BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU refused to let this one slip away.

Joseph Addai ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, JaMarcus Russell had two TD passes and the 10th-ranked Tigers ended a three-game home losing streak to No. 11 Florida with a 21-17 victory Saturday.

LSU led 14-0 in the first quarter, but the Gators scored 17 straight points to move ahead in the third. The momentum swing was reminiscent of LSU’s last home game, when it squandered a 21-point lead against Tennessee and lost 30-27 in overtime.

The Tigers (4-1, 3-1 SEC) didn’t let it happen again.

They put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive – converting on fourth down and getting a big play on third-and-9 – to move back in front for good with 12:35 to play. Addai ran seven times on the drive, including a 3-yarder for the go-ahead score.

But Russell had the key plays. He gained 4 yards on fourth-and-1, then floated a 21-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe on third down to keep the drive alive. Russell finished 14-of-22 for 236 yards.

The Tigers overcame five turnovers, 11 penalties and five sacks to win their third straight and remain close to Western Division unbeatens Alabama and Auburn. LSU plays Auburn next week and Alabama next month, meaning the Tigers still control their fate in the division race.

The Gators (5-2, 3-2) no longer have that luxury. Florida now needs to win out and have Georgia lose another game – in addition to their matchup in two weeks – to win the East and advance to the conference championship game.

The Gators, despite an offense that remains a huge question under Urban Meyer, blew several chances to open up a big lead in front of a record crowd of 92,402 at Tiger Stadium.

Of LSU’s turnovers, four of them were in its own territory and gave Florida great field position. The Gators scored on three of the five turnovers.

Kestahn Moore had a 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter after Addai fumbled – LSU’s third turnover of the first half. That cut the lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

Russell threw two interceptions on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. His first came after he avoided a sack, rolled left and floated a pass down the sideline. Safety Jarvis Herring picked it off, and Chris Hetland kicked a field goal to make it 14-10.

Russell’s second one halted a 12-play drive. His pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Steven Harris and intercepted by Joe Cohen.

Chris Leak hit DeShawn Wynn for a 20-yard gain on the next play, then Wynn gained 16 yards and plunged in from a yard out to put the Gators ahead 17-14 with 4:02 remaining in the third.

The Tigers responded, though, with their best drive of the game.

Russell gave LSU a 14-0 lead with two pretty touch passes in the opening quarter.

He hooked up with Bennie Brazell for a 43-yard score – catching safety Tony Joiner out of position – and then floated a pass to the end zone over Dee Webb and into the hands of Bowe.

LSU’s defense did it’s part, too, sacking Leak six times. Leak, playing with a bruised right shoulder, finished 11-of-30 for 107 yards.

Wynn ran 16 times for 93 yards.

AP-ES-10-15-05 2025EDT