ATHENS, Ga. — The fourth quarter of Saturday night’s football game in Athens between LSU and Georgia was a back and forth battle “between the hedges” that ended with quite a finish.
When the third quarter clock hit double zeros, the Tigers (5-0) were leading the Bulldogs, 6-0, but the teams produced a combined 27 points in the fourth quarter.
LSU eventually pulled out the last score to go along with a 20-13 victory, the Tigers’ first in Athens since 1987.
“It doesn’t make a difference who is on the field, offense, defense or special teams,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “There is a way that man, that individual and that unit are looking for a chance to win the game.”
Georgia (3-2) fired first in the fourth quarter on a one-yard bootleg pass from senior quarterback Joe Cox to junior fullback Shaun Chapas less than a minute into the quarter to give the Bulldogs the lead, 7-6.
The Tigers answered back on an 88-yard drive midway through the quarter. On the drive, sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson connected with freshman wide receiver Rueben Randle on third-and-10 for a 16-yard gain to keep the drive alive. Randle also caught a 12-yard reception later in the drive.
“That was his first multi-catch night,” Miles said. “The emergence of a fine young player.”
Jefferson had a 26-yard scramble to set up the go-ahead two-yard touchdown run by senior running back Charles Scott.
But the Bulldog offense wasn’t ready to quit.
On third down with less than three minutes left in the game, Cox connected on a 46-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Tavarres King to LSU’s 16-yard line.
Two plays later, Georgia sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green out-jumped LSU senior cornerback Chris Hawkins in the corner of the end zone to put the Bulldogs out in front, 13-12, with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
But things went downhill for the Bulldogs following Green’s touchdown reception. Green was penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration, forcing the Bulldogs to kickoff from the 15 yard line instead of the 30 yard line.
“It’s just a shame after we did score that the field position got changed so much by the celebration penalty,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt. “We had momentum, and we had a chance to get a stop, but we had to kick from the 15.”
The Bulldogs were penalized for an illegal formation during the kickoff, which gave LSU five more yards after senior running back Trindon Holliday’s 40-yard return to Georgia’s 43 yard line.
“He’s always a big piece of the game,” Miles said. “There is a lot of concern when you kick that ball off to him.”
With one minute and two seconds left in the game, the LSU offense took over on Georgia’s 38-yard line. But Scott didn’t need the full minute before he broke two tackles and burst through a hole on second down for a 33-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers the 18-13 lead.
“He’s been running the ball well all game,” Jefferson said. “I told coach let’s give the ball to Charles, and he came through for us.”
Jefferson rolled to his right and connected with senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell in the back of the end zone to score the two-point conversion, which gave the Tigers the 20-13 lead.
Senior linebacker Perry Riley secured the Tiger victory when he intercepted Cox’s pass on the Bulldog 44-yard line.
 
—-Contact Jarred LeBlanc at jleblanc@lsureveille.com