Florida goal line stand ends LSU's Sugar Bowl plans
Derrius Guice was stopped short of the goal line on fourth-and-one on the final play of the game to give Florida a 16-10 victory against LSU in a Southeastern Conference game at Tiger Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
HOW THEY SCORED
FIRST QUARTER
LSU 7, Florida 0
Score: Guice 1-yard run. Colby Delahoussaye kick. Time Remaining: 2:36. Drive: 80 yards in 12 plays. Time of Possession: 6:03. Key Play: On second-and-9, Danny Etling completed a 17 yard pass to Colin Jeter for a first down at Florida’s 6.
SECOND QUARTER
LSU 7, Florida 3
Score: Eddy Pineiro 36-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 13:19. Drive: 39 yards in 10 plays. Time of Possession: 4:08. Key Play: On second-and-one, Jordan Scarlett ran three yards for a first down at LSU’s 23.
THIRD QUARTER
Florida 10, LSU 7
Score: Tyrie Cleveland 98-yard pass from Austin Appleby. Pineiro kick. Time Remaining: 8:57. Drive: 98 yards in 1 play. Time of Possession: :13.
FOURTH QUARTER
Florida 10, LSU 10
Score: Delahoussaye 22-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 12:18. Drive: 79 yards in 12 plays. Time of Possession: 5:43. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Etling completed a 17-yard pass to DeSean Smith for a first down at Florida’s 14.
Florida 13, LSU 10
Score: PIneiro 26-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 4:37. Drive: 70 yards in 15 plays. Time of Possession: 7:37. Key Play: On second-and-11, Lamical Perine ran 22 yards for a first down at LSU’s 4.
Florida 16, LSU 10
Score: Pineiro 34 yard-field goal. Time Remaining: 3:24. Drive: 5 yards in 4 plays. Time of Possession: 1:05. Key Play: Vosean Joseph recovered a Donte Jackson fumble on a kickoff return at LSU’s 21.
LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
DJ Chark only touched the ball five times, but he gained nearly 97 yards. Used three times as a runner, Chark picked up 51 yards – his longest being a 29-yard gain. He caught two passes for 46 yards. Chark was responsible for the biggest play on LSU’s final series when he grabbed a pass from Etling on a fourth-and-ten play and gained 30 yards to Florida’s 18.
LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Outside linebacker Arden Key put pressure on Appleby all game long. Key finished with eight tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage. Key recorded one sack – his tenth of the year – and two quarterback-hurries. Key is now tied with Rydell Malancon for the third most sacks in a single season for a Tigers player. The school record is 12 set by Oliver Lawrence in 1989.
WHY LSU LOST
The Tigers made enough mistakes to prevent them from beating any team, much less a team trying to win a division title. Guice lost a fumble inside Florida’s 5. Josh Growden dropped a snap on a 19-yard field goal attempt. Jackson was beaten in man coverage by Cleveland for a 98-yard touchdown pass, Jackson also lost a fumble on a kickoff. John David Moore and Guice were tackled short of the goal line on two attempts from the Gators’ 1 on the last two plays of the game.
NOTABLE TEAM STATISTICS
LSU outgained Florida by more than 150 yards. The Tigers finished with 423 yards – 219 yards rushing and 204 yards passing. The Gators ran for 126 yards and passed for 144 yards for a total of 270 yards. . .Florida’s punting average was 52.2 yards, while LSU’s punting average was 36.7 yards. . .The Tigers had two turnovers – both lost fumbles. The Gators had no turnovers. . .LSU had the ball for 34 minutes. The Tigers ran 19 more plays than Florida. . .LSU was 7-of-14 on third-down plays, while the Gators converted on only four of its third-down situations. . .Florida had three trips into the red-zone and kicked field goals each time. LSU had the ball inside the Gators’ 20 five times and came away with points only twice.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
LSU
Derrius Guice: 19 carries, 83 yards, 1 touchdown; 1 catch, 29 yards
Danny Etling: 25 attempts, 14 completions, 204 yards
DJ Chark: 2 catches, 46 yards; 3 carries, 51 yards
Malachi Dupre: 2 catches, 39 yards
Colin Jeter: 2 catches, 35 yards
Desean Smith: 2 catches, 24 yards
Dee Anderson: 2 catches, 14 yards
Arden Key: 8 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss, 2 quarterback-hurries, 1 sack
John Battle: 8 tackles
Duke Riley: 8 tackles
Dwayne Thomas: 4 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 1 quarterback-hurry
Tre’Davious White: 2 tackles, 4 pass breakups
FLORIDA
Jordan Scarlett: 22 carries, 108 yards
Austin Appleby: 17 attempts, 7 completions, 144 yards, 1 touchdown
Tyrie Cleveland: 3 catches, 124 yards, 1 touchdown
David Reese: 12 tackles, ½ tackle-for-loss
Marcell Harris: 11 tackles
Caleb Brantley: 5 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss, 1 forced fumble
NOTES
Leonard Fournette did not start, but he did play. Fournette had 12 carries for 40 yards. However, Fournette was not in the game on the last two series. . .Maea Teuhema started at right tackle, but Toby Weathersby played most of the game at that position. . .Linebacker Kendell Beckwith left the game with an injury in the first half and did not return. He was replaced in the lineup by Donnie Alexander. . .LSU’s defense continued to be the only FBS team not to allow any opponent to score more than 21 points this season. . .Guice finished the game with 964 rushing yards for the season. So, he needs just 36 yards Thursday against Texas A&M to reach the 1,000-yard mark. . .Freshman wide receiver Dee Anderson made his first two receptions of the year. . .Moore carried the ball four times for 15 yards. . .Battle’s eight tackles were a career-high. . .There was a scuffle on the field more than one hour before the game. Fournette and a Florida assistant coach initiated the confrontation on the field. . .LSU is 6-4 overall, 4-3 in the SEC. The Tigers will lose at least three league games for the fourth straight year. . .Florida is 8-2 overall, 6-2 in the SEC. The Gators won the Eastern Division for the second consecutive year. Florida will play Alabama once again in the SEC championship game. . .The paid attendance was 102,043.
FROM THE LOCKERROOM
Coach Ed Orgeron’s comments: “We came up short. The guys fought to the end. We outgained them 423 to 270. We shot ourselves in the foot. We had two turnovers which were really costly. Our red zone offense was poor. We didn’t play well on special teams. The botched field goal snap hurt us. The last play was a short toss, but the back (Guice) went the wrong way. This was the worst we’ve played since we started our new season. This was a tough loss, particularly with the way we lost at the end. It came down to execution at the end. We should have won this game.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play Texas A&M at Kyle Field in College Station on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Central. The Aggies (8-3, 4-3) defeated Texas-San Antonio 23-10 in College Station on Saturday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.