The Florida defense dominated the nation in nearly all defensive categories entering Saturday’s primetime matchup with LSU – except for sacks produced, with only seven in four games.
The No. 1 total defense in the country nearly matched that total Saturday night, overwhelming LSU’s offensive line and sacking sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson five times in the Gators’ 13-3 victory.
Florida senior linebacker Ryan Stamper said Jefferson feeling the heat and being forced to scramble stemmed from the defense’s “great job covering” and effective penetration through the LSU offensive line.
“[Jefferson] wants to run the ball a lot, and we noticed that,” Stamper said. “If we got good pressure on them, we knew he would want to run the ball a lot, so we knew we would get a lot of chances to sack him.”
LSU took over at its own 20-yard line in the third quarter with the score 10-3 after Florida sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 25-yard field goal. But Florida junior defensive end Justin Trattou and senior linebacker Brandon Spikes sacked Jefferson on first and third downs to force LSU’s third punt of the game.
The LSU offensive is now tied with three other teams in sacks allowed at No. 107 in the country with 18 through six games.
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10-12-2009, 04:55 PM
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