LSU Vs. Florida Final Score: Tigers Take What They Want, 41-11

A: Fishing, being shot in the left eye, returning fire

B: Elvis impersonation segueing into astronaut impersonation*

LSU dispatched Florida in convincing fashion in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, 41-11 and did so despite the traditional weirdness of a game involving Les Miles going almost entirely against the Tigers.

Truly, this was dominance by LSU, which rolled up 454 yards of total offense, splitting it evenly between the running game (239 yards) and the passing game (215), and held Florida to 213 yards of total offense.

LSU still appears to have Florida comfortably in its rear view. But that might be how Florida gets back into this game. The Gators have tightened up on defense and used a big play on offense to cut the Tigers’ lead to 27-11 entering the fourth quarter at Tiger Stadium.

A red zone stop by the Gators limited LSU to just a field goal early in the third quarter, and then Florida’s Jacoby Brissett found Andre Debose on a bomb for a 65-yard touchdown pass. Chris Rainey squirmed into the end zone on the subsequent two-point conversion to pull the Gators within two possessions of the Tigers.

This is the best thing that can be said for Florida after the first half of its trek into Tiger Stadium: the Gators scored.

After LSU opened up a 24-0 lead — that could have been a 28-0 edge, if not for a touchdown on a fake punt brought back because of an excessive celebration penalty — the Gators put together a 14-play, 59-yard drive that Caleb Sturgis capped with a 34-yard field goal. Florida trails at halftime, 24-3, and the 21-point deficit isn’t any more likely to be erased than the 24-point one was.

Florida came into LSU’s Tiger Stadium with a completely green quarterback and a young defense. Given how LSU played on the first two drives of their SEC showdown, the Gators may be looking at a blowout before the first quarter is over.

After LSU forced a three-and-out that gave the Tigers great field position, Jarrett Lee found Reuben Randle for a 46-yard touchdown pass on LSU’s second offensive play of the game, building an early 7-0 lead with little effort.