At halftime of the Texas A&M game, things were looking up for the LSU Tigers as they were leading the Aggies 17-7 for a shot at first place in the SEC, but since then, it could have not been any worse for the Bayou Bengals.
Over the last six quarters, the Tigers have been outscored 73-19 in a 38-23 loss to the Aggies and a blowout 42-13 home loss to Alabama that has eliminated their chances of making the College Football Playoff as an at large bid.
Although the Tigers are hitting the road to play a tough venue in the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators, Florida is also searching for a desperate “Get Right” game after losing back to back games against Georgia and Texas.
“I’m not in a position to worry about what people are saying about the overall health of the program. We have one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Those things are only going to continue to get better and a championship program is what we’re going to have here.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Despite the recent struggles between these two proud SEC programs, both teams have something to play for.
The Gators are currently 4-5 and need two wins over the next three games to be bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.
Meanwhile, as bleak as it looks for LSU, the Tigers are still mathematically in the hunt for a SEC championship. Despite suffering two conference losses and three overall losses, if LSU wins out, have every SEC favorite win, and then also have Arkansas defeat Missouri, then the Tigers will actually get the chance to play in the SEC championship game.
The Tigers’ only chance of making the College Football Playoff is to win the SEC. Having a scenario which involves a six way tie between two loss teams in the SEC between LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, it would be LSU that would hold the tiebreaker based on strength of schedule as the Tigers have faced opponents that have records above .500 within the conference including South Carolina, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Alabama.
Also, if LSU wins out including the bowl game, this will mark three straight 10 win seasons under Brian Kelly.
“There’s always the opportunity to grow and get better in the season. There’s a lot for this football team to look forward to. We’ve got the opportunity to again finish the season strong and looking towards a minimum of a 10 win season. That’s important to this program. It is a standard that has been set that we want to continue working towards that goal.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on what the team has left to play for after the Alabama loss
Finally, both head coaches are tied together when it comes to the LSU job as Billy Napier was an option for Scott Woodward to be the next head coach in Baton Rouge, but that job was offered to Kelly. During Kelly’s three seasons at LSU, he has posted a 26-10 record while Napier has posted a 15-19 record at Florida.
The Gators’ chances of pulling out an upset against #21 LSU just have gotten higher as DJ Lagway has been cleared to play after missing last week against Texas. It seemed to be a lot more significant injury for Lagway when he got carted off against Georgia, but Lagway’s left hamstring injury has proven to not be as serious.
Ever since replacing Graham Mertz, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, the former five star quarterback prospect has completed 60.9% of his passes this season for 1,071 yards and six touchdowns compared to five interceptions.
“He’s improved fundamentally. His football intelligence has improved. I think he’s become a really good communicator. And he has a knack. He’s a competitor. You got to be tough-minded. You got to be willing to continue to show up. I think he’s obviously done that. He’ll just keep getting better. I believe that.”
Florida HC Billy Napier on DJ Lagway
The question now is not if Lagway will play, but how effective will he be after the injury. LSU’s defense has struggled all year long against dual threat quarterbacks including LaNorris Sellers, Marcel Reed, and most notably, Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week against the Tigers.
“If you’re watching the game, you’re like, “What did these guys do for two weeks? Like, we have a scheme to stop the quarterback. We did not get that done so I take the responsibility for it. Blake is not going to hide from the responsibility. We have to put our players in the right position to take advantage of what they’re capable of doing.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on stopping the QB run game
LSU’s defense wants to get back on track and build back the momentum from earlier in the season when that side of the football was playing at a better level during the Tigers’ 3-0 early SEC start.
While the defense’s achilles heel has been its inability to stop the run, it has been the offense’s inability to run the football and protect the football that has plagued the other side of the football.
Garrett Nussmeier is second in the SEC with 2,866 yards passing and 21 touchdowns, but he has been turnover prone with 11 interceptions, which are also second in the league including six turnovers over the last six quarters.
Despite the struggles over the last six quarters, Brian Kelly believes that Nussmeier will return back to early season form when he was being discussed as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.
“My experience tells me that when a quarterback is this locked in, you might want to watch the game.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
LSU’s offense wants to get back on track against the number 100 ranked defense in the country. In order to do that, the offense needs to get the ball to its plenty playmakers while also being balanced within the offense as Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson, Mason Taylor, and CJ Daniels each have over 30 catches this season.
“We have to find balance in our offense. I don’t want to throw it 50 times a game. Aaron Anderson needs to touch it. Chris Hilton looks like Chris Hilton. He’s practicing like he was early in camp. I got to come at it as a head coach and as a head coach, I want more balance in our offense, and that balance has to be struck by how you sequence and call plays.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on having more balance within the offense
Both teams were embarrassed last week with blowout losses and desperately want to show that those games were the outliers. Winning is the best medicine and still with goals ahead for both teams, only one team will feel better about where they are at after the final whistle Saturday evening.
LSU’s Keys To The Game:
1. Stay ahead of the chains on first down offensively. Play with pace.
2. Make DJ Lagway beat you from the pocket.
3. Take control offensively early.
4. Be balanced, but aggressive.
5. Be disciplined in run fits and play your assignments defensively.
Matchup To Watch Out For: LSU’s Passing Game vs. Florida Secondary
Brian Kelly wants balance in this offense especially when Garrett Nussmeier threw the ball on 42 of the Tigers’ 66 offensive plays, but the Tigers will still throw the football. LSU has the second ranked passing offense in the SEC and they are going against a defense that allowed 333 yards and five touchdowns to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. With injuries to starting cornerback Jason Marshall, safety Asa Turner, and cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson, you know that LSU is salivating at the mouth going up against a banged up secondary.
Final Score Prediction: LSU 33, Florida 20
LSU is desperate to put on a good showing just for team morale and to prove to themselves that they can go out and perform in a positive way after six embarrassing quarters of play in a row. LSU has struggled against mobile quarterbacks and even though DJ Lagway is a talented quarterback, his legs are not as dynamic as Jalen Milroe’s. LSU’s defense has a bounce back game in that area and their offense has success in not only finding balance, but getting its passing game back on track against an injury plagued secondary.
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