BATON ROUGE — LSU freshman tailback John Emery Jr. has been waiting, and so is the LSU Nation, particularly recruiting fans.

Emery signed with LSU for the Class of 2019 as the No. 2 tailback in the nation and No. 4 prospect in Louisiana out of Destrehan High, according to the Rivals.com recruiting website. He was a commitment to Georgia, but he changed his mind after Georgia lost, 36-16, at LSU last Oct. 13.

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Emery gained 1,693 yards in 2018 and scored 26 touchdowns at Destrehan. Through five games in 2019 at LSU, Emery has played in only four and has just 114 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns on the season with five catches for 51 yards.

After not playing at Texas and carrying just three times for -2 yards against Northwestern State, Emery has carried 17 times for 96 yards in LSU's last two games. He rushed eight times for 45 yards and caught four passes for 34 yards in the 42-6 win over Utah State on Saturday.

Could Saturday night in Tiger Stadium when No. 6 LSU (5-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) plays No. 7 Florida (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at 7 on ESPN be the night Emery makes his first mark?

Or will it be a true opening night for the other freshman — Tyrion Davis-Price, who was the No. 7 tailback in the nation out of Southern Lab in Baton Rouge? Davis-Price has 112 yards on the season through 28 carries and two touchdowns with five catches for 43 yards. He rushed 11 times for 54 yards against Utah State. It was the most usage for both freshmen all season.

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"Yeah, let them go," Orgeron said of the pair getting more action last Saturday. "Let them go. I think they're ready to play."

LSU's leading rusher is junior Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who is having an excellent season with 360 yards on 65 carries and five touchdowns along with 10 catches for 59 yards. He rushed 14 times for 72 yards against Utah State.

Florida is No. 4 in the SEC and No. 16 in the nation in rush defense with 93 yards allowed a game, so Orgeron may need all three as well as sophomore Chris Currry, who has 57 yards on 12 carries.

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"I think we have four backs who can go and play," Orgeron said when asked if he was comfortable playing the freshmen for such a big game, and he added Curry to the mix.

Then Orgeron volunteered something of which he is not feeling comfortable.

"Clyde has had two fumbles the last two weeks. I'm very concerned with that," he said. "We're going to attack that. I expect us to be a much better team holding onto the football this week, and it's going to be addressed every day. I promise you that."

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Orgeron does not tolerate fumbles.

When tailback Nick Brossette fumbled on the first play of the Troy game in 2017, he didn't carry the ball for the rest of that game and the next six games. He recovered to lead LSU in rushing in the 2018 season with 1,039 yards on 240 carries with 14 touchdowns.

Edwards-Helaire's latest fumble was recovered by tight end Thaddeus Moss at the Utah State 1-yard line, and quarterback Joe Burrow scored on the next play. Edwards-Helaire did carry six more times after that fumble, but Orgeron obviously is still concerned. Edwards-Helaire and Burrow fumbled an exchange near the LSU goal line against Vanderbilt that was recovered by the Commodores for a touchdown.

"They (LSU's young backs) have to understand that," Orgeron said of his attitude toward fumbles. "And so does Clyde."

LSU starting lineup for Gators does not include guard Ed Ingram

Sophomore Ed Ingram has been back from a year-long suspension for three weeks now, but he has not won back a starting job after starting 12 games at right guard as a freshman in 2017.

Senior Damien Lewis has remained the starting right guard, and senior Adrian Magee has remained the starter at left guard, where Ingram played against Utah State. Ingram did not play against Vanderbilt on Sept. 21 because he was just reinstated on Sept. 20, and the NCAA has a five-day acclimation period. LSU was open on Sept. 28.

"He's still getting to football speed," Orgeron said of Ingram on Thursday night. "And it's a new offense he's learning, new terminology. It's a combination of him not playing for a year and learning new terminology that's set him back just a bit."

The rest of the offensive line will have junior Lloyd Cushenberry Jr. at center, junior Austin Deculus at right tackle and either redshirt freshman Dare Rosenthal or junior Saahdiq Charles at left tackle. Rosenthal started against Utah State and against Northwestern State on Sept. 14, while Charles started at Texas and at Vanderbilt.

LSU injury, lineup updates

All injured players in LSU's two-deep playing chart have a chance to play Saturday night against Florida except for starting wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., who continues to recover a broken foot suffered at Vanderbilt on Sept. 21. Senior Derrick Dillon, who caught four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown in the win over Utah State, is expected to start for the second consecutive time in Marshall's place.

Senior inside linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. is expected to start after suffering an injury against Vanderbilt. Starting senior defensive end Rashard Lawrence is not expected to start, but he is expected to play for the first time since suffering an injury at Texas on Sept. 7. Starting junior defensive end Glen Logan also has a chance to play after not playing since the Texas game because of an injury.

Senior Breiden Fehoko is expected to start his fourth straight game at right defensive end for Lawrence with junior Neil Farrell Jr. expected to start at left defensive end for the second straight week and third time on the season. Junior Justin Thomas started for Logan at Vanderbilt.

True freshman cornerback Cordale Flott also has a chance to play after being injured against Utah State and improving throughout the week. On Monday, Orgeron said he would likely not play, but on Thursday Orgeron said he has a chance to play.

LSU favored to beat undefeated Gators by two touchdowns?

LSU and Florida look very much like two evenly matched teams with a combined record of 11-0. Each are in the top 10 of both national polls. But the betting lines have Florida, which just beat No. 7 Auburn by 24-13 last week, as a 14-point underdog.

This is partially due to starting quarterback Kyle Trask's knee injury suffered in the Gators' win over Florida. Trask left the game, then returned wearing a knee brace on his left knee, which suffered a slight medial collateral ligament strain. Trask has practiced throughout the week.

Florida also expects to have its best defensive lineman - senior end Jabari Zuniga - back for LSU after he injured his ankle against Kentucky on Sept. 14 and has not played since.

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The game is in Tiger Stadium, but a strong home field advantage does not normally add more than four points or so to the line. Florida coach Dan Mullen laughed when asked if he would use the point spread to motivate his team.

"Do we get those points before the game starts? If they gave us those points before the game starts, then I would definitely use them," he said at a press conference. "Right? If we walked in, and it said, 'Florida 14, LSU 0,' I would definitely use that. The rest of it is irrelevant."

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Pulling out all the history

LSU has named its three national championship winning quarterbacks as honorary captains for the Florida game Saturday night. Warren Rabb of the 1958 national champions, Matt Mauck of the 2003 national champions, and Matt Flynn of the 2007 national title winners, will be honored before the game.