Ali Gaye on Florida: Hostile environment but we had success there last time

Saturday’s 7:00 p.m. primetime ESPN matchup between LSU and Florida is between two teams with a lot in common at the moment. Both teams enter the game with 4-2 records, led by first-year head coaches Brian Kelly and Billy Napier, both looking to hit the ground running in their first seasons coaching in the SEC.

With both teams having so much in common, home-field advantage could be a major factor, as the Tigers travel to The Swap, one of college football’s loudest environments. Tiger’s defensive lineman Ali Gaye spoke about their upcoming road trip to Gainesville ahead of their matchup against the Gators.

“That’s a hostile environment, but last time we went down there we had success, we came out and we hope to do it again when we go down there this weekend,” Gaye said.

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The last time Gaye and the Tigers played on the road at Florida was during the 2020 season, the game was initially postponed and played towards the end of the season where LSU won in upset fashion 37-34. The crowd attendance was limited in that game, held to around 16,000 fans, and will be much different this time around with the Gators announcing in August that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium would be sold out for their battle with the Tigers.

LSU did get the best of a Gators team ranked No. 6 in the country in 2020, and has also gotten the best of them in their past three meetings. In their last two matchups the Tigers were unranked, facing ranked Florida teams favored by double digits.

The Gators are favored yet again in this matchup, but only my 2.5 points, and it will be interesting to see how these two teams that seem relatively evenly matched fare in primetime at The Swamp.

Ali Gaye on stopping Florida rushing attack: Kill their engine

LSU had their four-game winning streak snapped last week in a blowout loss to Tennessee, but will be looking to get back in the win column this week on the road against Florida. If the Tigers want to secure a win in the swamp, they’ll have to stop the Gator’s rushing attack, which defensive lineman Ali Gaye spoke about ahead of their matchup.

“They have good running backs, a good running team, so I think we gotta kill the engine. Stop that run and then execute in the pass game but it’s a big challenge,” Gaye said.

The Gators currently rank fourth in the SEC in rush yards per game averaging 213 per game, which is five more than a Tennessee team that gashed the Tigers for 263 yards on the ground just last weekend.

“Last week we gave up a lot of yards defensively, but like I said, it’s a new opportunity to showcase that we are who we say are and as a defense we have to stop those backs,” Gaye said.

The Gators also boast four 100-plus yard rushers that all average between four and eight yards per carry, including dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson who has been giving offenses headaches all season long.

“If he wants to run the ball, we’re just gonna treat him like a running back. Big guys, we have to tackle big, he’s a big guy, he wants to run that ball,” Gaye said. “As a defense it’s a challenge for us to contain him and it’s a challenge for us to get that ball out, because if you’re a running back trying to run the ball, if you come down that hole the defense is going to be right there, our linebackers are gonna be right there,” Gaye said. “So we’ll be ready for him.”

The Gator’s two losses this season came in games where Richardson had to throw the ball the most and the only two games where he’s thrown for more than 30 pass attempts. If the Tigers can slow down Florida’s strong rushing attack and make Richardson beat them with his arm, they’ll have a much better chance of getting a win on Saturday.