Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Impact Analysis: A November to Remember
- 35-Game Report Card: Napier’s numbers are still lacking
- Former Florida Player Feedback: 10 Observations
- Parental Perspective: Florida Football Commits Parental RoundTable
Inside the Gators’ Ben McLeish and Mark Wheeler take a closer look at Saturday’s match-up between Florida and Florida State, including thoughts on what Florida fans should be most thankful for this weekend, Gators players to keep an eye on, as well as offering up a score prediction.
Who are the Gators most thankful for this week?
McLeish: The Gators have much to be thankful for this week after two signature wins in a row. But DJ Lagway has to be at the top of the list. The true freshman quarterback has turned the program around and the future has never looked so bright in the Napier era. Additionally, Billy Napier finally looks like he could be the guy for the Florida program. The only thing left to be thankful for is a win over rival FSU.
Wheeler: Here, at the end of his third season at Florida, Billy Napier has never won three games in a row against FBS opposition. He has a great chance of doing that this weekend not just because UF is on a bit of an upswing, but thanks to Mike Norvell, Florida State is without question is squarely in the middle of a huge downturn. Part of that is his overreliance on the Transfer Portal, which not only caused them to fall off this year, but his tendency toward bringing in transfers scares high school prospects, which helped play a part in the Gators stealing three commits from the Noles in the last two weeks. So, as UF fans sit down to Thanksgiving dinner today, make sure you include Norvell when listing those you are most thankful for this year.
Which side of the ball is more likely to have a dominant performance?
McLeish: The defense. The FSU offense is abysmal. They’ve only scored over 20 points twice, and one of those times was against Charleston Southern. Combine that with the Florida defense which has been outstanding the past two weeks against dominant offenses, and you have a recipe for disaster for FSU. I expect Florida to tally at least four sacks and force a turnover.
Wheeler: As you might expect from a 2-9 team, Florida State is bad on both sides of the ball. However, their offense is particularly bad, averaging less than 300 yards a game. That’s good news for Florida’s defense. A potential wild card is the mobility of FSU’s new starting quarterback, Luke Kromenhoek.
Key players for Florida? FSU?
McLeish: For Florida, Montrell Johnson Jr. should have a big role in the offense following his great game against Ole Miss. Florida will likely stick to their rush-heavy offense, and they should be able to run all over the Seminoles.
For FSU, Patrick Payton will aim to plug up the Florida run game and get to Lagway before he can make big plays. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound lineman leads the team in sacks and is a leader on the defense.
Wheeler: With the absence of Aaron Gates, an already thin Florida secondary is down yet another man. That means Florida will have to rely on Sharif Denson to be the full-time next man up at STAR.
As for Florida State, I do believe that for the first time this year Florida is facing an opponent with better specialists. That isn’t easy to do considering Jeremy Crawshaw and Trey Smack have been incredible at times. However, Seminoles kicker Ryan Fitzgerald (perfect on the season) and Alex Mastromanno (averages almost 50 yards per punt) might be the top two players in the nation at their respective positions.
Prediction
McLeish: After beating ranked teams in back-to-back weeks, the Gators should have no problem against FSU. Lagway and the Florida offense will score early and never look back. The Seminoles won’t be able to get anything rolling against an overwhelming Gators defense. Florida 31-14.
Wheeler: Looking at trends, there’s some good and some bad here. The bad is that as Florida’s head coach, Billy Napier is 3-10 away from the Swamp. The good is that Doak Campbell is undergoing renovations, capping crowd size at 55,000. That, along with the way the season is going, it shouldn’t be much of a home-field advantage for the Seminoles. Advantage Gators. Florida 34-10
Season-to-date Predictions
0 comments