LSU tops Florida, 42-28, behind another Joe Burrow classic, timely freshmen

Florida had carved LSU up all evening on third down.

But when Kyle Trask looked for the end zone on another critical play with less than eight minutes remaining, all the junior quarterback found was a diving Derek Stingley Jr.

LSU's wunderkind cornerback played his receiver closely first, then saw the pass and extended for the interception to swipe possession back for his team.

And senior quarterback Joe Burrow found sophomore Ja'Marr Chase for a 54-yard dagger three plays later to help push the No. 5 Tigers (6-0, 2-0) to a 42-28 defeat of the No. 7 Gators (6-1, 3-1).

"Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games," coach Ed Orgeron said. "(Stingley) gave up some ball. He gave up some balls. (Tight end Kyle Pitts) was a tremendous football player, one of the best players we've seen all year. Give him credit. But we made the plays when we had to."

Burrow and company looked their typically fast-paced, high-powered selves despite the stiff competition.

After watching a promising opening drive come up empty with a missed field goal, LSU scored touchdowns on three of their next four possessions.

The Tigers needed just two plays and 32 seconds to find the end zone with their next opportunity.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire dashed 57 yards to the red zone to set up a 9-yard pass from Burrow to Chase.

Burrow and Edwards-Helaire added a 7-yard pass to junior receiver Justin Jefferson and a 39-yard run, respectively, in the second quarter.

"I think the biggest thing for us is we rushed the ball for (218) yards," Burrow said. "That was unbelievable. I didn't expect that. I think that just goes back to the O-line. They played their tails off for us. And we had three backs that ran the ball hard and found holes, and that opened up the passing game for us."

But Florida kept pace with a methodical 75-yard drive each time.

Kyle Trask and company converted a pair of third downs to march downfield on their first scoring drive, a 6:21 possession capped by a 5-yard pass to Trevon Grimes wide open in the back of the end zone.

Following the Burrow's touchdown to Jefferson, the Gators again went 75 yards in 6:56 to score on a deflected pass from Emory Jones to Lamical Perine.

And a 6-yard pass from Trask to Van Jefferson again drew Florida back even, 21-21, with four seconds remaining in the half.

Florida received the opening kickoff of the third quarter and claimed their first and only lead, 28-21, on a 2-yard Trask-Jefferson connection.

"We couldn't get off the field," Orgeron said. "We wanted to get off the field and get the ball back to our offense. Give them credit, but the first half was not very good defense. We didn't play very good defense, and they kept on nitpicking here and there. But the object was to win the game and play for 60 minutes.

"Our guys came in at halftime, and there was no panic at halftime. We all believed we were gonna win. Great job by our staff and great leadership by our football team."

LSU found just enough timely defensive plays to shut the Gators down the rest of the way, though.

And Burrow and the offense continued churning.

The senior led a game-tying drive of Thaddeus Moss receptions and Edwards-Helaire runs down field, capped by a 5-yard Edwards-Helaire run.

Freshman linebacker Marcel Brooks corralled Trask on third-and-long to help force a quick Florida punt.

And freshman running back Tyrion Davis-Price broke a 33 yard run four plays later to push the Tigers back ahead, 35-28.

"I do believe when you go back to recruiting, these guys have developed," Orgeron said. "Most of these guys have been to our camps. We know a lot about 'em. Stingley being a midyear graduate really helps, with him going through spring ball. And our coaches do a good job of developing those guys and getting them ready. They're veterans already in my opinion."

When the Gators finally made their way back down to the red zone, Stingley extinguished the threat, and Burrow and Chase helped provide some insurance with 5:43 remaining.

Florida converted seven of its first 12 third-down attempts, before going two-for-five down the stretch to fall short.

"We started blitzing, playing man coverage," Orgeron said. "We had to. We had to put some heat on the quarterback. And we had some four-man rushes, but more or less, there were some blitzes."

The Gators eventually found their way into the red zone again in the final minutes.

But junior linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson swallowed Trask on a fourth-down option attempt to allow the Tigers to run out the clock.

Burrow finished 21-for-24 for 293 yards and three touchdowns and ran six times for another 43 yards and a score.

Chase and Jefferson finished with 127 and 123 yards, respectively, and their combined three scores.

Edwards-Helaire led all players with 134 yards on 13 rushes and two touchdowns.

A trio of juniors in Chaisson, safety Grant Delpit and linebacker Patrick Queen each had eight tackles. And Chaisson and Brooks recorded the game's lone sacks.

The Tigers surpassed the 40-point mark for a record ninth straight game, dating back to last season. LSU had never scored 30 points in nine straight games prior to its current streak.

And the victory marked the second-highest point total ever against Florida.