Both Quarterbacks Deliver In LSU’s Win Over Florida

Joe Burrow looked like the Heisman Trophy contender he is, and Florida’s Kyle Trask found no issue going up against an LSU defense with a practically nonexistent pass rush in LSU’s 42-28 win over the Florida Gators on Saturday night.

Burrow and LSU had the first go on offense, as Florida won the toss and chose to defer.

Burrow was exceptionally accurate, completing the first two quarters of action with just one incompletion. He was 10-of-11 passing for 121 yards and two touchdowns at the half.

Trask also shined in the first half, possibly because he had all day to throw. The redshirt junior was 11-of-18 passing for 141 yards and two touchdowns through the first half.

Orgeron spoke highly of the Florida signal-caller, saying that he played “phenomenal” and “lights out” all night long. Orgeron wasn’t wrong in that — Trask did put on a solid performance — especially given his lack of experience.

Trask wasn’t a starter in high school, and rode the bench at Florida before starter Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ended injury against Kentucky earlier this season.

In the loss, Trask became the first Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow to record three passing touchdowns in a road game versus a AP Poll top 10 team.

Burrow says he didn’t feel any pressure all night long, and credited that to the performance of his offensive line. He wasn’t sacked once.

“That’s about as flawless as an offensive line has ever played that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Hats off to those guys. I’m so proud of them.”

As he has all season, Burrow looked poised in the pocket, had good ball placement, timed his passes well and made some impressive throws into tight windows.

He scrambled and made plays with his legs when needed, carrying six times for 43 yards.

Burrow finished the night nearly perfect, completing 21-of-24 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns.

His only real errors were a risky pass straight into traffic to Ja’Marr Chase on the seventh drive, and his attempt to force a pass into double coverage on the following drive, which resulted in his second incompletion of the evening.

Trask ended the night 23-of-39 passing for 310 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Ball security was a concern for him heading into the game, and he played without a turnover for the majority of the night until he was intercepted by Derek Stingley Jr. in the end zone with 7:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Trask also threw an interception into the hands of cornerback Kristian Fulton, but it was called back due to two personal foul penalties on the LSU defense.

He was accurate for the most part, and did suffer from some dropped passes from his receivers. But it didn’t help that Trask threw behind his receivers on multiple plays, either.

Trask was mobile enough, as efficient as he had to be when he faced what little pressure the Tigers defense did bring. He rushed 10 times for 21 yards.

The quarterback also showed toughness, not afraid to take a hit or run straight into a group of LSU defenders if he thought that’s what was needed to put his team in a position to score — although that’s probably not what the medical staff had in mind after he sprained his MCL last week.

Florida also worked in Emory Jones at quarterback on a handful of plays. He was 1-of-2 passing for one yards and a touchdown, and recorded nine rushes for 36 yards.

Orgeron and the Tigers had spent the week preparing for the possibility of seeing Jones, but the head coach did admit that he saw a bit more of Jones than he expected to.

The Tigers will face Mississippi State next week, and could see either Tommy Stevens or Garrett Shrader at quarterback.