Fou momentum swings Florida needs to upset LSU

After we have spent the entire week highlighting the failures of the Billy Napier Era in Gainesville, the Florida Gators still have to travel to Baton Rouge and play LSU this Saturday.

The crazy thing is, despite all the turmoil, the Gators have an actual pathway to pull off an upset and send all of college football into chaos. Florida is a 7.5 point underdog, but that is a line that has dropped two points from where it started.

For the Gators to pull off this upset, these are four things that have to go right.

Caleb Banks is a game wrecker

Caleb Banks is off the injury report, and it looks like he is good to go this Saturday. We'll see if he is 100% or not, but his addition should be massive against an LSU offense that has had its own fair share of issues.

In fact year, as much as the narrative of Florida's turnaround was about DJ Lagway, it was Banks and the rest of the defensive line that turned in a masterclass out of nowhere to win the game.

DJ Lagway sets his feet

It's no secret that DJ Lagway hasn't looked like the Heisman darkhorse we were hoping for coming into 2025. He's looked more like a guy who didn't practice for eight months.

At the root of Lagway's struggles is that his footwork hasn't been great. Last year he had moments here and there, but in general he was able to set his feet and drive the ball.

That's not happening this year, and some of his throws have featured the type of footwork you would expect from a high school three-star, not a sophomore in college.

Offense needs to throw in wrinkles

We've mused throughout the Napier Era how predictable his offense can be at times. Yes, against USF, he had a nice slant and wheel route combo that freed up Tony Livingston only to be dropped, but there were plenty of other moments where USF was just sitting on routes because they didn't fear getting burned by something different.

Perhaps the most notable was on the same drive as the Livingston drop. The Gators had 3rd and 15 and opted for a short slant to J. Michael Sturdivant. While conventional wisdom would state that the USF DB plays a bit safer due to having no other help, he instead drove down instantly and made the tackle because he didn't fear a double move.

Knowing that Jack Pyburn will be on the other side and is familiar with this offense inside and out, if Napier were playing chess, he could bait LSU into overplaying some well-known tendencies the Gators have and hit them with something to exploit.

Vernell Brown III breaks loose on a punt

Two games in Vernell Brown III has been electric on punt return. The only points Florida scored in the second half against USF were set up from a huge return.

If LSU scuttles on offense like they have the first two week, Florida will hang around in this game no matter what they themselves do with the ball.

And if it's just close enough late in the game, all it takes is one magical return from Brown III to flip the entire script.