LSU’s Defense Forces Five Interceptions To Propel Tigers To 20-10 Victory Over Florida

Once again, the LSU defense shows why they are one of the most elite in college football. The Tigers’ defense forced five interceptions from DJ Lagway to help lead them to their first SEC victory of the season over the Florida Gators by a final score of 20-10.

The turning point of the game came on the the third interception of the game. Midway in the third quarter with the score being a three point game, Dashawn Spears stepped in front of a DJ Lagway passed and raced down the sidelines for a 58 yard interception return for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 20-10 lead over the Gators.

“We practice it in practice. I went over. I watched it in the hotel and I knew it was coming. If you watch it back, I was creeping towards it so I knew the slant was coming from the boundary so I just made a play.”

LSU S Dashawn Spears

“His performance tonight has been a long time coming. He has been grinding. Every day, he comes in and works hard as well as looking for an opportunity to get on the field and make an impact.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly

That was the exact breathing room the Tigers needed as they shut out the Florida offense the rest of the way to move to 3-0 on the season. For Spears, it was also the second interception of the game for him after having one early in the game.

Spears was only just a part of the interception party. AJ Haulcy, Tamarcus Cooley, and freshman cornerback DJ Pickett all had their hand on the five interceptions of Lagway. For all of the players, it was their first interceptions as LSU Tigers and it was the first time that an LSU defense had five interceptions in a game since Ole Miss in 2020.

“Those are my dawgs in the safety room. They are head hunters and they are manifesting it today.”

LSU S Dashawn Spears

For Florida, Lagway was never comfortable in the game as he completed 33 of 49 passes for 287 yards and only one touchdown to five interceptions. His one touchdown pass came in the first half from 10 yards out to Aidan Mizell to tie the game at 10, but that was as close as the Gators got all night long.

“We felt DJ Lagway was never settled in the pocket. We moved the pocket and there was great pressure. He could never settle and most of their interceptions were out of rhythm throws. Our gameplan was to get him out of rhythm. We brought a lot of pressures, specifically with five man pressures so we were in good coverage situations where we had zone defenders to have us in good positions. There weren’t many situations where we had guys one on one in coverage. We always had somebody who was ready to assist and lap down for support.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly

Lagway was pressured four times and was sacked three times by Davhon Keys, West Weeks, Jack Pybyrn, Dominick McKinley, Patrick Payton, and Jacobian Guillory all single handedly getting to the quarterback or sharing sacks.

“It comes down to when you have good players in the secondary. You can be aggressive with your rushes. You can be aggressive as a front and that’s something we’ve strived off of all camp. Being aggressive upfront, being physical, dominant, getting after it and letting those guys in the back make plays. It’s about winning one on ones and if you want to win games in the SEC, win a National Championship, and win the SEC Championship, you must win one on ones, and we’ve got guys that can win one on ones.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly

What was most impressive about this defensive performance was not just the number of turnovers, but how the defense continued to play when losing both Weeks brothers during the game. Whit Weeks’ day ended on the first drive of the game when he was ejected for targeting. West ended up with 12 tackles, but left the game with a knee injury. Brian Kelly gave an update after the game saying that West Weeks suffered a calf injury and couldn’t return. The good news as of now is that they don’t think it will be too serious.

“I think that is a testament of what Blake Baker is instilling in every one of them. I think it’s the next man up mentality. They are literally so tough. Every single one of them. If somebody goes down, somebody steps up as a leader.”

LSU TE Bauer Sharp

Davhon Keys stepped up with 14 tackles, 0.5 sack, and 1 TFL. Tamarcus Cooley had nine tackles including a TFL and an INT. AJ Haulcy had six tackles and an interception. Harold Perkins Jr. had six tackles, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry. Mansoor Delane had five tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry. PJ Woodland had five tackles and a pass breakup. The list goes on and on about how loaded and unselfish the defense played as a whole.

Another secret weapon for the Tigers is Grant Chadwick, who was outstanding in flipping the field. Seven punts in the game, Chadwick averaged an impressive 50 yards per punt including four inside the 20.

“Yeah, I was very pleased with how I played. There is a new game plan every week on special teams. I think we executed that pretty well tonight. It is definitely a great feeling being able to do that in this atmosphere.”

LSU punter Grant Chadwick

Despite the dominance on defense and a strong punting game, the Tigers’ offense was not able to put the game away until late. LSU had 316 total yards of offense and was only 4 for 14 on third downs. The Tigers did manage to put a touchdown drive together to give LSU a 10-3 lead when Garrett Nussmeier completed a 23 yard touchdown pass to Zavion Thomas, but that was the only sustainable drive from the offense.

LSU had an opportunity for what looked like another touchdown drive late in the second half after Nussmeier completed a 65 yard pass to Bauer Sharp, but a fumble and an interception put that to bed. Damian Ramos made two field goals with one starting the second quarter and the other right before halftime to add to the scoring.

Nussmeier finished the game completing 15 of 27 passes for 220 yards one touchdown and one interception. Caden Durham had 93 yards rushing on 15 carries, but 51 of those yards came on the long run with two minutes left in the game. Once again, Aaron Anderson and Zavion Thomas have proven to be the Tigers’ most consistent playmakers with Anderson having four catches for 75 yards and Thomas having four grabs for 35 yards and the one offensive touchdown.

“That’s the name of the game. It’s adversity. We have a next play mentality ad a 1-0 mindset. That’s the name of the game. It’s a game of failure. I preach that to myself and I preach that to everyone else. If something goes wrong, you have to just keep moving on. Stuff didn’t go right tonight. Stuff doesn’t go right every night. That’s just the nature of the game so we got to keep moving on. Rely on the defense to make plays and bounce back.”

LSU TE Bauer Sharp

At the press conference, Brian Kelly made an animated point when asked about the struggles of the offense that this game was not about scoring a lot of points, but winning at all costs.

“We played the game to win the game. LSU won the football game. That football team just worked their tail off to get a SEC win. This team is 17-1 at night. Give them some respect instead of micromanaging every little thing.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly

The LSU Tigers improve to 3-0 and will take on Southeastern Louisiana University next Saturday before going on the road and taking on the Ole Miss Rebels.

Meanwhile, the Florida Gators fall to 1-2 to start the season and it does not get any easier as they will take on the Miami Hurricanes next Saturday.

Florida

10

Final

LSU

20

Offensive Cumulative Stats

STAT	Florida	LSU
NET TOTAL YARDS	366	316
NET RUSHING YARDS	79	96
Rushing Attempts	27	25
Average Per Rush	2.9	3.8
Rushing TDs	0	0
Yards Gained	100	120
Yards Lost	21	24
NET PASSING YARDS	287	220
Completion-Attempts	33-49	15-27
Completion Percentage	67%	56%
Avg Per Completion	8.7	14.7
YAC	180	137
Passing TDs	1	1
Drops (%)	0 (00%)	0 (00%)
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS	23	10
Rushing 1st Downs	8	1
Passing 1st Downs	12	8
Penalty 1st Downs	3	1
TOTAL PLAYS	76	52
Avg Yds/Play	4.8	6.1
Rushing-Passing	27-49	25-27

Offense Efficiency Comparison

STAT	Florida	LSU
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS	1-1	0-2
Red Zone Points	7	0
RZ TDs Rush-Pass	0-1	0-0
RZ FG Made-Att	0-0	0-0
RZ Turns	0	2
3rd Downs	6-17	4-14
4th Downs	1-1	0-0
Penalties	7-57	7-68
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	1-0
Pts Off Turns	0	10
POSSESSION TIME	37:46	22:14

Special Teams Comparison

STAT	Florida	LSU
Punts-Avg	5-43.4	7-50.4
Inside20	3	4
Field Goals	1-1	2-2
Kick Returns	0-0	2-41
Punt Returns	3-43	1-18

Defensive Comparison

STAT	Florida	LSU
TACKLES	50	78
Solo Tackles	30	40
Tackles for Loss	3	5
TFL Yards	-21	-21
Pass Breakups	4	4
QB Hurries	1	4
Sacks	0	3
Sacks Yards	-0	-18
Takeaways FR-INT	0-1	0-5
Forced Fumbles	1	0
Fumble Recoveries	0	0
FR Yards	0	0
Interceptions	1	5
INT Yards	7	82
TDs INT-FR	0-0	1-0

Florida Passing

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%	RTG
2	LAGWAY,D	33-49	287	1	5	67	102.9

Florida Receiving

#	PLAYER	NO	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG	TGT	C%	YAC	DR
8	BROWN III,V	8	62	0	16	7.8	13	62	42	0
13	BAUGH,J	7	59	0	25	8.4	7	100	70	0
89	HANSEN,H	7	50	0	16	7.1	8	88	14	0
9	STURDIVANT,J	3	43	0	18	14.3	9	33	5	0
11	MIZELL,A	3	41	1	22	13.7	5	60	7	0
86	LIVINGSTON,T	2	14	0	9	7	3	67	16	0
3	WILSON III,E	2	10	0	8	5	3	67	17	0
14	TOUNKARA,M	1	8	0	8	8	1	100	9	0
	8 RECEIVERS	33	287	1	25	8.7	49	67	180	0

Florida Rushing

#	PLAYER	ATT	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG
13	BAUGH,J	10	46	0	13	4.6
2	LAGWAY,D	9	19	0	10	2.1
24	JACKSON,J	7	13	0	6	1.9
20	CLARK,D	1	1	0	1	1
	4 RUSHERS	27	79	0	13	2.9

Florida Punting

Punter	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	I20	50+
DOMAN,T	5	217	43.4	51	3	1

Florida Field Goals

Kicker	Time	Dist	Result
T.Smack	1st-11:34	45	GOOD
TOTAL	1-1	LONG OF 45

Florida All Purpose Yards

Player	Tot	Rush	Rec	KOR	PR	IR-FR	TDs
BROWN III,V	105	0	62	0	43	0	0
BAUGH,J	105	46	59	0	0	0	0
HANSEN,H	50	0	50	0	0	0	0

Florida Defense

#	Player (Starter)	TotTk	Solo	Sack	TFL	Int	BrUp	QBH	FF
34	G.Gumbs Jr. (DE)	5	2	0	1	0	0	0	1
5	M.Graham (LB)	4	3	0	1	0	2	0	0
8	A.Chiles	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
90	B.Bett	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
0	S.Denson (DB)	3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
18	B.Thornton (S)	3	3	0	0	0	1	0	0
13	A.Gates	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	D.Johnson	3	3	0	0	1	0	0	0
33	B.Taylor Jr.	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	J.Castell (S)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	C.McClain (CB)	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
94	T.Sapp (DL)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
95	J.Lyons (DL)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	K.Asare	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	D.Moore (CB)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	G.Howard	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	J.Baugh	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	K.James	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
37	J.Toombs	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	R.Underwood	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
89	H.Hansen	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
91	J.McCloud	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTALS	50	30	0	3	1	4	1	1

Florida Punt Returns

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
BROWN III,V	3	43	14	20	0

Florida Kick Returns

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD

Florida Team Stats By Quarter

	1st	Rush	Pass	CAI	TotY	Avg	3rds	Pens
1st	5	6-16	9-47	6-9-1	63	4.2	0-3	2-16
2nd	7	6-17	15-108	10-15-1	125	6	4-6	2-16
3rd	5	8-11	12-75	9-12-1	86	4.3	1-4	3-25
4th	6	7-35	13-57	8-13-2	92	4.6	1-4	0-0
Total	23	27-79	49-287	33-49-5	366	4.8	6-17	7-57

Florida Scoring Summary

Qtr	Clock	Score	Type	Play	Drive	Score
1	11:34	FG		T.Smack 45 yd Field Goal	7/34/2:27	0-3
2	03:25	TD	PASS	A.Mizell 10 yd reception thrown by D.Lagway (PAT KICK by T.Smack GOOD)	10/75/4:08	10-10

LSU Passing

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%	RTG
18	NUSSMEIER,G	15-27	220	1	1	56	128.8

LSU Receiving

#	PLAYER	NO	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG	TGT	C%	YAC	DR
1	ANDERSON,A	4	75	0	31	18.8	8	50	55	0
0	THOMAS,Z	4	35	1	23	8.8	5	80	14	0
10	SHARP,B	3	71	0	65	23.7	5	60	50	0
6	BROWN,B	2	26	0	18	13	2	100	3	0
4	ANDERSON,N	1	9	0	9	9	2	50	10	0
8	JOHNSON,J	1	4	0	4	4	2	50	5	0
	6 RECEIVERS	15	220	1	65	14.7	27	56	137	0

LSU Rushing

#	PLAYER	ATT	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG
29	DURHAM,C	15	93	0	51	6.2
18	NUSSMEIER,G	1	5	0	5	5
1	ANDERSON,A	1	2	0	2	2
22	BERRY,H	1	2	0	2	2
8	JOHNSON,J	4	0	0	8	0
	5 RUSHERS	25	96	0	51	3.8

LSU Punting

Punter	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	I20	50+
CHADWICK,G	7	353	50.4	58	4	4

LSU Field Goals

Kicker	Time	Dist	Result
D.Ramos	2nd-14:56	47	GOOD
D.Ramos	2nd-00:00	45	GOOD
TOTAL	2-2	LONG OF 47

LSU All Purpose Yards

Player	Tot	Rush	Rec	KOR	PR	IR-FR	TDs
DURHAM,C	93	93	0	0	0	0	0
ANDERSON,A	77	2	75	0	0	0	0
SHARP,B	71	0	71	0	0	0	0

LSU Defense

#	Player (Starter)	TotTk	Solo	Sack	TFL	Int	BrUp	QBH	FF
42	D.Keys	14	6	0.5	1	0	0	0	0
33	W.Weeks (LB)	12	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
0	T.Cooley (S)	9	6	0	0	1	0	0	0
7	H.Perkins Jr. (LB)	6	3	0	0	0	2	1	0
13	A.Haulcy (DB)	6	4	0	0	1	0	0	0
4	M.Delane (CB)	5	5	0	0	0	1	1	0
11	P.Woodland (CB)	5	2	0	0	0	1	1	0
44	J.Pyburn (DE)	5	1	0	0.5	0	0	0	0
19	G.Reliford	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	P.Payton (DE)	2	0	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
10	D.Spears	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	0
46	T.Singleton	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
96	D.McKinley	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
61	B.Moore	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	C.Hilton Jr.	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	A.Breaux	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
90	J.Guillory (DT)	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
91	W.Mathis, Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	D.Pickett	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
12	J.Butler	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	TOTALS	78	40	3	5	5	4	4	0

LSU Punt Returns

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
THOMAS,Z	1	18	18	18	0

LSU Kick Returns

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
BROWN,B	2	41	21	21	0

LSU Team Stats By Quarter

	1st	Rush	Pass	CAI	TotY	Avg	3rds	Pens
1st	1	6-16	8-29	3-8-0	45	3.2	0-4	4-38
2nd	6	7-27	11-94	8-11-0	121	6.7	3-4	3-30
3rd	1	2-9	5-32	2-5-0	41	5.9	0-2	0-0
4th	2	10-44	3-65	2-3-1	109	8.4	1-4	0-0
Total	10	25-96	27-220	15-27-1	316	6.1	4-14	7-68

LSU Scoring Summary

Qtr	Clock	Score	Type	Play	Drive	Score
2	14:56	FG		D.Ramos 47 yd Field Goal	6/14/2:49	3-3
2	07:33	TD	PASS	Z.Thomas 23 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	10/76/4:03	10-3
2	00:00	FG		D.Ramos 45 yd Field Goal	3/12/0:23	13-10
3	08:08	TD	INT	D.Spears 58 yd interception return (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)		20-10