Fight for DBU claim continues between Florida and LSU

It’s that time of year again. The time when two of the most notable self-proclaimed DBUs get the chance to settle it on the field.

Both Florida and LSU have produced insane amounts of NFL-caliber talent and top draft picks at defensive back over the years, and both believe they have earned the right to that title.

This East-West rivalry has been on steroids over the last few years since the Hurricane Matthew debacle of 2016. The battle for DBU only makes it more intense.

“It’s a heated rivalry,” said sophomore safety Brad Stewart. “We’re DBU. We stand on that. Nobody else is DBU but us. We put out the best DBs, and that’s how it goes.”

Stewart is a Louisiana native, but he was a fan of both teams growing up. He said once he got into the recruiting process, his real focus was to see which team’s defensive backs impressed him the most, and that ended up being Florida.

He was not the only one to be so blunt about the matter.

“We’re the real DBU,” said sophomore safety Donovan Stiner. “So, not really worried about it.”

The fact of the matter is, Florida has been the better team at defending the pass in 2018.

The Gators currently sit as the SEC’s top passing defense and are 11th in the nation, while LSU is 10th in the conference and barely breaks the top-100 overall at 90th.

Despite facing some key injuries, especially with the loss of star corner Marco Wilson early in the season, as well as adversities like freshman Trey Dean’s targeting ejection last week, Florida has managed to work through it all and stay strong in the secondary.

The Gators have allowed just a 48.4 completion percentage for 700 yards through five games, compared to the Tigers’ 54.1 allowed completion percentage for 1,154 yards.

But now is no time for Florida to rest on its laurels. Joe Burrow has proven to be a major upgrade for the Tigers at quarterback and LSU’s receivers are some of the fastest the Gators will face this season.

On top of that, Burrow has yet to throw an interception this year. Stiner said he wants to be the one to change that.

“I noticed that he has zero interceptions on the year,” he said. “He barely turns the ball over so he must be getting coached really good, he must be real disciplined so we gonna have to make him make mistakes and kind of rattle him a little bit.”

While LSU’s stats aren’t typical of what it expects at defensive back so far this season, there is still a lot of talent there.

The Tigers proved that by shutting down the “Nasty Wideouts” of Ole Miss last week. The Rebels have some of the best receivers in the SEC, but LSU’s secondary held them to just 178 passing yards, no touchdowns and tacked on an interception in the game.

Florida’s receivers will have to work hard to make plays, but it’s not like they don’t have plenty of experience to fall back on.

“When you go through training camp and you have C.J. [Henderson] and Marco to go up against every single day in practice, our guys have gone against some great corners,” said head coach Dan Mullen. “I mean you’re going to have to win some one-on-ones. They’re going to give you some one-on-one matchups and you’re going to have to find a way to win.”

This game holds high stakes. Not only in the fight for DBU, but in defining the season for both teams.

Junior nickel Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is typically the first one to jump on an opportunity for some trash talk, but not this time. He knows it’s going to take a lot more than defending the pass to come out with a victory on Saturday.

“I’m more of let’s win this game for the team,” he said. “Not one unit can win a game. It’s all of us.”

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.