The power went out on Georgia at the team hotel Saturday morning. LSU turned the lights out on the Bulldogs’ undefeated season later in the day.
The 13th-ranked Tigers pulled off a 36-16 upset before a capacity crowd of 103,321 in Death Valley.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) killed itself with mistakes on offense, defense, special teams and in the coaching booth throughout the afternoon.
The Bulldogs will drop from their No. 2 ranking, but they’ll remain in control of their their chance to repeat as SEC champs, showdowns with East Division co-leader Florida (6-1, 4-1) and upstart Kentucky (5-1, 3-1) on deck.
LSU (6-1, 3-1) took control of Saturday’s game after Kirby Smart’s fake field-goal call in the first quarter backfired.
Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was swarmed after taking a pitch rather than attempting a 31-yard field goal that would have tied the score 3-3 at the 3:28 mark of the first quarter.
The Tigers pounced on the momentum, driving for a touchdown to go up 10-0.
Georgia failed to close within a touchdown the rest of the game, LSU staying aggressive, converting on 5 of 5 fourth-down attempts.
The Bulldogs didn’t score until the third quarter, when a 40-yard Blankenship field goal cut the LSU lead to 16-3.
Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm dropped to 18-3 as a starter. Fromm was 16-of-34 passing for 209 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, also getting sacked three times.
Fromm misfired from the opening drive when he overthrew a wide open Mecole Hardman on what would have been the first score of the game.
The Tigers opened the scoring after QB Joe Burrow (15-of-30, 200 yards) connected on a 37-yard pass on the ensuing drive, picking on freshman corner Tyson Campbell to set up a 33-yard field goal that made the score 3-0.
The Bulldogs looked to answer, marching 60 yards on nine consecutive run plays to the LSU 15.
Consecutive incomplete passes left Georgia setting up for what appeared to be a field-goal attempt before Smart called for the fake.
The play swung the momentum, 20,000 red clad Bulldogs’ fans suddenly having nothing to cheer, the LSU faithful fully engaged.
Moments later, Burrow burrowed into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make the score 10-0.
Georgia’s offense went three-and-out on its next three series while the Tigers were cashing in for two more fields goals.
LSU’s field-goal drives featured a 55-yard pass by way of a Georgia busted assignment and two fourth-and-1 conversions.
The Bulldogs have a bye next week before the annual clash in Jacksonville against Florida.
The Gators rallied to beat Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-3) in Nashville on Saturday, 37-27. Florida, like Georgia, is off next weekend.
