It’s a a top-10 clash in the SEC for the second consecutive week as No. 5LSUprepares to host No. 7Floridain Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday night. The Gators beat Auburn24-13 in The Swamp in last week’s meeting of top 10 SEC teams. Now they are being asked to pick up another top-10 win, but this time they’ll have to do so on the road in Death Valley.
Of course, while winning in Baton Rouge isn’t easy for anybody — particularly at night — Florida likely has some confidence in its ability to do so. After all, it won the last time it played there, beating LSU 16-10. The Gators won last year’s contest as well, beating the Tigers 27-19 in Gainesville, Florida, and they hold a slight 33-29-3 edge in the all-time series — though LSU has a 10-9 lead over UF this century.
There’s plenty to look forward to on Saturday night in Death Valley with plenty of stakes as divisional races start to heat up in the SEC. Let’s take a closer look at what to expect from both teams and make some picks.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 12 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Tiger Stadium — Baton Rouge, Louisiana
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN.com
Storylines
LSU: You can’t talk about LSU in 2019 without talking about its offense and quarterbackJoe Burrow. He has thrown 22 touchdowns in the team’s first five games of the season. LSU’s school record for touchdown passes in an entire season is 28, so barring injury, it’s safe to say Burrow will have the record before long. Burrow threw five of those touchdowns last week againstUtah State, and finished with 344 yards passing in the game. That made him the first QB in program history to throw for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games. The Florida defense will be the toughest unit they’ve faced all season to this point, however.
Florida: The Gators lost quarterbackFeleipe Franksfor the season a few weeks ago, but haven’t skipped a beat thanks toKyle Trask. He played well in last week’s win over Auburn, throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he was able to return to the game after suffering a minor MCL sprain. The question heading into this week’s contest is what kind of impact it will have on Trask’s ability to perform this week. If Florida is going to go into Tiger Stadium and pull off the upset, it will need Trask healthy.
Game prediction, picks
I think asking Florida to win back-to-back games against top-10 teams is a bit much. I also think it’s too much to ask the Gators to cover two weeks straight as well. Simply put, I don’t think Florida’s offense will be able to hang with LSU for a full 60 minutes. Florida’s defense will slow it down, and not allow it to put on the kind of show it’s put on against other teams this season, but LSU’s defense has picked up in recent weeks itself. I see the Tigers getting into the mid-30s on the scoreboard, and I don’t believe Florida’s offense can muster more than three touchdowns in this one. I’d lay the points. Pick: LSU (-13.5)
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