LSU Football Three Keys: Florida

LSU hosts Florida on Saturday in Baton Rouge. Here are your three keys to a LSU win over Florida.

The matchup is No. 7 against No. 5. It will be a night game in Tiger Stadium. The Florida Gators are a brand-name team in college football. This is certainly an important game, one in which the LSU Tigers will rev up their engines and be emotionally invigorated. Yet, there is a chance that – given the realities of human nature – LSU can overlook Florida. The Tigers might take Florida seriously, but they know that Florida does not have its Opening Day starting quarterback in the lineup. They know that the starter, Kyle Trask, was injured last week against Auburn and will not have full mobility. They could look at film and think, “Ah, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

The Tigers have to guard against that. Here are three points of emphasis for them as they prepare for Florida:

Key 1 – Remember 2018

If the Tigers study film and think Florida’s offense will be easy pickings, remember last year. Florida similarly seemed to be outgunned and outmanned, but the Gators came up with a clutch performance and thwarted the Tigers. The Gators leaned on their defense and got just enough from their offense. Joe Burrow struggled against Florida’s defense.

The Tigers need to accept the very personal challenge attached to this contest. Wanting revenge doesn’t win games, but it does provide motivation and purpose to a team which might otherwise be complacent or overconfident. Being focused and fueled by 2018 is an important safeguard against an inattentive and uneven performance against the Gators.

Key 2 – Relish the challenge

Florida’s secondary played really well against Auburn last week, but Bo Nix is not Joe Burrow, to put it plainly. LSU’s receivers are good in their own right, but now they have a quarterback and a coaching staff which can maximize their talents. If Florida’s secondary seems formidable, so what? This is not a matchup to shy away from. This is a matchup to relish.

No one in the LSU camp should think that its receivers can’t be trusted in a showdown against Florida’s secondary. The receivers should be able to win their matchups.

LSU has been foiled by Florida in recent years. The Tigers should covet not only victory, but conquest, not merely competence and quality, but dominance. Trusting the receivers is the centerpiece of the matchup.

Key 3 – O-line acumen

If one aspect of this game can put LSU in a vulnerable position, it’s the matchup of the Tigers’ offensive line against the Florida defensive line. This is the matchup where LSU was in fact dominated in 2018. If LSU can at least play Florida’s front four to a stalemate, it is hard to see how Burrow and the offense might struggle. If the offensive line plays to its capability, an LSU victory seems almost certain.

Saturday‘s game kicks off at 6:30 PM CT (7:30 PM ET). Watch on the ESPN Network.

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