Kirin Carantzas
The Florida Gators are hosting the No. 22 ranked LSU Tigers in The Swamp at 3:30 pm EST this Saturday. This SEC matchup is an important game for both teams as the Gators hope to make a bowl game and the Tigers are still in conference championship conversations. Florida is (4-5), (2-4) in conference play, while LSU is (6-3), (3-2) in conference matchups. Last weekend both teams lost in similar fashion as Florida was defeated (49-17) by Texas and LSU lost (42-13) to their rival, Alabama. Both teams hope to get a win in The Swamp after getting walloped last week in their respective matchups.
The Tiger’s most impactful loss this season has been senior OG Garrett Dellinger. He is listed as out for the second straight game after suffering a high ankle sprain against Texas A&M. However, offensive lineman Tyree Adams has been upgraded from out to questionable. The Tigers also have several defensive pieces out including LB Harold Perkins, DE Princeton Malbrue, LB Jake Ibieta, DT Jacobian Guillory, and S Jordan Allen.
The injury report for the Gators looks nearly identical as it did last week with key playmakers missing on both sides of the ball. The Gators offense and defense are running on fumes as they continue to battle the injury bug. The big question this week is whether or not freshman QB DJ Lagway will play. Lagway was sidelined last week with a hamstring injury that he suffered against Georgia two weeks ago. Florida’s defensive struggles require Lagway to play if they want a shot to beat this hungry LSU team.
The LSU Tiger’s x factor is star WR Kyren Lacy who had 5 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown last week against Alabama. Lacy has recorded a career high 46 rec for 697 yds and 7 TDs this year and is one of the top receivers in the country. Because of this, fans should expect LSU to attack Florida’s secondary like Texas did. If Lagway plays but is not 100% his running ability may be hindered. This could lead to extensive use of RB Jadan Baugh and RB Ja’Kobi Jackson which could be effective considering Alabama rushed for 311 yards last week. Overall, this game should be closer than anticipated as long as Florida makes some defensive adjustments this week.
Score Prediction
Florida 28 LSU 27
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