Charles W Luzier / Reuters

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, right, runs for a gain against LSU. The freshman threw for two touchdowns in the No. 5 Gators' 23-10 win over the No. 9 Tigers.

The catch capped a 72-yard scoring drive that followed the first of three interceptions thrown by JaMarcus Russell. On the drive, Leak found Andre Caldwell over the middle for a 17-yard gain on third down and later connected with Jemalle Cornelius for 26 yards.

“We’ve got two great quarterbacks,” Casey said. “We can do a lot with them, and it showed.”

LSU’s quarterback has had better days. Russell finished 24-of-41 for 228 yards with a touchdown. But he also had four turnovers.

Tebow’s passing performance continued after halftime.

The Gators got a safety on the second-half kickoff. Early Doucet fumbled at the 3-yard line, gathered the loose ball briefly, but lost it again after he got leveled by Riley Cooper. The ball trickled into the end zone, and LSU teammate Trindon Holliday recovered for the safety.

Five plays later, Tebow was at it again. He took a step toward the line of scrimmage to fake a run, pulled up and found Louis Murphy wide open down the middle for a 35-yard score.

“You found out tonight that Tim can throw,” Casey said.

College football Two-man race with Tebow, McFadden

The Gators, playing without starting running back DeShawn Wynn, finished with nearly 300 total yards.

They got plenty of help from LSU, too.

The Tigers got a boost before the game when Arkansas upset No. 2 Auburn, opening the door for LSU to get back into the SEC West race. But LSU didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.

Instead, the Tigers self-destructed.

Jessie Daniels fumbled a punt in the second quarter that led to Florida’s tying touchdown. Russell fumbled a snap on the 2-yard line to end a 17-play drive. Instead of possibly going up 14-7, the Tigers later trailed by a touchdown at halftime.

“The fumble was a big turn of events,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “It really swung the momentum. We would’ve never thought we would go into the half behind.”

LSU also had the fumbled kickoff to open the second half, then had a punt blocked on the next possession. The Tigers also missed a 41-yard field goal.

“We’re on cloud nine,” Gators defensive tackle Ray McDonald said. “But we know we can’t be on cloud nine too long because we’ve got Auburn next week.”