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Gators give up 701 yards in LSU loss, most allowed in UF history

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•11/11/23•

ZachAbolverdi

Billy Napier | LSU Postgame

BATON ROUGE, La. — Jayden Daniels had his best game of the season last year at Florida. The LSU senior quarterback produced a record-setting performance against the Gators on Saturday.

Daniels went off in the Tigers’ 52-35 win over UF, becoming the first player in FBS history with 300-plus passing yards and 200-plus rushing yards in a single game.

“The quarterback is exceptional,” Florida coach Billy Napier said of Daniels after the game. “I think we can all agree the difference in the game is him being able to take off running.”

Daniels rushed for a career-high 234 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, including an 85-yard score and a 51-yarder. He also threw for 372 yards and three TDs on 17 of 26 passing.

The performance was certainly a Heisman moment for Daniels, who struck the Heisman Trophy pose after one of his touchdowns Saturday night.

“I think it’s possible,” Daniels of his chances. “I just give thanks to God and my teammates because without them I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

The Tigers finished with a whopping 701 total yards of offense, the most allowed by the Gators in program history. The previous high was giving up 687 yards to Oklahoma in the 2020 Cotton Bowl.

Florida’s defense played well early in the season but has struggled mightily in the last four games, allowing an average of 43.3 points and 533.3 yards. Prior to the 701 yards at LSU, UF gave up 481 yards to Arkansas, 486 yards to Georgia and 465 yards at South Carolina.

In eight games against Power 5 opponents this year, UF has given up 441.5 yards and 32.5 points per game. In 11 games against Power 5 teams last season, the defense allowed 411.8 yards and 30 points per game.

“We’re approaching 30 percent of the snaps this year from true freshmen. We’re probably playing more young players than anybody in America. There’s some issues that come with that,” Napier said. ”Look, Austin (Armstrong) would tell you that he could do his job better. That’s what he would tell you. There’s nobody who wants to do it more than he does. And look, playing the unit’s performance is a reflection of a lot of people, not one guy.

“We all like to think in those terms. But it’s position coaches, it’s analysts, it’s GAs, it’s the scout offense, it’s the head coach, it’s the strength coach. There’s a number of people who contribute to our ability to perform on a consistent basis. Austin’s the leader over there and he’s the coordinator. We’ve played well at times and we’ve been very inconsistent at times. We need to continue to learn from our experience and continue to grow and improve.”

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