Florida Gators or LSU Tigers? Media members make their picks

The Florida Gators’ backs are against the wall. After losing to USF at home last week, unranked UF next faces No. 3 LSU on the road in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. A win, and perhaps some might ease their criticism of Florida coach Billy Napier, who is just 20-20 with the Gators. A loss, and his seat will get even hotter. Much hotter.

Friday morning, the Gators Online staff revealed its picks for the game. Meanwhile, media members from across the country also have made their predictions. And by a rather large consensus, almost all of them have LSU winning.

“This isn’t a great time for the Gators to head to Death Valley,” wrote Eric Olson of the Associated Press. “Billy Napier is back on the hot seat after he and his team made a mess of last week’s game and lost at home to South Florida. LSU’s defense has allowed two touchdowns and one field goal in 19 series.”

If there was a bright side, it’s that most of those who picked the game, and LSU to win, view this is a potentially close matchup. Meanwhile, many prognosticators believe this game will finish below the over/under of 46.5 points from BetMGM, our betting partner at On3.

We’ll keep adding to this article as we locate more selections, but as of now we’ve only come across one media representative who picked UF (there probably are others): That would be Keven Lerner, Assistant Sports Editor of the Orlando Sentinel, who wrote, “Quarterback DJ Lagway should finally live up to expectations as Billy Napier introduces a few new wrinkles on offense. Gators star Caleb Banks, arguably UF’s best defensive player, returns and will provide a much-needed interior defensive presence.”

Florida Gators or LSU Tigers? Media members make their picks

—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel: LSU 27-17
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: LSU 27-17
—Adam Lichtenstein, Orlando Sentinel: LSU 28-21
—Keven Lerner, Orlando Sentinel: Florida 23-20
—Eric Olson, AP: LSU 31-21
—James Parks, Si.com: LSU by seven.
—Iain MacMillan, Si.com: LSU will win and cover.
—Zack Nagy, Si.com: LSU 24-17
—Manny Navarro, The Athletic: LSU by four.
—Shea Dixon, Bengal Tiger: LSU 27, Florida 17
—Matthew Brune, Bengal Tiger: LSU 24, Florida 13
—Bryce Koon, Bengal Tiger: LSU 28, Florida 16
—David Kenyon, Bleacher Report: LSU 30, Florida 23
—Matt Hayes, USA Today: LSU
—Jordan Mendoza, USA Today: LSU
—Paul Meyerberg, USA Today: LSU
—Erick Smith, USA Today: LSU
—Eddie Timanus, USA Today: LSU
—Blake Toppmeyer, USA Today: LSU
—Steven Lassan, Athlon: LSU
—Thomas Neumann, Athlon: LSU
—Kyle Wood, Athlon: LSU
—Howie Kussoy, New York Post: LSU
—Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun: LSU 28-20
—Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun: LSU 24-16
—Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun: LSU 24-17
—Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: LSU 28-22
—Pete Fiutak, College Football News: LSU 27-16
—Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire: LSU 38-14
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News: LSU
—Scott Bell, Dallas Morning News: LSU
—Corby Davidson, Dallas Morning News: LSU
—Will Rosenblatt, LSU Wire: LSU 26-13

How to watch the Florida Gators vs the LSU Tigers

Date: Sat. Sept. 13
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Tiger Stadium (102,321), Baton Rouge, La.
TV: ABC
Stream: Cox 7/1007 [HD], DirecTV 8 [HD]
Radio: SiriusXM Channel: 82 [Gator Network]/ 80 [ESPN]

On The Call — ABC

Play-by-Play:  Sean McDonough
Analyst:  Greg McElroy
Reporter:  Molly McGrath

On The Call — Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Shane Matthews
Reporter: Tate Casey

On the Call — ESPN Radio

Play-by-Play: Marc Kestecher
Analyst: Kelly Stouffer
Reporter: Ian Fitzsimmons

Betting Lines

BetMGM, On3’s official partner, lists UF as a 7-point underdog. The over/under is 46.5 (-110). The money line is +225 for the Gators and -285 for LSU.