Rewind: LSU 17, Florida 6

Getty images

LSU allowed just two field goals as the Tigers pounded their way to a 17-6 victory against Florida in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.

HOW THEY SCORED

Score: Francisco Velez 44-yard field goal. Florida 3, LSU 0

Drive: 14 plays, 60 yards

Time of Possession: 7:27

Time Remaining: 4:28, first quarter

Key Play: On third-and-one, Mack Brown ran for two yards and a first down at LSU's 36.

Score: J.C. Copeland 1-yard run. Colby Delahoussaye PAT. LSU 7, Florida 3

Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards

Time of Possession: 4:26

Time Remaining: 14:56, second quarter

Key Play: On third-and-six, Cody Riggs was called for pass interference against Odell Beckham which gave LSU a first down at Florida's 2.

Score: Anthony Jennings 1-yard run. Delahoussaye kick. LSU 14, Florida 3

Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards

Time of Possession: 4:14

Time Remaining: 5:14, second quarter

Key Play: On third-and-17, Zach Mettenberger completed a 22-yard pass to Beckham for a first down at Florida's 25.

Score: Velez 27-yard field goal. LSU 14, Florida 6

Drive: 11 plays, 41 yards

Time of Possession: 5:03

Time Remaining: 12:11, fourth quarter

LSU running game answers the callClick Key Play: On third-and-one, Tyler Murphy ran for one yard. Jermauria Rasco was also penalized for grabbing the face mask which gave Florida a first down at LSU's 7. Here to view this Link.

Score: Delahoussaye 31-yard field goal. LSU 17, Florida 6

Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards

Time of Possession: 4:13

Time Remaining: 7:58, fourth quarter

Key Play: On second-and-three, Jeremy Hill ran for 26 yards and a first down at Florida's 19.

TURNING POINT

Midway through the second quarter, LSU faced a third-and-17 at Florida's 47. Mettenberger made his most important completion of the night - a 22-yarder to Beckham. Three plays later, Jennings scored a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak. That touchdown made it a two-possession game at 14-3. The Tigers held that 11-point advantage for all but about three minutes the rest of the game.

Les Miles post-game video

LSU KEY OFFENSIVE PERFORMERS

The offensive stars were the five linemen who both blocked well and protected Mettenberger. Tigers running backs picked up 175 yards on 33 carries - an average of more than five yards per try. Florida had no sacks and no quarterback-hurries against Mettenberger. The starting line of left tackle La'el Collins, left guard Vadal Alexander, center Elliott Porter, right guard Trai Turner and right tackle Jerald Hawkins - played every snap. Hill was the leading rusher with 121 yards on 19 carries.

LSU KEY DEFENSIVE PERFORMERS

Linebacker Lamin Barrow made a career-high 13 tackles, including one for a loss, and broke up a pass. Safety Craig Loston returned to the lineup and was credited with a career-equaling best nine tackles and one pass breakup. Safety Corey Thompson, who started instead of Ronald Martin, had a career-high seven tackles. End Danielle Hunter recorded seven tackles and the first two pass deflections of his career. Rasco finished with four tackles and four quarterback-hurries. Cornerback Tre'Davious White and linebacker Kwon Alexander also made seven tackles.

LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES

The Tigers had very few scoring opportunities against a tough Florida defense. LSU came away with points on three of its four possessions inside the Gators' 30 - two touchdowns and a field goal. On the fourth-quarter field-goal drive, the Tigers had a first down at Florida's 19. But, Delahoussaye was called on to attempt a 31-yard field goal after LSU gained just five yards on three plays. The Tigers had a chance of building a larger lead in the second quarter, but Mettenberger lost a fumble at the Gators' 27. As a result of that turnover, LSU's lead remained at four points at 7-3.

LSU CRITICAL MISTAKES

List of recruits spotted at LSU-Florida gameClick Mettenberger's lost fumble when the ball slipped out of his hands was the one mistake made by the offense. The defense limited the big runs made by the Gators. Kelvin Taylor had a 14-yard run, while Murphy scrambled for ten yards. Murphy completed just one pass of 20 yards - to Demarcus Robinson. Rasco was guilty of a grabbing the face mask penalty which set up Florida's second field goal.Here to view this Link.

KEY STATISTICS

Florida tailbacks - Brown, Taylor and Matt Jones - accounted for 125 yards on 29 carries. Murphy, who was 15-of-27, averaged slightly more than four yards per passing attempt. Murphy was sacked four times and was hurried on another five occasions. LSU converted five of its nine third-down situations. The Tigers won even though the Gators had the ball for more than 34 minutes. LSU was credited with eight tackles-for-loss, including the four sacks. Tigers tailbacks rushed for 155 yards on 28 carries - an average of 5.5 yards per try. Mettenberger passed for a season-low 152 yards as he completed nine of 17 passes. Jarvis Landry and Beckham combined for only six receptions.

NOTES

Video: John Chavis post-game interviewClick By recording its sixth victory, LSU is bow eligible for a 14th consecutive season. . .Florida was the first team not to score a touchdown against the Tigers since Washington last September. LSU beat the Huskies 41-3. It had been 34 seasons since the Gators failed to score a touchdown against the Tigers. LSU beat Florida 20-3 in 1979. . .The Tigers' eight tackles-for-loss and four sacks are their most since the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Clemson last season. . .Mettenberger moved ahead of Alan Risher into seventh place on LSU's school passing rankings. Mettenberger has thrown for 4,591 yards. . .Beckham, who made two receptions, extended his streak to 21 straight games with a catch. . .Hill had the fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and the eighth of his career. Both Charles Scott and Harvey Williams had eight 100-yard games in their careers. . .Delahoussaye has made the first eight field goal attempts of his career. David Browndyke had the record by being successful on his first seven field goal tries. . .White matched his season-high in tackles with seven. He had seven tackles against Auburn. . .Jalen Mills had his first career sack while blitzing from a nickel back position. . . LSU's record is 6-1, 3-1 in the SEC. Florida is 4-2, 3-1 in the conference. . .The paid attendance was 92,980. . .With both teams running the ball so often, the time of the game was 3:07.Here to view this Link.

WHAT THE HEAD COACH HAD TO SAY

Les Miles: "Florida required us to play better and challenged us. Certainly, we answered the challenge. Defensively, we were getting off blocks and we were tackling line-of-scrimmage plays. We were getting in predictable third-down situations in rushing the passer. When that happens, you are not going to score a lot of points against us. Offensively, Zach didn't have his best night, but he didn't have a bad night either. But, he threw the ball when we needed him to. Really, it was kind of the big men. The defensive line played well and the offensive line played well.. It was kind of an average scoring night - one in which the defense won, the offense won and special teams won. If that recipe continues to hold up, we'll be awfully good."

NEXT UP

LSU will play Ole Miss next Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The Rebels (3-2, 1-2) played host to Texas A&M on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Discuss this LSU news with other Tiger fans on the TigerBait.com Penthouse message board HERE.