Terrence Toliver's three-yard touchdown catch with six seconds remaining on the clock lifted 12th-ranked LSU to yet another exciting victory, this one a 33-29 win over 14th-ranked Florida at The Swamp.
Toliver's touchdown was his second of the game, capping off a wild final series that saw a controversial fake field goal attempt. LSU (6-0, 4-0 SEC), which squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, remained unbeaten again by the slimmest of margins.In last week's wild finish, the Tigers topped Tennessee on an untimed down at the end of the game after the Vols were called for having 13 men on the field. The Volunteers had celebrated on the previous botched snap by LSU, only to be called back by the referees before losing.
"Last week and this week, we won both games," Toliver said. "We pulled it out tonight. Florida had the game-winning drive just like Tennessee did, but we did the same thing as we did last week and came out with the win."
The win allowed the Tigers to avenge their last two losses to Florida, both of which spoiled then-perfect records. LSU moved to 6-0 for the first time since 2007, when it won the national championship over Ohio State. Both sets of Tigers -- Auburn and LSU -- are now the lone unbeaten teams in the SEC after Auburn beat Kentucky.
Toliver finished with six catches for 111 yards, while LSU split the quarterbacking duties between Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson. Lee finished with 124 yards passing on 9-of-11 throws with two touchdowns, while Jefferson went 7-for-12 for 100 yards with an interception and added two rushing scores.
Steven Ridley ran 28 times for 83 yards in the win, LSU's first in The Swamp since 2004.
Florida (4-2, 2-2) saw its 12-game home win streak snapped and has now lost two straight for the first time since losing to Auburn and LSU on September 29-October 6, 2007.
John Brantley, playing with an injury to his ribs, completed 16-of-24 passes for 154 yards and an interception, while Trey Burton and Mike Gillislee each ran for a score. Carl Moore caught four passes for 95 yards.
"We're struggling right now," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "We have to get better and we need to get everybody healthy. This time of the season, six games into it, I'm very disappointed with the first half."
Jefferson's second touchdown run gave LSU a 26-14 lead with 14:17 to play in the fourth, but Florida came back to go in front.
On the ensuing kickoff, Andre Debose sprinted 88 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown, cutting the Gators' deficit to five. LSU struggled on its next two possessions and punted both times, as Florida took over on its own 20 with 7:55 to go.
Brantley orchestrated a 10-play drive that lasted 4 1/2 minutes, using a 51- yard pass completion to Moore on 3rd-and-8 from the 22 to get deep in LSU territory. Burton converted another third down from inside the 10, and Gillislee got into the end zone from five yards away for a 27-26 lead with 3:21 left.
Florida went for two points, and Brantley's pass completion to Frankie Hammond, Jr. made it a three-point game.
The Tigers took over with one final chance to tie the game or go in front and faced a 4th-and-3 from the Florida 36 with 35 seconds left. Josh Jasper, whose career-long field goal make it from 52 yards away, lined up for a 53-yarder before LSU called its final timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Tigers again lined up in field goal formation, only they called a fake. Jasper ran around the right end as the holder flipped the ball blindly over his back. It bounced before Jasper picked it up and ran five yards for the first down.
"When he (Les Miles) called the timeout, I had a feeling they were going to try something besides kicking, because I saw him talking about it, but I didn't know we were going to do it," Jasper said. "I get on the field and look back at our special teams' coach, who was running on the field, and he said we were running the Tiger, so I said okay. It wasn't the greatest of pitches, but I was able to make a play on it and pick up the first down."
The referees embarked on a lengthy review to determine whether it was an incomplete pass, but ruled the ball did not move forward and was therefore a legal lateral.
On the next play, Toliver caught a pass from Lee over the middle and sprinted down to the three-yard line. Following a spike, Lee threw a fade route to Toliver, but the pass fell incomplete. On third down, the Tigers tried the same exact play, and Toliver came up with the touchdown reception to give LSU a four-point lead after the extra point.
Brantley's final pass on the last play fell incomplete to end the game.
LSU began the game on a good note, driving 40 yards on seven plays to take an early 3-0 lead on Jasper's 45-yard field goal.
The Tigers' second possession didn't end as successfully, as Jefferson was picked off by Jelani Jenkins, who returned the pick 47 yards to the LSU 17. Florida took advantage of the turnover on the first play of the second quarter on Jordan Reed's one-yard plunge into the end zone on 3rd-and-goal.
The hosts had an answer, however, moving 77 yards on a 13-play series. Michael Ford's 25-yard run helped the Tigers gain the Gators' 35, and Ridley ran four consecutive times to put LSU on the 13-yard line. A 10-yard scamper on 3rd- and-11 gave the Tigers a fourth down from the three, and Miles elected to go for it.
Jefferson was able to gain the first down and score from the one-yard line two plays later for a 10-7 LSU lead with less than nine minutes until halftime.
The Gators went three-and-out on their next drive, but Patrick Peterson muffed the ensuing punt, and Florida's Ahmad Black recovered the ball at the LSU 16. The visitors took advantage of the short field, using Trey Burton's one-yard touchdown rush to grab a 14-10 advantage with five minutes left.
LSU couldn't move the ball on its ensuing touch, but neither could Florida, which had to punt from its own one-yard line. The Tigers took over on the Gators' 39 with 1:49 to play, and Lee's 38-yard touchdown pass to Toliver helped LSU take a 17-14 lead.
Following an Emmanuel Moody fumble inside of two minutes, Jasper added a 39- yard field goal for the Tigers at the first half buzzer for a six-point cushion.
