Florida Gators at LSU Tigers

No. 3 LSU intercepts 5 of Florida QB DJ Lagway's passes in the Tigers' 20-10 victory

Garrett Nussmeier threw for 220 yards and a touchdown, Dashawn Spears returned one of his first two career interceptions 58 yards for a touchdown and No. 3 LSU beat Florida 20-10 on Saturday night.

“LSU won the football game! Won the game! I don’t know what you want from me," Kelly said. "What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?

“Those are ridiculous questions. And I am getting tired of it. That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win and you want to know what’s wrong,” Kelly continued. “Give them some respect. How about that? Instead of micro-analyzing every little thing.”

After the ejection of LSU preseason AP All-America linebacker Whit Weeks for a targeting penalty in the game's opening minutes, the Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) still summoned a swarming, opportunistic defensive performance that also included three sacks.

LSU edge rusher Jack Pyburn, a transfer from Florida, said joining the Tigers' “fast, violent, physical and aggressive” defense was ”the best decision I ever made."

“We have the guys in the secondary that can make those plays,” he said. “We have the guys up front that are going to stuff the run.”

Lagway's career high in interceptions came in what was widely seen as a pivotal bounce-back game for the Gators (1-2, 0-1) and fourth-year coach Billy Napier after a surprising home loss to South Florida a week earlier.

Napier alluded to the Lagway's series of offseason injuries while addressing his QB's performance in Tiger Stadium.

“We all understand the dynamic here,” Napier said about Lagway, who finished 33 of 49 for 287 yards and one TD. “It’s a young player that, you know, he’s gonna learn from his experiences.”

The Gators amped up the intensity more than an hour before kickoff when many of them jogged or walked a lap around the entire field — a route that took them near the tunnel to the LSU locker room.

As Florida players stared down hecklers in the LSU student section, several Tigers players warming up nearby advanced toward the Gators, shouting and gesticulating. Shoving ensued, and as officials and uniformed officers diffused the standoff, an official threw a “sideline warning” flag.

“What I respect about our team tonight is they showed up ready to play,” Napier said. “They competed their ass off. I thought they stuck together through the momentum in the game, and we just made too many mistakes.”

After kickoff, the game was hard fought, with defenders delivering big hits and offensive linemen vigorously finishing blocks — including one by LSU lineman Weston Davis that wiped out Tigers coach Kelly along the sideline (he was uninjured).

But both offenses stumbled.

LSU, which had starting center Braelin Moore back after an ankle injury last week, gained just 96 yards rushing (with 51 coming on a late run by Caden Durham) and punted seven times. Nussmeier's pass was intercepted on a risky throw back across the middle that has an infuriated Kelly following his quarterback to the bench.

“Obviously, the interception can't happen,” Kelly said. “I'm not going to beat him up here. He knows. We've got to take care of the football.”

Nussmeier's 23-yard scoring pass to Zavion Thomas gave LSU a 10-3 lead. Florida responded with Lagway's 10-yard pass to Aiden Mizell.

Lagway's second turnover was AJ Haulcy's interception that set up Damian Ramos' 45-yard field goal, giving LSU a 13-10 lead as time expired in the first half.

Spears' second interception and long return put LSU up by 10.

“I knew it was coming,” Spears said of the pass he picked off, noting that he recognized the play from studying video of Florida's offense. “If you watch the play back, you'll see that I was creeping towards it.”

And after Cooley redeemed himself with an interception of Lagway's pass in the end zone with less than seven minutes remaining, cornerback DJ Pickett had an interception to end Florida's final possession.

The takeaway Florida: The Gators' evident intensity and effort was canceled out by turnovers and other mistakes, including an offensive holding call that nullified an 87-yard touchdown pass to Jadan Baugh in the first half.

LSU: The defense has been good enough to compensate for an offense that has been inconsistent and less explosive than expected with the experienced Nussmeier — a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite who passed for 4,052 yards last season — under center.

Up next Florida: At Miami next Saturday.

LSU: Hosts Southeastern Louisiana next Saturday.