LSU can't find late-game magic in 27-19 loss at Florida

Florida's pass rush had stymied LSU all afternoon.

And with the back-and-forth SEC battle on the line in the final minutes, the Gators' defense again rose to the occasion.

The No. 5 Tigers (5-1, 2-1) retook the field with 2:21 remaining, down just one point. But a hurried Joe Burrow threw the first interception of his career to New Orleans native Brad Stewart Jr. for a pick-six.

And when LSU's offense returned — now trailing by eight — timely pressure and a second straight interception, this time by Donovan Stiner, sealed away a 27-19 victory for No. 22 Florida (5-1, 3-1).

The Tigers had struck first, but struggled to move the football for huge stretches after that encouraging start.

LSU marched 75 yards down the field on game-opening drive punctuated with a 4-yard Nick Brossette touchdown run.

Florida took advantage of a short field later in the quarter, turned a start at LSU's 43-yard line into a 1-yard Lamical Perine equalizer.

The Tigers settled for a 33-yard Cole Tracy field goal two possessions later to regain a 10-7 edge.

And the Gators answered with an immediate 75-yard drive and 3-yard score from Feleipe Franks to Moral Stephens to claim their first lead of the day, 14-10.

Tracy drew LSU back to within 14-13 with a 42-yard field goal late in an otherwise frustrating third quarter.

Five of the team's eight penalties for 53 of its 75 penalty yards stalled drives and hurt field position.

And then Brossette finally broke free again for runs of 31 and 47 and a 1-yard touchdown to go ahead, 19-14, early in the fourth.

A two-point conversion failed, though.

And Franks and company again had an immediate, 75-yard answer highlighted by an option run that gave the Tigers fits all afternoon and a 15-yard gadget-play completion to the quarterback from tight end Lucas Krull.

Perine capped the drive with a 2-yard score for a 20-19 Florida lead after a failed conversion attempt of its own.

Burrow and company had opportunities to win or tie in the final minutes.

But, this time, the Gators found more game-sealing plays.

LSU closely matched Florida statistically, but lost the turnover battle with just one takeaway to its three giveaways.

Burrow completed 19 of his 34 attempts for 191 yards passing — despite late interceptions and dropped passes.

The interception by Stewart, the McDonogh 35 product, marked the first of Burrow after 158 previous passes.

Franks finished 12-for-27 for 161 yards, the touchdown and an interception by Tigers safety Grant Delpit.

Brossette led all rushers with 95 yards, and sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire added 55.

But Florida rushers Perine and Jordan Scarlett managed series of big runs to help fuel scoring drives and finish with 85 and 65 yards, respectively.

And Gators junior Josh Hammond led all receivers with 85 yards on three catches, with junior Van Jefferson adding 44 yards on a game-high four receptions.

Justin Jefferson's three catches for 50 yards led LSU receivers, and Derrick Dillon caught four balls for 42 yards.