LSU exhales with victory in Swamp
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After the clock struck zero, LSU players sprinted toward an end zone and started doing the Gator Chomp.
Given the team’s tumultuous week, it could hardly be considered taunting — it was more likely a sigh of relief.
Danny Etling threw a short touchdown pass in the second half, and LSU rebounded from a stunning home loss by beating No. 21 Florida 17-16 on Saturday.
“Playing with heart, playing with grit and having some pride about yourself,” Etling said when asked about the difference in the past two games. “Last week, we lost some pride. There was no energy on the sideline. If you have a lack of energy out there, that starts with the players. We wanted to have energy, be upbeat on the sideline, have some fun out there, have each other’s back and get a win.”
The Tigers moved the ball well early with jet sweeps, then pounded it between the tackles late, doing just enough to hand the Gators their first Southeastern Conference loss of the season.
The difference was Florida’s usually stout kicking game. Eddy Pineiro missed the first extra point of his career in the third quarter and never got a chance to atone for it. He had made 46 in a row before that.
Still, LSU (4-2, 1-1) looked nothing like it did the previous week. The 24-21 loss to Troy was the program’s first at home against a nonconference opponent since 2000. The Tigers responded with tougher practices, two players-only meetings and another involving the athletic director, the head coach and both coordinators.
The Tigers opened up a 14-point lead early in the third on Etling’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Tory Carter and looked as if they might pull away. The drive was aided by D.J. Chark’s 47-yard catch, a jumpball he and cornerback Duke Dawson both came down with.
The Gators (3-2, 1-1) answered with the first of consecutive touchdown runs by Lamical Perine. Pineiro yanked the extra point left after the second one.
The Gators paid tribute to local legend Tom Petty by playing “I Won’t Back Down” at the end of the third quarter. The crowd of 90,000-plus sang along as the hit was played over the sound system.
Petty died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday, a day after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 66. Born and raised in Gainesville, Petty once worked as a groundskeeper at the University of Florida as he tried to make it in the music industry.
› No. 12 Auburn 44, Ole Miss 23
AUBURN, Ala. — Kerryon Johnson is enjoying taking his mostly healed hamstring on frequent jaunts to the end zone, and the Tigers (5-0, 3-0) are happily riding along with him.
Both continued their hot streaks Saturday. Johnson rushed for 204 yards on 28 carries — both career highs — with three touchdowns, and the Tigers put together their third straight lopsided win over an SEC team. Johnson, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, has 11 touchdown runs during that stretch after missing two games with a right hamstring injury.
The Rebels (2-3, 0-2) endured their second straight blowout in the state a week after losing 66-3 to No. 1 Alabama. This one was much closer, but by no means competitive. The Tigers were up 35-3 at halftime before quarterback Shea Patterson and Ole Miss managed to whittle down the lead.
Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham completed 14 of 21 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. That included a screen pass that Ryan Davis took 75 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, the Tigers’ longest offensive play of the season.
Auburn’s Daniel Carlson made three field goals to become the SEC’s career scoring leader with 413 points. Georgia’s Blair Walsh set the old mark of 412 points.
The Rebels snapped a 10-quarter streak without a touchdown when Patterson hit D.K. Metcalf on a 9-yard pass in the third quarter.
Patterson, who led two more touchdown drives in the fourth, completed 34 of 51 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns, both to Metcalf. A.J. Brown had nine catches for 100 yards as the Rebels produced 429 total yards but allowed 561. › South Carolina 48, Arkansas 22 COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s defense scored three touchdowns and Jake Bentley finished 16-of-31 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks beat a team from the SEC West for the first time since 2013.
Bentley spread the ball around to nine receivers for South Carolina (4-2, 2-2).
After a 75-yard touchdown drive by Arkansas (2-3, 0-2) tied it at 10 early in the second quarter, the Razorbacks gained just 48 yards on their next 18 plays. Those plays included an interception, thrown by Austin Allen, that Skai Moore returned 34 yards for a touchdown and an Allen fumble that T.J. Brunson returned 74 yards for a score.
South Carolina’s offense clicked, too. The Gamecocks gained 358 yards, scoring on five of eight possessions in the final three quarters. Bentley was sacked just once — a week after the offense line allowed seven sacks in a loss to Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks put in freshman quarterback Cole Kelley in the fourth quarter. He was 8-for-13 passing for 140 yards and led Arkansas on two touchdown drives. He also threw an interception returned for a score.
Coach Brett Bielema is now 10-24 against SEC teams in five years at Arkansas, which heads to No. 1 Alabama next Saturday. South Carolina travels to Tennessee for a noon kickoff the same day.