Will Clapp didn’t hang his head after LSU fell one yard short of defeating Florida on Saturday in the Tigers’ 16-10 loss.
The sophomore offensive guard was ready to play again.
“Me, personally, I don’t need any motivation,” Clapp said. “Quite honestly, I’m still mad. I want to go out there and play another game and get back out there and finish what we started.”
Clapp won’t have to wait long, either.
LSU (6-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) has a quick turnaround before departing for College Station, Texas, on Wednesday to face Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. So the Tigers don’t have much time to sulk on the loss.
The Aggies (8-3, 4-3 SEC), coming off a 23-10 win versus University of Texas at San Antonio, could be in position for a Sugar Bowl bid — a spot LSU owned prior to its loss to the Gators.
“They aren’t going to feel sorry for us,” senior cornerback Tre’Davious White said.
“We’re 4-2 as far as I know,” Orgeron said. “That’s all we’ve done. We focus on that: We’re 4-2. We’ve got Texas A&M. We promise we’ll finish the season strong, and we’ll talk about one game at a time. That’s all we’re doing.”
For the third time this season, LSU has suffered a one-possession loss, this time with a different head coach. On fourth and goal, Orgeron said sophomore running back Derrius Guice ran the wrong direction. The result was Guice fumbling and being stopped at the one-yard line and the Tigers dropping their fourth game this season.
After the ball was snapped on the muddled final play, Clapp went to block the inside linebacker and looked up to see that the game was over.
“Definitely a heartbreaker, being on the one,” Clapp said. “We had multiple shots.”
The Tigers outgained Florida 423 to 270 in total yards and had 23 first downs, but costly turnovers and missed opportunities to score in the red zone hampered LSU.
LSU is now 4-2 in Orgeron’s “new season,” but the Tigers’ performance versus Florida was the worst they have played, the interim coach said.
A botched snap on a field goal attempt by freshman punter Josh Growden and a fumble by sophomore cornerback Donte Jackson on a kick return were described as unacceptable by Orgeron.
“We didn’t play very well today on special teams,” Orgeron said. “We need to play better on special teams. We have athletes. We should be better in that area.”
But bouncing back after a loss hasn’t been an issue for LSU this season. The Tigers are 3-0 following a loss in 2016 and are averaging 38 points per game in those wins.
White said the feeling in the locker wasn’t upset, but rather shifting focus to play against Texas A&M.
“We didn’t fall apart,” White said. “We’re probably together more than we ever been. We’ll see Thursday.”