Kyle Trask passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns against LSU last season, but the No. 1 Tigers tallied 511 yards of total offense on the way to a 42-28 win in a battle of unbeaten, top-10 teams.
Game Day: No. 6 Florida vs. LSU (ESPN, 7 p.m.)
Saturday, December 12, 2020 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With a paraphrasing nod toward Rick Pitino and his fabulous, 20-year-old quote that has been massaged to suit countless situations since, "Joe Burrow is not walking through that door, fans. Justin Jefferson is not walking through that door and Clyde Edwards-Helaire is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through the door they're going to be wearing NFL uniforms."
Fourteen. That's how many LSU players were taken in the 2020 NFL Draft after the Tigers steamrolled to a 15-0 record and national championship last season. Burrow, the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner, went No. 1 overall and was joined by four more Tigers in the first round, two more in the second and three more in the third. Ten of the first 97 selections, in fact.
Yet even so, LSU was picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference West Division, a prohibitive runner-up to Alabama, but actually got eight first-place votes and were worthy of the plentiful benefits of doubt, given the projected depth and recruiting magic of Coach Ed Orgeron's program.
Then … BAM!
Reality struck in Week 1 when Mississippi State quarterback K. J. Costello passed for a league-record 623 yards and five touchdowns in a 44-34 opening-day wipeout win at Baton Rouge.
It hasn't gotten much better since for the Tigers, who last week were annihilated at home by No. 1 Alabama 55-17, rolling LSU for 650 yards and delivering its worst loss at Death Valley in 27 years. The Crimson Tide were hell-bent on exacting some revenge for the 46-41 home loss to the Tigers last season on the way to that generational run to a national championship. With Burrow and his lethal offense, the Tigers put up video-game stats against opponents.
This season, it's been the other way around. Opponents are putting up fantasy-football stats against LSU.
And now Florida gets its turn.
[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" preview here]
This time, it's the No. 6 Gators (8-1) who are armed with Heisman candidate and explosive offense, while the Tigers (3-5) will come to Spurrier/Florida Field Saturday night nowhere near the caliber of the UF team that gave them their most contested game last season in falling 42-28; one the Gators actually led by a touchdown in the third period. Trask passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns, but threw a huge end-zone interception in the fourth period. Burrow, meanwhile, was good for 293 yards, three TDs and no turnovers, while the Tigers also gashed the Gators 221 rushing yards on just 24 attempts (9.1 per carry), and only had — get this — four third-down snaps the entire game.
And that was against a Florida squad that finished ranked seventh nationally in total defense.
Time to flip the script.
Been a far different story for LSU coach Ed Orgeron and his program in 2020 after last year's fairy tale 15-0 and national-championship season.
In 2020, it's quarterback Kyle Trask, arguably the Heisman frontrunner, and the Gators who are putting up ridiculous offensive numbers. UF is gaining 502.9 yards per game (12th nationally) and scoring 42.0 points per game (10th). Trask, meanwhile, has completed 71.4 percent of his throws for 3,243 yards and 38 touchdowns and just three interceptions. His TD total is one off the single-season school record set by Danny Wuerffel in his 1996 Heisman- and national title-winning season. At 376.1 yards per game, Florida is No. 1 passing team in the country.
Bad news for the Tigers.
At 313.1 yards surrendered per game, LSU is the worst passing defense in the SEC — 124th out of 129 teams nationally, as well as 114th overall at 469.1 per game — and giving up 33.4 points. Quarterback TJ Finley, the starter after replacing injured Myles Brennan the last five games, has thrown for 941 yards and has as many touchdowns (5) as interceptions.
Or about 13 percent of what Trask has done to date.
Defensively, Florida has been far from stellar this season, especially in pass coverage, the Gators still rank fifth in the conference in yards yielded per game (381.1) and and fourth in points allowed (25.1).
Last week, UF locked up a berth in the SEC Championship game by clinching no worse than a tie for the East Division. Because the Gators defeated Georgia in their regular-season meeting last month, they'll represent the East in against Alabama in the title game at Atlanta next month. Coach Dan Mullen and his team, though, want to lay claim to the East all their own and can do that by finishing off the regular season with a win at the "Swamp." To do so against the reigning national champion, even a diluted version, would be just fine.
Go ahead and open the doors. Let's see who comes in.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN, with the crew of Sean McDonough on play-by-play, Todd Blackledge providing analysis, Todd McShay on field analysis, and Allison Williams working the sidelines. The game will be rebroadcast Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPNU and again at 11 p.m. on SEC Network, as well as Monday on EspN at 4 a.m., and Friday at noon on SEC Network. For Gator Radio Network info, click here.
Finally, follow senior staff writer Scott Carter on Twitter (@GatorsScott) for commentary and analysis throughout the afternoon. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage from the game Saturday and fresh content Sunday, as well.
