Davey-to-Clayton Gives LSU 29-25 Comeback Win
10/13/01



LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Rohan Davey connected with true freshman Michael Clayton in the endzone with 13 seconds remaining in the game to give the Tigers a 29-25 come-from-behind victory over the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night in Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington.

Trailing 25-22 after Kentucky back-up quarterback Jared Lorenzen sparked the Wildcat offense in the second half, LSU drove down the field 80 yards in less than three minutes to win the game.

Davey capped a 383-yard passing performance -- third best in LSU history -- with the touchdown to Clayton. On the evening, Davey completed 27-of-38 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

LSU improved to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in Southeastern Conference play, while Kentucky fell to 1-5 and 0-4, respectively.

LSU led 22-10 at the half, but stalled both offensively and defensively in the second half. Lorenzen entered in the third quarter and threw for 146 yards on 6-of-10 passing with two touchdowns. The starter, Shane Boyd, threw for 140 yards on 17-of-31 passing with two interceptions.

Clayton finished the game with career highs of nine receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Josh Reed paced the Tiger offense with 160 yards receiving on eight catches. Overlooked in the comeback win was LaBrandon Toefield's 129-yard performance with a touchdown on a career-high 28 carries.

After stopping Kentucky on its first drive, the Tigers drove 80 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead with 9:24 remaining in the first quarter. Although penalized twice for 15 yards, Davey hit Josh Reed for 28 yards and Jerel Myers for 27 yards to set up a 34-yard touchdown run by Toefield around the right side. Reed's reception moved him ahead of Abram Booty (1997-2000) into sixth place on LSU's all-time receiving yards list with 1,796.

The score was Toefield's ninth of the season, making him the fastest Tiger to reach nine touchdowns in a season. Former Tiger greats Dalton Hilliard and Charles Alexander scored their ninth touchdowns in the sixth games of the 1984 and 1977 seasons, respectively. Alexander did so on his way to an LSU record 17 rushing touchdowns.

Led by Toefield, the Tigers drove the ball down the field once again, but couldn't pound it into the endzone. Instead, LSU settled for a 34-yard John Corbello field goal with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter.

The LSU defense pinned Kentucky back in its own endzone after the Tigers forced Kentucky starting quarterback into an intentional grounding penalty and then a holding penalty in the endzone. The second penalty resulted in LSU's first safety since Jarvis Green blocked a Kentucky punt through the endzone on Oct. 16, 1999.

LSU led 12-0 at the end of the first quarter, its most productive initial quarter of the 2001 season.

The Tigers were able to penetrate Wildcat territory to start the second quarter, but Corbello missed a 53-yard field goal just to the left with the wind at his back. The career-long try was his first miss in four tries.

Kentucky responded with its first scoring drive of the game with 10:46 remaining in the first half. Seth Hanson made a 24-yard field goal to cut the lead to 12-3. The score was Kentucky's first against the Tigers since the third quarter of the 1999 meeting in Lexington. LSU shut out the Wildcats in Baton Rouge in 2000, 34-0.

On the ensuing drive, LSU once again sliced through the Kentucky defense and struck back with a 9-yard touchdown from Davey to Clayton. The key play of the drive was Reed's 49-yard reception, his longest of the season, which was his 100th career reception. LSU moved ahead, 19-3.

Reed moved over 100 yards receiving for the fifth straight time in the 2001 season and the eighth in his past 10 regular-season games.

The Wildcats moved deep into LSU territory in the final five minutes of the half and scored their first touchdown of the game on a 13-yard bootleg by Boyd with 3:23 remaining to cut the lead to 19-10.

Corbello redeemed himself with 1:16 remaining by tapping a season-long 46-yard field goal to give LSU a 22-10 lead.

With 1:05 to play, the Wildcats and Tigers traded interceptions, as Damien James stepped in front of Boyd's pass to earn his third of the season and the fifth of his career. On the next play, Davey was hit on the arm on a pass to Robert Royal and Patrick Wiggins picked it off.

Davey was intercepted for the second time in as many attempts to start the second half. On first-and-10, Davey threw into triple coverage and was picked off.

Kentucky then converted a fourth down before Damien James intercepted Boyd for the second time in three passes. James' interception put him into the SEC lead with four in six games. However, the Tigers were only able to advance to midfield before punting for the first time.

Quarterback Jared Lorenzen replaced Boyd on the next possession and the Wildcats took to the air. Lorenzen threw a 31-yards touchdown pass to Aaron Boone to cut the lead to 22-17. The 80-yard, five-play drive lasted only 1:44.

An illegal block in the back penalty on the Tigers forced a start from its own 6-yard line on its next drive. After an 8 1/2 minute drive, LSU was forced to punt the ball from Kentucky's 36-yardline when Davey was sacked on third-and-8.

With 9:15 remaining in the game, Kentucky was penalized 5 yards for illegal procedure, forcing a third-and-6 from its own 47-yard line. Lorenzen completed a 30-yard pass to Derek Abney down to the LSU 23. On second-and-10 at the 23, Abney then ran past four Tiger defensive backs for a touchdown and a 23-22 lead. Trailing by two, Kentucky attempted a two-point conversion and completed the pass for a 25-22 lead with 8:28 left.

LSU went three-and-out and was only saved field position after a 68-yard punt by Donnie Jones.