Amid the uncertainty of who will start at quarterback for No. 1 Florida on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, LSU football coach Les Miles said Wednesday the Tigers have the rest of the Gators to contend with as well.One area Miles mentioned was Florida’s defense, which is No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference in total defense and scoring defense and returns all 11 starters from last year’s national championship season, Florida’s second title in three years. “Our competition is at more than just the quarterback spot,” Miles said. “There’s a whole defense no one is talking about that is playing really well. Some of the guys who played in the national championship year are now second-team.”But at the same time, the mystery of the Florida quarterback situation still surrounds Saturday’s game, as Florida coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday a decision between senior Tim Tebow and redshirt sophomore John Brantley will likely not be reached until game time.Miles said the team is operating with “speculation” in preparation for Florida’s high-powered offense, which is No. 1 in the SEC in total offense and scoring.”I want for them to be healthy and for Tim [Tebow] to return to football quickly,” Miles said. “We’ve got three pages in [the game plan] for Tebow and a page and a half for [Brantley].”The LSU running game came alive last Saturday against Georgia, rushing for 156 yards and both of LSU’s touchdowns. Miles said Florida’s rushing defense, which allows 92.8 yards yards per game this season, is a “veteran group” who will make for a great matchup with the LSU running backs.”They’re very talented and athletic, and they didn’t lose a guy,” Miles said. “Certainly there are matchup problems for both teams, and we look forward to attacking them.”Offensively for LSU, Miles said seniors R.J. Jackson and Chris Mitchell and true freshman Rueben Randle will see action at the third wide receiver position against Florida behind senior Brandon LaFell and junior Terrance Toliver.On the injury front, Miles said he had no explanation for sophomore offensive linemen Josh Dworaczyk and Will Blackwell vomiting during the game against Georgia, but he said they showed no sign of illness afterward.”It went routinely away,” Miles said. “I saw them on the plane and it wasn’t like they were sick. Sometimes those guys get some wrong Gatorade in them.”Miles said senior offensive guard Lyle Hitt, who left the Georgia game with concussion-like symptoms, is fine to play against Florida, as well as true freshman defensive lineman Josh Downs and redshirt freshman defensive end Chancey Aghayere.The weekend of the Florida game will bring visits to Tiger Stadium from potential recruits. Miles said the atmosphere Saturday will be one of “great excitement.””I always second-guess bringing in [any recruits] on a game like this because it’s so much fun to prepare with your team,” Miles said. “The good news is it’s the open week thereafter, and we’ll have time on Sunday where we would not normally.”—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]
Football: Miles says Florida defense presents challenge
October 7, 2009