LSU vs. Florida: Predicting the winner, game time, and TV/live stream info

Despite a September loss to Kentucky, Florida is still alive in the race to stand atop the SEC East. But the Gators’ chances of a return to Atlanta for the conference championship game hinge on whether or not they can topple a top-five LSU team at home.

The Tigers have proven themselves as one of the nation’s top teams after notching a pair of top 10 wins in their 5-0 start. LSU dispatched then-No. 8 Miami and then-No. 7 Auburn away from the friendly confines of Death Valley. On Saturday, it will get a rejuvenated Florida team in the Swamp — and the Gators have something to prove.

Florida bounced back from a Week 2 loss to the Wildcats with a 3-0 repartee, earning a spot in the rankings after limiting Mississippi State to just six points on the road. A victory Saturday would set up a big time showdown between UF and No. 2 Georgia in two weeks — assuming the Gators don’t lose to Vanderbilt in the interim.

The S&P+ rankings pegs LSU as the nation’s No. 17 team — guess the numbers don’t have much faith in those Miami/Auburn wins — and Florida as No. 19. But the preseason rankings saw this as a three-point loss for the home team, and that number feels about right.

Feleipe Franks, coming off two straight games of being asked to do little and struggling to complete half of his passes, finished this game with 22 completions on 31 throws, a single pick against his name, and a healthy 219 passing yards.

Florida’s three-headed running back attack of Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine, and Dameon Pierce combined for 136 total yards (106 on the ground, 30 through the air) and answered the call late, when Scarlett was asked to push piles and Pierce was tasked with trying to run out the clock.

And Florida’s receiving corps, a deep unit without a singular star, shared the load, with a staggering 13 players sharing the Gators’ 23 completions — each getting at least one six-yard reception, none getting more than four catches or 47 yards on the night — as Franks threw repeatedly to the perimeter and to sliding receivers on slants and posts to keep the chains moving and the Bulldogs panting without ever really hitting a big play.

2.5. Grant Delpit’s tackles for a loss. Delpit’s line was amazing. 5 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 sack, 1 QBH, and 1 pass breakup. Delpit was a fumble short of appearing in every column on the defense stat sheet, which is nearly impossible to do. There’s monster games, and then there’s what Delpit had. He is ridiculously awesome. I don’t know what else to say.

Florida’s defense has been a pile of angry bees in its wins this fall, limiting the Bulldogs to six points and holding Tennessee to just three first half points in important rebound wins. But that unit struggled to shut down Kentucky’s newfound big play offense in Gainesville, giving up three touchdowns — all from 24 yards out or further.

This could be a problem for the Gators. LSU has scored five touchdowns from 20+ yards out in three games against Power 5 competition this fall. That playmaking capability ensures the Tigers won’t be out of this one until the final horn sounds.