Florida Gators

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The script has flipped. A week ago, as the Gators stormed out of their locker room to a thunderous roar, Auburn trudged onto Florida Field under a chorus of boos.

Right from the start, the 12th man made its appearance known and for the rest of Florida's 24-13 victory, the Tigers often stumbled under duress at critical moments, most notably an interception late in the third quarter that freshman Bo Nix threw directly to Florida safety Donovan Stiner in the end zone, preserving a four-point lead for the Gators.
 

History...
Opportunity...
Primetime...
Greatness...
Excitement...
Playmakers... #DBU...

... awaits #UFvsLSU on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/sw3sDd8YzA

— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 10, 2019

This time, No. 7 Florida (6-0, 3-0) is the villain on Saturday night in Death Valley for its Southeastern Conference clash against No. 5 LSU (5-0, 1-0). Besides small patches of visitors around Tiger Stadium, the majority of the 102,000 fans will want nothing more than for the Gators to limp home in humiliation.

"We play in tough road, hostile environments, this is a big one,'' Gators head coach Dan Mullen said Thursday night on his radio show. "It gets loud. This is one of the loudest stadiums in the country."

This is Mullen's first visit to LSU with the Gators since a 28-24 loss in 2007 when he was offensive coordinator. However, in his nine seasons as head coach at Mississippi State, Mullen took the Bulldogs to Baton Rouge four times and won 34-29 in a night game in 2014.

Of course, none of that has anything to do Saturday other than the familiarity factor. One of college football's most hostile environments won't overwhelm anyone in Orange & Blue. Florida's last trip to Baton Rouge, also as a heavy underdog, resulted in a 16-10 win in 2016 that clinched the SEC East for the Gators.

This is life in the SEC. Whatever happens Saturday, the Gators visit South Carolina next week and then face No. 3-ranked Georgia in Jacksonville. The road to Atlanta is a treacherous one.

"The thing that makes the SEC different than a lot of other leagues, and some people won't agree with this,'' Mullen said, "if you look at other leagues, their top team can compete with anybody in the SEC but they don't have to do it week in and week out every year."

The Tigers' biggest win thus far came in a 45-38 shootout at Texas in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 471 yards. Otherwise, the Tigers have home wins against Georgia Southern, Northwestern State and Utah State, and a road win at Vanderbilt.

LSU coach Ed Orgeron, like Mullen, is ready to discover his team's DNA in the most-anticipated matchup in the country in Week 7.

"We are going to find out a lot about this team,'' Orgeron said Thursday. "We haven't been put to the test yet."

That is about to end.

For more on the Florida-LSU game, here is this week's edition of The Opening Kickoff:
 

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THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS WR JOSH HAMMOND
 
Q: Do you guys use fact most consider you big underdogs at LSU as motivation?

A: I don't think we feed into it as much. We don't pick the spreads or anything of that nature. We know how hard we can play. We know how we can perform come Saturday. So I think the biggest thing for us, is just, you know, practicing as hard as we can this week and preparing as best as we can so we can execute at a high level come Saturday.

Q: What type of challenge is LSU's defense for the receivers?

A: They definitely have a really good backend. Definitely a group of veteran guys. I know they have the one freshman corner. But everyone else played last year, played a lot of football, they're LSU. They are going to come out and play man-to-man, that's what they do. So for receivers in general, not just the slot, we're just going to have to win our one-on-one battles and make the plays when we have the chance to. I think that's the biggest thing for us. I think we'll be prepared based on the corners that we have here at practice.

Q: With a 10-game win streak, do you think Coach Mullen's thumb-wrestling speech last season was a turning point?

A: I think so. I think after that Missouri loss last year, we kind of looked at rankings and we didn't really drop far and we knew we had a chance to kind of go play for a New Year's Six bowl if we won out and did the things we had to do and play to the level we're capable of and playing at. And guys were definitely able to turn the page and put the stuff in the past -- in the past -- and continue to grow as a football team and as a program and head us into the right direction.
 

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THREE STORYLINES

• A pair of longtime rivals ranked in the top 10. ESPN's "College GameDay" is in town. A night game at Death Valley on national television. National implications on the line. If you like your college football spicy and with a Southern flavor, this one is for you. If not, have someone check your pulse.
• Florida ranks first in the SEC and fifth nationally in scoring defense (9.5 points per game). LSU leads the country in scoring (54.6 ppg) and is second in total offense (571.0 yards per game). Let the chess match begin between Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Tigers offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
• A week ago at "The Swamp,'' an inexperienced quarterback in a hostile environment (Auburn freshman Bo Nix) struggled to find a rhythm. This week, Gators redshirt junior Kyle Trask is set to make his fourth career start in front of a rowdy and sellout crowd of more than 102,000. How will Trask respond?

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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH 

• Tigers senior quarterback Joe Burrow has tossed his name into the Heisman conversation by putting up mammoth numbers in LSU's first five games: 1,864 yards, 22 touchdowns and a school-record four consecutive 300-yard passing games. The Gators contained Burrow (19 of 34, 191 yards 2 INT) for the most part in last year's win in Gainesville and seek to duplicate that performance on the road.
• Gators senior running back Lamical Perine finally had the breakout moment everyone was waiting on when he broke free for an 88-yard scoring run to seal last week's victory over Auburn. Perine finished with a career-high 130 yards and while LSU's defensive line is solid, Perine could have more consistent success than he did against Auburn's talented defensive front if UF's offensive line can create some holes.
• Gators cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson are finally together again after Henderson missed three games with an ankle injury. With Burrow averaging more than 400 yards passing per game, Henderson and Wilson's coverage skills on the outside will be tested. Communication in the secondary will be at a premium.

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THREE DIGITS
 
76 – Offensive TDs scored by UF in 19 games under head coach Dan Mullen, matching the program's output over the previous 34 games.
42 – Appearances for the Gators on ESPN's "College GameDay," which will originate from Baton Rouge on Saturday.
26 – TD drives for LSU this season that have taken less than three minutes.
 

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INJURY REPORT
 
OUT: WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder); QB Feleipe Franks (ankle, out for season); DL Elijah Conliffe (leg); DB C.J. McWilliams (Achilles, out for season); LB/DB David Reese (Achilles, out for season). QUESTIONABLE: RB Dameon Pierce (head). PROBABLE: QB Kyle Trask (knee); DE Jabari Zuniga (ankle).
 

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THE OTHER SIDE
 
Florida's victory over then-No. 7 Auburn gave Dan Mullen a 3-1 record against top-10 opponents since returning to UF, including last year's 27-19 victory over fifth-ranked LSU at home.

Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron, who came under fire two years ago following a homecoming loss to Troy, has put up an impressive record against top-10 opponents not named Alabama since the start of last season.

In 2018, the Tigers set a school record with four victories over top-10 opponents. And like the Gators, they already have a win against a top-10 team this season.

A look at Orgeron's record against top-10 opponents as LSU's head coach:
 

SEASON	OPPONENT	RANKING	RESULT
2016	Alabama	No. 1	LSU lost 10-0 at home
2017	Auburn	No. 10	LSU won 27-23 at home
2017	Alabama	No. 1	LSU lost 24-10 in Tuscaloosa
2018	Miami	No. 8	LSU won 37-17 in Arlington, Texas
2018	Auburn	No. 7	LSU won 22-21 at Auburn
2018	Georgia	No. 2	LSU won 36-16 in Baton Rouge
2018	Alabama	No. 1	LSU lost 29-0 at home
2018	UCF	No. 7	LSU won 40-32 in Fiesta Bowl
2019	Texas	No. 9	LSU won 45-38 in Austin

 

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BOTTOM LINE
 
Similar to last week, not a lot of national pundits are picking the Gators to win at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. Florida is a 13.5-point underdog, which shows you what Vegas thinks of this matchup. The Gators might not win, but they will not be overmatched by the Tigers or the surroundings. Remember, the last time the Gators visited Baton Rouge, they were also 13.5-point underdogs. If you recall, not only did the Gators handle the spread, they handled the Tigers with a goal-line stand that clinched the SEC East title. This Florida team is better than the one that beat LSU on the road three years ago and Dan Mullen and his staff have shown a knack for being at their best in big games. Can the Gators beat LSU? Certainly. Will they? It's a close call and won't be easy. This is also a better LSU team than three years ago. Still, don't be surprised if the Gators win. That's all I'm saying.