GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Missouri Tigers are the only team left on the SEC slate for Florida this year. The Gators will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the team that’s ranked number ten in the FBS in total defense.
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“You watch them and they’re aggressive,” said co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy. “They’re constantly getting off of blocks, running to the ball, so to me you have to combat all of that stuff and be ready for it.”
Barry Odom’s defense isn’t one to mess around with. They’re really good against the pass, coming in at the top of the SEC, only allowing a little over 1300 yards this season and nine touchdowns.
Against an offense like Florida’s that relies heavily on a passing game, that’s something they’ll look to take advantage of.
They’ve sacked the quarterback 14 times for 89 yards this year with defensive lineman Kobie Whiteside leading the team with five for 30 yards. For Florida’s offensive line, that could pose a challenge.
The line has been a point of weakness for the Gators. Injuries and transfers have left them scrambling, for lack of better words, to protect quarterback Kyle Trask in the pocket. Against Vanderbilt, starting right guard Brett Heggie was out with a concussion. Coupling that with Chris Bleich’s announcement that he was entering the transfer portal led to freshman Ethan White getting his debut start for the Gators at right guard.
The line is young but we have seen a lot of improvement as the season has progressed.
It is especially important that Florida shows up ready to play hard from the opening kickoff on Saturday.
“It just turns into the preparation, realizing that you have to go out every day and get better at the little things,” said offensive lineman Nick Buchanan. “Execute, you know, follow the plan to win, execute the game plan and come out with some juicy and energy. If we do that we’ll be fine.”
The Gators will have to pay special attention and look out for linebackers Nick Bolton and Cale Garrett - combined, they’ve deflected six passes and caught five interceptions for 124 yards. A big interception has the potential to change the whole course of a game, so Trask will have to be on the same page with his receivers and avoid small mistakes that could lead to big momentum shifts.
Missouri’s secondary also has some powerful players that could impact Florida’s pass play.
“They have some good players on the back end and I know some of the guys we played last year are still there,” said wide receiver Van Jefferson. “We just have to come ready to play, focus on our assignments and we’ll be fine.”
Dan Mullen pointed out the strength of their secondary, saying one of their strengths is that they don’t really rely on depth. They don’t substitute guys in and out a lot, they count on the same few guys to get the job done.
One of those players is Tyree Gillespie. He’s racked up 39 tackles, 27 of those solo. He can also get his hands on the ball and has managed to force a fumble and get to the quarterback. He’ll be someone this Missouri defense will put a lot of faith in.
“They’re big at safeties, they’re big at corner, they run well, they tackle excellent,” said wide receiver Freddie Swain. “We just have to come out and execute and play our game and it will be a hard-fought game, receivers versus DBs - and hopefully we’ll have fun.”
This game is one of the last challenges the Gators will have to face on the road to their post season goals. The East is still technically up for grabs, and Florida is determined to get a New Year’s Six Bowl.
The Missouri matchup has left a bitter taste in the mouths of Florida players. For most of them, this game is personal.
“As captains and leaders, we try to get each other together and try not to focus on the past and focus on what happened in the past,” said Swain. “We just focus on now and the things we can control. We try to control just things like that and hopefully we just come out and execute.”
