Florida Gators vs LSU Tigers Match Player Stats On Oct 17, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 17, 2015

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Kicker Trent Domingue burnished LSU coach Les Miles' reputation as The Mad Hatter by catching a lateral pass on a fake field goal and scampering 16 yards to lift the No. 6 Tigers to a 35-28 victory over No. 8 Florida on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

After Florida rallied from a 28-14 halftime deficit to tie the game at 28, Domingue lined up for a 33-yard field goal from the right hash mark early in the fourth quarter.

Holder Brad Kragthorpe, a backup quarterback, took the snap and, while still on his knee, fired a lateral pass to Domingue, who had snuck out of the backfield to the left sideline. Domingue bobbled the ball twice -- even letting it hit his helmet -- before finally securing it and running untouched into the end zone behind an excellent double-team block by fullback Darrel Williams and tight end Colin Jeter on linebacker Jarrad Davis.

That put LSU up 35-28, and the defense stopped the Gators twice in the final 3:47 to secure LSU's sixth consecutive victory.

LSU was led by running back Leonard Fournette, who rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. Quarterback Brandon Harris completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards and two scores.

Florida capitalized on a muffed punt by LSU return man Tre'Davious White at the LSU 13-yard line early in the first quarter. Quarterback Treon Harris gave the Gators a 7-0 lead with a 4-yard toss to tight end Jake McGee.

Fournette rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries in the first half, including touchdown bursts of 2 and 6 yards. His first TD came out of the Wildcat. Fournette set up under center before backing off and taking a shotgun snap around right end, scoring untouched.

LSU took advantage of Florida stacking its run defense to slow down Fournette. With LSU leading 14-7, Fournette took a handoff off right guard, twirled and lateraled the ball back to Harris, who hit wide receiver Malachi Dupre on a deep post for 52 yards to the Gators' 6. Fournette made it 21-7 on the next play by running through a huge hole on the left side.

Florida stayed within striking distance when wide receiver Antonio Callaway made a juggling 48-yard reception to the LSU 19. The Gators scored on the next play when Harris hit a wide-open McGee on the left sideline.

In the first half, Brandon Harris, a sophomore, completed 10 of 12 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns -- a perfect 9-yard fade to Dupre to go up 14-7 and a 50-yard completion to Dupre 15 seconds before halftime to give LSU a 28-14 lead.

Florida cut the deficit to 28-21 midway through the third quarter with a 66-yard, 10-play drive, climaxed by junior running back Kelvin Taylor's 2-yard run around left end. The score was set up by a 30-yard pass from Harris to tight end DeAndre Goolsby. The Gators also converted a fourth-and-1 from the LSU 14 with an 11-yard sweep by Jordan Scarlett.

Another LSU special teams mistake allowed the Gators to tie it 28-28 on a 72-yard punt return by Callaway, who took in a low driving punt by Jamie Keehn at his 28, made one cut to the left and easily outraced the Tigers' coverage team into the end zone with 1:04 left in the third quarter.

NOTES: Before the game, LSU players moved en masse to the 50-yard line, stomped on the eye of the Tiger logo and jawed at the Gator players. ... Feleipe Franks, a 6-foot-6 QB from Crawfordville, Fla., one of the nation's most highly sought prep recruits, hugged LSU QB Brandon Harris as Harris ran off the field in pregame warmups. ... Florida has outscored opponents 65-20 in the first quarter and was the first team to lead LSU after one quarter. But the Gators gave up 28 second-quarter points.