University of Florida Men's RFC

The Gators managed to work through some unusually hot temperatures and narrowly escaped with a 17-14 home win against the LSU Tigers to secure a spot in the SEC Championship.

After both sides missed two penalty kicks, the Gators drew first blood when Matt Nakamura scored at the 23-minute mark on a short pick-and-go. Matias Groetaers successfully converted the kick to give UF a 7-0 lead.

UF maintained good ball possession and showed some excellent support with their backline with Groetaers and Tommy Gibble providing the highlight of the day.

After Gibble streaked up the right sideline, he offloaded to Groetaers who deked to the right and committed a defender before making a beautiful offload back to Gibble for the try.

LSU finally got on the board with a late try with only 45 seconds left in the half.

The Gators and Tigers dug deep in the first part of the second half, keeping the other side scoreless. However, with 19:30 left, the Gators took advantage of an LSU penalty inside the five-meter when Will Greaves scored on a pass from Jordan Manning to give UF a 17-7 lead.

Although the Tigers responded with a try at the 12-minute mark, the Gators protected their lead and finished their home schedule off with one of the most rewarding victories of the season.

UF will finish the regular season with an away game at South Carolina on Saturday before the playoffs begin.