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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A road trip to LSU is always a signature game on Florida's schedule.
It has been that way since 1971 when the schools started to play annually. Each program has enjoyed runs of success over the other, and the Tigers had won five in a row in the series until the unranked Gators rose to the occasion at the Swamp last November for a 27-16 victory that ignited a five-game winning streak.
That streak came to a crashing halt a week ago when the 13th-ranked Gators were upset by upstart USF. On Saturday at sold-out Tiger Stadium, the newly unranked Gators (1-1) face No. 3 LSU (2-0) in a game they need to win in the worst way.
It's typically hot and humid this time of year on the UF campus, but this week, the heat was turned up on UF head coach
Billy Napier and his team for their performance in the loss to the Bulls. Napier knows — and said it all week in various ways — that the only way to bounce back from what happened against USF is to get the job done on the field.
"When adversity hits, you need to elevate and you definitely don't need to shrink back," Napier said. "We're gonna double down on who we are and go try to play a brand of football that we all can be proud of."
The challenge is to do it at a place the Gators haven't won since 2016. Florida has lost three in a row at LSU and surrendered more than 700 yards in their last visit, a 52-35 loss to the Tigers and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback
Jayden Daniels.
In the cauldron of criticism that boiled outside the Heavener Training Center this week, the Gators hunkered down inside and went to work. They held a players-only meeting. They focused on the small details in practice. They vowed to clean up their 11-penalty performance against USF and work on establishing better offensive rhythm.
Mostly, they worked toward a chance at redemption.
"We've had that taste in our mouths before, you know, and had to regroup and come back,'' veteran center
Jake Slaughter said. "One of the positives is that we know how to handle it. We know how to respond. Obviously, you saw last year how we flipped the narrative with that last four-game stretch. Basically, what it comes down to now is we have to do that a whole lot sooner. We have to go to Death Valley, beat the No. 3 team at their place, and then get home and keep going.
"We've got to get this taste out of our mouth."
The bitterness lingers for now. If they flip the script on Saturday night, they can swallow a different taste on their return flight.
That is the mission. Simple as that.
"These are once-in-a-lifetime experiences," Napier said. "You can go your whole life dreaming of playing in these types of games."
In our latest edition of
The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at Florida's visit to LSU:
THREE STORYLINES
- It felt like déjà vu around campus this week after the Gators stumbled against USF. Florida coach Billy Napier faced criticism reminiscent of a season ago when the Gators lost at home to Miami and Texas A&M to start the season. Napier and his players have focused on blocking out the noise and playing the way they believe they can. They know nothing quiets the outside noise like a road win against the third-ranked team in the country.
- Speaking of familiar themes, Gators quarterback DJ Lagway is not under a microscope nearly to the extent Napier is, but fans and media continue to wonder if Lagway is at 100 percent. Napier doubled down and said this week that Lagway continues to show drastic improvement at practice and that he is confident his sophomore quarterback will play better. We've seen enough of a sample size to know that when Lagway plays well, the Gators follow his lead.
- Many so-called experts have LSU standing as one of the final four teams in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers opened with a win over Clemson before beating Lousiana Tech. The Tigers have a well-balanced team on paper and fourth-year coach Brian Kelly is the winningest active coach in NCAA football. Is this the game the Tigers prove they are serious national championship contenders? More than 100,000 fired up Cajuns will be at Tiger Stadium ready to find out.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- In what has been a week of scrutiny for the Gators, they got good news with the return of veteran defensive tackle Caleb Banks, who is expected to make his season debut on Saturday night. Banks is a potential high-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft and entered the season as one of Florida's most talented players. Banks had a sack against LSU during the Gators' upset victory last season. "Caleb Banks is a force," Gators coach Billy Napier on Wednesday night. "He is one of the best defensive lineman in the country." The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Banks missed the first two games of the season coming off foot surgery.
- Gators defensive lineman Brendan Bett, a transfer from Baylor, has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons after spitting on a USF player. Bett issued a public apology and showed contrition to his teammates and coaches. He is not listed on the injury report and could be a factor in the middle of the interior line. Through two games, Bett leads all UF defensive linemen with eight tackles. The Gators need production up front with running backs Caden Durham and Zavion Thomas a big part of what LSU does offensively.
- If the Gators had won last week against USF, freshman standout Vernell Brown III would have been pegged the difference-maker for Florida. Brown's 40-yard punt return, plus a 15-yard personal foul on USF at the end of the return, flipped the field and led to the Gators' go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Of course, we know Brown's performance was overshadowed by what happened later, but in a game of this magnitude on the road, the more touches the better for Brown. He is a dynamic player in the open field.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS DL TYREAK SAPP
A fifth-year senior, Sapp helped orchestrate a players-only meeting this week to make sure the Gators stayed focused following their disappointing loss to USF.
Tyreak Sapp sacks USF quarterback Byrum Brown in last week's loss to the Bulls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Q: What was your message to the team?
A: The message was really just, 'the journey doesn't end now. What happened on Saturday doesn't reflect who we are, because who we are isn't what we have done once. It's what we do consistently.' I just wanted to get that message out to them and let them know that that wasn't enough, that wasn't it, that wasn't the standard and that wasn't our best. I just wanted to relay that message out to them and let them know that I'm not settling for that. I think the guys took advantage of it and they heard me and they were just excited to get back at it for the most part.
Q: Have you seen other leaders elevate to your level?
A: Guys like me, Gumbs, you got Kam James, obviously CB 88 [
Caleb Banks] in the interior D-line room. I think they do a great job. They just piggyback off me and we all lead off each other, and I think that's what makes us good because of that chemistry we have. The guys are just going to follow us. We are going to lead and they going to follow. There's not too much that needs to be said because the assignment is already understood.
Q: How does the return of Caleb Banks from injury help the defensive line?
A: Interior push, he's a big guy, he's athletic. He can move. For a guy his size, he is pretty nimble. He has quick feet. He is super strong, and almost just as fast as me, and I think that helps, especially for an edge like me having an interior guy rushing like that and pushing the pocket and putting the rush on the quarterback because a lot of quarterbacks, when you got a guy coming down in your face, you're gonna probably escape outside the pocket. He helps a lot with that. That's what he does. He does his job and he does it well.
Q: Any surprises with the way the front seven has played through two games (two sacks)?
A: Yeah, you always have the early season jitters and things like that. I always tell the guys just because your helmet says 'Florida Gators' on the side, you can't just roll it out there and think you are going to win the game. You always got to go out there and play and try to go take it from somebody, because that's what the game is. You gotta go take it.
Q: Is the plan to replicate last season's performance (six sacks) against LSU?
A: I don't think we're going to end up trying to replicate it. It ain't about replicating that performance, honestly. We know what we got. There's no question to it. After that game, I still didn't question my guys. I didn't question the guys in the room and their ability to get it done. I just questioned how bad do we want it and how hard are we willing to work in order to get back to where we want to be.
THREE DIGITS
15,000 – Reported attendance at Florida-LSU game in 1937, the Gators' first trip to Baton Rouge.
102,321 – Crowd expected for Saturday night's Florida-LSU game at Tiger Stadium. LSU announced a sellout earlier this week.
4-9 – Florida's record in true road games under head coach
Billy Napier.
INJURY REPORT
FLORIDA — OUT: DL
LJ McCray (foot), RB
Treyaun Webb (hamstring), OL
Fletcher Westphal (wrist), DB
Micheal Caraway Jr. (undisclosed), TE
Scott Isacks (undisclosed), WR
Dallas Wilson (foot).
QUESTIONABLE: DB
Teddy Foster (undisclosed), WR
Kahleil Jackson (knee), DB
Jamroc Grimsley (undisclosed).
LSU — OUT: DT Zion Williams, OL Solomon Thomas (foot), RB JT Lindsey (suspended).
QUESTIONABLE: WR Destyn Hill (hand), TE Trey'Dez Green (knee), C Braelin Moore (ankle).
NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
- This is the 72nd all-time meeting between the schools and 37th in Baton Rouge. The series is tied 34-34-3. Florida is 17-19 all-time at LSU and has not won in Baton Rouge since 2016.
- Gators head coach Billy Napier and LSU coach Brian Kelly are both in their fourth seasons. Napier has a 20-20 record, Kelly is 31-11.
- This is only the second time in the rivalry that an unranked Florida team has visited a top-five ranked LSU team. In 1958, the unranked Gators lost 10-7 to the third-ranked Tigers.
- Gators freshman Vernell Brown III is averaging 21.3 yards per punt return (four returns) and leads the team with 135 yards receiving on eight receptions.
- Former Gators edge rusher Jack Pyburn and defensive back Ja'Keem Jackson transferred to LSU after last season and are playing. Pyburn has six tackles in two games and Jackson, who did not play against Clemson in the season opener, started last week's game against Louisiana Tech.
- Florida center Jake Slaughter has not allowed a quarterback pressure in 105 snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus.
- Gators kicker Trey Smack made all three of his field-goal attempts against USF, giving him 40 for his career. Smack passed Eddy Pineiro (38) to move into seventh place in school history. He needs three field goals to tie Matt Leach, Bobby Raymond and Brian Clark for fourth all-time in the school record book.
- LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who has completed 25 or more passes in a game twice this season, has done it 11 times in his career, matching the school record owned by Joe Burrow.
- LSU linebacker Harold Perkins played only four games a season ago before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Perkins is back on the field and has eight tackles and a sack in LSU's first two games.
- UF running back Jadan Baugh has 197 yards on 27 carries, good for a 7.3-yard average. That ranks second among the top-10 SEC rushing leaders.
CHARLES IN CHARGE
LSU is retiring the No. 4 jersey of former Tigers great
Charles Alexander on Saturday night. Alexander is a familiar name to longtime Florida fans. He rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns against the Gators in a 36-14 LSU win in 1977, and as a senior in '78, Alexander rushed for 156 yards and a score on 40 carries at Florida Field as LSU beat the Gators, 34-21.
If you are unfamiliar with Alexander, here are highlights from his career with some of the great voices in college football history calling the action:
THEY SAID IT
- "Crazy. It's craziness. He's a really good football coach. He knows his team. He knows what their strengths and weaknesses are. You can see it on film. He's building a culture that is fit to his eye in terms of what he wants to do. He's doing it his way. That's awesome." — LSU coach Brian Kelly on criticism aimed at UF coach Billy Napier
- "I was critical of the play calling from the Gators' loss to USF on the SEC Network on Saturday night. While there are definitely many issues to address including game management, substitutions, penalties, and four-minute offense execution, the play calling was better than I initially thought. At the end of the day, players have to make plays when given the opportunity." — Former Gators receiver Chris Doering, an SEC Network analyst
- "The key is the togetherness. Of course, momentum is going to shift, it's going to go back and forth. They're going to make their plays, we're going to go make good plays, but I feel like being away in a hostile environment like that, it's going to come down to what team can stay together and carry the momentum. And I feel like we've built a great bond here, you know, going through all these workouts during the summer, building all this chemistry as a team. I feel like this team is ready to stay together and get a win." — Gators linebacker Aaron Chiles on facing LSU
THEY WROTE IT
- "The question isn't whether Napier can coach (his time at Louisiana Lafayette and his work holding things together last season illustrate he can); rather, it's a matter of how many Florida fans believe he is capable of delivering a truly special season when the Gators keep taking early L's." — Patrick Stevens of the Washington Post
- "Billy Napier didn't sound Monday like a man who believes he sealed his fate Saturday — even if that's what the majority of the people in his town believe. Florida's coach sounded confident that the mistakes that cost the Gators in an 18-16 loss to USF could be corrected before Florida begins a gauntlet that includes games at LSU, Miami, at home against Texas, and at Texas A&M. Napier seemed hopeful that quarterback DJ Lagway's play would improve by virtue of more time actually practicing with the offense, which is something Lagway couldn't really do in the offseason because of nagging injuries." — Andy Staples of On3.com
- "There's a ton of national attention focused on the despicable act of Florida DL Brendan Bett, who spit in the face of a USF player to prompt a critical unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty (and ejection) on the game's final drive. But what about that USF player, offensive lineman Cole Skinner? He maintained his composure — without retaliation — and simply raised his arms in protest as officials assessed a penalty that aided USF's winning drive. Now that is discipline in the heat of battle." — Joey Johnston, senior writer for GoUSFBulls.com
WHY GATORS WILL WIN
They eliminate the costly mistakes that plagued them in last week's loss to USF tops of the list. You can't go into Death Valley and kill yourself with penalties. Second, the offense executes at a higher level and quarterback
DJ Lagway shows off the arm we saw last season when the Gators turned their season around. The Gators must get the ground game going, but if they are to pull off the upset, Lagway will have to deliver in crunch time. Finally, the defense chips in with a turnover or two to help negate LSU's home-field advantage and make it a close game in the fourth quarter.
WHY LSU WILL WIN
The Tigers roar early and force Florida to play catch-up. If that happens, it could be a long night for the Gators. But much like the Gators, questions remain about LSU. Are the Tigers worthy of their No. 3 national ranking? Don't be surprised if Florida keeps it close only to have LSU make the biggest plays in the fourth quarter. LSU dominated the stat sheet a week ago against Louisiana Tech but never pulled away in decisive fashion the way most expected.
