The lines of scrimmage and the fight for DBU have garnered a lot of attention heading into Saturday’s rivalry matchup between the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers, but the guys on SEC Nation don’t think those will be the deciding factors.
Gator legend Tim Tebow and former LSU defensive lineman Marcus Spears don’t always agree, especially when it comes to this game, but they can on one thing: Feleipe Franks and Joe Burrow have to play well for their team to win.
Tebow said he thinks the game will come down to a mere six plays involving the quarterbacks. And if a team can’t finish with touchdowns in the red zone and has to settle for field goals, that will a pretty good indicator.
He wouldn’t say who he thinks will win that battle, but he has been impressed with Franks’ play over the last few weeks. While the Gators didn’t run the score up at Mississippi State last week, Tebow liked the demeanor Franks had in that environment under pressure.
“He started out in the game throwing with a lot of conviction and then he threw a pick, but he didn’t play scared after that,” Tebow said. “He continued to throw and fire the ball down the field … I think that’s from the belief in Mullen, the belief in his teammates and it doesn’t feel like the moment’s too big for him at least last week. So, I think that’s really important that tomorrow if LSU goes up and you gotta make a drive with a few minutes to go that that moment’s not too big, and I think he’s getting the confidence where he can handle those moments.”
On the other side, Spears thinks Burrow’s experience in other hostile environments will give him the advantage over Franks.
“Based on what I’ve seen so far this year, Joe Burrow has played two top-10 teams, that’s number one,” he said. “He’s made some huge plays in those games where they needed him to win the game … If Florida went to Auburn and won on the road, I would probably give Florida the edge in this game, because it’s tough to win in Jordan-Hare against that team. So, right now, I put my edge on Joe Burrow because he’s been in, I think, more adverse situations.”
Burrow and Franks have exceeded the expectations set for them so far this year and done enough to put their teams in situations to have success.
But Saturday could be the toughest test either have faced all season. Both will have to maintain their composure against top SEC defenses and this game has extremely high stakes.
Tebow believes it will not only have a huge impact on the teams’ seasons moving forward, but ultimately on the careers of these two quarterbacks.
“Joe Burrow has played good enough to give LSU a Top 5 ranking,” he said. “Feleipe has played good enough to have the Florida fans believe in him and bring that excitement back to The Swamp. And so, one of these guys, I think it’s gonna propel their career. And I think a win like this, it gives you the opportunity where, hey you’re kinda building your legacy or ‘oh, it was just not enough.’ And I think it’s gonna be true for one of these guys in this game. I think one of them you’ll see their career start to change.”