Newly unranked Florida will travel to No. 3 LSU for their Southeastern conference opener Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.
The Tigers (2-0) opened a lot of eyes and moved up six spots in the AP poll after opening the season with a 17-10 win at then-No. 4 Clemson. Meanwhile, their home opener proved less impressive in a 23-7 victory against outmanned Louisiana Tech.
“It was not an elite performance,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said, though he added that he felt “a lot better” after reviewing the film.
“There are some things that we need to do better as coaches and players. And I think that that’s probably the run game more than anything else.”
The Tigers averaged just 3.8 yards per carry as they rushed for 128 yards against the Bulldogs. In two games, leading rusher Caden Durham is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry.
LSU scored just two touchdowns on five red zone opportunities last week, kicking field goals on the other three chances.
Louisiana Tech played a 3-3-5 defensive scheme which Kelly said LSU “had some difficulties with that recognition,” adding that Florida plays a similar scheme.
“It’ll certainly be similar in terms of what they try to do and make things difficult and keep the ball in front of them,” Kelly said. “They do a great job of not giving up big plays and keeping the points down.”
LSU has done a good job of keeping the points down, allowing a total of just 17 in the first two games. Louisiana Tech didn’t score until 4:02 was left in the game.
Florida (1-1) moved from preseason No. 15 to No. 13 after a 55-0 victory against Long Island in its season opener, then dropped out of the rankings altogether after dropping an 18-16 decision at home against South Florida last Saturday.
The loss to the Bulls has reprised questions about whether Florida head coach Billy Napier is up to the job. Last season, Florida lost two of its first three games and was 4-5 when LSU came to Gainesville in mid-November.
The Gators beat the Tigers 27-16, the third straight loss for LSU, which was the lowest point of Kelly’s first three seasons. The win started a 4-0 finish for Florida.
It took last year’s team a while to make a run, but the Gators still have 10 games to counter the disappointment.
“I think it’s all about how you respond to it,” Napier said. “Do we take the lessons that we learned? It’s all about application. How do we channel this emotion? Do we have the maturity to turn it around.”
Kelly called Florida quarterback DJ Lagway’s arm talent “off the charts,” but has shown struggles in the first two games after missing much of preseason camp due to a calf strain.
“I think he’s still getting in the rhythm,” Napier said, “getting comfortable with some of the skill players.”
