Florida Gators at LSU Tigers
The college football world held its collective breath when Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was sacked viciously by Kentucky DE Taylor Wyndham in Week 4 of the college football schedule. The hit sent Tebow barreling into UF offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert’s knee, violently snapping Tebow’s head forward and giving the former Heisman winner a nasty concussion.
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Team Records:
Florida: 4-0 SU, 2-1 ATS
LSU: 5-0 SU, 2-3 ATS
Florida has since had two weeks off to nurse its star player and team captain back to health. And while Tebow has improved and practiced this week, he has yet to be cleared for Saturday’s showdown with the LSU Tigers.
Oddsmakers have the Gators as 7.5-point road favorites in Baton Rouge.
Tebow’s status is the biggest question on college football bettors’ minds. The senior is averaging a mediocre 160 yards passing while rumbling for almost 68 yards per game this season. His leadership is unmeasurable, especially after driving the team to the national title last season.
If Tebow is unable to play, sophomore John Brantley will set up under center. He looked solid coming in after Tebow’s injury against Kentucky. He completed 4-of-6 passes for 30 yards and connected on an eight-yard touchdown pass to help give UF a 41-7 win as a 20.5-point road favorite. Brantley is more of a prototypical passer than Tebow but has yet to face a opponent like LSU in his two seasons in Gainesville.
The Tigers’ defense will be licking their chops if Brantley gets the start. Louisiana State doesn’t have the same pass rush as past years and is allowing more than 200 yards through the air in 2009. However, the Tigers have given up only five passing touchdowns while picking off eight passes. In a 20-13 win over Georgia last Saturday, LSU gave up 229 yards passing but forced three fumbles and picked off a pass to remain 5-0 on the season.
It was the LSU offense that finished off that win over Georgia. The Tigers scored a last-minute touchdown to pull ahead from running back Charles Scott, who totaled 95 yards and two scores. Louisiana State is averaging 136 yards on the ground behind Scott, fellow running back Keiland Williams, and quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who has scrambled for more than 21 yards per game.
Jefferson is showing improvement in his first full year as LSU’s starter. He is passing for almost 138 yards per game and has connected for seven touchdown passes this season. Against the Bulldogs, Jefferson completed more than 66 percent of his passes for 212 yards but was picked off once. He was vocal with the media this week claiming that Florida disrespected the Tigers during last season’s 51-21 win and that his team has been looking forward to this matchup at home.
Those comments could be throwing gas on the fire when it comes to the Gators’ top-ranked defense. Florida has given up an average of just over a touchdown in their four games and budged for only 213 yards per contest. The talented and experienced group has upped their play against SEC foes, most recently limiting Kentucky to only 179 total yards of offense. LSU has allowed 13 sacks this season, and Jefferson’s trash talk paints a bigger target on his back.
LSU did have some success passing against the Gators last season. The Tigers totaled 241 yards through the air and found the end zone twice. Receiver Terance Toliver has emerged as the team’s go-to option this season. He ranks fifth in receiving yards in the SEC with 68 yards per game and has caught two touchdowns this season. Fellow receiver Brandon LaFell has reeled in five touchdown passes while totaling 282 yards in five games.
Louisiana State’s secret weapon could be return specialist Trindon Holliday, who helped the Tigers come back against Georgia with a 40-yard kick return in the fourth quarter. While the senior running back has just 33 total yards on eight carries in the backfield, he has totaled 232 kick return yards. Regarded as college football’s fastest player, Holliday could do damage against a stiff UF special teams that is giving up just over 17 yards per kick return.
Florida has its own kick return weapon in Brandon James, who leads the SEC with 34.5 yards per kick return this year. The speedster took one kick back to the house in the opening game of the season. Against Tennessee three weeks ago, James turned three kick returns into 97 yards.
