GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we recap the Florida Gators 42-28 lost to the LSU Tigers on Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre breakdown what went right and wrong for the Gators on Saturday in Death Valley.
Andrew and Nick also breakdown what’s ahead for the Gators coming up this week and the rest of the season.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew:                 What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, wasn’t the outcome the Gators wanted on Saturday, but, man oh man, was that a game, did that game live up to the hype.
Nick:                         Yeah. The game, the atmosphere. Everything around it, other than the referees, both ways, other than the referees, lived up to everything you could have expected or wanted from that game. The atmosphere was incredible. The game is back and forth. Florida scores a touchdown, and LSU ties it. Then Florida takes the lead, and LSU takes the lead. Back and forth pretty much the entire game. It was a really competitive hard-fought game. No complaints. I mean, other than the outcome, no complaints from the action. It was really exciting.
Andrew:                 I said this to someone. We’re taping this on Sunday. I said this on Sunday, Nick, and I’ll ask you the same question. I learned more about the Florida Gators during the loss to LSU than I’ve learned all season.
Nick:                         Yeah. I think so. I mean, there’s a bunch to touch on, but I think that’s possibly true in any loss really. You look and say it’s probably easier to learn more about yourself in a loss than in a win.
Andrew:                 Right. When I say that, Nick, here’s what I’ve learned. Let’s just dive into it. I learned that Kyle Trask is a monster. He’s really, really good. That’s one thing I learned. I’ll say this. I did not learn this. I knew this, but it further backed up our point. There’s no moment that’s going to scare Kyle Trask. There’s not a moment that’s going to scare him. If Death Valley didn’t rattle him, there’s not a moment that did. Heading into Death Valley I didn’t think there was in the first place, just because of how Kyle Trask is. He’s a very even keeled kind of dude. I’ll be honest, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, but I never saw the crowd affect him.
Nick:                         No. I don’t think the crowd affected him at all. I thought he played really well. Until, I mean, there’s two interceptions. One of them I want to get deeper dive into, so we’ll hold off on that. 29 of 39, 310 yards. Threw three touchdowns. What I said, and what we talked about on the podcast leading up to it, Florida wanted to limit LSU’s offensive drives. At the end of the day, LSU gets 11, one being after the last one of the game when they’re just getting out of there. Florida’s scoring drives, 12 for 75 yards, 13 for 75 yards, 11 for 75 yards, 8 for 75. It was clear that Florida wanted to control the time in possession, which they did in the game. 38 minutes 19 seconds to 21:41. I asked Dan Mullen about it. He didn’t want to say after the game, but it’s clear as day when you watch the game, that’s what Florida wanted to do, and Kyle Trask executed that beautifully.
Andrew:                 Yeah. 100%. First of all, the first half was one of the best called halves of football I’ve ever witnessed for Florida offensively. Just the execution, the timing of certain things, was one of the best called halves of football I’ve ever seen from an offensive coach. Period. That’s NFL. That’s college. That’s high school. It was. Dan Mullen called a great first half. I thought some plays in the second half were a little questionable, and I know the 3rd and 1 call is the one that gets everyone questioning Dan Mullen. I don’t question that call. I question the throw by Kyle Trask. I don’t question that call, because you think we’ll get LSU looking for a run,