Tigers-Gators...Let the Games Begin
Are you ready for Saturday's marquee match up? Les Miles is.
That was the impression the LSU coach gave us on Monday during his media luncheon.
Miles and the LSU Tigers will spend this week preparing for the Florida Gators in the Swamp. It's the 9th ranked Tigers vs the 5th ranked Gators in what is remarkably the first time in series history (52 games) that both teams are ranked in the top 10 when playing each other.
Here's what LSU must worry about:
UF's 5-0 record and 12-game home winning streak.
The fact that Chris Leak has never thrown an interception in three meetings vs. LSU.
When they're not worrying about Chris Leak, they'll be worrying about Tim Tebow.
And, oh yeah, it's homecoming in Gainesville.
Still, LSU knows it is a good team. A team that nearly beat Auburn on the road. A team that thoroughly dominated Mississippi State from start to finish on Saturday. As Coach Miles says, "I don't think that there's any question that our football team thinks they're going to go in there and play well enough to win."
Most of the questions during the luncheon were about containing Leak, the thrower, and Tebow, the runner. In fact, when Miles was asked what the most difficult challenge the Gators present is, he said, "Containing their quarterback play, whether it's throwing it or running it."
LSU will rely on the nation's top rated defense to stop the potent UF offense. The Tigers allow just 193.4 yards per game. The Gators gain an average of 438.4 yards per game. Defensively, it starts at the line of scrimmage for LSU with DT Glenn Dorsey, DE Tyson Jackson (and his 5.5 sacks), and DE Chase Pittman (4 sacks).
"They're as good a defense as I've ever been around," Miles said, "and they're playing that way."
But the coach is realistic. He knows it's tough to beat a team like Florida without being able to run the ball. That's been a problem for the Tigers this year. "You have to have balance," Miles said. Well, LSU is still finding out if it does. LSU does average 144.6 yards rushing, but in the loss to Auburn, they gained just 42 yards on the ground. It's clear that the passing game is further along than the running game.
It should be fun on Saturday. Both teams can score points, and both teams can play tough defense. UF's next three games are LSU, Auburn, and Georgia, so they'd better win this one if they want to keep their national championship hopes alive. It's tough to imagine a team winning all three of those games.
But that's life in the SEC.
