Associated Press3 minute read
Jayden Daniels succeeds in the air and on the ground in LSU victory
Jayden Daniels throws three touchdowns and scores twice to lead LSU to a 52-35 victory over Florida.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Jayden Daniels passed for 606 yards and five touchdowns and No. 19 LSU beat Florida 52-35 on Saturday night.
Daniels continued to make his case for the Heisman Trophy, leading the Tigers (7-3, 5-2 SEC) to touchdowns on five straight second-half possessions. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 12 times for 234 yards and two scores to become the first FBS quarterback to have at least 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a game.
Florida (5-5, 3-4 SEC) took its only lead in the third quarter (28-24) on a 21-yard touchdown from Trevor Etienne and one yard from Graham Mertz.
But Daniels scored on a 51-yard rush, then on LSU’s ensuing possession he found Noah Cain for a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 38-28.
His career night continued in the fourth quarter when he connected with Brian Thomas for a 37-yard score to make it 45-35.
Daniels hit Thomas again late in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Thomas totaled 150 yards on six catches and two scores.
LSU took a 10-point lead early in the second quarter. Damian Ramos kicked a 28-yard field goal and Daniels added an 85-yard touchdown run, the longest in LSU history by a quarterback to make the score 17-7.
Both teams scored on their first possessions. LSU took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Josh Williams to cap a 7-play, 75-yard drive.
Florida responded, driving 75 yards in 8 plays, tying the game at 7 when Mertz found Eugene Wilson III for a 9-yard touchdown.
Etienne led the Gators, rushing for 99 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.