Florida Gators Football: 5 Keys for the Gators Against LSU

The Florida Gators face arguably the toughest challenge of their entire season. With a true freshman quarterback taking the reins after John Brantley's injury, the Gators must travel to LSU and defeat the No. 2 ranked Tigers.

It will be a hostile environment for the young Gators, and after facing a smothering defense last week against Alabama, the LSU defense could be even tougher.

If Florida wants to have any chance of pulling off a major upset in Baton Rouge, they will need to be focus on these five keys to the game.

1. Create Turnovers

One of the biggest things missing from the Alabama game was Florida's lack of ability to create turnovers on defense.

And with LSU's strong defense, nothing gives an offense more momentum than a turnover that gives them great field position.

A turnover for Florida's defense on the road would give the Gators a great shot at putting some points on the board.

If you look back to Alabama, the pick-six by Courtney Upshaw swung the momentum in a big way. A turnover like that for Florida could be very deflating for LSU.

Both of LSU's options at quarterback, Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson, are very capable of turning the ball over multiple times.

The key will be pressure in the backfield and forcing the quarterback to make rushed throws and decisions.

2. Establishing Jeff Driskel's Confidence

In the second half of the Alabama game it was easy to see that Jeff Driskel was uncomfortable as the starting quarterback against such an intimidating defense.

This week won't get any better for Driskel. Plus, it's on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football.

The key for Driskel will be establishing his confidence early in the game.

The Gators need to do this by getting the running game going as well as allowing Driskel to make some short, high-success throws in order to avoid risky plays that lead to turnovers.

If Driskel remains unsure of himself on Saturday, he will find himself in a lot of trouble against that top-ranked LSU defense. I believe the more confidence Driskel has in his abilities, the more LSU will have to respect his passing attack, which will give the running backs more of an opportunity to produce.

There is no doubt that Driskel has all of the physical qualities the Gators need in a quarterback, but as a freshman, it will just all come down to confidence for him against LSU.

3. Big Plays on Offense/Special Teams

With a team full of young players, it's tough to imagine that the Gators will be able to grind out long, time-consuming drives against LSU for an entire game.

Therefore, the Gators will absolutely have to have a few big plays on either offense or special teams in order to remain in contention for the win.

After last week's game, Andre Debose emerged as the Gators' big-play threat on offense after hauling in a 65-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive. He will have to produce some more big plays this week for the Gators' offense.

On special teams, the Gators have the athletes to make things happen. Solomon Patton, Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are all dangerous threats to return kicks and punts for touchdowns. Not to mention, the success the Gators have had in blocking punts so far this season.

If the Gators can get a few big plays on offense and production of out of their special teams, that would give Florida an excellent shot at upsetting the Tigers.

4. Get Production from Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps

We all know the Gators' running backs aren't the big bruising backs or your traditional size running backs, but the offense's success almost depends entirely on the success of Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.

Against Alabama, Demps and Rainey ran for a combined eight yards. As a team, the Gators were only able to gain 15 yards rushing.

As a result, the Florida offense became one dimensional, and the Alabama defense took advantage of it.

The same thing will happen against LSU if the Gators fail to get the running game going again.

On the other hand, if Rainey and Demps prove to be effective, that can open up the field for Jeff Driskel and the passing game. It would help make Florida less predictable on offense.

5. Play Physical

The biggest difference in the Florida game against Alabama was the physical style of play that the Crimson Tide used to bully the Gators.

If it wasn't Alabama's offensive line pushing back Florida's defensive line, it was Trent Richardson running through Florida's would-be tacklers or Alabama's secondary delivering jarring hits on the Gators' receivers.

This week, the Gators must not let themselves get pushed around. They need to return the favor to LSU and let them know that they won't go down without a fight. 

It needs to be Florida dishing out the big hits and running over tacklers this weekend if the Gators want to play well at LSU.