LSU Football: Behind Enemy Lines preview for Week 11 vs. Florida
LSU and Florida are set to renew their rivalry this weekend in Baton Rouge, where the Tigers have lost just once in the series since 2009.
They will look to extend their winning streak against the Gators to five games as both teams enter the Week 11 contest looking to bounce back from losses.
LSU’s SEC West hopes came to an end on the road against Alabama, while Florida was upset at home by a previously 2-6 Arkansas team and now faces an uphill battle to reach bowl eligibility.
To help preview this matchup, we caught up with Gators Wire site editor Adam Dubbin. Here’s what he had to say about this game and this Florida team.
The fan base is still hanging in there with Napier mostly because of his tremendous success on the recruiting trail, but the Gator Nation is fed up with the poor play calling and the unforced errors the team continues to commit. Regardless of the fact that this is a very young team, the staff is clearly not in complete control of the sidelines.
Football fans are a fickle bunch, and they are not a group that is willing to let the reason get in the way of a good narrative. The fact that a losing season would doom the program to its first three-straight season under .500 since WWII will make the natives very restless this offseason.
Napier will return next year no matter what, but he better wear asbestos pants because his butt will be on fire from the hot seat.
Well, “fantastic” is not an adjective I’d use to describe him. His numbers are good because he throws short passes and lets the receiver do the work, but there is nothing superlative about Mertz.
I think cromulent works best, as he’s a smart, mature game-caller and is able to check down his options. But on throws past 10 yards? You’re playing Wisconsin roulette.
Primarily, it falls on the shoulders of Napier’s play calling as he seemed committed to the ground game coming into the season but often neglects it at the first moment of trouble. Is there a trust issue there? I’m not sure. But I do believe that a confounding factor has been that the Gators are often playing catchup, which favors the passing game when you’re playing in a shoot-out.
This is a concern for many of us, however. A run-based game is a ball-control-based game, and for one reason or another, Napier is shying away from that.
Maybe. We saw a version of that against South Carolina when Mertz put up career highs in a game the Gators had to air it out to earn the W. As bad as LSU’s defense has been, Florida’s offense has been so mercurial you just don’t know.
However, if the running game gets some traction early and Napier keeps handing off the rock, that could open the middle of the field for some medium-ranged targets with big gains after the catch.
I don’t feel great at all. There have been some good stories — Jordan Castell out of my high school alma mater West Orange has been a bright spot, earning a Shaun Alexander award after the Vols game.
On the other hand, some of the veterans like Jason Marshall Jr, who has been a disappointment after earning a five-star rating as a recruit, have left a lot to be desired. The young guys are going to make some mistakes but the veterans have not been there to fill the holes.
The only way the Gators can put themselves in position to win is to overwhelm LSU in the turnover margin. I’m not talking about plus one or two, but more like four or five.
Otherwise, just pray to the deity of your choice.
After the demoralizing defeat at home at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks, who came into the game winless in SEC play, it is difficult to muster much confidence against a top-25 team on their home turf. But if the Gators want to play in a bowl game, they will need to steal a win from one of their final three opponents.
The oddsmakers are expecting a higher-scoring affair, which checks given that both defenses leave a lot to be desired on the field. Unfortunately, I am not sure that the Orange and Blue have the firepower — or the playbook — to upend the Tigers on the road.
