GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we continue to preview the Florida Gators vs. LSU game on Saturday afternoon in the Swamp.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre are joined by James Moran of Tiger Rag to get his take on the game and his keys for LSU and Florida.
Andrew and Nick also breakdown what their keys are in this game and how the Gators match-up with LSU.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew:What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, it’s Wednesday before Gators and LSU. Biggest game in the Swamp since the Old Miss game, Nick?
Nick:It has to be. It has to be. First time a top five opponent has been in the Swamp since, I almost said Mississippi State, since that game, since that Ole Miss game. Yeah.
Andrew:I think so too. I think that when you back, and you look at big games, that was probably the biggest game under Mac, and it was a game that you and I, I remember clearly, said Florida didn’t have much of a chance to win, and Will Grier goes out and just dominates that game. That was kind of the moment that everyone thought was going to be the turning point, and then we all know what happens two weeks later with Will.
Still, you think about big games in the Swamp, and they really haven’t been there. This is a top 20 matchup, top 22 matchup, whatever Florida is ranked. Huge atmosphere. The schedule at home is weak this year, so this is the biggest game already, and then it’s even bigger. Listen, the goals for Florida to have a good season are out there. Do they get to Atlanta? Who knows? We’ll see. You think about this, Nick. I just was putting this question to someone. Just, for instance, Florida wins this game. You think they can probably beat Vandy. The Missouri game is winnable. The South Carolina game is winnable. Idaho and Florida State games are winnable. You win this game, and you go into every game except the Georgia game with a chance to win.
Nick:They’re going to kill you for that one, Spivey.
Andrew:You know what I mean.
Nick:Yeah. Going back to your first point, when you look at the home schedule, this is probably the only game you even look at and say that’s what I’m paying my season ticket for. My entire season ticket, whatever that price was, that’s basically my ticket for the LSU game, because you’re not really moving the needle for Charleston Southern, Kentucky, Colorado State, Missouri, South Carolina, and Idaho. Not really moving the needle there.
Andrew:It’s that every other year.
Nick:That’s what has to happen, because of Georgia. Next year is not going be a huge, great home slate, but you start with that neutral game in Miami. Then next year you get Florida State at home. You get Tennessee at home, and you get Vanderbilt at home.
Andrew:Right. Exactly. I mean, it’s the game. Like I said, for me, Nick, this is a signature game for Dan Mullen. I already put one in the column for last week, because to win that game for Dan Mullen was huge. To win this game is even bigger. This is the game to get you back on the national stage. Listen, the Gators are for real. Here’s my thing, Nick. We’re going to talk to James here in a minute, from LSU, about this, but I think you can agree with me, Nick, that there’s still some debate on how good LSU is. That Miami win doesn’t look as great as it did on paper that day. Ole Miss is trash. You know what I’m saying? This is an opportunity for Florida to get a big win against LSU, against a team that is still not battle tested.
Nick:I think that’s one of the main questions I wanted to ask James. Obviously, he’s tuned into everything going on down there in Baton Rouge, and the Miami win probably doesn’t look as good. I mean, 33-17. First off, the game wasn’t even that close.
Andrew:Right.
Nick:Then you beat Auburn. I think Auburn is still a good win. They beat Auburn by a point. I think that’s a really goodwin. That was on the road too. Then I think Joe Burrow, people are talking about he really had his first good state. Yeah. Mississippi State, or–I can’t get off Mississippi State. Ole Miss, they haven’t stopped anyone. They can’t stop a nosebleed. So, scoring 45 against them, I think they spot you 30 before the game even starts. So, you score 15 against them.
Andrew:Question, Nick. How many times has Dan talked to Urban about Burrow?
Nick:Maybe text him after the last game and say, maybe we could have used this guy.
Andrew:Yeah. Do you think Dan and Urban have talked to where Dan knows Burrow’ weaknesses and strengths this week?
Nick:Yeah. I think so. I think he saw enough practice film at least, before he made his decision to not pursue Burrow in recruiting, so yeah, I think so.
Andrew:Okay. That’s my thing. Listen, you and I both agree what Urban did is a scumbag move. Listen, Dan and Urban are still friends. They still talk, all that good stuff. Put your differences aside on Urban right now and think about that. I know that question is going to come up of why would you talk to Urban, but I believe Mullen’s is a guy, and any good football coach who has a good friend, best friend, who’s coached a guy before, is going to talk to him.
Nick:Yeah. I agree with that.
Andrew:Nick, let’s go to your man James out in Cajun Country, out in Baton Rouge. We’ll talk to him, get his thoughts on LSU, and then you and I will come back and pick this game apart even more.
Nick:You got it. Now joining us is James Moran, the editor at Tiger Rag. We had a good time out in Omaha, and we have a good time every time LSU and Florida cross paths, which seems to be often.
James:I don’t know, Nick, I think the last time I saw you we were in a fog delay. I don’t know if that was a good of a time as those other ones.
Nick:We saw each other, I think, at Media Day.
James:Media Day, that’s true. I was only there for a day. I kind of forgot about that. The fog really sticks in my brain.
Nick:The fog was devastating. That was soul crushing for me. Stuck in Birmingham. We’ve already been through like eight hours of delays. Florida’s getting 10 runs. We’re three outs away, four outs away from getting to go home, and then the fog comes in.
James:What did we come back at like 7:00am, 8:00am for that …
Nick:I think we left the stadium at close to midnight, and they were like, we’re going to come back at 7:00, and then the game’s over in 14 minutes. As soon as the teams left the field, the teams get in their buses and leave the field, and the fog rolls away. We’re like, no, come back. Come back, finish up the baseball game right now.
James:And I had to stay to watch two more days of baseball.
Andrew:No fog this weekend in the Swamp, hopefully. It’s a 3:30 game.
James:I would think it would be warm and hot.
Andrew:Warm, hot, and sunny. Let me ask you a question here, James. The perception out there on LSU right now is that they’re a team that’s overachieved this year, a team that’s doing more than was expected. Nick and I were having this discussion a second ago, and that is is it fair to say that there’s still some question marks on LSU? Obviously, the Miami win was a big win, but I think the luster of that win maybe has worn off a little bit with the way Miami’s season has gone about. Is it fair to say that there’s still some question marks on really how good LSU is this year?
James:Oh, certainly. I still have a lot of questions about how good LSU is this year. I mean, their offense has at times looked completely anemic. Now look, there’s reasons for that. I mean, they got a first-year quarterback in terms of the system. Joe Burrow only got here in June, and he’s played really well, I think. The receivers, they’re getting, it seems like. I think that’s one of the more encouraging parts of the team. The running backs, they found a good one-two punch with Nick Brossetteand Clive Edwards-Helaire.
To me, the questions are still all about this offensive line. They’ve started five different offensive line combinations in as many weeks. It could be six this week. Their center, Lloyd Cushenberry, who’s really been one of the pleasant surprises of this team, is questionable, though Ed Orgeron said this morning that he thought he’d play. Ed kind of vacillates between he’s going to play and he’s not going to play with guys pretty often. I mean, Saahdiq Charles, his left tackle, is expected back after missing a couple weeks.
Their offensive line has been shaky at times. I think they’ve done a good job, considering the losses, the injuries and suspensions they’ve absorbed, but we still haven’t seen this offense be consistent against a good defense. I mean, the Auburn game, that was kind of a wild comeback in the last few minutes of that game, but for most of it they weren’t moving the ball very well at all. The first time they really looked explosive all year was against Ole Miss, but obviously, you don’t need me to tell you that the Ole Miss defense is …
Nick:Yeah. Ole Miss has made a lot of teams look explosive.
Andrew:Yeah.
James:The biggest question I have about this team though is actually on defense. They just don’t have enough pass rush right now.
Nick:Interesting.
James:They’re as good as they normally are in the secondary. Greedy Williams is one of the better cornerbacks out there. Grant Delpit, you’re going to see a lot of him on Saturday. He’s probably the best player on this team right now. He does a little bit of everything. He’s their best pass rusher. He’s their best centerfielder as a safety. He’s their best option for covering guys in the slot. He does a lot of the things Joel Adams used to do for LSU. But they’re just not getting to the quarterback enough. They lost K’Lavon Chaisson to a knee injury early in the season. They’ve done it kind of with scheme. They’ve done it by committee, but against an offensive line as good as Florida’s, which will probably be the best offensive line they’ve faced this far, I have serious questions about how much pressure they can get on Feleipe Franks.
Andrew:That’s interesting.
Nick:You want to break it to him, Spivey?
Andrew:I’m going to break it to him in just a second. It’s interesting to hear you say that, because when you think back at LSU teams, defensive line, as well as DB, is usually their strong suite. Also, let me just go ahead and give it to you. If you’re writing a story about this, talk about Florida’s offensive line. It’s a two-fold offensive line of Florida’s. It’s either at times can protect Feleipe Franks or at times they have watch-out blocks, as Nick and I call them, where they just tell Feleipe, “Hey, watch out.”
James:Oh yeah? I haven’t watched enough of them. They and LSU have been playing at the same time a lot. I’m kind of going off reputation.
Nick:If you look at the numbers, especially last week, you probably looked and said, Feleipe was clean last week. Florida really, with Sweat and … I’m forgetting his name. Jeffrey Simmons in the middle, Florida really kind of just went with this quick pass slant-screen game, where the ball is just getting out of his hands. There’s times where they’re throwing a screen, a wide receiver little bubble screen, and Jeffrey Simmons is almost getting a sack when the offensive lines knows we just have to exist in this space for a second and a half, so Feleipe can throw the ball, and they were getting through.
That’s interesting to me that you say, when I think of LSU I just think speed and physicality on defense, for you to say the defensive line isn’t getting the job done to me is kind of …
James:I think they’re doing a good job against the run. They were able to slow down Auburn’s running game, and they really stumped Miami, but who knows how good Miami is? Obviously, their quarterback is a train wreck at this point. I don’t know. They just haven’t gotten a lot of pressure. Their best pass rushers are guys that they really don’t want to be blitzing all the time, whether it’s Grant Delpit or Devin White. I mean, those are two of their better coverage guys, if you’re talking about covering the slot or covering tight ends or covering backs out of the backfield. They just haven’t gotten the pressure with their …
Really, the root of the matter is they lost Chaisson, and they’re just not getting enough out of guys like Andre Anthony and Ray Thornton and Michael Divinity, who are fine ancillary pieces, but they don’t have that one guy that can go out there and just get a sack by winning a one on one block. If you think back to what Arden Key was before he got injured and out of shape last year, what he was his sophomore year, there were signs that Chaisson could take that kind of step this year. For him to blow out his knee in Week 1, I think that’s a loss that LSU is going to continue to feel as it starts playing some better teams, especially better offenses.
Nick:Can we just have a moment of appreciation for probably one of the best names in college football, Greedy Williams. A defensive back named Greedy Williams. I like that.
Andrew:I just pulled up the stats real quick of LSU on the season. Only 3.5 sacks by the defensive line. That’s crazy to think about. Let me ask you this. Give me your impressions of Joe Burrow overall. I think that the completion percentage is probably a little misleading, from watching some games, some drops, that kind of stuff. In your opinion, has he been better than that 58% completion overall?
James:I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. For one, in the first three weeks in particular, they dropped about a dozen passes. I mean, they guy that they thought, or at least thought back in the spring was going to be their #1 receiver, Jonathan Giles, I don’t know if his numbers were just inflated because he played at Texas Tech, but he hasn’t been able to get open. When he did get open, they threw him the ball, and he dropped it. So, they’ve kind of shelved him. Now they’re kind of going forward with Justin Jefferson. He’s really their #1 receiver now. He’s made a lot of plays the last few games. If you remember Jordan Jefferson or Ricky Jefferson, he’s their little brother. He’s the third Jefferson brother. He’s been good.
They’ve got two guys who, to be honest with you, I would have thought would be off the team before they’d be making plays, but Stephen Sullivan and Dee Anderson, two 6’6” guys, they really started to integrate them into the game plan. On 3rd down that’s where Burrow goes. They’re just having them run a lot of slants. They’re putting a 6’6” guy in the slot, having him take a few steps and box out on 3rd and short now. That’s been a pretty good recipe for them.
I think Burrow has been about as impressive, he’s been better than I thought he would be is kind of the way I would describe it. Last week you saw what he can do running around a little bit. I don’t think they’re going to do much of that at Florida, because Florida has an actual defense where they might knock the crap out of him if they run him too much, as opposed to Ole Miss, where he could gallop 45 yards untouched for a touchdown. Burrow has been very good. He’s raised his game in those late game situations. Late in that Auburn game, on the road, that, to me, was like his first real test, and I thought he played very well. They haven’t pushed the ball downfield as much as they’d like to, but I think they’re starting to do some more of that as they kind of figure out who can do what out of this wide receiver corps.
I’ve been very impressed with Burrow. To me, when he came in, I kind of figured he’d be like Danny Etling 2.0, protect the ball, complete a lot of short passes, but when it’s a real defense he can’t make enough plays to win. I’ve already seen enough to be convince Burrow is at least a step or two better than Etling ever was.
Andrew:Hold on a second, Nick. I know you got something to say, but I’m upset. You didn’t mention my guy, Jamar Chase.
James:Man, he’s a beast. They only throw him the ball once or twice a game, but that once or twice always turns into a circus catch or a touchdown. I mean, the catch he made on Saturday night against Ole Miss was wild. He was up, had his body turned at like a 90-degree angle, caught it, and toe tapped with a couple defenders hanging off him. That was nasty. Him and Marshall, Terrace Marshall, are both becoming kind of bigger parts. I’m just not sure they know the offense well enough to become full-time contributors. Maybe that happens at some point this season, because they’re both just absurdly talented. Right now, it seems like the pecking order is Jefferson as a clear #1. Some combination of Dee Anderson and Stephen Sullivan, and then those two freshmen and Derrick Dillon are also kind of involved in different scenarios and packages.
Andrew:Derrick Dillon. We remember that name as well.
Nick:Derrick Dillon. Jamar Chase. Yup. Those are names Florida fans will remember on Saturday.
James:I’m sure. Chase in particular.
Andrew:Give us the scoop on the running game. Obviously, you lose the big name guys, but Brossette is a guy in my opinion, averaging 4.5, 4.6, something like that, a carry, so still doing well. Is the offensive line still really aggressive, the same old LSU offensive line?
James:That line is a lot better at run blocking than pass blocking at this point. They have some trouble with speed rush off the edge, but they’ve still got enough big guys. Losing GarrettBrumfield hurts. He was their left guard. He was really kind of the leader of that group. They can still lean on some people and run the ball pretty well. I mean, I didn’t think they’d be able to run the ball at all against Auburn, and they were able to.
Nick Brossette, actually I would say has been the biggest surprise, at least to me, of this team. I know this is going to sound stupid, but if asked me for my two fall camp hot takes or hot predictions I would have been one for two. I would have told you I didn’t think Giles would be very good. That so far has come to pass. And I would have told you that Nick Brossettewould go back to being the third running back in short order. That, obviously, has not happened. He’s been very good. They got a little bit of a power and speed thing with him, kind of a between the tackles guy, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire is more of a scatback that can really make guys miss out in space.
The running, obviously, I mean, neither one of them are every going to be Fournette or Guise. Those guys are generational kind of talents in the backfield. There’s a reason they’re playing on Sundays now. The running game has actually been better than I ever thought it would be this year.
Nick:Mine’s not so much about this game, but kind of big picture. I think last year when LSU was coming into Gainesville it was right off a loss to Troy. The Tigers were 3-2, and you were probably looking up, because of fans, looking up Ed Orgeron’s buyout and thinking what a mistake.
James:I’ve got every contract on file, Nick.
Nick:You have Ed’s printed out, and you carry it with you everywhere, just in case.
James:Just in case.
Nick:But since then, LSU is 11-2. You beat Florida, partly thanks to a very uncharacteristic missed point after from Eddy Pineiro. Since then, 11-2, ranked 5 in the country right now. Just where are the fans, where have they come since the last meeting? It’s one year. Where have they come since that last meeting with Florida, in terms of believing in Orgeron, believing in program, and what’s the attitude of the program and the fans a year since that loss to Troy and coming into Gainesville?
Andrew:And can they understand him yet?
Nick:They can. We can’t.
James:Now, I understand him pretty well. He’s actually, from a media standpoint, he’s a lot easier to cover than Les Miles ever was.
Nick:You stop that. Les Miles is a national treasure.
Andrew:Yes. We love hearing about Les Miles.
James:He has the accent, but he does speak …
Nick:When Ed O tells the girls on campus to find a football player and give him a big kiss on the mouth, you let me know. Then I’ll be an Ed O fan.
James:I think he would stay away from that. Somebody did ask him about the band playing some vulgar song that all the students love. He’s pretty quick on his feet, more than you think.
Nick:Neck?
James:Yeah. They asked him if the band should play Neck, and he said he likes the tune, but he does not care for the words, which is hilarious if you ever listened to Ed Orgeron coach defensive line drills, because that’s an experience in loud profanity. Back to your question, I don’t think the expectations have drastically, I mean, there’s probably some people out there that think this team is going to go out there, and they’re going to beat Florida. They’re going to beat Georgia. They’re going to beat Alabama. I think most people see that the sky isn’t falling. I think coming into this year a lot of people thought this was going to be a five win team, a team where you could legitimately after the year ask, should Ed Orgeron be fired?
I think, kind of my mindset going into the year looking at it was the Miami game was pivotal. If they lost the Miami game, I didn’t see a roadmap for more than six or seven wins. It was one of those things where if they lost that game and went into Auburn at 1-1, then I thought they were going to be in big trouble. The fact that they won that game, and then they won the Auburn game, to me that really kind of reset things. People started getting a little bit more expectations. If they go on the road here and lay an egg against Florida, I wouldn’t be shocked, honestly. I think Florida has got a really good defense, and probably one of the better fronts that this offensive line is going to play against, right up there with Auburn.
I don’t know. I don’t think there’s that many people that have now swung way in the other direction, where they think this is now an elite team in the West. I think everyone kind of sees that this team is overachieving. I think what the optimism comes from is they haven’t really played that well yet, but they’ve been winning. I guess, kind of the thought is that if they keep getting better. I think really the target for this team is to be elite next year, because they got a big-time recruiting class lined up. In theory, they could have Joe Burrow back for one more year. Get some guys like Chase and Grant Delpit back. You’re probably going to lose Greedy and Devin White but have some of those freshmen and sophomore grow up a little bit.
I think if they win nine games this year that has to be taken as pretty much a success. If they somehow get ten, if they win every game but Georgia and Alabama, then I think that would be an over the top overachievement.
Nick:Nine wins, they’re already five of the way there.
James:Yeah, but they got some tough ones left. In a four week stretch they play Georgia, Mississippi State, and Alabama.
Nick:Who is Alabama’s other crossover opponent? They play Tennessee every year. Who else are they playing this year?
James:They play Missouri this week.
Nick:Oh, what a rough, rough schedule for Nick Saban and his monster machine over there.
James:Tua will be out of the game by the third quarter, I would think.
Andrew:No. Second quarter.
Nick:LSU gets Florida and Georgia.
James:I mean, an Alabama team with a quarterback that can throw like that is a scary thing to see. They have just been mauling people. I know they haven’t played the tougher teams on their schedule yet, but every time I watch them I think you shouldn’t hear anybody yelling that they want to play Alabama.
Andrew:When Alabama’s offense is better than their defense, you have problems.
Nick:Yes.
James:That’s a good way of putting it.
Nick:It is still early in the week, but this is normally the time where we ask either for a prediction or kind of how you see the game going. LSU, if they win, what do they need to do? If Florida wins, what happens, what do they do? Take it away, James.
James:For LSU to win I think it really comes down to that offensive line. Number one, obviously, being health. If they don’t have Lloyd Cushenberry, and they don’t have their center, their backup is a true freshman, who they admitted they wanted to redshirt this year. Their emergency center in Brumfield, who’s already out. So, if they don’t have Cushenberry, to me this becomes a brutally tough to win game. If they do have him, and the offensive line is solid, then I think the key is balance. They’re going to have to make some plays through the air. This isn’t a game where they can just go in and run it and win it.
Defensively, I think the key for LSU is pass rush. I think they’re getting better on the back end. Greedy is obviously very good. Kristian Fulton has gotten incrementally better since getting lit up against Miami. They got a lot of guys like Kary Vincent and Grant Delpit who play all over the place and do a good job. If they can’t get after Franks, I think Florida can give them some problems on the outside. Obviously, I really like that Gator running game. They got a lot of guys that can kind of wear you out on a hot afternoon.
For Florida, I would think the key is to kind of run the ball well. I mean, I assume Franks has gotten a lot better with Dan Mullen, but he doesn’t strike me as a guy that’s going to stand back there and throw it 30 times and beat you. You guys can correct me if I’m wrong there.
Nick:We’ll keep quiet over here.
James:The defense, I would think the key for them would get a pass rush on Joe Burrow, because that has been the one thing that’s really shut down this LSU offense when they’ve started. When they’ve really been threatened by some good defensive linemen or some kind of organic blitzes, they’ve had a tendency to have a lot of holding calls, lots of trips and shot blocks that have killed drives. Obviously, sacks is something you can’t have. Last week, actually, they committed their first two turnovers of the year, and it was a running back getting drilled in the backfield and a strip sack. So, the offensive line, to me, is really where this game comes down to for LSU.
Andrew:James, we appreciate it. I’m going to go ahead and tell you right now, write these two names down, Jachai Polite and Cece Jefferson. If the tackles aren’t blocking, those guys will have big games.
James:I remember Cece Jefferson. Wasn’t he the guy that wore like a different hoodie to his Florida signing thing? Wasn’t that him? He wore Alabama or LSU hoodie to his signing day, and then signed with Florida.
Nick:There was some drama. There was some drama around our good friend Carl’s recruitment.
Andrew:Frog is his daddy’s name, and Frog liked to cause a little problem. James, tell everybody where they can find you at for all your coverage this week and throughout the rest of the season.
James:You can follow me on Twitter @SmartestMoran. Good little pun there that I owe to my college newspaper editor. TigerBack.com, or at Tiger_Rag on Twitter. You can read all our coverage now, and, I guess, any time going forward. Thanks for having me on, guys. I appreciate the time to catch up. I will not be there. I’m actually sending my new assistant editor. You guys treat him nicely.
I don’t like going to Florida. This is going to sound like I’m a fan. I’m not. It’s far, and I went to all the other games last year and the year before that. I am punting and sending my partner. So, you guys be nice to him.
Andrew:We absolutely will. We’ll treat him well. We’ll see what game results come out of it. James, we appreciate it. We’ll talk to you very soon.
James:No problem. Catch you guys later.
Andrew:Nick, some good stuff from our man James there. Nick, something stood out to me. Do you know what it was?
Nick:What stood out to you? Is it the same thing that stood out last week after we talked to Brett?
Andrew:It is. It is. [Retire Moms] we know you’re listening, because you always do. We know you do. Who wouldn’t want to listen to the podcast? Jachai Polite, CeceJefferson, Jabari big games again? If the tackles can’t block, uh-oh.
Nick:That’s a big uh-oh. That really hurt Mississippi State with giving up six sacks, and even more so than the sacks, all the pressure. To me, yeah, that’s a big uh-oh.
Andrew:I mean, watch out. Watch out. That’s all I can say.
Nick:This is a [Retire Moms] fan podcast.
Andrew:It’s a thing, Nick, where you go back and you look at the Kentucky game, that was a key. Florida didn’t have a lot of pressure on Terry Wilson. They forced Nick Fitzgerald into being a different Nick Fitzgerald. That was a guy who had to sit back in the pocket, couldn’t do what he wanted to do. Sounds to me like, and from watching a could of Joe Burrow’s games, he’s a guy that is more comfortable when he’s outside the pocket. If the tackles can’t block, he ain’t getting outside the pocket. It will be interesting to see how Florida’s run defense does against this LSU offensive line, but again, if the center is out, you lose two of your starting linemen now in Brumfield and then the center. That’s a key as well.
I will say this, and that is Florida’s run defense has been much better with Cece, David Reese, and now Shawn Davis back. It’s been much better. I think that LSU is going to have to win the game by going through the air. You’re not going to have Kentucky 2.0 of just running all over Florida. Not with David Reese on the field.
Nick:Yeah. 100% agree with you there. I think the defense looked much different when Cece came back against Colorado State, and then continued to look better, particularly in the way of run defense and tackling, once David Reese came back. He was definitely hobbled with that ankle. Listen, that’s just one of those deals with the ankle where it might not be right because he’s playing, it might be right all year. He’s probably going to be dealing with that high ankle issue all year long. His snaps were definitely limited against Mississippi State. We’ll see where he is health wise come Saturday. He had a huge tape job on that knee before the game that I noticed when I was down there on the field. So, we’ll see what he does.
But I agree with you, the defense has looked completely better. If you can stop LSU’s running game, it seems like we say it every week, what’s the plan? The plan is always to make a team one-dimensional, and it just so happens in the SEC it happens a lot to be if you stop the running game and make one of these quarterbacks pass, that’s your key to victory.
Andrew:I will say this. When you go back, and you talk about some teams, that’s not the case. Some of these teams that Florida’s been playing as of late, that is the case. Especially a team like LSU, who is kind of predicated on run the ball, play good defense. Not put Burrow in high leverage situations. If Joe Burrow or Feleipe Franks, either one of them, have to win the game by themselves, that team is losing. Is that a fair statement?
Nick:I’d say so.
Andrew:Yeah. For me, that’s the case. David Reese being back, this is a David Reese football game. This is a VoseanJoseph football game. Vosean Joseph is Vosean Joseph at University of Florida now because of the hit two years ago in LSU. That’s where he popped onto the national stage. These are games linebackers are made for. This is Jachai Polite’s football game too. Physical football game. Just getting nasty with the offensive line. That’s the way it’s going to be for him. I think that it’ll be the key for Florida, just as well as it is for LSU, and that is which offensive line can get a push?
Now, if LSU’s defensive line isn’t as good as James said, then Florida may be okay. Florida needs to play that full game of being physical, instead of at bits and pieces of the game being physical. Took a step forward in the Mississippi State game, but they have to do that four quarters in this game. Granted, they’re not going to face Jeffrey Simmons or Montez Sweat this game, by no means.
Nick:Right. Still a huge game, especially Florida, I think, is really feeling that loss still from last year. Really, when you lose a game just because of a missed point after, that’s hard to swallow. I think Florida is certainly ready to go this week. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, I guess. To me, James is talking about the offensive line being an issue, defensive line being an issue. To me, that’s, I guess, so foreign to me that you’re talking about an LSU team and in the trenches is your question mark. It almost seems like LSU’s had so many years, I mean, shoot, they had Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry on the same team. You just didn’t have a quarterback to get it to them. Now it seems like you have a quarterback to get it to them, and you’ve got some guys, some names, but they’re not ready yet.
Andrew:Right. I mean, I’m going to be honest with you. The only receiver I’ve heard of from LSU is Jamar Chase and Derrick Dillon.
Nick:That’s only because of the recruiting ties.
Andrew:Right.
Nick:I think Jamar Chase is a baller.
Andrew:Jamar Chase was the Miami game. That’s when he made the big play. I mean, to me that’s a huge question mark when you go in this game. Dan Mullen said it after the game against Mississippi State. He said, you won the Tennessee game with big plays. You won the Mississippi State by grinding it out. This is a grind it out football game. This is a game that is going to be a one-score game, either way, in my opinion. This is a game that’s going to come down to the fourth quarter. It’s going to be a grind it out football game. I don’t think you have a blowout either way. I just think it’s a grind it out football game. Can you put the pressure on LSU with the crowd noise? Should be a rocking atmosphere. Can you adapt to what LSU is going to do on defense? Because you and I both know, Nick, LSU is not going to give Trevon Grimes, Kadarius Toney, Van Jefferson, eight yards at the line of scrimmage for the stand pass. They’re not.
Nick:No. LSU is going to be playing completely different this game. You’re going to have, if you’re a receiver, Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit are going to be up in your face. You’re going to be able to smell what they ate for breakfast they’re going to be so close. It’s not going to be like that. You’re going to have to win some one on one matchups, kind of like what Dan Mullen said on Monday.
Andrew:Exactly. That’s going to be the situation where can you beat them on that slant route? Can you get that go route? Can you get that corner route, post route? This is the game where some of those plays can break open as well. As you do that, those guys will back up a little bit. Then you can hit the stand passes, that kind of stuff.
I’m going to tell you a key matchup, Nick, for me, and that is how does the running backs do catching the ball? That’s going to be a key for me this weekend, Nick. Because when you look at LSU linebacker wise, that’s going to be your matchup when it’s one on one, man to man. That’s going to be your matchup you’re going to want to hit. Maybe even the tight end position a little bit as well this week. It’s going to be an old-school grind it out football game.
Listen, I’ll say this. If there is one thing Dan Mullen has on offense, a lot of people give him criticism for his play calling, including myself and you, Nick, he finds ways to change his game plan to matchup in each game, and I think that’s going to be a thing that we’ll see this week. It’ll be interesting to see what he has in store. Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see KadariusToney and Feleipe Franks to have more quarterback runs. Would you agree with that?
Nick:Do you see that as being just the opponent, or do you see it as maybe they’re finding the runs and the areas they can take advantage with Feleipe? It might have taken a month playing real teams, but do you see them as being now we’ve found a good mix of the running plays that we think Feleipe can handle and that are good for him? Why do you say you’ll see more runs from Feleipe this week?
Andrew:I think it’s a case of if you’re playing a good physical defense who’s going to be in man to man a lot, you’re going to want to go hat on hat. What better hat on hat than to go quarterback run and have Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine, Damien Pierce as your lead blocker there, or have KadariusToney back there, have a lead blocker in those guys? Where you create hat on hat, you have to have confidence that each one of your offensive line, your tight end and running back, are going to go hat on hat, but in these physical games, that’s where you see that. You see that with Tennessee, and I think you see that more here.
You also have a good point, and that is when you have those guys like a Feleipe Franks, you start to understand where he’s better at getting runs. He’s better running the ball between the tackles, safe or not safe for a quarterback. That’s where he is.
Nick:Yeah. Running the ball between the tackles with that running back as a lead blocker. We’ve seen that a bunch of times now, where it’s a shotgun set with a running back to his left or to his right. Ball gets hiked and follow 22 or follow 25.
Andrew:Right. Exactly. Would you agree though that catching the ball out of the backfield is going to be a key?
Nick:Yeah. I think really, to me, that’s good news for Lamical Perine.
Andrew:I would agree. I just think that you’re going to have to play, both teams, whichever team plays the cleanest game is going to be the team that can come away. As much as these teams have been talked about as being different, everyone wants to give LSU credit for being the better team, and they very well might be, I think you still have to look at it. These teams are still pretty evenly matched as far as when you go to quarterback play, both some question marks. I think both have improved play over last year. When you go running backs, I think Florida has the depth there, but I think both have really solid running backs. Then when you go to offensive line, there’s question marks. To me, that’s almost an identical team.
Nick:Did you say this last week?
Andrew:Yeah. Pretty much. Special teams very well could win the game. That’s something.
Nick:LSU has got a kicker now.
Andrew:That’s what I was going to say. When you go to LSU, you always talk about LSU’s special teams, all the way back from Les. They’re always going to be creative. They’ve already had one fake punt. Didn’t complete it. They’ve already had one fake punt. It’ll be a game that a special teams big play could end up being the key. I saw a stat, Nick, this week. Florida’s top 10 as far as their starting field position for their offense. Best offense, for any offense, especially a struggling offense, is not to have to go far.
Nick:That’s been a testament to special teams and defense.
Andrew:Creating turnovers. That will win you a lot of football games. Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain will tell you that.
Nick:They actually lost the turnover battle last week, but that field position is really what helped the offense out.
Andrew:Right. Exactly. When you have a quick turnover like that, and then you force a three and out?
Nick:And you’re keeping their defense on the field, tiring their defense out. It’s certainly a thing. That’s a real thing.
Andrew:Nick, as we get ready to close this out here, Mullen talked about pack the Swamp. You and I just talked about that off the air, or on the air, excuse me, before we talked to James. This is the big one. The student body has to come out, be loud, be aggressive as far as cheering, and stay in their seats. This is a game that, not only for the product on the field, but in recruiting, this is a game that could be that game, an Urban Florida State game, where you look back and you say, so many of the guys who visited that game committed to you. That could be a chance this week. There are so many top targets for Florida coming on campus. A good atmosphere can change the scene.
I’m looking at two guys from Texas, Lewis Cine the safety, Elijah Higgins the wide receiver. Both those guys it’ll be their first game day experience in the Swamp. Make it one they can’t forget.
Nick:I mean, we’ll spend a lot of time talking, but this is certainly a monster jampacked recruiting weekend. 3:30, it’s going to be hot. Really need a good environment for not only the recruits, but also for the fans too. Don’t have the first aerial shot of CBS coming into the field, they’ve got that big swooping camera that comes down, don’t let that be of just a bunch of empty bleachers.
Andrew:Nick, so many times we’ve talked about it. The first aerial shot is always the student section. That’s just because of the layout of the stadium. Still, show up, show out. It’s key.
Now, Nick, I will tell you this. Here’s an incentive to the students to get out and tailgate. Can’t forget about our guys from Moe’s. We’re giving away a free tailgate this week. $200 tailgate. They’re going to come set it up for you. They’re going to clean it up. They’re going to take care of everything you possibly can with tacos, everything you possibly can. So, get to the game early. Get your Moe’s tailgate. Get your belly full. Then go in the stadium.
Nick:It doesn’t get much better than that. Have your whole setup, have your whole tailgate setup going, and, listen, you got some free food coming over to you. It doesn’t get any better than Moe’s. We would never try to serve you Chipotle. That’s not a thing. Enter in. Send us pictures of your tailgate. We will pick the best tailgate pictures that we’ve seen, and send some free food your way.
Andrew:All you got to do is send us a photo of you in your Gator gear at your tailgate. Even at your house watching the game, in the stands watching the game, whatever it is. Send us you in your Gator attire, your family, whatever it may be, and we’ll pick the best one on Thursday. That should be some incentive to get them there.
Nick, they lost to Kentucky. Sure. But there’s some excitement around the team. You come off two big wins. I think fans, and I think people in general, take away how big an atmosphere is. Nick, you talked to me about Mississippi State on Saturday. Caused four false starts because of that crowd noise. When you and I, when you go back and you talk about the big games in the Swamp, think about what the atmosphere was like. Think about how intimidating it was. The Swamp used to be the loudest place in the country to come to. Make it happen again.
Nick:That’s what Dan Mullen is calling for.
Andrew:There it is. Any other final keys, thoughts, before we get out of here? We’ll be back on Friday, of course, to break it down even further.
Nick:I’ll save my stuff for Friday.
Andrew:Oh, brother. I get the first pick though.
Nick:Do you? No. I get the first pick. I had Week 1. You got first pick last week.
Andrew:You picked Polite last week first pick.
Nick:No. I think you picked first. We’ll figure it out for Friday. We don’t need to argue about it now.
Andrew:I’m picture Retire Moms first pick on Friday. It’s already there. It’s in the case, everything else. Anyway, Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. Check out our recruiting content. We got tons of it up there. Previews. Our man, Eric, out here breaking the basketball commits, another top 40 kid. Those people who said Mike White couldn’t recruit are wrong. Plenty of football coverage. Everything you need is at Gator Country. Tell them where they can find it, Nick.
Nick:www.GatorCountry.com for all your Florida Gator news. The podcast is there in audio and transcript form. The podcast is anywhere you listen to podcasts. Just search @GatorCountry. Hit that subscribe button. Leave a comment. Leave a rating, as long as it’s a good rating. Never miss an episode. Do your social media thing. @GatorCountry on Facebook and Twitter. @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. I am @NickdelaTorreGC, and he is @AndrewSpiveyGC.
Andrew:There you go. We appreciate it. Nick, that’s going to be a cool thing to see, like Tebow get inducted and that ’08 team. Those are the good memories. It’s going to be cool. I’m excited to see it. Excited to see the atmosphere. We’ll be back on Friday, guys. We’ll preview some more recruiting, get our player picks in, all that good stuff. We appreciate James. Again, guys, shoot us your photos, either on the message board or on Facebook or on Twitter, for you in your Gator attire, and we’ll enter you for a chance to win that free Moe’s tailgate. We’ll be giving that away on Thursday.
As always, guys, we appreciate it. Chomp, chomp. Go Braves.
Nick:You stay classy, Gator Country.