Brandon Spikes will never be a punter, but he's doing pretty well at linebacker.
After his second interception of the night - this one for a touchdown - UF's middle linebacker booted the ball out of the end zone four rows into the stands.
"I never took a pick to the house ever in my football career, and just the passion for the game kind of took over," Spikes said.
UF punter Chas Henry doesn't have to worry about job security, and he told Spikes after the kick that he shanked it.
The Gators' defensive captain led the way on Saturday night, tallying his first career interception in the first quarter, swinging momentum in the direction of No. 11 UF and stealing any smidgen of it No. 4 LSU was building.
Then, just to seal the deal, three quarters later, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior picked off another errant pass from Jarrett Lee, lumbering 52 yards into the end zone to put UF up 41-14 to begin the fourth quarter.
That's how it went all night for the Gators defense on their way to defeating a previously unbeaten Tigers team. They had a shutout going until five seconds remained in the first half, and they allowed three touchdowns to the defending national champions, a team that averaged just more than five per game heading into Saturday night's contest.
UF held LSU running back Charles Scott to just 35 yards on the ground. Scott came into the game as the No. 7 runner in the nation.
"If guys hit their gaps, there's nowhere for them to run to," Spikes said. "So I think the guys up front did a great job with relentless effort."
Three possessions into the game, the Gators had scored 17 points and looked like the offense fans had been expecting all season. But three possessions into the game, the bigger story was LSU's offense - or lack thereof.
The Tigers ran 11 plays on their first three possessions. Two were punts, and one was a fumble.
That's how dominant UF's defense was through the entire first half, only letting LSU score on their frantic, last-minute drive to end the second quarter.
Before that drive, the Tigers had racked up just 70 yards of offense. In the entire first quarter, the Tigers managed just 4 yards.
"It might be the best defensive performance in recent history," UF coach Urban Meyer said. "Our defense really answered the call against the run."
After a shaky stint to end the first half and open the second when the defense allowed 14 points in two drives, they buckled back down, getting the Tigers to go three-and-out after UF's first touchdown of the third quarter.
The Gators got the ball back after the Tigers' three-and-out, scored again, and never looked back.
