Jump inside below as the GatorsTerritory crew makes their predictions for the University of Florida's matchup against the USF Bulls.
Bender: For the Gators, I don't envision Saturday being nothing more than a tune-up game before squaring off against Alabama. While it's their first road matchup of the season, there will be a countless amount of UF fans in attendance, so don't expect any home-field advantage in Tampa Bay.
USF struggled mightly when defending the run against N.C. State, and with the amount of talent in Greg Knox's room, I expect a similar performance from UF. Malik Davis manufactured a strong outing in week one and is returning to his hometown, so I expect him to pick up where he left off. The additional four running backs will likely receive their fair share of opportunities as well. That is arguably the deepest position on the team; I don't think many can disagree with that.
While Anthony Richardson certainly soaked up the attention in week one, I would like to see more consistency from UF's passing attack. Both Richardson and Emory Jones should be more comfortable with game one in the books, which should allow the quarterbacks and pass catchers to operate with more confidence against USF. The passing game is going to need any momentum it can get prior to playing Alabama.
As for the defensive side of the ball, this is where I expect the Gators to dominate. There are things to improve on in the secondary, but Todd Grantham's unit should wreak havoc in the trenches. I'm expecting a flurry of Gators to improve their number in the sack column, including Zachary Carter, who is also returning to his hometown. Don't expect any drama against the Bulls.
PREDICTION: 41-7, Florida.
de la Torre: The name to know Saturday night is Andrew Stokes. The USF freshman punter was sent out to the field eight times in a shutout loss to N.C. State and will be used heavily again this weekend.
Look, sure, maybe Florida is overlooking USF but it shouldn't matter. The Bulls have lost their last four games against Power 5 opponents and have been outscored 160-10 in the process. USF wasn't able to stop N.C. State's rushing attack and Florida should be able to simply show up, run the ball, and move on to Alabama.
The Gators' defense looked better in the third quarter last week, allowing just 39 yards to the Owls, and were perfect on third down. The front seven have a chance to be special this season and they'll eat this weekend in Tampa.
PREDICTION: 42-0, Florida.
Clarke: I was a little overzealous last week in thinking the Gators' offense would come out firing on all cylinders week one with a new quarterback and completely new wide receiver group and put up 50 points. My mistake.
While I don’t think they do they hit that mark this week either, I do think the Gators will control this game from start to finish. To be frank, I think USF might be the worst football team on Florida’s schedule this year. I expect the offense to be able to run the ball at will, and for Dan Mullen and Emory Jones to use this game to clean up some of the mistakes we saw last week.
As far as the defense goes, I expect them to be able to get after the passer again, either equaling or besting their six-sack performance a week ago while forcing a couple turnovers. Because of that, I would be very surprised if the starting defense doesn’t pitch a shutout, but I do think you could see a garbage time TD late when the backups are in. I’ve got the Gators winning this one easily
PREDICTION: 45-7, Florida.
Walsh: Lost beneath the controversy surrounding Florida’s starting quarterback was the ease with which Florida dispatched of in-state rival FAU Saturday evening. While UF didn’t exactly run up the score on the South Florida visitors, Florida surged to a commanding 14-0 lead early on and maintained a multi-score lead throughout the remainder of the game.
This week, the Gators will take on another Sunshine State school as they travel to Tampa for a matchup with USF. Over the last 15 years, there were a number of seasons where this matchup would have been quite competitive — USF has equaled or bested the Gators’ record in six of the last 20 seasons — but this year’s iteration projects to follow the same script as the FAU game.
The Bulls endured their worst season in program history last year, finishing with just one win against FCS Citadel and suffering a number of lopsided defeats. This year has been just as disappointing for USF through Week 1, as the Bulls suffered a 45-0 at the hands of an admittedly good NC State team.
USF players have mentioned their excitement about playing their in-state rivals throughout the week, but this enthusiasm won’t make up for the vast talent and coaching advantages the Gators enjoy. I expect Florida to dominate from start to finish.
PREDICTION: 42-3, Florida.
