Florida will face an explosive offense against LSU on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
With offensive coordinator Cam Cameron at the helm, the Tigers rank third in the Southeastern Conference with 45.5 points per game — a touchdown better than any other offense under Les Miles at LSU. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger ranks third in the SEC with 289.7 passing yards per game and leads the conference with 15 touchdown passes.
Should Saturday’s contest simply come down to which team’s offense can put more points on the board, coach Will Muschamp would be OK with that.
“As long as we win, I don’t care,” the fiery, third-year coach said. “Honestly. I got real caught up in all that stuff when I was a coordinator. When I’m a head coach, I want to win. If it takes 51-50, let’s go.”
When asked if he could physically handle that significant of a breakdown defensively, Muschamp began laughing.
“Winning is all that matters,” he said.
Muschamp’s players aren’t so sure he would survive an offensive shootout. Buck linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. said winning a game like that wouldn’t make things much better for the defense.
“I’d have nightmares,” Fowler said of the hypothetical. “I’d be scared. I don’t even know how he would physically handle that. I honestly don’t know what would happen. I wouldn’t want it, though.”
Defensive tackle Darious “Bear” Cummings added: “We’re going to get chewed out about the 50 points. But a win is a win here.”
Revenge on their minds: The last time the Gators traveled to Tiger Stadium, they left with their tails between their legs. The 41-11 defeat came on the heels of a 38-10 blowout loss to Alabama and was the second of four straight losses for Florida in 2011.
Several upperclassmen have redemption in mind for this weekend’s matchup.
“It was definitely a low point in most of our careers here,” senior defensive back Jaylen Watkins said. “It was definitely a bad taste in our mouth.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Murphy added: “It was tough. We really had a good week of practice, and we felt very confident. To come out with a loss, it hurt. Especially after losing to Alabama. I thought we gave a great effort. We probably didn’t execute the way we should have. But I thought we played hard.”
Muschamp mentioned last season how he addressed the team following that 30-point loss to the Tigers in the locker room. He told his players not to forget the disappointment of the defeat. When Muschamp enters Tiger Stadium on Saturday, he’ll remember.
“If you’re a competitor, it should,” Muschamp said of the 2011 loss serving as motivation. “And I know we have a bunch of competitive guys in the locker room. Sometimes, some people don’t get motivated by negatives. They don’t want to think about negatives. They want to think about positive things. So, I think everybody is motivated differently, but most of the guys I’ve been around certainly will use that. I will.”
Cornerback honored: Loucheiz Purifoy was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Purifoy returned his first career interception for a touchdown, forced a fumble and recorded four tackles, three pass breakups and his first career sack.
“Purifoy is a playmaker,” Fowler said. “He’s just a baller overall. He’s a very good player. It was a long time coming for him to make plays like that.”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger passes during LSU's 35-21 win against Auburn in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 21.
