he kick by taking a timeout. With a second chance, Walsh still missed badly with the ba

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Florida coach Jim McElwain watched his Gators overcome injuries, an extra road game and repeated adversity in the shadow of their own goal line. That should be valuable experience for a feisty football team thatll face long odds again when it meets top-ranked Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game in a couple weeks.Floridas defense stuffed LSUs Derrius Guice on a do-or-die run from the 1-yard line in the final seconds, and the No. 23 Gators held on for a tension-filled 16-10 victory that clinched the Southeastern Conference East Division on Saturday.I cant tell you how proud I am of our players and our staff, and Im happy for our Gator fans who dont think were very good, but all we do is end up back in Atlanta, said McElwain, whose Gators (8-2, 6-2 SEC, No. 21 AP) also won the SEC East last year.The final play capped a defensive struggle in which No. 16 LSU converted a fourth-and-10 play on its final drive, only to get stopped on back-to-back runs from the 1 to end the game. Fullback J.D. Moore came up short on third down.Florida quarterback Austin Appleby completed only seven passes on 17 attempts, but one of his connections went for a pivotal 98-yard touchdown to Tyrie Cleveland. Eddy Piniero scored the rest of Floridas points on field goals of 36, 24 and 34 yards.LSU (6-4, 4-3 SEC) controlled most of the game and held statistical advantages, outgaining Florida 423 yards to 270 and holding possession for 34:02. LSU also led 7-0 after Guices early 1-yard touchdown.But on three occasions, the Tigers failed to score after driving inside Floridas 10 -- the first time because of Guices fumble in the first half and the second time because of a botched field goal in the third quarter. LSUs lone field goal came three failed plays after the Tigers had a first-and-goal from the 4.We just shot ourselves in the foot. We had a lot of opportunities, said LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron, whose prospects of keeping the job long term werent helped by the result.Had the Tigers, who came in as two-touchdown favorites, converted a few more of those opportunities, theyd still be in good shape to get the SECs Sugar Bowl bid.Not anymore.THE TAKEAWAYFlorida: Missing a handful of starters, the Gators played with a lot of heart and relied heavily on their elite defense to pull off the upset.LSU: The Tigers two turnovers and botched field goal turned what could have been a fairly comfortable victory into a losing struggle.VINDICATIONMcElwain sounded eager to revisit questions about whether his program tried to dodge the Tigers when the original game in Florida was postponed by Hurricane Matthew in early October. Florida balked at initial offers to move the game to LSU as the storm approached, or to play at home one or two days after the originally scheduled time. That left the SEC little choice but to postpone the game until both teams could buy out non-league opponents. But LSU refused to give up a home game, forcing Florida to travel if it wanted a shot to play for a conference title.The way I look at it, they got what they deserved -- and it should have been worse, McElwain said.Florida cornerback Jalen Tabor mocked Floridas critics by making light of the matter.We didnt have no courage, he said. I guess out of fear we fought back.TOUGH DAYLSU starting defensive back Donte Jackson was in coverage on Applebys long scoring pass down the right sideline to Cleveland, who then escaped Jacksons grasp after the catch near midfield. After LSU went down 13-10 in the fourth quarter, Jackson fumbled a kickoff return by running into his own teammate, setting up Floridas final field goal.INJURIESLSU lost a key defender in the first half when middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith needed help off the field. He spent the rest of the game on the sideline with his left knee heavily wrapped. LSU star running back Leonard Fournette, who played despite being banged up last week, came out of the game for good after being stopped short on a third-and-goal play in the second half.EMOTIONAL FLARE-UPThe two teams scuffled near the middle of the field about an hour before kickoff. Several people viewing warmups captured video they posted on social media. It was mostly yelling and shoving as coaches and police working security converged quickly to break it up. Some players also acted as peacemakers. One video captured Fournette pushing Florida defensive backs coach Torrian Gray away from a cluster of LSU players and coaches.POLL IMPLICATIONSFlorida is likely to climb back into the Top 20. LSU might not fall out of the poll , but will be punished for its squandered opportunities.UP NEXTFlorida: The Gators renew their non-conference rivalry with Florida State in Tallahassee.LSU: The Tigers visit Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night.Cheap Avalanche Jerseys . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Custom Avalanche Jerseys . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.customavalanchejersey.com/custom-rob-ramage-jersey-large-77b.html .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Wholesale Custom Avalanche Shirts . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. Avalanche Jerseys China .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans made sure Adrian Peterson wouldnt hurt them.So the Minnesota defense took control.Eric Kendricks returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter and Danielle Hunter scored a 24-yard TD off a fumble return and the Vikings beat Tennessee 25-16 in their season opener Sunday.The Vikings forced three turnovers in the span of just under seven minutes and also had two sacks.The defense came through for us and made some big plays, Peterson said. They pretty much bailed us out today.The defending NFC North champs needed the help from their defense in scoring 25 straight points after being shut out in the first half with the NFLs 2015 rushing leader smothered.Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer did his best to hide his starter at quarterback after the Vikings lost Teddy Bridgewater to a major knee injury Aug. 30, and after they traded their 2017 first-round draft pick to Philadelphia for Sam Bradford .The mystery finally ended when Shaun Hill, 36, took the field for the Vikings first series for his first start since 2014 when he was with the St. Louis Rams.Zimmer said Hill did well.Well take it one week at a time and see where it takes us, Zimmer said.Tennessee focused on stopping Peterson, who had 1,485 yards rushing last season, and the Titans did just that.Peterson had 31 yards on 19 carries.The Titans had a revamped roster from a new general manager for coach Mike Mularkey in his first game since having the interim tag removed in January.They also opened at home for the first time since 2012 and jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead looking for a rare home win after going 1-7 in Nashville each of the past two seasons.Their highlight came on the first of two TD catches by DeMarco Murray, the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year, when he vaulted himself over a defender for a 6-yard TD catch just before halftime.TURNOVER MELTDOWNThe Titans were driving trailing 12-10 when Marcus Mariota tried to force a quick throw under pressure only to be picked off by Kendricks who returned it for the TD wiith 1:24 left in the third quarter.dddddddddddd. The Titans then went three-and-out before turnovers on the next two drives. Mariota lost the ball after faking a handoff to Murray, which Hunter picked up for his own TD return. Then Murray lost a fumble.The turnovers obviously were catastrophic, Mularkey said.WALSHS WOESVikings kicker Blair Walsh kicked four field goals, including a 50-yarder. But the kicker who missed a 27-yard field goal in the playoffs, costing Minnesota in a 10-9 loss to Seattle in January, had a rough start. His first field goal from 37 hooked wide left. Zimmer sent Walsh out to attempt a 56-yarder at the end of the first half, and the kicker was well short despite being lined up in the middle of the field. The Titans missed a chance to return the kick by taking a timeout. With a second chance, Walsh still missed badly with the ball going way left out of the end zone.The kicker connected on field goals of 50 and 33 yards in the third quarter, and he added two more in the fourth. But he missed an extra point right after Kendricks interception return.MARIOTAS STRUGGLESMariota had a perfect passer rating in his NFL debut as a rookie, and his second season couldnt have started much differently. The Vikings pressured Mariota repeatedly, and he threw into coverage while being pressured on the interception. He also lost a fumble and had another turnover wiped out by a roughing the passer call.INJURIESVikings CB Xavier Rhodes was scratched after aggravating an injury in warmups. ... Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan went down grabbing the back of his left leg, and he did not return with an injured left hamstring.FANTASY IMPACTStefon Diggs caught seven passes for 103 yards for the Vikings. Titans rookie Tajae Sharpe caught seven passes for 76 yards.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '