Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications
The Opening Kickoff: Florida at LSU -- #UFvsLSU
Friday, November 18, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
The No. 21-ranked Gators can clinch the SEC East with a win. Standing in the way is No. 16 LSU.
BATON ROUGE, La. – As far as we know, no Gators chickened out before boarding Friday afternoon's flight here for Saturday's showdown with LSU at Tiger Stadium.
The Opening Kickoff
Florida at LSU
#UFvsLSU
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Tiger Stadium
Broadcast Info | Game Notes
Gators coach Jim McElwain has a pretty good idea of what the atmosphere is going to be like Saturday when the Gators run from the tunnel with an opportunity to clinch the SEC East title with a victory.
"I don't know how they could call my mother names," McElwain quipped this week, referring to 95-year-old Marjorie McElwain. "She's awesome. She's one of the most loving, caring people in the world.
"And they're going to say everything they can about my mother."
Coach Mac, it is the SEC, where some of the best games are played among the fan bases.
Saturday should be no different during one of the league's top rivalries.
The Gators faced questions this week about all that scared talk from last month when LSU fans took to social media – Tennessee fans, too – to poke fun at Florida.
If the No. 21 Gators (7-2, 5-2) defeat the No. 16-ranked Tigers (6-3, 4-2), they will have the last laugh.
"I don't think we're scared," UF All-American cornerback Teez Tabor said. "It says something about somebody who's going into someone else's neighborhood when you're supposed to come to our neighborhood and fight. I don't see how that's scared at all. You're going into enemy territory."
Come 1 p.m. ET Saturday, the talk ends. It's time to play.
Six weeks late is better than never.
For more on the Florida-LSU game, here is The Opening Kickoff:
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THREE STORYLINES
- The first one is easy. If the Gators win they clinch their second consecutive SEC East title and will face Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3 in Atlanta.
- The second one is easy, too. The Gators and Tigers were scheduled to play in Gainesville on Oct. 8 until Hurricane Matthew swept along the Florida coast and forced the game to be postponed. The Gators wanted to reschedule the game in Gainesville, LSU did not. In the end, after a week of contentious talks, former UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley and the SEC agreed to move the game to Baton Rouge in exchange for back-to-back games in Gainesville in 2017-18.
- The quarterback matchup features a pair of former Purdue teammates in Florida's Austin Appleby and LSU's Danny Etling. Appleby is coming off his most efficient game for the Gators, completing 17 of 21 passes for 201 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his return to the lineup after the loss of starter Luke Del Rio to a shoulder injury at Arkansas.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- LSU running back Leonard Fournette remains the headliner, but sophomore Derrius Guise has burst onto the national radar this season and is coming off a career-high 252-yard performance in last week's victory at Arkansas. Guise set an LSU record with a 96-yard touchdown run.
- True freshman linebacker David Reese led the Gators with a career-high 11 tackles a week ago with starters Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone watching from the sideline. With Davis and Anzalone still out, Reese will be relied on to make key calls and stops against LSU's potent run game.
- Can Gators quarterback Austin Appleby start hot and stay hot? He started fast a week ago and gave the Gators an early cushion that was never threatened, mixing in a pair of key runs to keep the defense guessing. If the Gators are to win, they must keep drives alive and keep the defense from being on the field too much and wearing out in the second half.
THE QUOTE FILE
- "There is definitely a sense of rivalry. And it's a strong one and a fluid one." – Gators offensive lineman Fred Johnson on Florida-LSU
- "Our good players have to play good. Our secondary has to play good. Our strengths have to play and accept the challenge. That's really the key to me. We'll see if they accept the challenge or not." – Gators coach Jim McElwain on his team at LSU
- "We've played pretty good as a whole. Probably the best in the conference, I think personally." – Gators cornerback Teez Tabor on UF secondary compared to LSU
- "I want to know who's evaluating those quarterbacks at Purdue." LSU coach Ed Orgeron on matchup between former Boilermakers Austin Appleby and Danny Etling on Saturday
- "He'd be dumb to come back." – LSU center Ethan Pocic on whether LSU junior-eligible running back Leonard Fournette should stay in school or leave for NFL
INJURY REPORT
PROBABLE: DL Cece Jefferson (foot), OL Tyler Jordan (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: OL David Sharpe (leg). OUT: S Marcus Maye (broken arm), DL Justus Reed (undisclosed), WR C.J. Worton (foot), LB Jarrad Davis (ankle), LB Alex Anzalone (broken arm), DE Bryan Cox Jr. (leg), QB Luke Del Rio (shoulder), RB Mark Herndon (hamstring).
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10 QUICK HITTERS
- Florida and LSU have played every season since 1971 and the Gators own a 24-19-2 advantage over that span. However, the Gators have not defeated the Tigers since 2012 and need a win Saturday to avoid their first four-game losing streak to LSU since 1977-80.
- This is the first time since the 2001 season the Gators have played a makeup game. The Florida-Tennessee game that season was postponed and rescheduled later in the season following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
- LSU's win at Arkansas a week ago made the Tigers bowl-eligible for a school-record 17th consecutive season.
- The Gators have scored in 357 consecutive games, the nation's longest active streak and third all-time behind Michigan's 365-game streak (1984-2004) and BYU's 361-game streak (1975-2003).
- LSU running backs Derrius Guice (881 yards) and Leonard Fournette (803) are only second pair of 800-yard rushers in a single season, matching feat accomplished by Terry Robiskie (1,117) and Charles Alexander (876) in 1976.
- Austin Appleby made this third start in last week's win over South Carolina, marking the fourth consecutive season the Gators have started third backup quarterback at least three times.
- The Gators are without their top three leading tacklers in Jarrad Davis (56), Alex Anzalone (53) and Marcus Maye (50). The trio has been involved in 27.5 percent (159 of 577) of Florida's tackles.
- LSU is only remaining FBS team to hold opponents to 21 points or less in every game this season.
- The Gators are 16-6 all-time at Tiger Stadium, last winning at LSU in 2009, 13-3.
- This is only the second time two consecutive Florida-LSU games have been played in Baton Rouge and the first time since they started playing annually 45 years ago. The first two meetings between the schools (1937 and 1941) were played in Baton Rouge.
THE OTHER SIDE
Remember when LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron was head coach at Ole Miss? Remember when those gas-guzzling Hummers were a thing before the 2008 economic collapse changed everything?
If not, we have a reminder. On Saturday at Tiger Stadium, Orgeron will lead LSU from the tunnel as the Tigers try to defeat the Gators and perhaps stake Coach O's claim as LSU's permanent head coach. But 10 years ago, Orgeron was head coach at Ole Miss pitching Hummers on TV.
And like some others – guy typing included – a few pounds lighter on his feet:
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WHAT THEY'RE WRITING
- Some are calling this the Purdue Bowl because of quarterbacks Austin Appleby and Danny Etling. More on their connection from Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel.
- Why the Florida-LSU game is not on CBS and in a weird time slot for games in Baton Rouge writes Steven Godfrey of SBNation.com.
- Florida hoping history doesn't repeat itself writes Ethan Bauer of the Independent Florida Alligator.
- Cancelled games hurt fan-centric businesses in a college town like Gainesville writes Anthony Clark of the Gainesville Sun.
- Baton Rouge Advocate columnist Scott Rabalais on impact of Saturday's game for LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron.
- Much is being made of disparity between the SEC West and SEC East. Matt Baker of The Tampa Bay Times offers five reasons why the East has fallen behind.
- Popular Gators kicker Eddy Pineiro is available to play at LSU in wake of strange off-the-field news involving scooters writes Robbie Andreu of Gainesville Sun.
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BOTTOM LINE
Few pundits give the Gators much of a chance in this one. The Gators are without several key players due to injury and have been inconsistent on offense. The Tigers are at home and expect to be fired up. LSU wants to spoil Florida's bid to repeat as SEC East champs and the Tigers have played hard for interim coach Ed Orgeron, who is 4-1 since taking over for Les Miles. Can the Gators win? Certainly. Will they? If so, this is a game when the offense must produce consistently to help the defense and the defense might need to chip in with a score. The key for Florida to prove the naysayers wrong is a good start on offense and early points.
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