Florida Football: 3 keys to victory vs. Miami in Week 0

1. This game will be won in the trenches

The biggest red flag for the Gators is having to retool their entire offensive line. They bring back only one starter from a solid offensive line last season that combined had 141 starts. That lone returning starter is senior center Nick Buchanan. 

Manny Diaz is going to bring pressure from everywhere in passing situations, so the Gators have to be able to communicate along that offensive line. The Hurricanes also have three senior linebackers, so it’s not going to be easy for the Gators to run the ball.

However, the Gators aren’t the only offensive line that has had some retooling to do in the offseason. The Hurricanes had seven different offensive linemen start at least five games last year and five of them are gone, including two starters.

Florida will miss Jacai Polite and his 11 sacks, but Jabari Zuniga and Louisville transfer Jonathan Greenard will look to make life miserable for Jarren Williams. The most important task for each rebuilt offensive is to make sure their offenses don’t become one-dimensional. These lines need to open running lanes for their running backs because both the Gators and the Hurricanes have enough talent upfront to get to the quarterback without blitzing.

Manny Diaz is going to bring the ruckus on third-and-long. The quarterbacks are important as is the turnover margin. This game, however, will come down to which one of these retooled, rebuilt offensive lines stands up to these talented defensive lines.