Gators Embracing Challenge of Playing in Death Valley

Florida has not won a game in LSU's home stadium since 2016.

The Florida Gators fell to LSU, 52-35, in their last trip to Death Valley. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Even though it will be one of the toughest tasks for the Florida Gators this season, multiple players are itching to go toe-to-toe with the third-ranked LSU Tigers in Death Valley on Saturday. 

One of the more excited Gators is edge rusher Tyreak Sapp, sharing his thoughts with the media on Wednesday ahead of the contest. 

“It fires me up a lot. It gets me going,” he said. “I'm like a gladiator getting ready to go into the arena. I'm ready for it. Like, bring it on.”

Furthermore, rising sophomore linebacker Aaron Chiles mentioned he enjoys playing in front of a hostile crowd like the one he will be surrounded by in Week 3.   

“I'm ready to rise to the occasion,” Chiles stated. “I kind of like playing hostile environments better, going against that adversity, being an underdog. So I'm ready to go in and basically just play my best ball in front of a hostile environment."

It's easy to see why players are excited to be involved in a top-three matchup this early in the season, but they will need more than just emotions to win this game. LSU’s home fortress has long been a place Florida has struggled in. 

The only truly positive memory for the Gators in Death Valley over the last 15 years came in 2016. That was the year they won 16-10 thanks to a goal-line stop on fourth down. 

Additionally, the loss against USF in Week 2 won’t make things any easier on the Gators. There will undoubtedly be more pressure on them to win this game after the loss to the Bulls put them behind schedule for this campaign. 

Despite the overwhelming pressure, this game against the Tigers can also be viewed as a great opportunity for the Gators to get their season back on track. 

“I think this is a phenomenal opportunity,” Sapp said. “I think the best thing about it is that we get to prove to ourselves who we really are.”

There is one important obstacle that Florida will need to navigate, and that is the impact the fans will have on Saturday. Those in the crowd will be making it nearly impossible to hear anything on the field, trying their best to disrupt and unbalance the visitors’ communication. 

“It's a big challenge playing there. Like I said, the fans are gonna be in it. Just gonna be on us to communicate very well," linebacker Jaden Robinson said. 

If they want to prove who they are as a team, then their communication needs to be at its peak. It will be the key, in addition to executing, to walking out of Death Valley with a monumental win. Kickoff between the Gators and the Tigers is at 7:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on ABC.