In the 8th straight meeting where both the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers were ranked in the top 25, The Tigers dominated the game and proved to be the better team with a 41 – 11 victory over the Gators.  One could almost see this coming, especially after watching the Alabama game last week. However there was still some anticipation for Florida fans as they were going to get their first look at freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett. John Brantley, the Gators captain and starter was injured in the first half of the Alabama game with a severe ankle sprain. Jeff Driskel, another freshman, who is second on the depth chart behind Brantley, was also injured against Alabama and didn’t even dress for LSU. That left the Gators with Brissett, the third string quarterback.

The Gators offense didn’t get off to a good start. They started with several 3 and out’s, while LSU scored a long TD pass from Jarrett Lee on their first possession of the game. That basically set the tone for the day, where the Gators were anemic on offense, with countless ineffective runs up the middle and erratic play by Brissett. The Florida offensive line couldn’t stop a three year old from penetrating. LSU’s defensive front was dominating the Gators front 5, not to mention forcing them to hold and commit false starts which subsequently caused the Gators to have poor field position . The Gator running game was non existent. Chris Rainey rushed 13 times for a total of 52 yards while Jeff Demps rushed 2 times for a total of 0 yards. Demps didn’t play much at all as he was still nursing his injured ankle from the Alabmama game. This put Brisseett in a hole almost every time he stepped onto the field. Not only was he a freshman quarterback, making his collegiate start against a top ranked defense, he also had to battle with his onw teammates who were continually making stupid plays and getting penalized for it. It really was a mess.

On more of a lighter note, Brissett did show some positives, mainly arm strength and size. He did complete some nice passes and had a 65-yard touchdown toss to Andre Debose. But unfortunately that was it.  As Gator fans we have to be patient with these freshman as the will continue to improve and learn how to play in the toughest and fastest collegiate division, the SEC. Driskel and Brissett had seen zero action until last week. Even Brantley has received limited snaps as a Senior, as he didn’t play for two years while waiting in the shadow of Tim Tebow. The Gators have a young team that is going to get better every week. Lets just hope it happens sooner than later. At 4-2, the Gators will have to be nearly perfect to get into a top-tier bowl game, but with the toughest schedule in college football, it will be difficult.