LSU freshman quarterback Max Johnson will never forget his first start, leading the Tigers to a stunning 37-34 upset win over SEC East champion Florida in The Swamp. Johnson was of 21-of-36 passing for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns, he also contributed to the Tigers’ 179 rushing yards. UF out-gained LSU 609-418 yards in the box score, but the Gator defense faced some harsh criticism from fans and media members for what it allowed to an offense led by a first-year quarterback and without playmakers Terrace Marshall and Arik Gilbert.

Florida coach Dan Mullen, however, defended the defense and gave coordinator Todd Grantham a vote of confidence.

“We played pretty good defense for a good part of the year,” Mullen said in the postgame press conference, per Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports. “We made some critical mistakes. We’ll watch it and as you continue to evaluate, you evaluate the whole picture and whole package of it all. You know? We’ll do that. I’m pretty confident with Todd.”

Mullen seemed more critical of his offense’s turnovers and struggles to cap off drives with points.

“Well, you look at it on the night, we made some good stops,” Mullen said. “We just did things you can’t do. We had a missed assignment to give up an easy touchdown. We get the stop at the end to win the game, pretty much, and get a personal foul. A stop at the end of the game, where we’re going to go have the opportunity to go win it. We’ve got to keep working. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to make better decisions. Out there on the field, you’ve just got to keep playing harder.”

“It set us way back,” Mullen added in another response. “You guys are questioning the defense. They stopped them after those drives, so that’s a question for the offense right there. This game tonight’s on the offense.”

Florida will look to get better on both sides of the ball with No. 1 Alabama next up in the SEC Championship Game.