Jump inside below as the GatorsTerritory crew makes their predictions for the University of Florida's road matchup against the Missouri Tigers.
Bender: If the Gators would have played to their strengths and generated early momentum against South Carolina, they would likely be 3-4 in the SEC right now. The Gamecocks are less than average when defending the run, but UF chose to dial it up through the air to start the game, which proved to be a costly mistake. Well, this weekend in Columbia, the Gators will be facing a similar situation, as Missouri checks in with nation's second-worst rushing defense.
When dissecting the roster, the Gators are the much better team. The Tigers are armed with the nation's premier running backs in Tyler Badie, but the Gators have a deeper running back room altogether; however, will Florida play to its strengths and allow the passing attack to open up through the success of the running game? That is arguably the biggest question heading into Saturday's contest.
Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, UF fans had their prayers answered when the program opted to part ways with Todd Grantham. Christian Robinson is now running the show as the interim defensive coordinator, but it's safe to say last Saturday was a nightmarish debut. The Gators gave up nearly 550 total yards and 52 points to Samford, a middle-of-the-road FCS team, so there is no doubt Missouri, especially on the road, will be a much bigger test for Robinson and the defense. Keeping Tyler Badie in check is a huge task of its own.
I anticipate another high-scoring affair roughly 24 hours from now, but this time I believe the Gators fall short.
PREDICTION: 45-35, Missouri.
de la Torre: Just a couple of scrappy 5-5 teams looking for bowl eligibility on a early evening that promises to be chilly in Columbia, Missouri.
Again, on paper this game isn’t very interesting and probably one that Florida should run away with, literally. There are 130 FBS team. Missouri ranks 129th in rushing defense, and that comes after a game where they allowed just 57 yards to South Carolina. The Gators should be able to run the ball and they need to press that issue Saturday. However, Florida's defense continues to struggle.
Florida has given up 175 points in their last four contests (43.75 points per game), which represents 64% of the total points they've allowed all season. The Gators have also surrendered 912 rushing yards in the last four games (228 rushing yards per game). Missouri running back Tyler Badie is coming off a 200-plus yard game, his fourth 200 yard game of the season, so that has disaster potential.
PREDICTION: 41-38, Florida.
Clarke: The Gators are set to travel to cold Columbia, Missouri to take on a Tiger squad that has had a rough season but seems to have found an offensive identity with Doak Walker semifinalist Tyler Badie. If the Gators do what they should and run the ball on offense against one of the worst rushing defenses in college football, this should be a fairly quick game timewise. However, they should have done that against South Carolina and came out throwing on their first 10 offensive plays.
I expect Missouri to come out and pound the football against a UF defense that has really struggled in recent weeks and couldn’t seem to stop the run against the Gamecocks. For Florida offensively, we still don’t truly know what their identity is. Early in the year, they were a run-first team that had a lot of success on the ground, but in recent weeks they have completely switched game plans and have been looking more like an Air-Raid offense. It’s pretty safe to say that Florida has a bit of an identity crisis on offense right now, and because of that, I don’t trust they will be able to put up points to keep up with Missouri, which should be able to run the ball at will against the Gators.
Eli Drinkwitz will call plays to his team’s strengths and Missouri should be able to keep Florida’s offense off the field.
PREDICTION: 34-24, Missouri.
Walsh: This was a game that I circled on the Florida schedule early in the year as a potential hiccup, but with Missouri’s remarkably underwhelming form throughout the season this matchup seemed like a sure thing towards the middle of the season. But with Florida’s defensive sliding from bad to historically inept, UF’s chilly trip to Columbia once again looks like a prime opportunity for another unsightly loss.
Missouri, not unlike the Samford team Florida struggled with last weekend, has been fairly effective on the offensive end. The Tigers have scored fewer than 24 points just twice, against top-15 Texas A&M and one of the best defenses of all time in Georgia, and their high-powered offense nearly led them to victory against Boston College and Kentcuky. But for all its success on the offensive end, MIzzou has looked inversely hapless on the defensive end. The Tigers’ pass coverage has been decent, allowing fewer than 200 passing yards in three of their last four games, but opposing running backs have waltzed through the gaping holes in Missouri’s front seven all year long. MU allows nearly six yards per carry, and Tennessee and Kentucky have each tallied over 300 yards against Mizzou this season.
I don’t expect the Florida defense to suddenly find its motivation and resolve, especially against a fairly competent Missouri offense, and I’m inclined to pick the Tigers to pull off a slight upset. However, I think that UF will recapture its early-season form on the ground, and Davis, Pierce and Wright will do just enough to overcome Florida’s poor defense.
PREDICTION: 41-38, Florida.
Keiser: The Gators, with or without Todd Grantham, cannot stop a nosebleed on defense. Behind a record-setting rushing attack, I have Mizzou running back Tyler Badie to have an outstanding game against a Florida defense that has been out of sorts. Missouri is going through a quarterback competition, so they’ll try to jump on Badie’s back on the way to a victory.
Florida will face an equally bad rushing defense from the Tigers, but need to utilize their trio of backs the right way to have success. Emory Jones has played well the past few weeks, keeping the turnovers to a minimum and the touchdowns to a maximum.
Florida may be in for a rude awakening after a wake up call last weekend, and the Tigers should capitalize at home.
PREDICTION: 34-31, Missouri.
