The Florida Gators dropped to 5-5 (3-4 SEC) after a 52-35 loss to the No.19 LSU Tigers (7-3, 5-2 SEC) inside Death Valley in week 11.
I don’t think anyone was expecting Florida’s defense to shut down the No.1 offense in college football, but allowing 52 points and a program high 701 yards of offense is a different story. LSU QB Jayden Daniels put together one of the best performances in college football history, combing for 606 yards of offense and five touchdowns. Daniels became the first player in FBS history to throw for at least 350 yards and rush for at least 200 yards in the same game. Daniels’ 85-yard run against the Gators marks the longest TD run by an LSU QB in their program history.
“The quarterback is exceptional, and I think his legs ultimately are the difference in the game,” Billy Napier said postgame. “I mean, he’s a really good passer, they have great skill [players], they have a good balance of run game that complements his legs. But ultimately, I mean, I think we all can agree that the difference in the game was his ability to take off running.”
If Daniels didn’t already have a strong case for the Heisman, he certainly does now.
Florida’s defense allowed 342 yards of offense in the first half but came up with stops when the Gators needed them most, holding LSU to just 17 points, 1-5 on third downs, and 0-2 on 4th downs in the first 30 minutes of play. In the second half, the Gators forced just one third down attempt and allowed 35 points on 359 yards. The Gators’ defense couldn’t come up with those same stops that kept them in the game in the first half, which ultimately killed any chance at an upset victory for the Orange and Blue.
“The reality is we got off the field on a couple of fourth downs,” Napier said on surrendering a program worst 701 yards. “Ultimately, you’ve got a challenge on your hands relative to matching up. You know, you’re going to deny the ball, you’re going to play man or match coverage, and then all of a sudden you’ve got your back to the guy and he takes off running, right? Or, you can choose to die a slow death and play zone, play coverage, try to keep him in the pocket. And we did a mixture of both all night. I do think the game comes down to matchups, and sometimes you can help your players and sometimes the players just gotta go play.”
The Gators’ youth hurt them at times in this contest, but the constant theme of missed tackles, not containing the QB, and losing one on ones to more physical receivers was the difference maker.
“I think ultimately we’re approaching 30 percent of the snaps this year from true freshmen. We’re probably playing more young players than anybody in America. There’s some issues that come with that,” Napier said postgame.
LSU averaged 9.4 yards per rush and 21.9 yards per completion in the contest. Star wide receivers Brian Thomas and Malik Nabers caused all kinds of issues for the Gators tonight as the duo recorded a combined 283 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just 12 catches. The Gators just couldn’t stop the explosive plays on Saturday night.
The reality is that Florida has other weaknesses, but you will not win many games with the defensive effort we saw tonight. Florida was able to put up nearly 500 yards of offense and 35 points on the road in front a sold-out SEC crowd, but the Gators didn’t stand much of a chance with a historically bad defensive showing.