Florida clinches SEC East with last-stand win vs. LSU

The SEC Championship Game will be a rematch of 2015.

Florida used two late field goals to pull ahead of LSU and beat the Tigers 16-10 on Saturday. The win means Florida is the SEC’s East division champion and will play Alabama in two weeks in the SEC Championship Game.

LSU had a chance to take the victory late, but Florida’s defense held strong. And got some help from the LSU offense in doing so

The Gators forced LSU into a fourth and goal with three seconds left. LSU called timeout to set up a last-chance gasp for the win, but there was inexplicably confusion on the play. LSU quarterback Danny Etling and running back Derrius Guice were clearly not on the same wavelength. The two hesitated as Etling pitched to Guice, whose dive to the end zone came up about a foot short.

The goal-line futility was a fitting way to end the game, however. Both offenses struggled mightily as they got close to the end zone. And LSU’s special teams had an issue too. The Tigers failed on a short field goal in the second half because the holder bobbled the snap.

Had the field goal been good, LSU would have simply needed another field goal on its final drive to force overtime.

Florida lost 29-15 to Alabama in 2015 and it’s fair to assume the line in this year’s game will favor the Crimson Tide by more than 14 points. Alabama’s defensive front is the best in college football, and save for flashes in the second half Florida’s offense was inept.

Quarterback Austin Appleby threw for 144 yards; 98 of them came on one play. After LSU turned the ball over to Florida at the Gator 2 in the third quarter, Appleby hit WR Tyrie Cleveland for a 98-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10. Subtract the Cleveland completion from Appleby’s total and you have an apt summation of Florida’s passing offense throughout the day.

It’s also fair to assume that the LSU loss means interim coach Ed Orgeron is no longer a favorite for the full-time job. Orgeron likely needed LSU to finish the regular season at 9-3 to have a fair shot at becoming the team’s permanent coach. But the Tigers will, at best, finish 8-4 with a win over Texas A&M on Thursday.

Don’t be surprised if you start hearing Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher’s name in association with the Tigers a bit more now.

Star LSU running back Leonard Fournette dressed out for Saturday’s game after he was involved in a pregame scuffle. Fournette was in street clothes when the skirmish happened, but emerged from the LSU locker room afterwards in full pads.

He didn’t contribute much to the running game. Hampered by an ankle injury, Fournette had 12 carries for 40 yards.