LSU Takes Over SEC Network On Wednesday

BATON ROUGE – LSU’s first national championship in gymnastics, the historic Heisman performance by Jayden Daniels against Florida, and Tyrell Ward’s buzzer beater against Kentucky are just some of the highlights fans will enjoy when the Tigers takeover the SEC Network for 24 hours on July 3.

The LSU takeover begins at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2 when the Tigers’ second-half comeback win over Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium is replayed. Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels – playing his final game in an LSU uniform – threw three fourth quarter touchdown passes as the Tigers rallied to win, 42-30.

The highlight of LSU’s takeover comes at 6:30 p.m. when the SEC Network will replay the historic national championship won by Jay Clark and the LSU gymnastics team. The national title – the first in the sport in school history – came after the Tigers turned in a clutch performance in their final rotation as LSU posted a 198.225 score to beat Cal (197.85), Utah (197.80) and Florida (197.4375).

Other events featured during the 24-hour marathon featuring the Tigers include LSU’s last-second win over Kentucky in the Maravich Assembly Center; a pair of LSU baseball wins over Texas A&M and Florida; two softball victories over Oklahoma State and Texas; women’s basketball’s victory over Virginia Tech and football’s win over Florida.

LSU’s SEC Network Takeover * Wednesday, July 3
*All times are central

11 p.m. (July 2) - Football vs. Texas A&M
2 a.m. - Softball vs. Oklahoma State
4 a.m. - The Climb: LSU Gymnastics
4:30 a.m. - Baseball vs. Texas A&M
9:30 a.m. - SEC Inside: Gymnastics
10 a.m. - Men’s Basketball vs. Kentucky
Noon - Softball vs. Texas
2 p.m. - Baseball vs. Florida
5: p.m. - Women’s Basketball vs. Virginia Tech
6:30 p.m. - Gymnastics – NCAA National Championship Meet
8:30 p.m. - Football vs. Florida

11 p.m. (July 3) Daniels Leads Tigers Past Texas A&M In Final Game in Tiger Stadium
Trailing 24-14 with 11:04 remaining in the third quarter, No. 14 LSU outscored Texas A&M, 28-6, over the final 20 minutes as Tigers posted a 42-30 win over the Aggies in the final home game for Heisman Trophy quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Aggies led, 24-21, at the 12:51 mark of the fourth quarter when LSU linebacker Greg Penn III intercepted a pass by Texas A&M quarterback Jaylen Henderson at the Tigers’ 39-yard line. LSU capitalized on the opportunity, as Daniels directed a three-play drive culminating in a 23-yard TD pass to Brian Thomas Jr. that gave the Tigers a 28-24 lead. Daniels also fired scoring strikes in the fourth period covering 21 yards to Malik Nabers and 15 yards to Kyren Lacy, as he threw for 163 yards in the final quarter. Daniels completed 16-of-24 passes on the day for 235 yards and four touchdowns, and he rushed 11 times for 120 yards. The LSU defense fueled the rally by forcing Texas A&M to fail in each of its final five third-down conversion attempts. Linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and safety Andre’ Sam shared the team lead in tackles with nine each, and Penn III added eight tackles, 1.0 sack and the fourth-quarter interception.

2 a.m. - Torina Reaches 500 LSU Wins In 7-6 Walk-Off Win Over No. 6 Oklahoma State
LSU head coach Beth Torina became the program’s second skipper to reach 500 wins when catcher Hannah Carson hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the 12th-ranked Tigers a 7-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma State in Clearwater, Fla. The win marked the second consecutive walk-off victory of the weekend and was the first time LSU recorded back-to-back walk-offs since 2001.Carson led a trio of Tigers with two hits, including shortstop Taylor Pleasants (2-for-3) and outfielder Ciara Briggs (2-for-4), and matched first baseman Raeleen Gutierrez’s two RBIs. Pitcher Sydney Berzon tossed her second complete game of the season and tallied five strikeouts, highlighted by retiring the side in the seventh.

4 a.m. - The Climb: LSU Gymnastics

4:30 a.m. - Baseball Knocks Off Top-Ranked Texas A&M, 6-4
LSU erased a 3-2 deficit with a four-run sixth inning, and the Tigers posted a 6-4 win over top-ranked Texas A&M in Game 1 of an SEC series at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The Tigers struck for four runs in the sixth as leftfielder Josh Pearson lined a two-run double, designated hitter Hayden Travinski lifted a sacrifice fly, and second baseman Steven Milam smacked an RBI single to highlight the rally. The Aggies narrowed the gap to 6-4 in the eighth when designated hitter Hayden Schott delivered an RBI single, and Texas A&M had runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth, but LSU reliever Griffin Herring struck out rightfielder Braden Montgomery to end the game. Herring earned his fourth save of the season, working the final 2.1 innings and allowing one unearned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

9:30 a.m. - SEC Inside: LSU Gymnastics

10 a.m. - Men’s Basketball Beats Kentucky at the Buzzer
Coming off a win in the final few seconds the previous Saturday at nationally-ranked South Carolina, the Tigers four days later hosted nationally-ranked Kentucky at the Maravich Center. The Tigers, playing their best basketball of the season, gathered themselves after falling behind by nine at the half and 15 a minute into the second half, to rally to score a second consecutive signature win of a season that helped LSU return to postseason. LSU would rally to take a lead with 13 minutes to play and in a back-and-forth game had a one-point lead with a minute to play, setting the stage for the dramatic finish. Kentucky would take a 74-73 lead with 13 seconds left on a long two-point shot by the Wildcats. LSU elected to play it out and as the clock ticked inside five seconds, Jordan Wright drove to the lane. His shot was blocked but he was able to grab it and toss it up toward the basket where Tyrell Ward, in mid-air grabbed it, and scored the winning points as the horn sounded setting off a court-storming frenzy in the Maravich Assembly Center.

Noon - Softball Runs Record to 23-0 In 7-4 Victory over No. 4 Texas
Second-ranked LSU ran its record to 23-0 as the Tigers used six runs over the first two innings to beat third-ranked Texas, 7-4, in Tiger Park. Outfielder Ciara Briggs went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and an RBI, while pitcher Sydney Berzon was sensational in the circle, improving her record to 9-0. The Tigers pounced on the Longhorns quickly with a five-run first inning, highlighted by a three-RBI double by utility pitcher Kelley Lynch. After outfielder Ali Newland stretched the lead to 6-0 with a run-scoring single in the second inning. Texas pulled to within 7-4 late in the contest, but Berzon retired the final 10 batters she faced in earning the victory for the Tigers.

2 p.m. - Holman Fans 13 As Baseball Beats No. 6 Florida, 6-1
LSU right-hander Luke Holman fired a career-high 13 strikeouts in six innings, as the Tigers posted a 6-1 win over No. 6 Florida in Game 1 of an SEC series at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. Holman limited the Gators to one run on one hit in six innings with three walks and 13 strikeouts, surpassing his former career best of 12 strikeouts recorded against Texas on March 1. Left-hander Griffin Herring earned his second save of the season for the Tigers, working the final 3.0 scoreless innings and yielding just three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. LSU leftfielder Mac Bingham drove in two runs from the lead-off spot in the Tigers’ order, and rightfielder Josh Pearson, designated hitter Ethan Frey, shortstop Michael Braswell III and centerfielder Paxton Kling each contributed one RBI.

5 p.m. - Women’s Basketball Beats Virginia Tech
The 2023 ACC/SEC Challenge was a rematch of the 2023 national semifinal that propelled the Tigers to their first national championship. Seventh-ranked LSU took down No. 9 Virginal Tech, 82-64, to earn its first marquee win of the new campaign. The win marked Coach Kim Mulkey’s 700th of her career, doing so in 813 games to become the quickest coach in men’s or women’s college basketball history to reach that milestone. Aneesah Morrow delivered a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double and Mikaylah Williams scored 20 points with five assists. Both Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson contributed 18 points. LSU trailed by seven after a slow first quarter, but the momentum shifted in the second quarter as LSU outscored VT 22-9 to take a six-point lead into the break. Throughout the third quarter LSU steadily built its lead and then started the fourth quarter on a 12-4 run to extend its lead to 19 and thwart any hopes of a Hokies comeback.

6:30 p.m. - Gymnastics National Championship
The LSU Gymnastics team made history on April 20th, 2024, as they brought home the program’s first-ever national championship. LSU became champions after posting an overall score of 198.225 in the NCAA Championship Finals, their second highest score at the championships in school history. In their second consecutive appearance in the Final Four under Head Coach Jay Clark, the Tigers turned in a clutch performance on beam in the final rotation led by junior Aleah Finnegan, who delivered with a 9.950 routine to lift her team to their first NCAA title in school history. The LSU beam team delivered on the biggest stage with a 49.7625 in the championship, the highest score in program history and an NCAA Championship record on the event. The Tigers defeated California (197.8500), Utah (197.8000) and Florida (197.4375) to claim the title. With the win, LSU became just the eighth program in NCAA history to win the women’s gymnastics championship.

8:30 p.m. - Daniels Sets SEC Mark in 52-35 Win Over Florida
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels delivered a historic performance in directing the 19th-ranked Tigers to a 52-35 win over Florida. Daniels, who accounted for 606 yards in total offense, became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and rush for 200 yards in a single game. He completed 17-of-26 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed 12 times for 234 yards and two scores. LSU finished the contest with 701 yards in total offense, the third-highest output in school history and the most-ever yielded by a Florida defense. Daniels’ incredible outing was highlighted by an 85-yard touchdown dash in the second quarter, marking the longest touchdown run by a quarterback in LSU annals. He also scored on a 51-yard TD run with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter that erased a 28-24 deficit and gave the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.

(Release via LSU Athletics)