Florida Football: Gators look to rebound in Swamp vs. Mizzou
By Dana Becker
Florida football lost control of its own path to the SEC championship game, but the Gators still have plenty to play for.
After suffering a loss in Jacksonville to Georgia last week, Florida returns home to “The Swamp” to welcome Drew Lock and Missouri a year after being dismantled by the Tigers.
In a game that ultimately led to a coaching change, with Charlie Strong out and Dan Mullen in, Missouri pounded on Florida, 45-16, during a 1-6 slide to end the season.
Redemption will definitely be on the minds of those Gator players who were around a year ago, and for the rest of the team after having their five-game win streak snapped by the Bulldogs.
Both teams are averaging over 32 points per game, but the Florida defense has been slightly better than that of their counterparts, allowing just 19 points compared to almost 29 per game by Mizzou.
While just 1-4 over the last five, nobody can discredit the schedule the Tigers have faced. They scored 65 points in a convincing win over Memphis, but have lost to Kentucky, Alabama, at South Carolina by two and Georgia since late in September.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s SEC contest between Missouri and Florida:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 3
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Venue: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN | Fubo TV
Keys to Victory
For Florida, it is pretty simple: which Feleipe Franks will show up? The sophomore has looked like the real deal in wins over Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and a close loss to Kentucky, but he struggled mightily vs. Georgia and has had other less-than-spectacular performances.
Franks started the year off with a bang, throwing five touchdowns against Charleston Southern. Since, he has a total of 11, and just four over his last four games played with four interceptions to match.
Missouri will lean on Drew Lock, as the future NFL draftee has thrown for 2,144 yards with 16 touchdowns. The senior has two consecutive 3,000-plus seasons and 73 touchdowns over the past two-plus seasons.
If Lock can solve the Florida defense, that will go a long ways in helping Missouri pull the upset and silencing some of his critics who have complained over his games vs. the likes of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky – all games he has failed to break the 221-yard barrier.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of OddsShark
Point Spread: Florida -6
Over/Under: 58
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Prediction
Florida’s defense isn’t quite on par with that of Alabama, so Lock should be able to find more windows and take advantage of his receivers. However, the odds of the Tigers finally finding a defense are slim-to-none, even with the sometimes anemic Gator offense on the other side.
Final Score: Florida 31, Missouri 21