In the span of three plays, D.J. Humphries single-handedly ended Florida’s chance at a comeback against LSU.
Trailing 17-6 late in the fourth quarter, the Gators had a third and 10 at the Tigers 20-yard line when Humphries jumped the snap count and was flagged for a 5-yard false-start penalty.
Seconds later, LSU defensive end Jordan Allen blew past Humphries untouched and put a hit on quarterback Tyler Murphy, who eluded Allen but was sacked by Jalen Mills. All Humphries could do was stick his arm out.
Pushed back to the LSU 37-yard line, Murphy had one last chance to manage a comeback, but Humphries failed him again. Kendell Beckwith shook Humphries and sacked Murphy, forcing a fumble and giving the Tigers possession.
After the game, Humphries apologized to his teammates.
“I just told the boys they depend on me too much in a critical time for me give up or allow something like that to happen,” the sophomore said.
But Humphries was not the only cog on the offensive line to struggle against No. 6 LSU’s (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) defensive front.
In a reversal of the Gators’ 14-6 victory against the Tigers in 2012, No. 22 Florida (4-2, 3-1 SEC) struggled to protect Murphy in the pass game or create holes for the Gators’ running backs.
“We weren’t physical enough up front,” offensive coordinator Brent Pease said. “It was kind of the same scenario, our same situation last year, but reversed in that they had an intent to do what we did last year. And I think they won that battle.”
Murphy was sacked four times on Saturday for a loss of 40 yards. The Tigers officially hurried him on four plays, but the redshirt junior rarely had time to target receivers downfield. He had only four passes longer than 10 yards. His 36-yard pooch punt traveled farther than any completed pass.
“[LSU] did a good job getting in the backfield and getting pressure,” Murphy said. “Any time a team does that, your timing will be off.”
After the game, right guard Jon Halapio attributed the issues on the line to miscommunication, but left guard Max Garcia said Tuesday that it came down to a much simpler problem.
“We need to do a better job of going out with a nasty attitude,” he said.
Florida might have survived its trip to Death Valley if its running game had burst through holes, but the offensive line failed to open many.
The Tigers limited the Gators to 111 rushing yards — Florida’s worst output of the season.
Starting running back Matt Jones had a decent start, rushing for 17 yards on four carries, but he left the game in the first quarter with an injury that was later revealed to be a season-ending torn meniscus.
Redshirt junior Mack Brown and freshman Kelvin Taylor received most of the carries for the rest of the game with mixed results. Brown grinded out 3.7 yards per carry on 15 attempts. Taylor, flashing the speed the made him one of the top-ranked 2013 halfback recruits, notched 52 yards on 10 carries.
“I felt like little K-man did his thing,” Humphries said. “He took advantage of his opportunities.”
But Taylor’s solid performance could not win the game for Florida. He needed his linemen to protect better and make the passing game threatening so the Gators’ offense would not appear one dimensional. Instead, the line failed, and Humphries spent the postgame apologizing.
If the players on the offensive line have anything to say about it, they will not have to say ‘sorry’ again
“We want to put the team on our backs now,” Garcia said. “We feel like we’re being called out by the media and by all these people, but we’re calling ourselves out as an offensive-line unit.”
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @alichtenstein24.
D.J. Humphries (right) blocks LSU junior defensive end Jordan Allen during the Gators’ 17-6 loss to the Tigers on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Florida allowed four sacks in the game.
