Quote Originally Posted by phark:
Florida +13? I got to hear the reason behind this. We all saw when this poor frosh qb played agaisnt Bama, he literally looked like a deer in the headlights, not like Gators have a running game to turn too. Bama's defense is off the charts, LSU's is not too far behind. I could see a 31-3 game here Freak...
Always appreciate your write ups. Solid indeed!
I like Florida a lot, and actually think they have a slight chance to win this game outright.
The talent level of these teams are pretty much equal across the board (average of last 5 recruiting classes are identical), but LSU is the more experienced team and their playing at home. I would give Florida a definite coaching advantage however.
Muschamp & The Planet > The Hat & Greg Studrawa. And the guy who was suppose to be LSU's offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe (now the QBs coach) set offensive football back a decade as the head coach of Louisville.
Florida's defense is young but loaded with future NFL talent. I think defensively these team are very comparble. Although Florida will face another bruising RB in Spencer Ware this week, he is nursing a sore hamstring. I also don't think LSU's o-line will be able to push Florida's front 7 around like Alabama did particularly with starting RG Josh Dworaczyk out for the game. I think LSU's biggest advantage is with their stud WRs Shepard and Randall.
I don't see LSU scoring more than 24 points. MSU was able to hold them to 19 points. I would expect a similar result here.
Of course the most glaring problem for Florida in this game is going into a very hostile Baton Rouge with highly touted freshman QB Jeff Driskel under center. And while Driskel looked at bit lost against Alabama's defense, Weiss did not game-plan for him or prep him to play against the Crimson Tide This week the Planet will be able to taylor a game plan for Driskel, and they'll have a week to practice and implement that plan. Big difference.
I think this will end up being a 24-17 type game with LSU coming out on top, but I think Florida could win this game if their defense plays lights out, gets some turnovers, and holds LSU to 14 points or less.
I'll ride with the points here, and feel very good about it.