Short-handed LSU stuns No. 6 Florida, 37-34, on Cade York's 57-yard winner

Cade York sent the football sailing through the thick Florida fog just as a Gators defender had his teammate's shoe minutes earlier.

LSU's sophomore kicker's game-winner easily cleared the crossbar 57 yards away with 23 seconds remaining to stun the No. 6 Gators (8-2) in the 37-34 thriller.

"I don't think about what would happen if I miss," York explained after the school record-setting field goal. "I only think about what would happen if I make it. And what I was thinking about before the kick was running down the field doing the Gator chomp. So I got to do that."

The Tigers' victory was an instant and emotional highlight for a frustrating season desperately in need of them — particularly on a week headlined by opt-outs, self-imposed bowl bans and questions regarding the program's culture.

Coach Ed Orgeron and senior safety JaCoby Stevens repeated compared the upset to LSU's trip to Gainesville, Fla., in 2017.

The Tigers, reeling off a 24-21 home loss to Troy, upset No. 21 Florida that week, 17-16.

"Everybody thought we were gonna lose, and everybody rallied together," said Stevens, who was a freshman on that team. "Really, that was the game right there, the turning point for the program and the (2019) championship team. So this year, this week, that's what we've been telling the younger guys.

"And we had a freshman quarterback step up, and we had Cade kick a 60-yard field goal, and, you know, that's a classic SEC win right there."

The Gators had appeared just minutes earlier to have denied their surprisingly pesky guests even the opportunity.

Florida stopped LSU well short of converting a third-and-10 from its own 25-yard line and had senior punter Zach Von Rosenberg headed to the field with more than two minutes remaining.

Instead, redshirt junior defensive back Marco Wilson snatched freshman tight end Kole Taylor's cleat and hurled it 20 yards down the field for a head-scratching unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

"I don't think I've ever been in a game where an opponent threw a shoe, to be honest with you," Orgeron laughed, joking, "I think it was a great job by (Director of Equipment Greg) Stringfellow to loosen up that shoe before the play."

The coach said he didn't see the actual throw, but "just saw three flags on the ground, and I was happy."

Max Johnson and the offense retook the field from their 44 with new downs and maneuvered their way to the Gators' 39-yard line.

"We were told to get to the 33-yard line," the true freshman quarterback said. "We didn't, but Cade made a great kick for us. And we ended up with the win."

Senior quarterback Kyle Trask led Florida quickly into range for its own 51-yard attempt at an answer.

But junior Evan McPherson's kick cut wide to the left to give the Tigers the first back-to-back wins by either school in the always-heated since they won three straight from 2013-2015.

LSU has now won three of the past four meetings, six of the past eight and eight of the past 11.

"I was so proud of our football players and our coaching staff," Orgeron said. "They fought under very adverse conditions. Blocking out the noise was key this week, and we had to believe in ourselves. Our players came here to win the football game.

"We talked about it last night. We felt that we could win. We hadn't played very well. And I'm just so proud of the grit and the toughness in a lot of young players and a lot of older players giving it everything they've got for the Tigers."

Johnson completed 21 of 36 passes (58.3 percent) for 239 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start.

Fellow true freshman Kayshon Boutte led his eight receivers with five catches for 108 yards and a 34-yard score on a pivotal possession before halftime.

And an inconsistent and much-maligned offensive line made a case for its strongest showing of the season, given the circumstances.

The group allowed the SEC's best pass-rush two sacks of its freshman quarterback and paved the way for LSU's second-highest rushing total of the season at 179 yards.

"I was really comfortable," Johnson said. "(Offensive coordinator Steve) Ensminger put me in the right positions. I mean, the O-line did a great job. They protected me really well tonight. The backs did a great job, and the receivers went and made plays for me. So, yeah, it was a great game for us."

The pieces of the improbable outcome began falling into place from the opening possession.

LSU traveled to Gainesville, Fla., with just 54 active scholarship players, of the typical 85 allotted a Division-I program, and ultimately held star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. sidelined from the contest.

"I just think that you've gotta give credit to the players, the leadership," Orgeron said. "I think JaCoby Stevens did a tremendous job of leading the football team, (right tackle) Austin Deculus, (linebacker) Jabril Cox, those, then the young guys stepped in. There was a want-to about winning tonight."

Florida struck quickly downfield — thanks to a 44-yard pass from Trask to Kadarius Toney — only to be held out of the end zone on three straight plays inside the 10-yard line.

The Gators lined up for a field goal until an LSU offsides penalty made them reconsider.

And, from just 1 yard out, the Tigers — led by Stevens, Neil Farrell Jr. and Maurice Hampton Jr. — came up with one more stop to complete the stand.

After a quick stop, Florida managed to break through on its second possession.

A targeting penalty against Cordale Flott helped the Gators quickly back into the red zone and left LSU suddenly without its most experienced available cornerback.

"Of course we want all those guys, but Coach O preaches it for a reason: It's next man up, because you never know what can happen," Stevens said. "In a perfect world, those guys stay in and stay healthy and do what they do best, but it never works that way."

And once Trask and company reached the 1-yard line yet again, the quarterback kept and carried the rest of the way for a 7-0 lead.

But an unfazed Johnson and the Tigers marched 75 yards for the immediate answer, a 5-yard pass dropped over coverage to sophomore receiver Jaray Jenkins.

True freshman cornerback Elias Ricks, who himself left briefly with an apparent injury, snatched an interception two Florida possessions later and darted 68 yards to LSU's first lead since a Nov. 21 win at Arkansas.

The Gators returned to the red zone on their next possession, only for a pass to the sideline to ricochet off a receiver and be batted by another freshman cornerback, Dwight McGlothern, to sophomore Jay Ward for an interception.

A pair of LSU punts finally allowed its hosts to build some momentum with a 23-yard McPherson field goal and 19-yard pass from Trask to Jacob Copeland on consecutive possessions to regain a 17-14 lead with 2:25 left in the half.

But the Tigers manufactured a drive to eat most of that remaining time, then capitalized on a coverage miscue to pull back ahead, 21-17, on a 34-yard strike from Johnson to Boutte.

And senior linebacker Ray Thornton swiped the ball away from Trask in the final seconds of the half.

Freshman defensive end B.J. Ojulari scooped the ball up and headed down field to set up a 39-yard field goal by York as time expired in the second quarter with a 24-17 edge.

"We were very disappointed in the way we've played," Orgeron said. "But we fought. We stuck together as a team. And, you know, this was the first time for a lot of these young players in The Swamp. They believed in each other, they blocked out the noise, and they did a tremendous job."

A 30-yarder by York in the third quarter provided the Tigers' their first 10-point lead, 27-17, since a 37-second span in the second quarter at Arkansas.

And this instance didn't last much longer, as Trask capped a four-play, 74-yard drive in 1:37 with another 1-yard keeper to pull back to within 27-24.

The Gators went 81 yards in just five plays and 2:05 on their next possession, with Trask finding Toney for a 9-yard score and 31-27 lead to end the third quarter.

A depleted LSU team's grasp on the back-and-forth affair appeared to be slipping.

But, instead, the young Tigers showed the better poise down the stretch to survive the stage.

"There were a lot of motivational speeches last night," Orgeron said. "And I told 'em, 'This is the same room that we sat in after we lost to Troy, and they missed the extra point at the end. It may come down to that, but whatever it comes down to, we're gonna fight to the very end. And they did."

The defense forced three straight Florida three-and-outs.

And Johnson led an 84-yard drive to open the fourth quarter with a go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard pass to Kevontre Bradford, the first score of the freshman running back's career.

The Gators finally drew back even on a 31-yard field goal by McPherson with 2:51 remaining and appeared moments from a chance to punctuate their senior-night celebration on a positive note.

But the shoe heard 'round the college football world gave LSU second life.

And, even as the fog grew thicker and the offense fell short of its target yard-line, Orgeron turned to his young kicker.

He just made sure not to speak to him.

"I didn't wanna mess him up," Orgeron laughed. "I just let him go. But I talked to (special teams coordinator Greg McMahon), and I said, "Mack, what do you think?' And he said, 'We're gonna make it.'"

The rest, in that regard, is history.

"Throughout the whole year, it was 'almost,'" Stevens said. "We almost had this, or we almost got that. And this time, we finally got it, and we have something that we can build around and something that we can just grow from.

"Wins like these and moments like these, like Coach O and (strength) coach (Tommy) Moffitt said, you're never gonna forget these. We're gonna be 50, 60 years old talking about Cade kicking a field goal and Max diving on a third down to stretch for a first down. So these moments never can be taken away."

The Tigers rebounded from a 55-17 loss to No. 1 Alabama the previous week and improved their record to 4-5 heading into a season finale next Saturday at home against Ole Miss.

An LSU victory would end a rollercoaster 2020 with an even record and avoid the ignominious distinction of becoming the first national champion to suffer a losing season the following year since Ohio State did so in 1943.

"I said, 'You know what, guys? When we beat Florida, this could be the building blocks of turning around our program, just like it did in 2017,'" Orgeron said. "There's a lot of young players, and we beat a very good football team. That's the best Florida team that we have faced, especially offensively, and I think it gives our guys some confidence and some building blocks. Like I said, we're building a championship team, and we showed it tonight."