It’s only the second day of October, but Christmas came early for the LSU football team on Saturday.
The No. 12 Tigers (5-0, 3-0) escaped with a 16-14 victory against Tennessee (2-3,0-2) in one of the most bizarre finishes fans have seen in years.
With LSU down 14-10 and at the Tennessee 2-yard line with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson was stuffed for a 1-yard yard gain.
Then, chaos ensued.
Reminiscent of the Ole Miss debacle last year, LSU tried to sub to get another play off while the clock ticked down. Junior center T-Bob Hebert snapped the ball with three seconds remaining, but Jefferson wasn’t ready and the ball went six yards behind him as the clock read 0:00.
As Tennessee players rejoiced and LSU players laid on the turf in disgust, officials announced Tennessee had 13 men on the field during the play, leaving LSU with one untimed down.
LSU junior running back Stevan Ridley bulldozed his way into the end zone as anger and disbelief turned to cheers and disbelief.
“I don’t know that we can play any sloppier,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “The series of downs in the back end of that game was embarrassing to me.”
Ridley finished with 123 yards to record his third 100-yard game of the season.
Jefferson finished 3-for-10 for 30 yards and two interceptions and shared duties with junior quarterback Jarrett Lee. Lee finished with 185 yards and an interception, but more importantly led the Tigers down the field on the final possession.
Lee completed two huge passes to senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver with LSU on its heels — a 14-yard pass on third-and-13 and a 17-yard hookup on fourth-and-14.
Jefferson did rack up 100 yards rushing on five carries, though a large chunk came on an 83-yard touchdown scamper on the first play of the game.
LSU travels to Florida next weekend. The Gators’ received their first blemish of the season Saturday night in a 31-6 dismantling at the hands of No. 1 Alabama.
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Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected].