LSU'S DEFENSE SMOTHERS FLORIDA W/ PROGRAM RECORD 5 INTs, WINNING 20-10

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

Tonight, we witnessed Blake Baker's LSU defense lead the way for yet another win....but against a desperate 1-1 Florida team in front of a raucous Death Valley atmosphere, during a chippy, trash-talking, physically violent encounter, we all just watched Baker's unbelievable defensive unit win the game singlehandedly.

Losing star linebacker Whit Weeks (because of a ridiculous targeting ejection) only a couple of plays into the game, as their inept offense constantly wasted possessions, committed insane penalties, scored only 1 touchdown themselves, and time after time put their defense in horrible situations, all as they faced a Florida offense that possessed the ball for 15 more minutes, LSU's grim reaper defense still delivered a tyrannical performance....refusing to lose.

Producing a defensive touchdown from 1 of DBU's 5 interceptions (2nd all time at LSU), allowing just a single offensive score for the 3rd straight game, while relentlessly attacking Gators QB DJ Lagway (4 QB hits, a dozen or more pressures culminating in 3 sacks) alongside a 4 quarter smothering of Florida's strong ground attack (just 46 yards for Jadan Baugh, a total of 79 rushing yards, averaging 2.9 per carry), Saturday night became an evening where over 100,000 Tiger faithful were able to sit back and watch Blake Baker's Bayou Bandits go hunting.

Despite losing Whit in a shocking way early on, before also going without the high performing West Weeks for the 4th quarter, Baker reached deep into his linebacker room for the youngest Weeks Brother Zach (needing him to play snaps throughout crunch time), but other LSU Tiger defenders stepped up in the absence of their linebacker brother stalwarts:

Sophomore linebacker Davhon Keys always impresses, piling up 14 tackles, 0.5 sack, and 1 tackle for loss, West Weeks racked up 12 and another tackle for loss over 3 quarters before his calf injury, Tamarcus Cooley was exacting at safety (9 key tackles & 1 interception), with Harold Perkins also supplying a versatile star turn, batting down 2 passes, harassing Lagway in the backfield on multiple occasions, registering 6 tackles, and 1 QB hit.

But 5 interceptions is without a doubt the headline here.....good Lord....

Catching just 6 interceptions over 13 games last year as an entire defense in 2024, DBU is back in session as Corey Raymond's hungry secondary picked off 5 from Lagway, including 2 picks for young Tiger Dashawn Spears, 1 each for transfer safeties Tamarcus Cooley and AJ Haulcy, and a final pick by freshman DJ Pickett to kill the game off.

I'm running out of superlatives to describe just how phenomenal this LSU defense really is.....

Brutal...

Savage...

Vicious...

Calculating...

Chaos-Inducing...

Playmaking...

Violently thorough...

A freight train of hatepain...

A medieval cavalcade of physical vengeance...

A brigade of secondary sultans and beastly game-changers....

Conquistadors of towering dominion and chaotic oblivion....

Tonight, enduring one of LSU's worst offensive displays of the Brian Kelly era, losing key defensive leaders at multiple points, with their backs repeatedly against the wall, Blake Baker's defense continue to not only lead this team forward, they are dragging LSU's near corpse-like offense over the line, whether they like it or not.

LSU's offense was pathetic vs Florida....looking anonymous for the 2nd straight game...as if they would rather be anywhere else....

Gifted 5 interceptions, a complete shutdown performance by their defense, plus the return of center Braelin Moore, Joe Sloan's offense is regressing by the game, turning (what should have been) a dominant win into a far closer game.

Scoring a single field goal off 5 turnovers is disgraceful as it stands, but then you add another lukewarm, pisspoor outing by QB Garrett Nussmeier (220 yards, 15/27, 1 TD pass and 1 awful red zone interception), limited output by a loaded receiving corps (both Aaron Anderson and Bauer Sharp at 75 and 71 yards respectively), and an inability to sustain any rushing attack (Caden Durham's 93 yards carried the entire team load, but 51 came from a single late 4th quarter play, as the rest of LSU rushers combined for 3 yards)....Sloan's "handbrake on" / "kid gloves" offense isn't merely a worrying concern, we are in Cam Cameron territory right now....

....it is becoming undeniable:

Right now, I feel more comfortable when LSU's defense is on the field, and at many points during the game, I felt Baker's defense had a better chance of scoring points than Sloan's offense....

It goes without saying....when Baker's defense provided a pick six in the 2nd half, it would become the Tigers' only 2nd half points....

Sloan's offense went 3 and out on 5 separate drives, including their first trio of possessions, crapped away 10 drives in under 2 minutes and 7 seconds, as they possessed the ball for a game high of just over 4 minutes, this decaying lack of production or control will come back to haunt these 2025 Tigers if not corrected....but for tonight, Joe Sloan can thank his old buddy Blake Baker for saving his blushes.

There were a few explosive plays, Aaron Anderson went for 31 yards at one point, Caden Durham burst free for the longest run of the year (51 yards), before Bauer Sharp caught a pass and took off 65 yards down the seam for the biggest gain of LSU's first 3 games....

But what happened after that Bauer Sharp catch and run illustrates exactly why this offense could hurt LSU in SEC play:

After Sharp's 65 yard gallop appeared to ice the game, placing LSU deep inside Florida's red zone, the next two plays proved to be a calamity of errors:

First, a multiple fumble scrum lost 17 yards, followed by the worst interception of Garrett Nussmeier's career, throwing needlessly and carelessly into coverage as he rolled to his right (almost out of bounds), throwing across his body while off balance....

In 2025 so far, nothing looks easy for Nuss and the entire offensive unit right now, killing drives with diabolical O-line penalties or complete lackadaisical play.

Regardless of these glaring offensive issues, LSU's defensive unit are back to their vintage best, a mighty return and empirical rise that has been a joy to behold, clinching the Tigers' 3rd straight victory on the shoulders of their exhaustive, forthright brutality.

2025 LSU is winning ugly right now, and it may not be for the feint of heart, the purist, or the new age offensive guru crowd, however, as long as this team continue winning, no one in Baton Rouge will give a damn.

AS ALWAYS, WE WILL BE DIVING INTO THE GAME IN EVEN MORE DEPTH DURING OUR SUNDAY LIVE SHOW!!! OF COURSE, AVAILABLE HERE, YOUTUBE, X AND INSTAGRAM.

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

©️ 2025 Uninterrupted Writings Inc