Florida Football: 3 reasons the Gators will beat South Carolina in Week 8

1. Florida defense rebounds

Fact: Florida’s secondary is still one of the best in college football.

They were embarrassed against LSU last weekend, and I’m sure CJ Henderson and company were looking forward to nothing more than getting back on the field and making plays.

Florida’s pass defense fell to 35th in passing efficiency after the game against LSU, where Joe Burrow had his way with them, but they still are second in the nation in interceptions, and get a chance against a quarterback who ranks 60th in QBR.

Ryan Hilinski is cleared to play for the Gamecocks, and while he’s struggled this season, he was pretty efficient against Georgia. The Bulldogs failed to put any pressure on the quarterback and he took advantage, and Muschamp didn’t have to take any chances playing ahead.

This week, they’ll fall behind and have to take some chances. Henderson gets at least one interception in this one, and Florida’s defense bounces back in a big way, despite being without Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga.