Trask’s turnovers put Gators in tough spot

There was no shortage of eye-popping moments in this LSU-Florida game. Cade York’s 57-yard field goal. Marco Wilson’s inexplicable shoe toss. The dense fog that rolled in late and covered the Swamp. Kyle Trask’s three turnovers in the second quarter.

For the Tigers, those will be fond memories.

For the Gators, they will be nightmares.

Max Johnson threw three touchdown passes in his first college start, York delivered the kick of his life with 23 seconds remaining and reigning national champion LSU stunned No. 6 Florida

37-34 on a cool and foggy Saturday night.

York drilled his kick through the eerie elements and the uprights after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Florida’s Wilson, who threw tight end Kole Taylor’s size 14 shoe following a thirddown stop. LSU would have punted. Instead, the Tigers got a first down and moved into York’s longdistance range.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game where an opponent threw a shoe, to be honest with you,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said.

Not many have. The kick was a rarity, too, especially because York could barely see the goal posts.

“It was a little blurry,” he said. “It went down the middle, right?”

The Gators (8-2) had a final shot, and Trask got them in position to tie. But Evan McPherson was wide left from 51 yards on the final play. LSU (4-5) celebrated wildly all over the field.

“We had an easier one than they did. We just missed it,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said.

Johnson had a lot to do with the outcome. The son of former Super Bowl champion Brad Johnson repeatedly torched Florida’s beleaguered defense. He threw for 239 yards, nearly half of them (108) to Kayshon Boutte, and ran for 52 more.

“Boy, his confidence was incredible,” Orgeron said.

Johnson got a hug and a kiss on top of his head from his father, who walked down to the first row and leaned over the wall to reach his son. Teammates were still dancing and screaming all around.

Florida didn’t help itself with three turnovers in the first half that led to 10 points and a 24-17 deficit.

“You can’t win doing what we did tonight, no matter what’s going on and who you’re playing,” Mullen said. “Minus-three turnover ratio, we don’t score touchdowns in the red zone, we can’t make key stops when we need to defensively and we lose the special teams part of the game.”

Trask accounted for four touchdowns and all three turnovers, first putting his teammates in a hole and then helping them climb out of it. But he was unable to rally the Gators when it mattered.

“It’s just one foot in front of the other, you know, and that’s what we plan on doing next week,” Trask said.