Inside the Game: Gators vs. Tigers

This week’s ‘Inside the Game’ choice was a no brainer. Tomorrow, one of the biggest games in the BCS season will be played when the Florida Gators travel to Louisiana to take on the #4 ranked LSU Tigers. This epic game could have National Title implications, and very possibly a preview of the title game in January. In a game like this, when the eyes of the nation will be watching, the shoulders of each teams quarterbacks are feeling mighty heavy. Let’s take an EverydayQB inside look at what each quarterback will have to do to lead their team to victory.

John Brantley (Gators): Coach Urban Meyer and the Gators will make the right choice and not start Tim Tebow, letting him fully recover from his concussion in last week’s game. The Gators need Tebow completely healthy for the rest of the season and they can recover from a loss to the Tigers on Saturday. Enter Tebow’s backup, John Brantley. Brantley is a different type of quarterback than Tebow, but no slouch. This sophomore quarterback was highly recruited out of high school and is slated to be the next great qb at Florida when Tebow goes on to the NFL. In order to be successful, Brantley has to play his style of football. The offense won’t change much, but Brantley is not the athlete Tebow is. Brantley needs to control the football and make cautious and intentional decisions with the ball. Brantley needs to play well enough to give the Gator defense a chance to win the game for them. Tiger stadium will be an extremely hostile environment for Brantley, and he must focus and be poised as the starting quarterback.

Jordan Jefferson (Tigers): Jefferson has had a great year for the Tigers so far, with a 62.5% completion percentage and 7 touchdowns coming into Saturday’s game. He had a solid game in the Tigers win against Georgia last week and needs to have another solid performance on Saturday night. As the home starting quarterback, one of Jefferson’s goals must be to put points on the board early, forcing the Gators to play from behind and wonder if they can be a #1 team without Tebow. Jefferson must distribute the ball and maintain a solid and consistent rhtyhm to the Tigers offense. With the support the exceptional Tiger defense on his side, Jefferson needs to play mistake free football to give his team a chance agains the Gators.

This game is a close one, and a potential BCS Championship Game matchup. LSU has the slight advantage because of location and Tebow’s questionable health. The Gators defense rises to the occasion, but the Tigers edge out the #1 team in college football.

EverydayQB prediction: Gators 24, Tigers 27 (8:00pm ET, CBS)