GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we bring you our Friday prediction podcast for the Florida Gators vs. LSU game on Saturday.

Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre break down their keys for both teams on offense and defense in Saturday’s game, plus we talk about the visitors expected in Gainesville on Saturday.

Andrew and Nick also give you their three players to watch in the game on Saturday, plus pick several games around the country.

TRANSCRIPT:

Andrew:                 What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, this week flew by. It’s Friday. LSU time. Let’s go.

Nick:                         Big week. It’s undefeated #5 ranked LSU versus a 4-1 Florida. Gators are feeling good about themselves, having won back to back games on the road, including at Mississippi State last week in the Mullen Bowl. Big game. I think it’s a big game for a number of reasons. Obviously, with it being #5 team. I’ve been doing a bunch of Louisiana and Baton Rouge and New Orleans radio this week, and all of them have asked me is this a rivalry game? I wanted to ask you that.

Andrew:                 I think it’s turned into it. Someone asked me that too this week. They said, Florida’s not the rivalry that it is between LSU and Alabama or LSU with even Arkansas in the past. I said, I think that used to be the case, but every since that hurricane fiasco, this is a rivalry, and it’s a hated rivalry between one another. It goes from the top of the chain in Scott Strickland and Jeremy Foley before to the top of the chain over at LSU. It goes all the way to the players. This is a rivalry. There’s no love lost. Especially with some of the recruits Florida’s been able to take away from LSU, that LSU’s been able to take away from Florida at the last minute. This is a rivalry, Nick.

Nick:                         That’s what I said. I said I don’t think it’s the same level as Florida-Tennessee, Florida-Georgia, or Florida-FSU, but I would probably put it at four now. Now, I would put Miami ahead of them, but that’s an every year kind of thing. I think, if we’re talking about it next year, when Florida opens in Miami and we’re previewing that game, I’d probably say I think this Florida-Miami game is more of a rivalry, just because of the history, than Florida-LSU. I say it is a rivalry.

Andrew:                 See, I say it might even be more than Tennessee lately, just because of how bad Tennessee has been.

Nick:                         I still think, when I’m thinking of rivalries, it’s not just how competitive it is. I think a Florida fan would take a loss to LSU better than they would take a loss to Tennessee. That’s kind of how I look at it when I think in terms of rivalry. Do you hate, hate, hate that school? Do you hate everything about them, their colors, losing to them, their fight song?

Andrew:                 Right. I’m with you.

Nick:                         We talk about Tennessee it’s damn Rocky Top, that creamsicle orange, their hillbilly fans. I think there’s more of a respect with LSU than there is with the other schools. I’m sure I’ll get tweets on Friday saying you’re wrong, I don’t respect them. But I think there’s more of a respect factor between LSU and Florida than there is against Florida and Tennessee.

Andrew:                 I’m with you on that. It’s just for me I think it’s a personal thing. Not me personally, but it’s a personal thing for Florida with the way the whole hurricane thing went about and all of that. I think that’s a personal factor. I’ll say this though, Nick. This might be the most physical rivalry.

Nick:                         Yes.

Andrew:                 This dates back to Urban and even Spurrier. I mean, you go back to the Urban games where LSU converted six 4th downs, or you had Florida converting the 4th downs. The Tebow phone calls.