ahead

By

CHUCK CORDER

BATON ROUGE &045; Not that you would know it from where LSU ranked in the Southeastern Conference in touchdowns scored heading into Saturday’s 19-7 loss to Florida, but head coach Nick Saban was wary of an inept offensive performance, such as the one he witnessed in Death Valley against the Gators.

Both Florida (4-4, 2-2) and the Tigers (5-1, 2-1), which tumbled from No. 6 to No. 10 in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls, led the SEC with 27 TDs heading into he afternoon kickoff.

But ever since a 59-13 thrashing of Arizona, in the second game of the season, LSU’s fourth year coach was concerned of his supposed high-octane offense.

“In the Arizona game we played very well on offense,&uot; Saban said. &uot;Since we’ve been sporadic in how we executed &045; 14 points at Mississippi State were off turnovers. We don’t do a consistent job of executing down-in and down-out.&uot;

LSU didn’t do anything consistent Saturday, except repeatedly make things difficult for themselves to get back into the contest.

The tip of the iceberg came on LSU’s last play from scrimmage. Down 19-7, with time of the essence, quarterback Matt Mauck hit receiver Devery Henderson on a slant route.

The fans rose to their feet, as Henderson broke into the open field, racing away from Florida defenders and to the land of milk and honey.

However, Gator cornerback Johnny Lamar caught up to the omega of the Bluegrass Miracle, poked the ball loose. Florida recovered and ran the clock out.

&uot;Our defense is playing extremely well,&uot; Florida head coach Ron Zook said. &uot;They are playing with emotion. We are fortunate we are playing with a lot of guys to keep them fresh, and they believe. That’s the big thing.&uot;

OUT OF NOWHERE &045; In the 2003 LSU football media guide, under the three-line bio of Brandon Washington, the second line reads: “Powerful lineman with an initial burst of quickness.”

Truer words were never uttered of the redshirt sophomore from Tuscaloosa, Ala., who made just two tackles in 11 games in 2002 and five in five games this season &045; both as a backup interior lineman &045; as Washington gave LSU life early in the second quarter with a key forced fumble.

&uot;We were fortunate to stop them close one time with the fumble,&uot; Saban said, &uot;but the defense gave up some big plays. We had them third and 20 and we gave up a first down. Two of their big play passes came on third down. We created the situations we wanted to create and didn’t capitalize on them.&uot;

It was one of those third and eternity conversions that led to Washington’s breakout moment.

Florida quarterback Chris Leak converted a third and 19 situation into a 22-yard completion and a first down.

Three plays later Leak went up top to find Carlos Perez down to the LSU 1.

Staring a 17-7 deficit square in the mouth of the sharp Florida teeth, Washington pried the Gator mouth open and rescued the Tigers, for the moment.

&uot;We could have done a lot more to affect the game,&uot; Tiger defensive end Marcus Spears said. &uot;I think we got to (Leak) a lot, but we needed to get to him more for the outcome to be different.&uot;

CLAYTON’S CLIMB &045; With his first reception Saturday, junior Tiger Michael Clayton continued to move up career-receiving ladders at LSU.

The catch was Clayton’s 133 in an LSU uniform, which past Tony Moss’ 132 reception. It also went for 25 yards, meaning the hometown product became just the fifth player in school history to go over 2,000 yards.

However, Clayton finished with 60 yards &045; well below the 95.4 average he brought into the game &045; and was disappointed in the loss.

&uot;I think for the most part everybody’s making mistakes every other play,&uot; Clayton said. &uot;One play it’s one guy making the mistake, the next play it’s another guy. It’s hurting the team.&uot;