HALFTIME: LSU shows new life, leads Florida 24-17

LSU was counted out of this one before the first quarter ever began, but the Tigers have shown life halfway through the contest.

This is not the dominant Florida performance that so many drew up ahead of the Gators’ meeting with LSU this weekend, thanks to goal line stops and a type of explosiveness on defense we haven’t seen all season.

With two games remaining on the schedule, LSU entered Saturday night’s matchup against the Florida Gators with the hopes of getting back on the right track to finish off what’s been a rough season on a high note.

LSU is without cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and one of its most solid receiving targets in tight end Arik Gilbert after he opted out ahead of the game this week.

The Gators opened with an 11-play, 74-yard drive, only to be stopped at the goal line and give the LSU offense, led by Max Johnson for the first time, the ball at the one.

LSU’s initial offensive effort was dismal though, and the Tigers went out and were left punting at their own seven.

Things hardly got better for LSU from that point, losing cornerback Cordale Flott to a targeting call and allowing Florida to draw first blood with a drive that ended in a one-yard, punch-it-in touchdown run on third-and-goal from potential Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Kyle Trask.

The score gave Florida a 7-0 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.

But then LSU did something it hasn’t shown a great ability to do recently — respond.

Johnson, partially off his own mobility, led the Tigers 75 yards down the field in a drive capped off with a five-yard touchdown to Jaray Jenkins that had the Tigers tied with the Gators, 7-7 at the bottom of the first quarter.

LSU was able to take the lead when freshman cornerback Elias Ricks stepped up with a 68-yard touchdown on an interception return to give LSU the lead, with fellow cornerback Jay Ward coming up with an interception of his own in second-quarter action.

Coming into the game, Trask had thrown for just three interceptions on the season, and these two come against the worst-ranked passing defense in the SEC.

In the same half of football, though, there was a particularly bright spot for Trask as he tied Danny Wuerffel’s single-season record for passing touchdowns (39) after finding wide receiver Jacob Copeland in the end zone.

But LSU wouldn’t lose the lead for long, as Johnson put another passing touchdown on the board after connecting with wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on the 34-yarder.

LSU continued making strong defensive plays, forcing its third turnover of the game when Trask was sacked by linebacker Ray Thornton, who forced a fumble recovered by defensive end BJ Ojulari to set up a 39-yard field goal just before halftime.

If LSU can keep the momentum through the second half, the Tigers will pull off the biggest upset in college football this week.