LIVE Thread: LSU 17, FSU 14 – Halftime
No. 5 LSU opened the season with a Top 10 matchup against No. 8 Florida State in Orlando, a game that comes a year after the two programs played a thriller to open the 2022 season.
The Bengal Tiger staff is on hand in the Orlando for fiull coverage, and you can keep up with the game’s top plays in the story below. (Story will be refreshed throughout the game).
FIRST QUARTER
Florida State won the toss and deferred to the second half
LSU took the ball first, and right out of the gates the offense found an explosive play as quarterback Jayden Daniels hit running back Tre Bradford for a short pass that went 55 yards.
After a quick pass to tight end Mason Smith, LSU was on the 5-yard line. That’s when the FSU defensive line turned in a handful of key stops against the run, and a couple of incomplete passes left LSU facing 4th-and-1 on the 1-yard line. The Tigers didn’t turn to the running backs, and Jayden Daniels was sacked for a turnover on downs.
From there, FSU quickly countered – and the Seminoles got points out of it. After hitting on a few early passes, quarterback Jordan Travis found receiver Keon Coleman for a 40-yard touchdown strike. With a coupled missed tackles on the play, the Tigers looked shaky on defense after the first drive.
FSU 7, LSU 0 – 7:53 remaining in first quarter
LSU’s offense turned to receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers to move the chains on the second drive, then it was Kyren Lacy who made a key catch and managed to keep his balance en route to a 33-yard gain down to the 1-yard line.
It was the second time the Tigers had been a yard away from the end zone, but this time it took running back Tre Bradford just one play to punch the ball in.
LSU 7, FSU 7 – 3:48 remaining in first quarter
After an impressive opening drive for FSU, the LSU defense forced a three-and-out on the next drive.
That was a taste of what was to come the rest of the half, with the Tigers forcing three punts and nabbing an interception on the next four drives.
On LSU’s third drive, the FSU defense gave the Tigers plenty of help thanks to personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct flags on three of the first four snaps.
SECOND QUARTER
After getting back into the red zone for the third time in three drives, running back Josh Williams picked up six yards on 3rd-and-7 to get the Tigers to a 4th-and-1 from the 13-yard line.
Once again, LSU head coach Brian Kelly elected to go for it. And the same result followed, with Daniels being sacked and the Tigers going without points on the turnover on downs.
FSU was forced into a punt on the following drive, but the turn of events continued on the next two plays. First, LSU’s Aaron Anderson muffed the punt and the Seminoles recovered. A year ago, the Tigers had multiple muffed punts for turnovers in the one-point loss to the Seminoles. Then, LSU’s Greg Brooks got FSU quarterback Jordan Travis off-schedule on a quick throw, which resulted in Travis throwing the ball into the chest of LSU cornerback Duce Chestnut for the interception.
The teams traded punts, then Jayden Daniels flashed his legs.
On the first snap of LSU’s fifth drive, Daniels took a designed run into the red zone on a 40-yard gain.
A pass to tight end Mason Taylor got the ball inside the five-yard line, and while FSU’s defense got a couple stops, the Tigers punched the ball in with running back Noah Cain to take the lead.
LSU 14, FSU 7 – 6:02 remaining in the second quarter
After the LSU defense came up with four stops in a row on defense, Daniels and FSU drove down the field for the team’s second touchdown. Once again, it was FSU wide receiver Keon Coleman who hauled in the touchdown catch on an impressive end zone grab from 21 yards out.
LSU 14, FSU 14 – 0:57 remaining in the second quarter
Just when it appeared the Tigers might sit on the ball and head to halftime tied at 14-14, LSU running back Josh Williams took off for 35 yards on a 3rd-and-10 run. Jayden Daniels then found a wide open Brian Thomas for an 18-yard gain, which gave LSU a fifth trip to the red zone across six first-half drives.
The Tigers made a few attempts to inch closer to the end zone, but a throwaway on third down for Daniels resulted in a field goal from kicker Damian Ramos – who hit on his first field goal of the night to give the Tigers the lead as time expired on the half.
HALFTIME: LSU 17, FSU 14
The post LIVE Thread: LSU 17, FSU 14 – Halftime appeared first on On3.
