With Florida (3-2, 3-1 SEC) set to host Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1 SEC) in The Swamp on Saturday in a primetime showdown at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2, Inside the Gators presents five questions worth considering for the cross-division clash.
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* Staff Roundtable: Florida-Texas A&M predictions
* Quarterback hunter Jordan Sherit finds his voice
* Gators playmakers remain questionable for Texas A&M
* Rumph: Defense not playing up to standard
* Florida players react to new alternate uniforms
* On the Mark: McElwain has shown to be more like Muschamp than Meyer
* Florida to wear alternative uniforms on Saturday
* McElwain: Tempo issues are on me
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1. Will the Florida defense be able to contain Texas A&M's ground game?
Through five games, the Gators have held only one team, Vanderbilt, under 120 yards of rushing. Two teams, Michigan and LSU, ran for more than 200 yards. Statistically, Texas A&M's rushing offense, which averages 224.83 yards per game, is the most productive of UF's first six opponents.
After Michigan ran for 215 yards, the numbers were briefly trending in the right direction for Florida against Tennessee (183 yards), Kentucky (120) and Vanderbilt (46). That ended, however, against LSU (216 yards). As sophomore linebacker David Reese pointed out, the Gators contained Tigers running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams on runs up the middle, but jet sweeps were a killer.
LSU's wide receivers ran wild on the jet sweeps, but Texas A&M's ground game is based more on a trio of running backs – Trayveon Williams (81 carries, 422 yards, 5 TD), Keith Ford (66 carries, 321 yards, 7 TD) and Kendall Bussey (36 carries, 218 yards, TD) – with help from dual-threat quarterback Kellen Mond (65 carries, 266 yards, 2 TD). The Gators will once again have their hands full.
