LSU Upsets Number 6 Florida on Senior Night

The LSU Tigers upset the sixth ranked Florida Gator football team 37 to 34 to run their record to 4-5.  This is their first win against a ranked opponent this season.  Florida suffers its second loss of the season.

The game started off slow for both teams as the first score was four minutes into the first quarter by the Gators. It then took LSU four more minutes to tie the game.

After that, things started to click – for LSU. The Tigers took a 10 point lead but Florida was able to regain the lead after an Evan McPherson field goal and a touchdown by Jacob Copeland.

But a fumble by Florida quarterback Kyle Trask led to an LSU touchdown. The Gators were able to regain the lead with a touchdown by Kadarius Toney but LSU took it right back.

McPherson tied the game at 34 with 2:51 left in the game. The Gators had a chance to score but after Marco Wilson got a penalty, LSU got the automatic first down that led to the field goal that would clinch their upset.

Florida was flagged with unsportsmanlike conduct after this play: pic.twitter.com/BBsmOu64j9

— ESPN (@espn) December 13, 2020

McPherson lined up for the field goal with two seconds left in the game but kicked it wide left.

Despite the loss, Trask still a record-breaking performance.

The senior quarterback got his 40^th TD pass this season, the most by a Florida quarterback in a single season. He passed Danny Wuerffel who held the record at 39.

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1337952683014152195

Offensive struggles

Whenever the Gators struggled this season, it was very common to blame it on the defense. But in this game,  the poor execution came from the offense.

Despite breaking another record, Trask had two interceptions and a fumble recovered by LSU in the first half. LSU took one of these interceptions all the way to the end zone, accounting for Trask’s third pick-six of the season.

Trask also failed to connect multiple times with his receivers. He also seemed to have executed the wrong play once as he missed a wide open receiver on the field and threw an incompletion to another one.

Gator head coach Dan Mullen recognized that these kind of mistakes will not get them a win, especially with a team that, despite their record, has strong young talent.

Offensive positives

Despite the struggles, senior receiver Kadarius Toney was able to shine on his Senior Night with a career-high 182 receiving yards.

It was also a career-high for Jacob Copeland as he got 123 receiving yards on five receptions.  Ignore the interceptions and the fumble, and Trask also had a memorable night. He threw for 474 yards, marking his fourth game with 400+ yards. He also had two rushing touchdowns, marking his first rushing touchdowns of the season.

Mullen recognized Trask’s ability to not let his mistakes take away his focus for the rest of the game.

LSU Freshman Shines

LSU freshman quarterback Max Johnson, the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, was probably the best LSU player on the field. Johnson was efficient throwing and running for most of the night.  Hethrew for 239 yards completing 21 of his 36 attempts and threw three touchdowns.

He had 18 carries in the game for 52 yards as well.

Up Next

The Gators prepare for the SEC Championship to not only try to clinch the SEC, but to also create a case that they deserve a spot in the College Football Playoffs. This will be a hard — almost impossible — case with the Gators now being a two-loss team.

This game will also play a part in deciding who will receive this year’s Heisman Trophy. Both quarterbacks are top contenders for this award and with a second loss in this season, Trask might have to notably out-perform Alabama’s Mac Jones.