LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye just wanted a shot, and Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel gave it to him.
With the game tied at 27 and under a minute to go, Driskel was intercepted by LSU safety Rickey Jefferson, who returned Driskel’s second interception of the night 23 yards to the Florida 36-yard line. Two plays later, Delahoussaye, a sophomore who missed an extra point earlier in game, drilled a 50-yard field goal with three seconds left to give the Tigers a thrilling 30-27 victory.
The game-winning field goal capped off a wild final seven minutes of play that featured 20 points and four lead changes. Most of the second half had been a defensive struggle, too.
LSU took a 20-17 lead with 3:42 to go in the third quarter on a Leonard Fournette 2-yard run. The teams traded a total of four punts after the freshman’s TD plunge, and the fourth – a 52-yard return by Andre Debose – put the Gators back in front 24-20 via a Driskel 11-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.
LSU and freshman quarterback Anthony Jennings quickly responded in unconventional fashion. From his own 38-yard line, Jennings found sophomore wideout Travin Dural for a 41-yard gain on a third-and-25 play. Two plays later, the Jennings-Dural connection showed up again – this time on a fabulous one-handed touchdown catch in which Dural fought through a pass interference call.
Dural’s highlight-reel catch gave LSU a 27-24 lead with 2:40 to go and put the ball back in Driskel’s hands.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Driskel found his favorite target, Robinson, in stride for a 73-yard gain down to the 2-yard line. After two goal-line runs were stuffed by the LSU front, Gators senior tight end Tevin Westbrook dropped what would have been a go-ahead touchdown catch on a pass that was thrown slightly behind him. Instead, the Gators settled for a game-tying 18-yard field goal.
Jennings and the LSU offense took over with a chance to go in front with 1:49 to go, but the Gators quickly forced a punt and put the ball back in Driskel’s hands with 54 seconds left.
After two quick completions, it looked like Driskel (14-of-25 for 183 yards, 71 yards rushing) might lead the Gators into field goal range, but his third pass of the drive was intercepted by Jefferson and set up Delahoussaye’s game-winner.
The win improved LSU’s record to 5-2 and avoided what would have been the Tigers’ first 0-3 SEC start since 1999. On the other side, the brutal loss dropped Florida to 3-2 heading into next Saturday night’s home game with Missouri.
LSU hosts Kentucky next Saturday.
For more LSU news, visit TigerBait.com.
For more Florida news, visit InsideTheGators.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
