Jump inside below as the GatorsTerritory crew makes their predictions for the University of Florida's matchup against the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Bender: Saturday's dual between the Gators and Crimson Tide is the game UF fans wasted no time circling on their calendar once the schedule was released. The game speaks for itself, but considering the eye-popping amount of recruiting talent expected in attendance, there is even more hype 24 hours out.
Regardless of the amount of offensive players they were forced to replace, Alabama is still jam-packed with talent and will create plenty of issues for UF on Saturday. Kaiir Elam will be tasked with the responsibility of shadowing John Metchie III, but there is some uncertainity regarding UF's second cornerback spot. There is no doubt the Crimson Tide will be looking to take advantage of that, while UF must do a better job of wrapping up in space as well. A team will never produce a mistake-free outing, but the Gators need to lean on the running game and limit turnovers, especially on their side of the field.
Also, how healthy will Anthony Richardson be after tweaking his hamstring? Emory Jones has thrown four interceptions through two games, and that was against FAU and USF. Now you have top-ranked Alabama coming to town, so that will be even more of a concern if the Gators struggle to move the chains on the ground. It's going to be electric in Gainesville and I think UF keeps it somewhat close in the first half, but Alabama's depth and experience in hostile environments should be the deciding factor.
PREDICTION: 45-24, Alabama.
de la Torre: I was wrong last year. Heading into the SEC Championship game, I thought there was no way Florida could hang with Alabama. Coming off of an upset loss I felt good in my prediction that Bama would roll over the Gators without an issue. Instead, Florida gave the Tide its tightest game of the season. There is something to be said for Dan Mullen and his ability to gameplan and draw up X's and O's. There's also something to about Bryce Young playing in his first true road game in a hostile environment.
At the end of the day, a quote from Kevin O'Sullivan rings true in my head. I once asked Florida's baseball coach about how successful he had been and he replied, "Great players make an average coach look good." At some point, the Jimmy's and Joe's outweigh the X's and O's. Alabama has recruited better than anyone for a while; that will be the difference on Saturday.
PREDICTION: 41-20, Alabama.
Clarke: The Gators are set to square off against the top-ranked Crimson Tide in the Swamp, a game that many, including myself, have been looking forward to since it was announced. Regardless of outcome, this will be a great measuring stick for Dan Mullen and his team to see where they stack up against the rest of their schedule.
I expect Dan Mullen to draw up an excellent game plan that plays to the strengths of his guys on offense. You could see Emory run the ball 15-20 times Saturday in an attempt to keep the ball away from Alabama’s offense. Florida should lean on the ground game like they have the first couple weeks and take deep shots when they can just to loosen up the Alabama defense. But will they be able to score enough points to win?
Alabama’s offense is not what it was a year ago, but is still loaded with big-time playmakers and is run by one of the most talented young QBs in college football. While the Gators' defense looks improved from a season ago, they have not seen a team as talented as the Tide and I don’t know if they can keep them out of the end zone enough to pull off the win. That is why I have Alabama winning this one in the Swamp.
PREDICTION: 35-24, Alabama.
Walsh: Florida will finally face its first real test of the 2021 season, and they don’t come much stiffer than No. 1 Alabama. The Crimson Tide stride in Gainesville after a near-perfect start, — ‘Bama beat down on Miami 44-13 before cruising to victory against Mercer last weekend — with Bryce Young living up to his five-star billing since taking over the reins from Mac Jones. Meanwhile, Florida’s pair of comfortable but unconvincing victories against lesser opposition have been overshadowed by an increasingly public quarterback controversy.
All of these factors make UF decided underdogs, as the city with the most to lose Saturday, Las Vegas, tabbed Alabama as 14.5 point favorites.
However, UF will enjoy the boisterous backing of 90,000 fans at the Swamp and an inexperienced quarterback under center for the Tide that has never experience a full-capacity, hostile crowd.
The UF defense expects the crowd to rattle Young, and the Swamp forced the entire Auburn offense into a number of false starts during the last sell-out.
I think that the Gators will hang close through the first half behind an impassioned crowd and an energized team. But UF’s defense has a number of glaring weaknesses through the first two weeks, especially at CB2, and I believe Saban, Young and Alabama’s receiving corps are too talented not to exploit them.
PREDICTION: 31-17, Alabama.
