It seemed that Florida was hell bent on making LSU look deserving of their No. 4 national ranking, a ranking which many media outlets prior to the matchup between the two top-5 schools had said LSU was not deserving of.
But every time the Gators let the Tigers back into the game, the Tigers just walked themselves right back out.
That left the Gators able to cling on to a 13-3 victory on a cool, wet evening in front of an LSU record crowd of 93,129 Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
With the loss, LSU (5-1, 2-1) took their first Saturday night loss in Tiger Stadium since a loss to Alabama in 2002.
“Our football team is sick,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “They understand that it was a great opportunity, but they also understand that it counts.”
The final score, though, was not at all indicative of what was in reality a dominating performance from Florida’s offense against LSU’s defense and LSU’s inability to gain yards in the second half.
The Gators controlled the clock with 36 minutes, 30 seconds of offensive possession while LSU held the ball for 23 minutes, 30 seconds.
The offense converted 1-of-9 third downs on the evening, leading to the defense to basically have to camp out on the field.
Another reason for that offensive let down may have been the absence of freshman quarterback Russell Shepard, statistically one of the Tigers’ best offensive threats with a 6.2 yard per touch average.
Miles said he was never able to incorporate the playmaker into the offense.
The offense never got the ball moving in the second half whenever the defense was able to keep Florida’s offense in check, gaining a total of 44 second half yards.
At the end of the first half, Florida’s offense showed their first signs of wearing down LSU’s defense when the Gators answered an LSU field goal with an 80 yard touchdown drive that was capped with a 24 yard touchdown pass from Tebow to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper to put the Gators up, 10-3.
The first half was marred on both sides of the ball for both teams with costly penalties.
On the defensive side of the ball for the Tigers, it was two offside penalties on the first Gator drive of the game that gave Florida’s offense 10 yards in field position.
The Gators moved the ball efficiently starting from their own seven yard line, going on an over eight minute drive with 82 yards on 13 plays that culminated in a 28 yard field goal by sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis.
Tebow went 1-for-2 for eight yards in his first action since the concussion two weeks ago against Kentucky. He added on two rushes for no yards.
Florida’s rushing unit provided 69 yards on the ground.
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers provided another defensive offside penalty that took what would have been a 3rd and 12 and turned it into a 2nd and seven. The Gators capitalized on the next play with a Tebow pass to junior tight end Aaron Hernandez that was good for 10 yards.
Later in the drive, a facemask call away from the ball on LSU junior safety Chad Jones gave Florida the ball on the LSU 29 yard line and two plays later was another offside penalty on LSU.
But the Tiger defense was able to hold, as Florida would go for a first down on 4th and 2 from the LSU 23 but a rushing attempt was thwarted by Jones to give LSU back the ball.
The Tigers turned the momentum around on a 26 yard pass from Jefferson to LaFell that got the Tigers into Florida territory for the first time in the game with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
On a 4th and 1 from the 34, Jefferson converted a quarterback sneak that got the Tigers a first down, and back-to-back Florida personal fouls put the Tigers on the Florida 10 yard line.
LSU couldn’t put the ball in the end zone, settling for a 19 yard field goal by junior kicker Josh Jasper. In total, the drive was 77 yards, 12 plays and took 6:44 off the clock, nearly mimicking Florida’s first offensive possession.
A facemask on the Tigers on Tebow on a 3rd down and long early in the second half gave the Gators a first down and kept their opening second half drive alive.
Sturgis couldn’t convert on a 30 yard field goal, missing it wide left and getting the LSU crowd right back into the game after the 13 play, 76 yard drive ended in futility for the Gators.
The Tigers were unable to do anything with their newfound momentum, though, as a pair of sacks for the Florida defense, the first of the game, forced an LSU punt.
A pair of false start penalties and another sack on LSU’s second offensive possession of the half halted any semblance of a drive that started with three carries by senior running back Charles Scott that had the LSU offense moving forward. 
 —-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]