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What a Kicker: LSU Fakes Out Florida 35-28
Sunday, October 18, 2015 | Football, Chris Harry
BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU's special teams one-upped Florida's in the fourth quarter, as a fake field goal-turned touchdown proved the difference in the Tigers' 35-28 victory in the battle of Southeastern Conference unbeatens before 102,000-plus Saturday night at Tigers Stadium.
Lined up for a tie-breaking field goal, LSU holder Brad Kragthorpe took the snap, then fired an overhand lateral to placekicker Trent Dominigue flairing into the left flat. Dominigue bobbled the throw before hauling it in and racing untouched for a 16-yard touchdown run that put the Tigers ahead by seven points with 10:40 remaining in the game.
"They made a helluva play. Give them credit," Florida coach Jim McElwain said after his first defeat with the Gators. "You know what? It's kind of a badge of honor. It took a fake field goal to beat us. That's all right."
The LSU trickery came one possession after UF wide receiver Antonio Callaway returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown with just over a minute left in the third quarter, becoming the first true freshman in school history to score on a punt return in an SEC game.
The Tigers' seven-point margin after the fake held up, with the Gators getting the ball back three times before a 15-yard penalty undermined the first drive, four incompletions doomed the second and the third ended with a desperation Hail Mary chuck from the UF 49 that quarterback Treon Harris threw out of bounds.
"I thought they played extremely hard," LSU coach Les Miles said. "It certainly felt like this night would go like this."
In losing for the first time this season, No. 8 Florida (6-1, 4-1) remained in first place in the SEC East Division, but Georgia inched a game closer with a win over Missouri. The Gators and Bulldogs both are off next week, meaning their annual showdown in Jacksonville will be for first place in the division and a commanding edge for that side's berth in the SEC Championship Game.
Harris, back in the role as starting quarterback following the NCAA's one-year suspension of Will Grier for testing positive for a banned substance, finished 17 of 32 for 271 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. On Florida's final three possessions, though, Harris hit just five of 15 passes for 60 yards, was sacked twice and called for an intentional grounding penalty.
"I like the fight that we played with," UF sixth-year senior tight end Jake McGee said after catching five passes for 43 yards and both of Harris' touchdown throws. "It was good to see guys who've never really experienced that to show a no-quit attitude and really playing until the end."
LSU tailback Leonard Fournette, the nation's rushing leader entering the game, carried 31 times for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns, helping the Tigers (6-0, 4-0) build leads of 14 points twice in the first half, including 28-14 at halftime after gouging the UF defense for 304 yards through two periods.
The UF defense's uncharacteristically porous first-half performance -- low-lighted by a long touchdown pass just before intermission -- dug the team a hole, especially on the road in one of the nation's most difficult venues.
Note: LSU is now 47-4 in night games under Miles, with two of the those defeats coming against No. 1-ranked teams.
Plays like the second-to-last of the first half help.
LSU quarterback Brandon Harris (13 of 19 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) escaped a sack opportunity by UF defensive end Jordan Sherit and lofted a 50-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Dupre (4 catches, 115 yards, two TDs) just 15 seconds left before intermission to push the Tigers to their 28-14 lead. Dupre got behind Marcus Maye after the UF safety fell down.
Through two periods, LSU outgained UF 304-144, converted five of six third-down plays and scored touchdowns on all three red-zone visits. The 28 points the Tigers scored all came in the second quarter -- and eclipsed the point total of any UF opponent this season -- making for the most points surrendered by a UF defense in a quarter since Kentucky hung 28 on the Gators in 2002.
Fournette scored both his touchdowns and accounted for a hefty dose of the 21 unanswered points LSU scored after UF took advantage of an early Tigers turnover to take a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. Fournette scored on runs of 2 and 6 yards -- the first after taking a direct snap out of the wildcat formation, a score that followed a 52-yard Harris-to-Dupre completion off a flea-flicker -- and Harris threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dupre.
"It was frustrating," Maye said of the defense's performance in the first half. "We got the quarterback out of the pocket, then they get a scramble play pass. They got us on a flea-flicker and it was all something we should have been prepared for."
McGee had both of UF's touchdowns in the first half. Harris hit McGee on fourth-and-1 to give the Gators their early 7-0 lead. The touchdown came after LSU's Tre'Davious White went to field a Johnny Townsend punt on UF's first possession. The ball took a hard bounce in front of White, then kissed off his shoulder. Nick Washington grabbed it in stride for the Gators at the Tigers' 13.
Washington scampered into the end zone, but the ball was ruled dead because muffed kicks cannot be advanced.
On fourth down from the LSU 4, Harris rolled to his right and, under pressure, hit a wide-open McGee parked at the end zone sideline for the score. To that point, the Tigers had given up just three points in the first quarter all season.
McGee's second touchdown reception of the night was set up by a circus sideline catch from Callaway that went for 48 yards. The score seemed to give Florida the momentum heading into the halftime.
But then the UF defense collapsed again, letting the Tigers go 75 yards on five plays to boost LSU's lead before the half.
Florida's defense righted itself in the second half, holding LSU to just 119 yards (just 13 passing) the final two quarters.
"There wasn't much really to adjust," cornerback Brian Poole said. "We needed to stop Fournette and stop the run."
It started by forcing three straight three-and-outs in the third period, with the momentum shifting to UF when tailback Kelvin Taylor ended a 10-play, 66-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to make it 28-21.
Callaway's kick return tied it.
But Miles' gutsy call for the fake field goal -- yes, another one by the so-called "Mad Hatter" -- was the game-winner.
"I'll tell you what, that's a good football team in our locker room there ... and a bunch of good guys," McElwain said. "Guys that care. Guys that have invested and are starting to understand how to give of themselves for the benefit of others. I'm proud of them, really proud of them. They have nothing to hang their heads about."
