How Florida Fared in Its Key Matchups Against LSU
History was made on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La., but not in the way Billy Napier and his Florida Gators football team would've liked.
Florida's defense gave up a single-game school record 701 total yards, 606 of which came from the legs and right arm of quarterback Jayden Daniels, as LSU dominated, 52-35.
Prior to the game, All Gators broke down three key matchups that were likely to determine the outcome of the Gators' matchup against the Tigers. Here's how those battles played out.
Florida's Defense vs. a Heisman Trophy Candidate-led Offense (or His Backup)
If Daniels is to be the one lifting the Heisman Trophy in December, many will point to his record-breaking performance on Saturday against Florida as the defining moment of his season.
The senior became the first quarterback in FBS history to throw for at least 350 yards and rush for 200 yards in the same game. He led the Tigers on five-straight touchdown drives in the second half, four of which he accounted for.
“If [Daniels] didn’t win [the Heisman Trophy] tonight, he has got to be the leading candidate,” said LSU head coach Brian Kelly. “Unless the Heisman is just about popularity. If you want to be the most popular then fine, but he is the best player in college football.
Daniels threw for 372 yards and three scores with another 234 yards and two scores on the ground against the Gators. Not to mention, his two rushing touchdowns came from 85 yards and 51 yards out.
His 51-yarder also put the Tigers ahead 31-28 in the third quarter, a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
"The quarterback is exceptional, and I think his legs ultimately are the difference in the game. 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," Napier said. "But ultimately, I mean, I think we all can agree that the difference in the game was his ability to take off running, right?"
Florida struggled to tackle Daniels, and as the game went on, he dotted up the Gators' defensive backs with big passes down the field, even in the rare case when they were in good coverage.
Use his 41-yard completion to Brian Thomas Jr. over UF STAR Jaydon Hill as an example of that scenario.
Eight of his 17 completions went for more than 15 yards. Six of those eight were at least 38 yards long.
A shootout was imminent considering Florida's recent defensive struggles, but Saturday's outing was historically bad for the Gators' defense, and the offense couldn't keep up.
Florida has now given up at least 30 points in five of its last six games, and with Missouri and Florida State left, the challenge to keep opposing offenses out of the end zone doesn't get any easier.
"Game Changers"
As much as the unit has hurt Florida's chances in games this year, the Gators' special teams unit did its job on Saturday night and capitalized off of mistakes by LSU.
After Florida scored a touchdown to cut the deficit to three points early in the third quarter, Tiger returner Kaleb Jackson fumbled, and the Gators recovered. Graham Mertz capitalized with a touchdown rush to take the lead.
Kicking-wise, Trey Smack was a perfect five-of-five on extra points, and Jeremy Crawshaw had three of his four punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
The biggest stat, however, is one not kept in the book. Florida had zero game-changing mistakes on Saturday night. Trevor Etienne had a disastrous kick return as he was tackled inside his own ten-yard line, but LSU was called for an offsides. In fact, the Tigers were called for two offsides on kickoffs.
Florida was dominated in Death Valley, but the special teams unit didn't negatively contribute to the blowout defeat. That's a plus.
Gators vs. Death Valley and Homecoming Emotions
Considering the crowd, Florida had very few environment-induced mistakes. However, that doesn't mean there weren't any.
On the final drive of the first half, only down three points, Florida took a delay of game penalty on its first play. Two plays later, Mertz had to call a timeout as the play clock approached zero. It appeared he was waiting for a signal from the sideline prior to making the call.
Overall, emotions ran high in the rivalry with a pregame quarrel, players jawing between plays and Florida players interacting with the LSU crowd after touchdowns, which later responded with Gator chomps late in the game.
Two of the Florida players who returned to the state they once called home had relatively strong performances.
In his return to his home state, Etienne had a career day with three touchdown rushes to go with 99 yards, his most rushing yards in a game since he had 172 against Tennessee.
"I think you can tell this was special for him, and when given opportunities tonight, you know, he was elite," Napier said. "I thought he showed a spirit about himself, he showed some toughness tonight. So there's no question, and I'm proud of him."
Montrell Johnson added 70 yards rushing and provided a few hard-nosed runs in the third quarter to set up Mertz's touchdown rush.
Although the crowd was certainly involved, Florida didn't let the home faithful ruin their chances of an upset win. Jayden Daniels did.
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