Weekend Recap: LSU vs Florida

Though “scortching” may have accurately described the weather on Saturday, the scoreboards in Tiger Stadium depicted otherwise. For the first time in this 2013 season, the LSU Tigers found themselves in a defensive contest against the Florida Gators. LSU managed to hold the Gators to 240 yards of offense while gaining 327 themselves.

Florida boasted one of the best defenses in the SEC coming into the game as many experts, despite LSU’s previous success offensively, were betting on a low scoring game. They called it right in this one with LSU coming out on top 17-6, LSU’s lowest scoring game of the year. Jeremy Hill stood out as the difference in the game by routinely breaking off yards in chunks for a total of 121 on the day. Through the Florida game Hill is averaging a staggering 7.5 yards per carry on the season.

After allowing only three points in the second half of last week’s game against Mississippi State, the LSU defense appears to have turned the corner. It’s no secret that the Tigers were charged with the task of replacing such major pieces of 2012’s defense as Eric Reid, Sam Montgomery, and Keke Mingo. At least over the course of the last six quarters, it appears the kinks have been worked out. LSU finally showed the fire and enthusiasm against Florida that many fans were missing in the previous six games.

The Tigers sit at 6-1 (3-1 SEC) and face a tough Ole Miss (3-3, 1-3 SEC) team October 19th. Ole Miss has put up impressive offensive numbers, and the Tigers will certainly be looking to put together their first complete win of the season against an SEC opponent. If the defense continues to improve, and offense can get back on track, LSU will be right back in the conversation for SEC West contention.