Jayden Daniels passed for 372 yards and rushed for 234 in a milestone performance to lead No. 19 LSU to a 52-35 victory over Florida on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play at Baton Rouge, La.
Daniels passed for three touchdowns and scored on two long runs as the Tigers (7-3, 5-2 SEC) defeated the Gators for the fifth straight time and 11th in the past 14 meetings.
Trevor Etienne rushed for 99 yards and three touchdowns for the Gators (5-5, 3-4), who lost their third consecutive game.
Daniels is the first player in FBS history to pass for 350 yards and rush for 200 in the same game. He also is the second SEC player to pass for 200 yards and rush for 200 in the same game. Johnny Manziel passed for 287 and rushed for 229 in Texas A&M’s 41-13 trouncing of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 4, 2013.
It was unclear most of the week if Daniels would play after he sustained a concussion on a hit from Alabama’s Dallas Turner last weekend.
But Daniels completed 17 of 26 passes and helped LSU rack up 701 yards of total offense.
Brian Thomas Jr. had six receptions for 150 yards and two scores, Malik Nabers caught six passes for 132 yards and Noah Cain had a touchdown catch for the Tigers.
Graham Mertz was 26-of-38 passing for 311 yards and one touchdown pass plus one scoring run for Florida. Eugene Wilson III caught a scoring pass and Ricky Pearsall had seven receptions for 103 yards.
The Tigers led 24-14 after Kaleb Jackson scored on a 5-yard run early in the third quarter.
Florida quickly answered as Etienne scored on a 21-yard run.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson failed to catch it and unintentionally kicked it upfield. Dijon Johnson recovered it for the Gators at the LSU 23-yard line.
Five plays later, Mertz snuck in from the 1 to give Florida its only lead of the game at 28-24.
Just 67 seconds later, the Tigers were back on top. Daniels broke loose up the middle and deked multiple linebackers and defensive backs while running 51 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Daniels tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Cain to make it 38-28 with 2:18 to play. After Etienne scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter to bring Florida within three, Daniels threw two touchdown passes to Thomas to seal the win.
Daniels passed for 157 yards and rushed for 139 in the first half as the Tigers led 17-14 at the break. He provided a major highlight with a scintillating 85-yard scoring run down the left sideline with 8:21 remaining in the half.
–Field Level Media
