Saturday, October 15, 2022 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
THE QUICK SLANT LSU 45, FLORIDA 35
WHAT HAPPENED: Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Tigers to long touchdowns on their offense's first six possessions, as LSU rolled to a big lead and closed out the Gators with a late field goal in their Southeastern Conference showdown Saturday night at Spurrier/Florida Field. Daniels completed 23 of 32 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 44 yards and three more TDs. He was on the finishing/scoring end in some facet as LSU scored touchdowns on consecutive drives of 75, 73, 75, 83, 75 and 88 yards — in great part by converting eight of its first nine third-down situations — over the first three quarters to take a 42-21 lead into the fourth. On the first snap of that period, though, UF sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson took off for an 81-yard touchdown run to draw his team within two scores. The Florida defense forced its first punt of the game on LSU's next possession and UF went 80 yards in 11 plays, with freshman tailback Trevor Etienne making it 42-35 on a 1-yard run with 5:18 to go. It was up to the Gators to make another stop and they appeared to do just that when Daniels, under pressure, threw down the middle of the field and was intercepted by cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. The pressure came from rushing defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., who was flagged for roughing the passing, giving the Tigers an automatic first down at the UF 46. Nine plays and 17 yards later, Damian Ramos kicked a season-long 47-yard field goal to make it a 10-point lead with 1:52 remaining and ice the game. LSU finished with 528 yards of total offense, compared to 395 for Florida, and went 5-for-5 when in the red zone, with all of those scores TDs. Richardson completed 15 of 23 throws for 185 yards with one TD, that one coming on a 51-yard strike to Justin Shorter on the game's second offensive play. UF had leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 before LSU scored four unanswered TDs to seize command of the game.
UF tailback Montrell Johnson runs 39 yards for a first-half touchdown Saturday night. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
WHAT IT MEANS: UF and LSU were probably viewed externally at about the same place, as far as their respective rebuilding situations. It would seem UF coachBilly Napier has a tougher rebuild on his hands, as the Gators have now lost three of their first four SEC games for the first time since 1986 and clearly have issues on the defensive side of the ball.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Daniels, the transfer from Arizona State, finished with 393 yards of total offense and had a hand in all six Tigers touchdowns. He also had some tremendous on-target throws and was a step ahead of the UF pass rush all night.
UP NEXT: Florida (4-3, 1-3) is idle next week and will be back on the field Oct. 29 for its annual rivalry game against No. 1 and defending national champion Georgia (7-0, 4-0). The Bulldogs, also off next week, beat up Vanderbilt 55-0 at home Saturday and will take a three-game winning streak against the Gators into the 100th all-time meeting between the two charter SEC programs.
