Mr2Bits
Gator Fan
The No. 1 Florida Gators have their biggest game of the year on Saturday night in Baton Rouge against the No. 4 ranked LSU Tigers. The entire nation will be watching this rivalry game. UF holds a nation’s-best and school-record 14-game winning streak, but LSU hasn't lost at home in a night game in something like 31 games. It is going to be a clash of titans for sure. All eyes will be on Gator quarterback Tim Tebow (assuming he plays). Can he start and be effective or will he be rusty and hesitant? Can the Gators win without him?
The Gator Nation was relieved yesterday afternoon though when reports out of Gainesville confirmed Tim Tebow was back at practice in full pads. The doctors have cleared him to practice this week, but have not yet cleared him for the game. Hopefully Urban Meyer will know by Thursday afternoon if Tebow can go... even if Meyer knows, I'm not sure he'll tell anyone. Meyer is the type of coach that will want to keep LSU guessing.
Regardless of if Tebow can play or not, expect the Gators to rely heavily on the running game. There is no way the coaching staff will rush Tebow 20+ times in a game where he is coming back from a concussion. Demps, Rainey and Moody can carry the load and score on big plays. If Tebow does play, expect him to stay in the pocket more and make quick easy throws. The longer he stays in the longer though the greater his chances are of getting hit by a pass rusher.
LSU’s offense is led by quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who has completed 80 of 128 passes for 920 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. He has played pretty well, but that is coming against weak defenses. Florida leads the nation in pretty much every defensive category. Turnovers are going to be key in this game, so expect Charlie Strong to use a lot of blitz packages and force Jefferson into unsafe throws.
I'm predicting the Gators to win the game. It's hard to predict a score right now not knowing how healthy Tim Tebow is. But I still think they would win with Brantley starting. I'll go with a final score of 38 - 21.
The Gator Nation was relieved yesterday afternoon though when reports out of Gainesville confirmed Tim Tebow was back at practice in full pads. The doctors have cleared him to practice this week, but have not yet cleared him for the game. Hopefully Urban Meyer will know by Thursday afternoon if Tebow can go... even if Meyer knows, I'm not sure he'll tell anyone. Meyer is the type of coach that will want to keep LSU guessing.
Regardless of if Tebow can play or not, expect the Gators to rely heavily on the running game. There is no way the coaching staff will rush Tebow 20+ times in a game where he is coming back from a concussion. Demps, Rainey and Moody can carry the load and score on big plays. If Tebow does play, expect him to stay in the pocket more and make quick easy throws. The longer he stays in the longer though the greater his chances are of getting hit by a pass rusher.
LSU’s offense is led by quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who has completed 80 of 128 passes for 920 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. He has played pretty well, but that is coming against weak defenses. Florida leads the nation in pretty much every defensive category. Turnovers are going to be key in this game, so expect Charlie Strong to use a lot of blitz packages and force Jefferson into unsafe throws.
I'm predicting the Gators to win the game. It's hard to predict a score right now not knowing how healthy Tim Tebow is. But I still think they would win with Brantley starting. I'll go with a final score of 38 - 21.
