After a wild month since their original match’s postponement, LSU and Florida are rescheduled to play a football game this weekend.
LSU has six wins and three losses and is well outside of a shot to contend for a national championship.
But the Tigers still have much to play for this season.
LSU has a self-controlled chance to earn a bid to a highly esteemed bowl, and the job security of its 4-1 interim head coach Ed Orgeron remains in limbo. Orgeron tightly contested No. 1 team, Alabama, in a 10-0 loss, then whipped a former employer, Arkansas, by 28 points Saturday.
Beginning Saturday, Orgeron competes in his first of LSU’s remaining regular-season games until his “audition” to become LSU’s next official head coach is complete.
So, what’s next?
First: a cross-division, smack-talk-loaded battle between LSU and Florida at noon in Tiger Stadium Saturday, after the game was previously delayed by Hurricane Matthew in a less than friendly manner between the schools.
Both teams had to cancel and buyout their scheduled Nov. 19 opponents. South Alabama, LSU’s scheduled opponent, and Presbyterian, Florida’s foe, are now scheduled to play each other instead.
“We made this decision to play the game in Baton Rouge,” Florida’s then-athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “The conference office asked us to find a solution in working with LSU, yet LSU was never a true partner in our discussions. The Southeastern Conference offered some other solutions, and the LSU administration made it clear that they were unwilling to consider other reasonable options.”
Remember when SEC commissioner Greg Sankey suggested the disgruntled schools were like a dysfunctional family?
“This conference often describes itself as a family. A family has points of tension,” Sankey said. “I certainly understand the angst and frustration. I have my own level of angst, but we need to come together to play a football game and find the best way to do that.”
LSU’s players agreed with Sankey: play the game.
“LSU VS UF needs to be reschedule. I don’t care if we play in somebody back yard,” sophomore defensive end Arden Key tweeted on Oct 8 during LSU’s then-impromptu bye week.
“To have this happen my senior year!” senior cornerback Tre’Davious White tweeted at the time. “To get a game taken away from us is definitely disappointing. We only get 12 of [them].”
Florida coach Jim McElwain refuted the theories.
“Dodging the game? Wow,” the coach said.
To make this one riper since its rescheduling, there are postseason implications on the line for both teams.
Florida has a chance to clinch the SEC East, further solidifying a spot in the league’s championship with a win against LSU to play top-ranked Alabama, which torched Mississippi State by 48 points Saturday.
If LSU doesn’t add another loss, it has a chance to claim the SEC’s seat in New Orleans’ Sugar Bowl since Georgia defeated then-No. 8 Auburn on Saturday.