LSU came into Saturday night’s showdown in The Swamp with the second-worst scoring offense in the Southeastern Conference but made use of a short field time and again in a 33-29 win against Florida.
The Tigers ran off 16 unanswered points on three possessions that started from the Gators’ side of the field after falling behind 14-10 in the second quarter.
UF’s defense was put in tough situations by its offense, which failed to move the ball against LSU and twice turned it over on the wrong side of the 50-yard line.
“It’s a team game, and obviously our offense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain,” coach Urban Meyer said.
In the second quarter, the Gators took over on their own 5-yard line after multiple penalties backed them up on a punt return. The offense moved backward to the 1-yard line over three plays, and punter Chas Henry could only unload a 38-yard punt as he kicked with his heels on the back of the end zone.
Two plays later, Jarrett Lee found Terrence Toliver, who broke a tackle and dragged Janoris Jenkins into the end zone, completing a 38-yard catch and run.
“(Missed tackles) were definitely a problem,” linebacker Jon Bostic said. “That’s one thing we say: We play great defense here, and we can’t have missed tackles.”
On the next offensive series, UF running back Emmanuel Moody broke through to the second level of LSU’s defense but fumbled, setting up the Tigers for a field goal as time ran out in the second quarter.
LSU’s offense had to wait until the fourth quarter to score again, this time taking over on the UF 38-yard line after quarterback John Brantley’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Morris Claiborne. This time Jordan Jefferson punched in a 3-yard run to put the Tigers ahead 26-14.
In all, LSU scored 16 points while moving the ball a combined 98 yards.
LSU came into the game averaging 131 passing yards per contest, but Lee and Jefferson combined to throw for 224 yards while turning the ball over just once.
After last week’s game with Alabama, in which the Crimson Tide scored two touchdowns after taking over on UF’s side of the field, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said his group has to do a better job in “sudden change” situations.
But his unit once again couldn’t overcome being backed into a corner by its own offense.
