LSU and Florida meet in a rescheduled game which was previously supposed to be played in October. Rescheduled games are not a new thing with LSU and Florida.
By Matt Zemek
Hurricane Matthew forced a reshuffling of the teams’ schedules four years ago in ways which angered both schools and led to a lot of bitter accusations on both sides. Now COVID-19 has reshaped the schedule for these two teams. As was the case in October, Florida has the clear upper hand before kickoff, but the movement of this game to December gives LSU at least one possible path to success. That will be explored in the first of three game keys for the Tigers:
1 – Pounce early
If LSU is to have any realistic chance of winning, it needs to get the jump on Florida early. If you have noticed, Florida has not started games very crisply in recent weeks. Florida scored only 14 points in the first half against Kentucky two weeks ago, then only 17 points in the first half versus Tennessee last weekend. The Gators’ defense has been decent, but their offense has not performed at the level seen earlier in the season, when the Gators were scoring in the 40s. Florida has been playing like a team which is doing just enough to win with a degree of comfort, but not anything more. The lucky part of the past few weeks for the Gators is that their opponents’ offenses simply haven’t been able to make big plays or finish drives. If LSU and quarterback T.J. Finley can get the early jump on Florida and score a few touchdowns in the first 20 to 25 minutes of this game, Saturday’s contest could become very interesting. If LSU makes Florida sweat, the Gators might panic.
2 – Pass rush
Florida’s Kyle Trask is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, and Florida’s receivers are elite. However, Florida’s offensive line is a weak link for the Gators. Trask has sometimes had receivers open downfield, but he either can’t see them or can’t get the ball to them in time because he has been under pressure in the pocket. LSU has to have a huge pass-rushing day. If it can overwhelm Florida’s offensive line, the Gators would not be able to score enough to pull away. LSU could stay close into the fourth quarter.
3 – The downfield pass
LSU’s offense watched from the sideline inside Tiger Stadium last Saturday night, as the Alabama Crimson Tide and receiver DeVonta Smith put on an aerial show. Alabama, like the Florida team LSU faces on Saturday, can hit long pass plays and instantly change the complexion of a game. LSU has lacked that for most of the season, and it lacked that capacity against Alabama. In order to outscore Florida, the Tigers simply have to find the huge plays they haven’t made against other good SEC teams, the A&M game being another case in point. Failure doesn’t mean LSU should stop trying. The Tigers have to keep attacking the Florida secondary and trust that they can eventually strike gold.
Saturday‘s game kicks off at 6:00 PM CT (7:00 PM ET). You can watch this LSU football game on the ESPN Network.
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