Davis-Price, Tigers Run Wild, Run Over Gators

BATON ROUGE, La. — When an opposing Florida working again is invoking the identify (and breaking data held by) Herschel Walker, properly, issues in all probability aren’t going to finish properly for the Gators. 

LSU’s Tyrion Davis-Value rushed 36 instances for a school-record 287 yards and three touchdowns, main the Tigers to a 49-42 upset of Twentieth-ranked UF of their high-noon Southeastern Convention shootout Saturday at Tiger Stadium. 

Quarterback Max Johnson handed for 133 yards and three touchdowns, together with a 1-yarder to Jaray Jenkins on fourth-and-goal for the go-ahead rating with 3:30 to play within the recreation. That left issues to UF counterpart Anthony Richardson, who changed starter Emory Jones early within the third quarter and led the Florida offense on 4 straight landing drives. His shot at a fifth, although, ended when Richardson tried to power a go for extensive receiver Rick Wells up the left sideline and excessive of the LSU protection. The ball was intercepted by linebacker Damone Clark, who had Wells blanketed, with 1:59 to play. 

The Tigers, 10-point underdogs at residence, ran out the clock from there, handing the Gators (4-3, 2-3) a 3rd straight loss within the collection and leaving them buried deep within the Southeastern Convention East Division standings heading right into a bye week. 

And with a date in opposition to No. 1 Georgia on the opposite aspect. 

“We’ll consider numerous issues,” Coach Dan Mullen stated. “We bought to play higher. We’ll consider all of it. We bought to educate higher, play higher, have a look at our personnel and ensure we’re placing guys in the proper place to make performs.” 

LSU (4-3, 2-2) started the day ranked 127th (out of 130 FBS applications) in speeding offense at simply 83.3 yards per recreation. The Tigers completed with 454 yards, together with 321 on the bottom in opposition to a UF protection that was permitting simply 108.5 floor yards per recreation. Davis-Value got here into the sport with 288 yards on 67 carries for the season. He left it with faculty single-game speeding report, breaking the mark of 285 set by Derrius Guice in opposition to Texas A&M in 2016, in addition to breaking the 41-year-old report of Walker, who buried the Gators for 238 yards in Georgia’s notorious 1980 win in Jacksonville (see Scott, Lindsay). 

Of Davis-Value’s 36 carries, none went for unfavourable yardage. 

“I instructed them to feed me,” Davis-Value stated of his coaches, who did simply that. 

CHARTING THE GATORS 

Essentially the most single-game speeding yards ever gained in opposition to Florida. 

Offensively, the Gators outgained the Tigers with 488 yards and — two weeks after being flagged 15 instances within the loss at Kentucky — didn’t commit a single penalty. None. They did, nevertheless, have 4 turnovers to LSU’s none. These giveaways (three of which led to Tiger TDs) mixed with the speeding yardage discrepancy (UF got here in No. 1 within the SEC at 273.7 per recreation, however completed with simply 138) proved the distinction. 

“They’ve a proficient working again who was making performs,” stated Florida linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, who led his unit with 9 tackles. “They bought us out of place a few instances. That they had scheme and ran a pair issues we hadn’t seen earlier than and we did not know have been coming.”

As if the group’s defensive points weren’t unsettling sufficient, Mullen now has a full-blown quarterback controversy on his arms. Richardson, clearly again from the sore hamstring that sidelined him for the primary two SEC video games, shook off an interception on his second of two first-half possessions, and stepped in for Jones on the second collection of the third quarter with the Gators trailing 28-13. UF’s subsequent 4 drives, with Richardson on the controls, appeared like this: 75, 75, 65 and 75 yards, all for touchdowns. 

“He bought scorching, so we caught with him,” Mullen stated. “We had some momentum, offensively.”

The Gators, although, by no means managed to get the lead as a result of the Tigers’ offense — with somewhat of Johnson and numerous Davis-Value — wouldn’t allow them to. 

The quarterback scenario, clearly, will probably be amongst Mullen’s multitude of evaluations over the following two weeks. 

Richardson’s ideas on the topic?

“That is not my time or opinion to talk on,” Richardson stated. “I used to be simply on the market enjoying. Coach Mullen put me on the market. He belief me sufficient to play. That is all I used to be making an attempt to do.” 

Florida truly led the sport early, with a Jones-led drive that included a 22-yard reception by the quarterback on an end-around go from Trent Whittemore. It ended when tailback Dameon Pierce slammed in from seven yards to place UF on high halfway via the interval. Chris Howard’s point-after was blocked. The UF protection adopted that rating with one other cease and the Gators have been in good condition so as to add to the lead once they bought the ball again at their 47. Enter Richardson for his scripted third collection. He handed off twice, then was stopped for a two-yard loss on third-and-8. The Gators punted and pinned the Tigers at their 10. 

LSU’s subsequent drive: 90 yards, 13 performs, 5:09. Alongside the way in which, the Tigers transformed a third-and-15 and third-and-5 to achieve the UF 23 on the finish of the quarter. The second interval started with a 5-yard run by Davis-Value, adopted by his 18-yard landing off proper sort out. Cade York’s additional level was good, giving LSU a 7-6 benefit. 

Later within the quarter, UF reached the LSU 38 and was threatening to take the lead, however Jones’ third-down go for Whittemore was excessive and tipped and intercepted by defensive again Micah Baskerville, who returned the ball 54 yards to the Florida 28. Whittemore was additionally harm on the play didn’t return. 

On first down, Johnson, beneath stress from defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, caught an ideal post-pattern throw to Jenkins, who bought inside place on nickelback Tre’Vez Johnson and hauled within the 28-yard rating to go forward 14-6 on the 9:31 mark of the second quarter. 

Enter Richardson once more. On first down, rolling proper, he tried to power a go to Kemore Gamble streaking upfield. Not solely was the tight finish properly lined, however free security Jay Ward, laying in wait, simply tracked the ball for an interception and returned the play 26 yards to the UF 21. Three snaps later, Johnson play-faked and located Jenkins for a 5-yard landing go and 21-6 lead with 5:51 left within the quarter. 

A rout was within the offing. So it appeared. 

LSU pressured one other UF punt and regardless of beginning at its 11 with 2:45 to go earlier than halftime had performs of 24 and 50 yards referred to as again for penalties earlier than punting away with 29 seconds left. Florida began at its 23 with one timeout left. A 24-yard completion to Shorter bought the ball to the LSU 42 with 5 seconds remaining. The Gators took their final timeout and — bypassing a field-goal try of 60 yards — let Jones drop and sky the ball into the top zone, the place Shorter, surrounded by 4 LSU defenders, caught the “Hail Mary” heave within the deep proper nook and bought one foot down as time expired. 

“It was simply focus,” stated Shorter, who completed with six catches for 113 yards and two scores. “I simply [saw] the ball into my arms like Coach teaches us each single day. It was an ideal play. We have been searching for one thing like that to spring us to the second half.” 

Howard’s PAT made it 21-13 on the break, with the Gators due the second half kickoff. 

On the second snap of the second half, Jones had Malik Davis extensive open on a wheel route up the left sideline. The go was just below thrown, however Davis tried to achieve and catch it off his shoe laces in stride, as an alternative of taking place to get it. Subsequent snap, on third and eight, Jones tried to power a throw to a blanketed Shorter throughout the center. Cornerback Dwight McGlothern intercepted the go and dodged his approach to a 37-yard pick-6 return that put LSU up 28-13 and principally negated the miracle “Mary” that ended the primary half. 

Again got here Richardson on the following collection; for some time, because it turned out. He began with two incompletions, however LSU cornerback Raydarious Jones canceled out the second when he stood over Shorter, the meant receiver, and bought a 15-yard taunting penalty. Completions of 27 yards to Pierce and 11 to Shorter bought the ball to the Tigers’ 5, the place Richardson scored on a QB draw, then added one other run for the two-point conversion. Rapidly, the rating was 28-21. 

Even faster, it was 35-21. 

Three performs, 75 yards, 57 seconds, with Davis-Value busting up the center untouched for a 40-yard landing run. The man was phenomenal, if not unstoppable, in averaging 8.0 yards per carry.

“We dug ourselves some holes throughout the recreation of the sport that you may’t do, clearly, while you’re enjoying good groups,” Mullen stated. 

However again got here the Gators. And Richardson. A 38-yard completion to Gamble and 19-yard shovel completion to Jacob Copeland have been two of the 4 performs that moved the ball to the LSU 14. Two snaps later, Richardson caught a 5-yard landing go into Shorter’s intestine and, like that, it was a seven-point margin once more at 35-28. 

Florida’s protection got here up with its lone second-half cease and Richardson and associates answered after the LSU punt. On third-and-2, Richardson stored and dashed 25 yards up the proper sideline. A 20-yard completion to Copeland bought the ball to the LSU 11. Richardson completed the drive by hitting Pierce out of the backfield for an 11-yard TD. Howard’s PAT tied the sport at 35 with 3:45 to play within the third quarter. 

It was Richardson’s third TD drive in simply over seven minutes. 

A Davis-Value run of 21 yards kicked in LSU’s go-ahead march. The Tigers transformed three third downs over the 75 yards, with Davis-Value busting off the proper aspect for a 25-yard landing run and 42-35 lead. 

Davis-Value’s runs got here virtually solely on energy and counter performs between the tackles. Nothing the Florida protection did may cease him. 

“We made the changes we got,” Diabate stated. 

 

Two performs into UF’s subsequent collection, Richardson was sacked and doubled over in ache with an damage to his left hand. He left the sport and Jones, on his first snap, fired a third-and-12 completion for his first of two first downs. Richardson re-entered and hit Gamble to transform a pivotal fourth-and-4 on the LSU 40. On third-and-10 from the Tigers 33, Richardson arrange within the pocket and delivered a seed up the proper sideline that Copeland caught for a landing to tie the sport with 9:14 left for his fourth TD drive of the half. 

Final group with the ball, it appeared, would win. 

Johnson moved the Tigers 68 yards in 10 performs to the go-ahead scored, with Value-Davis carrying eight instances for 48 yards earlier than Johnson confronted a fourth-and-goal on the UF 1. The Tigers eschewed the sector objective — and Value-Davis — and went play-action, as an alternative, with Johnson hitting Jenkins open in the proper flat for the lead with 3:30 to go. 

Richardson had stored his group within the recreation. His late interception stored them from successful it. 

“In that point, that place, you are purported to make a play,” Richardson stated. “All people’s trusting me to go on the market and win the sport, however I did not fulfill that. After all, that interception goes to humble you, however you simply need to preserve preventing.”

And preserve evaluating.