Gators Welcome Ragin' Cajuns To The Swamp

GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami) – Florida's non-conference game against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns will likely produce a victory for the Gators. But the celebration might be short-lived unless the Auburn Tigers can help Florida out.

Florida has one path to get to the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta to likely face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Florida has to hope Auburn, which has been abysmal this season, can muster everything it has and upset the Georgia Bulldogs.

If Auburn helps out the Gators, Florida will go to Atlanta as the Eastern Division champions.

But Florida can't take a win for granted against the Ragin' Cajuns. Last year, the Gators came out flat against Furman and fell behind 22-7 before eventually rallying to a victory. Florida has lived dangerously in recent weeks against teams the Gators should be able to handle.

Last week, Florida trailed Missouri and won on a last minute interception in the end zone of Missouri quarterback James Franklin. The Gators offense could not get any kind of momentum against the Tigers last week and won thanks to two big plays in the game and four costly Missouri interceptions.

While Louisiana-Lafayette doesn't sport the same talent level that Missouri does, the Ragin' Cajuns are 5-3 on the season. The Cajuns' offense can move the football, the only problems is the defense can't stop anyone.

Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off a resounding victory over Louisiana-Monroe, 40-24. The Cajuns' victory came against a team that has knocked off one SEC team and took another to overtime.

The Cajuns' offense scored 35 points per game and averages 6.45 yards per offensive play. Perhaps even more impressive is the Cajuns convert red zone opportunities at a clip of 91.18 percent, according to cfbstats.com.

However, Florida has a defense that is allowing just 12.1 points per game, good enough for fourth in the nation. The Gators allow just 87 yards rushing per game and 186.5 yards per game to their opponents.

Given Louisiana-Lafayette's struggles on defense, the game could be just what the doctor ordered for Florida's offense. The Gators average 26 points per game, but managed just 14 against Missouri last week and nine the week before that against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Florida kicks off at 12:21 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.