An Early Look At LSU Football's Matchup With Florida
LSU's 2021 season is starting its fall off a very steep and very long cliff but have a chance to slowly start turning it around when top 25 Florida comes to town on Saturday.
The Tigers will return to Baton Rouge sporting a two game win streak against the Gators following the 2019 win and unexpected follow up victory over top 10 Florida in 2020 in the Swamp. These are two programs in dire need of some momentum heading into this matchup as the Tigers have lost two straight while the Gators have also dropped two games in SEC play.
For Dan Mullen and Florida, this team will go as far as its offense and disruptive pass rush will take it. When this offense is clicking, it proved it can hang with any team in the country, proven with its narrow two point loss to Alabama in the opening week of SEC play.
But there's been inconsistency with this group as well as the Gators loss to Kentucky was defined by 15 penalties, eight of which came on false starts. Florida would bounce back Saturday by routing Vanderbilt 42-0 in Gainesville as quarterback Emory Jones tossed for four touchdowns in the win.
Jones is another one of those dual threat quarterbacks the Tigers have had so much trouble with this season. Whether it's UCLA Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Auburn's Bo Nix, or even Kentucky's Will Levis, this LSU defense has had trouble when quarterbacks scramble and extend plays with their legs.
And Jones is perhaps the fastest to date as he's rushed for 478 yards and two touchdowns this season. Keeping him in the pocket and forcing Jones to beat LSU with his arm will be the goal for this defensive line but it just hasn't executed the last two weeks. Levis rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns and with Jones acting as Florida's primary ball carrier, slowing him down will be the focus.
As for the Florida defense, this is a unit led by its phenomenal defensive line play, most notably Zachary Carter and Brenton Cox Jr., who lead the SEC in sacks with six a piece. The two edge rushers set the tone for this Gators defense that trails only Georgia in sacks in the SEC with 20 and also has eclipsed the 40 tackle for loss mark six games into the season as well.
The problems up front with the LSU offensive line have been well documented and it'll only get trickier from here with two of the nation's best pass rushers coming to town. It's been a struggle to keep Max Johnson protected and the run was non existent until this last weekend against Kentucky.
Florida's defense is allowing 112 yards on the ground per game so it won't be an easy task for this offense to find its footing, especially if wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is unable to suit up next week. The early optics of this game certainly don't favor LSU in any way, shape or form.
With injuries now piling up along with the losses, LSU has plenty to figure out and not a ton of time to find the answers.
