Recap from DandyDon...
WHOA, what a great game and a great win! The Fighting Tigers overcame five turnovers and 11 penalties for a come from behind 21-17 win in front of 92,400 mostly Tiger fans. The crowd was as loud as I have ever heard in my 50 years of attending LSU football games.

The Tigers won the toss and defered their option to the second half and the strategy worked to perfection as the LSU defense forced Florida to punt on their first possession. LSU started its first offensive possession with good field position and scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Brazell. LSU was driving for a second touchdown, thanks to a couple of nice runs by Joseph Addai, but Justin Vincent fumbled on Florida's 30-yard line and the Gators recovered the ball. After stopping Florida without picking up a first down, LSU increased the lead to 14-0 on a great throw from Russell to to Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown.

Florida scored 17 straight unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead, and at that time it appeared that LSU was about to let the game slip away. However, the team put together a seven minute 71-yard drive that started with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter to regain the lead 21-17. During most of the final 12:00 of the fourth quarter Florida was pinned deep in their own territory thanks to the great punting of Chris Jackson.

On offense, I thought that Joseph Addai was great. Addai rushed for 156 yards on 32 carries and had a run of over 40 yards called back on a holding penalty that was on the back side of the play and did not have anything to do with the yardage gained. Also, Early Doucet made two great catches on poorly thrown passes that kept drives going. One of the receptions by Doucet would have gone for a touchdown had the pass been thrown on the money. I also thought that Bowe played a great game. I was also pleased with the play LSU TEs. David Jones made a nice catch and had a couple of nice blocks and I also thought Keith Zinger played very well.

I was somewhat disappointed with the play of JaMarcus Russell at times, but I will take into consideration the fact that Florida is a very good defensive team. Russell completed 14 of 22 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns and also threw two interceptions. Actually, he threw a third interception but was standing out of bounds when he threw the ball. LSU's total offense for the night was 361 yards.

On the other side of the ball, I cannot stay enough about how well the defense played. The three scoring drives put together by Florida for their 17 points started after LSU's turnovers and the three drive's total yardage was only 106 yards. The LSU defense held Florida to 206 total yards and limited Chris Leak to 107 yards passing on 11 completions out of 30 attempts. LSU's defense also held Florida to only three of 13 on third down conversions.

There were so many players who played great on defense that it will be hard to name all them, but I will name a few. I thought that Ali Highsmith was super and is fast becoming one of the top linebackers in the SEC. I also thought that Ryan Willis and Chase Pittman played a very outstanding game as did Kyle Williams in the defensive line. I also thought that senior Cameron Vaughn played a very good game at linebacker. In my opinion, the defensive backfield played as well as any defensive backfield that I have ever seen at LSU. Jonathan Zenon was unbelievable. Ronnie Prude, Chevis Jackson, Jessie Daniels and La Ron Landry played very well. Florida quarterback Chris Leak tested the LSU defensive backs several times, but the LSU defensive backs were always at the right spot. In my opinion, Bo Pelini's defensive team has played very well the last three games.

I honestly believe that this LSU football team has a chance to be very good if they can cut down on turnovers and penalties. Coach Les Miles was very upset in his post game show about the number of penalties and turnovers and said he would soon start playing players with lesser talent if that is what it will take to cut down on turnovers and penalties. I do believe that the team will continue to work hard in correcting this problem. LSU will have to play much better next Saturday night against Auburn (at LSU) to win the game. Auburn defeated Arkansas last night 34-17. I will have more on the LSU-Florida game in my Monday morning report.

In other SEC action, Georgia defeated Vanderbilt 34-17 and Alabama defeated Ole Miss 13-10 on a late fourth quarter field goal. The LSU-Auburn game will be the top game played in the SEC this coming Saturday (October 22). Alabama will be playing Tennessee in a huge game.

Recruiting news: I saw the 10 recruits visiting LSU on campus before the game and saw them walking into the stadium after the football team entered. I also saw 10-12 recruits at the game on unofficial visits. I was told by one of my friends that Chaz Washington from Destrehan, Ricky Dixon from East ST John, Mark Snyder from West Monroe and Will Blackwell (also from West Monroe who is a junior who will be a national recruit next season) were all in attendance. Also in on unofficial visits were Al Wood from Elton, Jacob Cuterea from Acadiana high school, Richard Dickson from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Charles Scott from Jonesboro, Matt Allen from Kingwood (Texas), Tyler Graves from Sumrall (Mississippi), Chris Butler and Terrance Gay from Brusly, and Shomart Clemmons from West Monroe. I am expecting Coach Miles to pick up two or three commitments over the weekend. My guess would be the two payers from Georgia who have not been offered by Georgia and the Lott kid from Alabama who plays tight end. Matt Allen, Jacob Cuterea, Charles Scott, Shomart Clemmons and Gbadyu are already committed to LSU.