by Chris Rinaldi

LSU fans are anxiously awaiting Saturday's game against the Florida Gators (2:30pm CST, CBS). It will be a turning point and defining moment for a team that has lost its identity over the past two weeks.  Whether it's injuries, inexperience, or a straying away from philosophy, the Bayou Bengals could lose all the hope this season began with if they don't win in The Swamp on Saturday.

LSU did not address their biggest weaknesses last Saturday against Towson. The offensive line still seemed unable to recover from the loss of left tackle Chris Faulk; the receivers dropped passes that should have been caught, and QB Zach Mettenberger continued to show an inability to protect the football in the pocket. 

Head Coach Les Miles addressed Mettenberger's fumble issues in his press conference. 

"On Sundays you see it. You see those quarterbacks who run out there and make the big play. That's frankly not what we're looking for from him. We're not looking to extend the play much, we would like to get it out of his hands", Miles said. 

If Miles wants to be true to his words, he must bring LSU's focus back to the running game.  Inexplicably, the loss of Alfred Blue has led to an abandonment of the run game.

If you had to rank the Tigers victories, this year, in terms of how the team looked, it would go as listed below.

1) Washington, 41-3

2) Idaho, 63-14

3) North Texas, 41-14

4) Auburn, 12-10

5) Towson, 38-22

If you look at LSU's Run to Pass ratio in those games it's as follows:

1) Washington (2.74:1) (52:19)

2) Idaho (1.70:1) (39:23)

3) North Texas (1.77:1) (46/26)

4) Auburn (1.36:1) (35:28)

5) Towson (1.25:1) (35:28)

The trend is fairly clear. If LSU runs the ball, they will win this game. By run the ball, I mean at a 1.5:1 ratio. This fixation with making Mettenberger win games is silly, and may be fatal to the LSU season. 

Florida's defensive line, lead by Dominique Easley, will continue to force Mettenberger to make poor throwing decisions, or even worse, enhance his case of fumbile-itis. It puts the onus on a beat up offensive line. It doesn't matter if Alfred Blue is injured, or even fullback JC Copeland for that matter. LSU must run the ball in this game, and for the rest of the season. 

On the other side of the ball, LSU's defense will take on a Florida offense led by sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel. Driskel is equally as inexperienced as Mettenberger, but seems to be improving each week. Driskel has not faced a challenge like the LSU defense yet, though. His inexperience is likely to be exposed against the unit lead by Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo, and Eric Reid. 

That leaves it up to Florida's running game, which, for the Gators, is not a bad thing.  Florida running back Mike Gillislee is one weapon that could pose LSU fits. Gillislee is the prototypical running back that troubles LSU defenses under John Chavis. He is small, shifty, and fast. 

In the Auburn game, Trey Mason and Ontario McCaleb were continually able to beat the LSU defensive line and get into the middle of the defense. Towson running back, Terrence West, was even more successful. While LSU usually contains these runs, and protects against the big play, Gillislee has exhibited an ability to take off down the field. At the least, if he is able to expose this weakness, he can sustain Florida drives and help win the field position game while allowing Driskel to play within his element.

In the end, Saturday is all about whether LSU allows its superior talent to win the game, or if they try to game plan themselves out of a win. A simple formula led to their national title appearance last year: they leveraged their dominant defense to win games by focusing on  the rushing game and displaying superior special teams play. 

It seems like last year's inept quarterback play has muddled that game plan. Just because Mettenberger can throw the ball doesn't mean he has to just for the sake of doing it. If LSU sticks to their strengths they can dominate Florida. Mettenberger's arm is there if it's needed. But if everything goes right, it should rarely be called into action.

It may be necessary at some point against Alabama on November 3, but none of that will matter if the Tigers fall short in The Swamp on Saturday.