Quote Originally Posted by petelapot:
BlueHens, very well put. Florida showed quite a few weaknesses in the loss to Auburn. Anyone who thinks this is a good spot for Florida is insane or they have never been to Tiger Stadium where I guareentee you it will be totally sick come saturday night.
It was "totally sick" in Gainesville last Saturday night when we lost. I've been to probably 60-70 games there, and it was the loudest I've ever heard that stadium.
Teams win on the road in hostile environments in the SEC all the time. Don't think because it's at LSU that it's an automatic win. I'm sure that's what Florida was thinking Saturday.
Florida beat LSU in 2003 there when LSU ended up the National Champion, and since the early 90's the only times I can remember losing there was 1997 when Doug Johnson drank too much the night before, and 2005 when the whole team was still learning the Urban Meyer playbook.
Florida's biggest weakness is the secondary, which will be harder for LSU to exploit with a questionable Doucet, and giving up 6 sacks and a pick to Tulane?
LSU's first game ever as #1 in the AP poll since 1959 (I found that unbelievable). . . can they handle the pressure?
X-factors for LSU IMO are Hester and Perriloux. Hester was a pain in the ass last year to defend, touched the ball a lot and I don't expect it to be any different this year. Miles will have Perriloux in quite a bit I'd imagine, and he is much harder to gameplan for than Flynn.
Both of Tebow's INT's on 122 attempts this year were due to Riley Cooper running the wrong route.
I'm pretty sure Florida won't be running it up the middle every other play and going deep only a couple times like Auburn. If you think Florida will play that conservative against LSU, I think you're crazy.
LSU will pound the ball often, and I expect their OL to take care of our DL and open up holes frequently. They'll have to Double Team Harvey often, and they probably won't run much to his side. If LSU's guys get past the linebackers, I'm not sure our corners can handle them. I'd expect 7-8 in the box frequently, and it's not going to matter a couple of times cause I expect a few big yardage runs.
For Florida to win, they are going to have to play ball control offense, and keep their defense off the field. Also, a little turnovers, and ZERO special teams mistakes. They will have to play absolutely stellar, and limit the stupid ass penalties. I think Florida is faster on offense, and will cause some mismatches. There's already a coaching mismatch.
For LSU to win, they just need to do what they've been doing. Overpowering people, controlling the LOS, limiting mistakes, playing efficient football. Feed off the crowd, the emotion, and go out there and play to WIN, not be conservative. LSU on paper should be able to win this game, but in the last two FL/LSU games, there have been 5 turnovers from LSU. You're not going to turn the ball over 5 times again and be able to win.
I'm just getting down some discussion thoughts on paper, and tried to make arguements for both sides. . . Feel free to comment, as I'm still trying to get a good feel for how this game is going to go