Florida is coming off a brutal Week 2 loss at home to South Florida, and unfortunately for the Gators, things aren’t getting any easier in Week 3 when they travel to Death Valley to take on No. 3 LSU.
This is a huge game for both teams. Florida looks to bounce back after its Week 2 loss to USF and get a huge win under its belt. Getting back into the win column is huge for Florida, as 4 of its next 5 opponents after LSU are currently ranked in the top 16 in the country. If the Gators want a chance to be a part of the College Football Playoff, they need to start stacking wins.
LSU will be looking to keep its undefeated season rolling. Four of LSU’s next 6 opponents after Florida are ranked in the top 20. They will look to build some momentum off of this win as they prepare for the hardest part of their schedule.
Rece Davis and Pete Thamel are both picking LSU to win this matchup.
“I really don’t think we should spend a lot of time on this game,” Thamel said on the College GameDay podcast. “I don’t see Florida rebounding and going to Baton Rouge and winning.”
Davis had similar thoughts to Thamel about the matchup. Davis cited how LSU’s offense hasn’t been explosive, and he doesn’t expect them to be against Florida, but he does expect the Tiger defense to pick up the slack.
“LSU really hasn’t gone off offensively, and I don’t think they will Saturday night either, but I think they will do more than enough to win the game because the LSU defense has gone off and probably will continue to be stifling against the Gators,” said Davis. “I’ll take LSU to win that one handily.”
Kickoff for LSU versus Florida is set for Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Death Valley.
