The LSU football team pulled off a dramatic 30-27 victory against Florida, largely thanks to a freshman finally fulfilling his potential.
While sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings and sophomore receiver Travin Dural stole the show — a habit they’ve exhibited throughout their short careers — freshman running back Leonard Fournette carried the Tigers’ offense through the first three quarters, keeping them within striking distance.
With the passing offense struggling to get going, the freshman broke out of his early-season shell to carry the offense through the first three quarters. Fournette used his rare combination of power and speed to run by — and through — several Florida defenders.
Fournette performed like the star LSU recruited him to be, totalling career highs of 27 carries and 140 yards to go along with two touchdowns.
Even though the freshman was dominant in his first start, Fournette said he could feel the pressure of the tight game.
“I had nerves pretty bad,” Fournette said. “I was kind of nervous about how close the game was.”
But those nerves didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Fournette’s 140 yards is the most for an LSU true freshman since Justin Vincent’s 201-yard performance against Georgia in the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
Fournette said the college game is coming more naturally to him with each passing week, which contributed to his breakout performance.
“The game has slowed down a lot for me,” Fournette said. “That’s why I can see the cutbacks. Coaching and help from [senior running back Kenny Hilliard, senior running back Terrence Magee and senior fullback Connor Neighbors] has helped me a lot.”
Fournette flashed his vision on a cutback run highlighted by video game-esque spin move to make a player miss in the open field. Fournette said the spin move is something he works on in practice.
“Coach says, ‘Don’t let one guy tackle you,’” Fournette said. “It’s my instincts, and I just hit it.”
Fournette showed his power, lowering his pads and bursting through a Florida defensive back for his first touchdown of the game, while using his athleticism to leap over the pile for a 2-yard touchdown run.
But even after having the best game of his career, Fournette needed some help at the end from an LSU passing attack that struggled to get going for most of the contest.
Trailing 20-24 with less than four minutes to play, Jennings and the rest of the Tigers’ offense faced a third-and-20 at their own 38-yard line. LSU coach Les Miles called a timeout to settle his young offense down.
But the Tigers came out of the timeout and were flagged for too many men in the formation. Now facing third-and-25 on the road, Jennings looked to his old friend Dural to convert the biggest third down of the LSU season.
Dural broke free behind the Florida secondary for a 41-yard first-down completion.
Two plays later, Dural made a one-handed grab in the back of the end zone to give LSU a 27-24 lead.
Neither Jennings nor Dural had success prior to the fourth quarter as the passing offense struggled. Jennings had only 37 passing yards entering the quarter.
Dural had zero receptions at that point in the game, but he said he knew his time would come. Once the pass went in the air, he knew he had to make a play.
“Coach always tells us that it’s our ball and not anybody else’s,” Dural said. “Things weren’t going the way I wanted it to, and I couldn’t let that play pass.”
Saturday wasn’t the first time Jennings and Dural showed solid chemistry and hooked up for some late-game magic.
Early in the season, Dural was clearly Jennings’ favorite target, as the two combined for several deep passes.
Last season, LSU trailed 24-27 against Arkansas with three minutes to go. Jennings led the Tigers on a 99-yard touchdown drive, which ended with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Dural.
Miles said Saturday’s deep third-down pass play brought back memories of last season’s touchdown against Arkansas, and he trusted his quarterback to accurately throw the long pass.
Jennings said while he was confident in the throw, that confidence was aided by throwing to a receiver he trusts completely.
“He’s a great receiver,” Jennings said. “I just put up there, and he made a great catch. I have the utmost confidence in him.”
Sophomore defensive back Rickey Jefferson said the rest of the team knew Jennings and Dural would come through because he sees it happen all the time.
“I see [a play similar to the 41-yard completion] almost every day in practice,” Jefferson said. “It’s expected. We expect greatness out of those guys because they work hard.”