Gators looking to avoid first four-game skid vs. LSU since late 70's

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Make no mistake, this one is personal for Billy Napier, several staff members and the Gators football team.

The former Ragin’ Cajuns skipper and his coaches with Louisiana ties — while they obviously haven’t acknowledged this publicly — will be looking to show LSU what it missed on, while the UF players are determined to snap a three-game skid against the Tigers.

If the Gators drop Saturday’s game, it will mark only their second four-game losing streak in the rivalry’s history and the first since 1977-80.

“That’s not something that’s acceptable to the University of Florida,” left guard Ethan White said this week.

Florida hasn’t beaten the Tigers since Brad Stewart’s pick-six against Joe Burrow in 2018. LSU won a shootout in Death Valley last season and escaped the last trip to The Swamp with one less shoe and a game-winning field goal in the fog.

 “It was just an eerie experience,” White said of the 2020 loss. “It was kind of just weird because at the beginning of the game there was no sign of it, anything. 

“It was a crazy environment, the fog rolling in at the end of the game. That was just a wild night.”

The night was also the beginning of the end for former UF coach Dan Mullen, who lost nine of his next 11 games against Power Five opponents before getting fired. That included a 49-42 loss at LSU last season to Ed Orgeron, who was let go the next day (a month before Mullen).

Despite Napier’s success at Louisiana and his ties to the state, the Tigers targeted Jimbo Fisher and Lincoln Riley to replace Orgeron before eventually hiring Brian Kelly, while Florida zeroed in on the UL coach from the get-go.

Those two coaching searches and the hires by both schools will forever be compared. But that dynamic has no bearing on this year’s matchup, nor does Florida’s losing streak in the series.

“Nothing that has happened in the past will affect the game Saturday night,” Napier said. “I do think there is an awareness with this being the crossover game, an annual event. I think that over history there’s been some unbelievable teams and unbelievable players that have competed in this game, just tremendous talent.

“It’s always been a very competitive game. I think the excitement is about the matchups in the game, playing against really good players, playing against a good coaching staff and certainly an awareness of this being in the past a game that affects kind of the direction from both sides there relative to the conference.”

Kelly came to LSU after 12 years at Notre Dame, where he reached the 2013 BCS National Championship Game and made two College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. Kelly also won two Big East titles at Cincinnati, the MAC championship at Central Michigan and led Grand Valley State to consecutive NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2002 and 2003.

“Brian’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s a very consistent coach,” Napier said. “What I respect is the fundamentals that I see on the film, the soundness. He’s much like we are, halfway through the first year. I think as a young coach I’ve always kept up with Brian Kelly. His team have always been a factor, big picture wise, playoff wise. Certainly, him having success at lots of different levels of football is probably what I respect the most.”

Gators, LSU feature dual-threat QBs

The respect is mutual. Kelly called Napier an outstanding football coach and said his team “poses all kinds of problems” for LSU. He compared Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson to Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.

“This is a really talented football team on offense. Clearly have an outstanding quarterback. Very similar to Hendon Hooker that we saw this weekend. Great size, strong arm, and he is very dangerous. Skilled quarterback,” Kelly said of Richardson. “Outstanding running backs. [Montrell] Johnson and [Trevor] Etienne both game-breakers. The strength to me on this Florida team is the offensive line.

“It’s a really good offensive line. That will be the challenge. They can run the football, and they have proven it. I think they’re averaging 6 yards-plus running the football. We’re going against an excellent offensive line. We’re going to have to rise to that challenge certainly.”

Kelly mentioned Louisiana natives Johnson and Etienne, both of whom passed running back Nay’Quan Wright on the depth chart this week. Johnson, who averages 8.0 yards per carry, will make his first start of the season against LSU and Etienne is listed as his backup.

Another Louisiana native, Gators starting right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, is questionable for the game. It would be a big blow for Florida if he can’t go. Torrence is not only UF’s highest-graded player through the first half of the season per PFF, but he’s been the best interior offensive lineman in the country.

Defensively, it starts with stopping LSU dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels. He has 1,215 yards and seven touchdowns through the air but also leads the team in rushing with 359 yards and three more scores.

“I think that’s the No. 1 concern,” Napier said. “The guy has arm talent; he can throw any throw in the book. He’s accurate, and then I think that his ability to work his way through the progression and then kind of the unannounced play, right? Like, ‘that wasn’t supposed to happen’, but he’s got a knack for that.

“There’s no question when you talk about matching the patterns, trying to put your players in a position to leverage the skill players the right way, and then this guy can take off. So, you’ve got to be really tuned in relative to the rush plan, in terms of where he’s at, and then working together to rush and affect the passer.”

Richardson has fewer passing yards (1,182) and rushing yards (286) than Daniels this season and has thrown the same number of interceptions (7) as Daniels’ passing touchdowns. The LSU signal caller has thrown just one pick, but he’s been under pressure.

The Tigers have allowed 21 sacks on the year, which ranks 122nd nationally and 13th in the SEC. Florida is coming off season highs in sacks (4.0) and tackles-for-loss (13.0) last week against Missouri, both of which will be key against these Tigers as well.

“I feel like it’s going to be very important because sacks really help during games. I feel like our pass rush is going to be very important,” UF defensive end Princely Umanmielen said. “That’s the biggest thing with a quarterback like (Daniels) because you have to get there fast. Also, I feel like his first intention is not to throw. Like, he wants to be a quarterback, but he gets out there once he sees something. So, I feel like just get off is the main factor.”