FINAL: No. 19 LSU 52, Gators 35

Saturday, November 11

Baton Rouge, La.

7:30 p.m.

Florida Gators

5-5 , 3-4

LSU

7-3 , 5-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Florida	7	7	14	7	35
LSU	7	10	21	14	52

Scott Carter's Quick Slant presented by Ticketmaster

Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications

FINAL: No. 19 LSU 52, Gators 35

Saturday, November 11, 2023 | Football, Scott Carter

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

THE QUICK SLANT
No. 19 LSU 52, FLORIDA 35

WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators got in a shootout in hostile territory Saturday night, and LSU QB Jayden Daniels shot them down with a historic performance in front of more than 102,000 fans at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Daniels passed for 372 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 234 yards and two scores, and in the end cemented his place as a real threat to win the Heisman Trophy as LSU defeated the Gators for the fifth consecutive season. LSU amassed 701 yards of total offense, the most the Gators have allowed in a single game. The previous record was Oklahoma's 684-yard outburst in a 55-20 victory over Florida in the 2020 Cotton Bowl. "We had our chances,'' Gators head coach Billy Napier said on his postgame radio show. "We missed opportunities. Ultimately, they've got a really good offensive group and it's really hard to slow them down. We didn't slow them down enough." The scoring started on the opening drive of the game when LSU marched 75 yards in seven plays, capped by a 1-yard TD run by tailback Josh Williams. The Gators answered on their opening drive, an eight-play, 75-yard march capped by QB Graham Mertz's 9-yard scoring toss to freshman wideout Eugene Wilson III. The teams traded punches from there, but every time the Gators gained momentum, Daniels did something spectacular to put LSU back in control. With LSU leading 10-7 midway in the second quarter, Daniels raced 85 yards for a TD. Florida trimmed the lead to 17-14 on a 7-yard TD run by Trevor Etienne — the first of his three rushing scores on the night — but Daniels engineered a six-play, 81-yard drive that stretched the Tigers' lead to 24-14. Daniels had a 27-yard run on the drive and a 45-yard pass to Williams. Kaleb Jackson capped the drive with a 5-yard TD run. As the Gators did time after time, they responded with a scoring drive capped by Etienne's 21-yard run to trim the lead to 24-21. On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson muffed the return and Dijon Johnson recovered for the Gators at LSU's 23-yard line. Florida scored five plays later on Mertz's 1-yard sneak for a 28-24 lead. Daniels responded moments later with a 51-yard TD run, and the Gators never led again as the Tigers piled up the points and yards, scoring touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second half. The Gators seemingly lost momentum for good when officials ruled that a diving 29-yard first-down catch by Kahleil Jackson was incomplete and forced a punt on fourth down with the Gators still within striking distance, down 31-28 late in third quarter. The Tigers drove 70 yards on five plays after Florida's punt, and went back up by double-digits on Daniels' 6-yard TD pass to Noah Cain. Florida continued to fight, but LSU maintained the advantage in the fourth quarter.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators (5-5, 3-4) failed for the second consecutive week to become bowl-eligible and have lost three straight games since their 5-2 start. The offense rolled up 488 yards Saturday night in Death Valley, but the UF defense had no answers for Daniels and Co. LSU averaged 11.5 yards per play and had two 100-yard receivers in Brian Thomas Jr. (150 yards) and Malik Nabers (132).

during the Gators' game against the LSU Tigers on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Molly Kaiser — Gators QB **Graham Mertz** finished 26 of 38 for 311 yards and a TD on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. (Photo: **Molly Kaiser**/UAA Communications)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Daniels, Daniels and Daniels. He accounted for a Southeastern Conference-record 606 yards of total offense in a regular-season game, breaking the record of 585 set by Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello in 2020 against LSU.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Daniels cemented his status as a Heisman favorite with a historic performance. He became the first QB in FBS history to pass for more than 350 yards and rush for more than 200 in a single game.

STAGGERING STATISTIC II: Mertz has now thrown 226 consecutive passes without an interception. He entered Saturday's game 15 behind school-record holder Tim Tebow, who threw 203 consecutive passes over the 2007-08 seasons without an interception. Mertz breezed past the record on Saturday.

UP NEXT: The Gators travel to Missouri next weekend for their final SEC regular-season game of the season. The Tigers crushed Tennessee 36-7 on Saturday at home and are 8-2. Florida can become bowl-eligible and clinch a .500 record in conference play with a victory, but the Gators are certain to be heavy underdogs as they were on Saturday night at LSU.