The Florida Gators are set to take on the LSU Tigers Saturday night in a critical week seven matchup. Both teams enter this game with a record of 4-2, looking to add another SEC win to their resumes. The all-time series between these two teams is as close as it gets; Florida leads the series, 32-32-3, and owns a 16-14-3 advantage in Gainesville.
These teams bring many similarities to the table. The first being that they both have head coaches in their first year at their respective schools. The Billy Napier – Brian Kelly matchup has been talked about since their hirings.
Florida ranks 7th in the SEC in total offense and LSU ranks 8th. Both team’s use a running back by committee approach. The Gators primarily use three running backs, and they all have between 44-46 attempts this season. The Tigers use four running backs that all have between 32-35 attempts.
The Tigers, much like the Gators, have a mobile QB. Jayden Daniels has 76 rushing attempts through six games and has run for 359 yards and three touchdowns this season. Richardson and Daniels stack up similarly through the air as well. Richardson has 1,182 passing yards and five touchdowns through six weeks. Daniels has 1,215 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. The main difference between the two is Daniels has been much more accurate with the football, completing 68.8% of his passes while throwing just one interception. Richardson has completed just 55.9% of his passes while throwing seven interceptions.
Neither the Gators nor the Tigers have been very effective passing the ball this season. Both teams have leaned heavily on the run for their success. One big difference between the two is the pass protection. LSU has given up 21 sacks this season to UF’s four.
The major differences between the Gators and the Tigers come on the defensive side of the ball. LSU ranks 4th in the SEC in total defense, while the Gators rank 10th. LSU has played sound defense this season outside of their game against Tennessee, where they gave up 40 points at home to the Volunteers.
Here are my keys to victory for the Gators.
CONTAIN JAYDEN DANIELS
The Gators have struggled to contain QBs this season. If they struggle again on Saturday, it could be a long game for Florida. You’ll see your fair share of designed QB runs with Daniels, but you’ll also see him take off when the play breaks down. The Gators’ defense has faced plenty of mobile QBs this season, but none of them can move like Daniels. Florida’s front four needs to do everything they can to get to Daniels and keep him in the pocket.
STOP THE RUN
Not only will the Gators need to contain Jayden Daniels, but they’ll need to stop the four LSU running backs that will touch the football. The Tigers run for 172 yards per game, which ranks 7th in the SEC. The Gators run defense ranks 13th in the SEC; you can expect the Tigers to lean on the run game Saturday night.
GET RICHARDSON GOING
This game will be very hard to win if Richardson isn’t moving the ball through the air. Richardson torched this LSU defense a season ago, totaling 204 yards and four touchdowns in limited playing time. He also turned the ball over twice in that game, which leads me to my next key.
TAKE CARE OF THE FOOTBALL
Florida ranks last in the SEC in drives per game and snaps per game. When you can’t count on your offense to have a significant number of drives, you need to make them count. Florida has yet to post a zero in the turnover column this year; that’s something Napier has stressed to Richardson this season. Florida has the 12th highest turnover percentage in the SEC. The Gators need to win the turnover battle against the Tigers.
Every game appears to be getting more important for the Gators as the season progresses. Florida is looking to improve to 5-2 (2-2 SEC) after their week seven clash with LSU.