Things will 'get weird in Gainesville' if Florida loses to LSU

Things could ‘get weird’ in Gainesville for head coach Dan Mullen if Florida loses to LSU on Saturday, at least that’s what The Athletic’s Andy Staples thinks. Florida is currently 4-2 on the season while LSU is 3-3.

“It’ll get weird in Gainesville,” Staples said on what would happen if LSU won. “I’ll tell you that right now because the fan base got really mad at Dan Mullen after the Kentucky game. I don’t quite understand the fury of the backlash because that’s one of those that, first of all, you knew Florida was probably going to take a step back from last season. Because they were, I mean offensively, at least they were historically good. And then they didn’t bring in a bunch of five star talent that suddenly was going to change everything.

“Everybody knew Kentucky was going to be pretty good this year, so I don’t know why that particular loss stuck in everybody’s cross so much. But it does feel like they kind of checked out at that point.”

Staples: Mullen can coach it, but he needs to bring more talent to Florida

Staples doesn’t think that Mullen can bring in as much talent as the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, etc. at Florida. While Mullen might be a good coach, it’s tough to compete with the best without the proper talent. Staples doesn’t think that Florida will lose to LSU, and he thinks that Mullen is one of the best coaches in the country.

“It’s one of those deals where, let’s say that happened (LSU beats Florida). I don’t think Florida is going to lose this game. But if it happens, it’s going to be because a bunch of really talented LSU players kind of got galvanized kind of like last year and beat Florida,” Staples said. “It’s one of those things where if Florida has the talent level of a Georgia or an Alabama, you’re not in any danger of losing a game like that. You’re just not.

“And that is sort of the crux of the matter when it comes to Dan Mullen in Florida. Nobody questions his ability to coach the team, his ability to design a great offense around the talent he has. He’s one of the best in the country at that. It’s you don’t bring in the same level of talent that Kirby Smart and Nick Saban and Ed Orgeron do and you got to be able to do both. Ed Orgeron can bring in the talent and is struggling to coach it. Dan Mullen can coach it but has not brought in talent at the same level of those guys.”

Mullen and Florida will be looking for their fifth win of the season against LSU on Saturday. The game will kick off in Tiger Stadium at 12 noon ET.