The Florida Gators will hit the field on Saturday night to welcome the LSU Tigers with a huge black cloud over Ben Griffin Hill Stadium. They will be trying to deal with and overcome the sexual assault allegations that have freshman QB Treon Harris indefinitely suspended.
The Gators have been able to mostly avoid legal issues and players getting in trouble under Will Muschamp, but will be dealing with a huge blow this Saturday with the loss of Harris. Muschamp called upon the freshman last week against Tennessee to lead the offense late in the forth quarter. The Gators were able to score 10 unanswered points and able to pull out the big comeback. Harris was expected to either start or see significant action in this game.
There were some concern on how Jeff Driskel would handle the move, especially if poor performance or injury forced you to go back to him later in the season. Well, we will find out the answer to that question just a week later. Will the benching inspire and focus Driskel or anger and rattle the under performing junior? The Gators success in this game could hinge on that very question.
LSU has their own questions at quarterback and have faced early season struggles unlike anything they have seen in the Les Miles era. The Tigers have dropped back-to-back SEC games to Mississippi State and Auburn, getting blown out last week against the Tigers 34-7. LSU has never dropped three games straight under Les Miles and will be coming to Gainesville to try and salvage some form of respectability before facing the rest of the gauntlet in the SEC West.
The Gators will need to match that focus and intensity; they need to put all of the outside distractions to the side and really focus in on football. It will be a very difficult thing, but will be another measuring stick of Will Muschamp’s handle on this program. We’ll see how they come out and play.
LSU Tigers vs Florida Gators
Here is how it breaks down by position:
QUARTERBACK:
The Gators will be turning back to junior Jeff Driskel. Driskel was 11-for-23 passing for only 59 yards and three interceptions before being pulled in favor of Treon Harris. This was coming off a 95-yard passing performance against Alabama. The junior seems to be regressing at the position and fans were excited for Harris. Freshmen Will Grier announced he was cleared to return to practice this week after back spasms. It is a long-shot he would be ready to see the field, but he has been on campus learning the offense since the spring, months before Harris even arrived. He will need to get himself as ready as possible to see action this weekend.
LSU will see themselves making a game-time decision at the position on Saturday. Freshmen Brandon Harris left the game against Auburn with an injury and is questionable to play against the Gators. LSU would turn to Anthony Jennings who began the season as the starter and struggled to move the offense. Jennings had five touchdowns and three interceptions against lesser competition than he will see against a very talented Gator defense. The Tigers are hoping Harris will be ready, but he could be limited even if he is able to play. Harris has a six-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio and is averaging six yards a carry with three touchdowns on the ground. He is a playmaker who inspires the offense, similarly to the way Harris did a week ago for Florida.
ADVANTAGE: PUSH
RUNNING BACK:
LSU’s Leonard Fournette has really started to come on for the Tigers; he’s carried the ball a team high 66 teams for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Kenny Hilliard has also been successful and seen lots of carries, handling the ball 61 times for 309 yards and five touchdowns. Terrence Magee and Darrel Williams have also seen action, but Fournette and Hilliard will see the bulk of the playing time. They are an electric combination and will provide a very difficult assignment for the Gator defense.
Florida has seen Matt Jones emerge as their feature back so far this season. His added muscle makes him a tougher runner between the tackles who has retained his speed. He has seen more carries than all of the other running backs combined with 72 carries for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Kelvin Taylor can provide fresh legs, having only 32 carries for 144 yards, and is capable of taking it to the house as evident by his two scores. Mack Brown is also waiting in the wings with lots of experience in his legs.
ADVANTAGE: PUSH
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END:
Demarcus Robinson and Travin Dural have emerged as the number one targets for the Gators and Tigers respectively. They each have double the catches of the second highest receiver on their teams and are security blankets for these QBs. Malachi Dupre, John Diarse and Trey Quinn have been the other main targets for LSU.
The Gators have senior Quinton Dunbar as a sure hand opposite Robinson. Latroy Pittman saw lots of action against Tennessee. Ahmad Fullwood and Valdez Showers have also seen playing time early in the season. Clay Burton is the only significant target at the tight end position. Both teams are real top heavy at the position and have to avoid trying to force the ball.
ADVANTAGE: LSU
OFFENSIVE LINE:
The offensive lines for both teams have been huge question marks and at times even liabilities. DJ Humphries returned against Tennessee for the Gators and their performance received a lift. Their communication seemed to be a little better and they were able to move the ball on the ground. They still need to improve their pass blocking and give Jeff Driskel more time to go through his progressions.
LSU will need to block for whichever QB is able to play. If Brandon Harris is in, they need to have their head on a swivel and be ready to pass block to to block on scrambles. They will also need to be better in the run game so they can possess the ball and give their defense a rest.
ADVANTAGE: PUSH
FRONT SEVEN:
The Gators feel their front seven is one of their strengths and they finally played like it against Tennessee. The defense had six sacks overall, including three from Bryan Cox Jr. Dante Fowler has been an absolute animal on the defensive line and the Gators have been looking for a second guy to really step up. Cox could be that guy. Morrison has played well at the LB position while Neron Ball has emerged as one of the best players on their entire unit. He’s been the breakout player of this group through four games.
LSU has seen their front seven get run all over by Wisconsin (268 yards), Mississippi State (302 yards) and Auburn (298 yards). The Tigers need to try and shake it off and get refocused. They have had some injuries in the front seven and will be looking to patch things up at a number of positions. They will need to improve their run defense in this one to have any chance.
ADVANTAGE: GATORS
SECONDARY:
The Gators made a couple changes in the secondary during the bye week and it really paid off. Jalon Tabor is starting to see more playing time opposite Vernon Hargreaves III and could be the answer at the second corner. Keanu Neal has emerged at safety but, Florida is still looking for a second guy. Duke Dawson, Brian Poole and Jabari Gorman are all in the mix there as well as nickle corner.
LSU has been vulnerable in their secondary as well. After locking down Wisconsin for 50 yards passing in the opener, they have been exposed on a few occasions. Mississippi State and Auburn both connected for 268 yards, which isn’t terrible, but they also ran seemingly at will. LSU should see better results this week against a weak Gator passing attack.
ADVANTAGE: GATORS
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Gators have gotten strong special teams play so far lead by Kyle Christy. The Gators punter has been the best in the nation in average overall yards per punt and has been routinely flipping field position and pinning opponents inside the 20. Austin Hardin came on last week with a huge 49-yard game-winning FG after struggling the past two seasons on almost all of his kicks. Velez has been great at short yardage FGs, and the return teams are capable of bringing any kick back to the house.
LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye is four for four on the young season in field goals and needs to see more opportunities from his offense. They have punted the ball well and Leonard Fournette is a very dangerous return man. The Gators will need to know where he is on all returns.
ADVANTAGE: GATORS
MATCH-UP TO WATCH:
The LSU running game vs. the Florida running game. Usually I go with a direct positional match-up you can watch on the field, but this one is too important to pass up. The offensive lines could have been included in this since I feel that the team who wins the ground game will emerge victorious. Both running games are very talented and capable of carrying their offenses. The defenses will have to be up for the challenge of stopping these talented backs.
OVERALL ADVANTAGE:
GATORS. Despite all of the outside turmoil surrounding the program, the Gators have to be considered the slight favorite at home after the early season struggles of LSU. The Tigers have looked lost at times in their two blowout losses and could be the worst team of the Les Miles era. The Gators have struggled much of the season as well, but have come together to pull out two close wins and could be gaining more confidence as the season progresses. The Gator fans will be electric for this night kickoff and it will be a tough environment for whoever is at QB for LSU. The Gator defense will try and will them to another victory while the offense continues to try and find it’s way.
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