a 65-yard catch and run by a receiver who was
pushed out of bounds only to re-enter the field of play and score.
After
the score, LSU added two more fourth-quarter touchdowns to cap its
largest victory over Florida since a 48-7 win in Tiger Stadium in 1971.
Quarterback
Jarrett Lee started on another windy afternoon and completed 7-of-10
passes for 154 yards including a 46-yard bomb to Rueben Randle on LSU's
first possession. Jordan Jefferson entered in the second quarter and
played in four drives, all of which resulted in scores. The senior
backup was 3-of-4 passing for 61 yards and a 2-yard jump pass touchdown
to tight end Mitch Joseph.
Randle led the Tigers with four catches for 127 yards and the touchdown from Lee. Russell Shepard added 41 yards on two catches.
Running
back Spencer Ware led the Tigers potent ground attack, which totaled
238 yards on 49 attempts. Ware accounted for 24 carries and 109 yards
and two touchdowns. Alfred Blue added 70 yards on 14 carries with a
touchdown.
LSU had 453 yards of total offense and held the ball for 35:40 including more than 24 minutes of the second half.
Florida
(4-2, 2-2 SEC), which played without injured quarterbacks Jeff Brantley
and Jeff Driskel, was one-dimensional offensively and had as much
trouble moving the ball as any of the Tigers' opponents. Florida ran on
32 of 48 plays and netted only 113 yards. The Gators used three
quarterbacks, including speedy running back Jeff Demps in a "Wildcat"
formation.
Freshman starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett
finished 8-of-14 passing for 94 yards and two interceptions. He was
sacked once and had a 65-yard touchdown pass. Trey Burton had five
running attempts and two passes for a total of 13 yards. Demps ran only
twice for no yards, while Mike Gillislee had 56 yards on nine carries.
Chris Rainey added 52 yards on 13 carries.
Wide receiver Andre Dubose had the big-strike touchdown pass from Brissett.
LSU
kicked off to open the game for the fifth time in six games this
season, deferring the decision until the second half and defending the
south endzone.
With a stiff southeast wind at his back,
specialist James Hairston kicked four yards into the endzone where
Florida's Andre Dubose took it out to the 19. The gold-clad Tiger
Stadium crowd was on its feet and loud, as the Brissett and the Gators
gave up five yards on a false start and never recovered against the
swarming Tigers defense. Punter David Lerner's 42-yard effort was
advanced three yards by Mathieu, and LSU began its first drive from
midfield
On LSU's second offensive play, Lee's play-action fake
gave Randle one-on-one coverage on the right side of the field. Lee hit
the receiver in stride for a 46-yard catch and run for a touchdown.
With 12:39 left to play in the opening quarter, LSU led 7-0.
With
Burton under center, Florida gained only four yards and punted for the
second time in as many possessions. A 32-yard punt gave the Tigers
positive field position at its 43.
After burning the Gators deep
on the previous drive, Miles and the Tigers elected to stay on the
ground for its second scoring drive. Ware picked up 24 yards on three
carries before giving way to Blue for runs of 13 and 11 yards to the
Gators 3. Ware tip-toed into the endzone on second down and LSU led
14-0 with 6:40 left in the quarter.
It took a measurement on
fourth-and-1 for the Gators to garner a first down on its ensuing
drive. Rainey then found a crease for a 25-yard run, but just when
Florida looked to gain forward momentum they were charged with a dead
ball personal foul. The mistake pushed Florida to their 40 rather than
the LSU 45. Three plays later, Brissett was pressured by LSU defensive
end Lavar Edwards and overthrew a covered receiver in the middle of the
field. On fourth-and-6 from its 44, Burton took a snap in punt
formation but came up short of the marker when linebacker Luke Muncie
and safety Brandon Taylor closed the hole. LSU took over at the Gators
47.
A penalty put LSU behind in down-and-distance, and another
on Wing's punt that was downed at the Gators 8 caused the Tigers to
punt again. Seeing that Florida quickly turned and ran away from the
Aussie punter, LSU ran a fake of his own. Wing went through the punting
motion but held on to the ball and had an escort of blockers into the
endzone. However, after a 52-yard run, Wing was flagged for
taunting at the Florida 8 and the touchdown was called back.
The
penalty cost the Tigers four points, as LSU gained only five yards on
the next series. Drew Alleman's 35-yard field goal try was good and LSU
led 17-0 with 13:22 left in the half.
Florida suffered
consecutive penalties and found itself with first-and-22 at its 25.
Brissett looked for wide receiver Frankie Hammond deep into LSU
territory, but found the waiting arms of Taylor who returned the
interception to the LSU 47.
LSU and Florida traded punts, but Wing's 36-yard kick was downed on a bounce by Ron Brooks at the Florida 2.
The Tigers took advantage of the change of field position, starting its next drive at the Florida 45 and scoring in two plays.
Taking
the field for the first time, Jefferson connected with Shepard for 37
yards to the Florida 8, where Ware scored for the second time. LSU led
24-0 with 6:50 remaining in the half.
Florida answered with its
most effective drive of the game, a 14-play, 59-yard drive that ended
in a 34-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis on the final play of the half.
The Gators converted two third-and-9 plays to keep the drive alive, and
decided to put points on the board rather than attempt a fourth-and-2
from the LSU 11.
Florida trailed 24-3 at the break after being outgained 210-120.
LSU
overcame a pair of false start penalties with a 22-yard pass from
Jefferson to tight end Deangelo Peterson to the Florida 43. Florida
then gave LSU 25 yards in penalties to setup first-and-goal at the 6.
However, the Tigers couldn't pound it in and settled for a 23-yard
Alleman field goal. LSU led 27-3 with 4:40 to play in the third quarter.
With
LSU attempting to take the air out of the ball and run down the clock,
Florida's quick strike touchdown seemed to energize the Tigers. After
the Gators scored on a 65-yard catch and from by Dubose from Burton,
LSU quickly answered with a scoring drive of its own.
Lee again
found Randle streaking down the sideline for a 57-yard catch and run to
the Florida 3. On third-and-goal from the 2, the Tigers used a classic
Gators play -- a jump pass from Jefferson to Joseph -- for a touchdown
and a 34-11 lead with 12:20 left to play.
A 37-yard kickoff
return by Dubose and a personal foul gave the Gators a start in LSU
territory at the 47. On the first play, Brissett looked for another
quick strike to Jordan Reed in the right corner of the endzone. Mathieu
-- a 5-foot-9 cornerback in coverage against the 6-foot-3 tight end --
went high and took away the would-be touchdown from the Gator for his
second interception of the season.
Later in the fourth quarter,
after an 11-play, 76-yard drive, Blue capped the scoring with a 2-yard
touchdown run with 1:27 remaining.
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