Florida Football: 3 reasons the Gators will beat Arkansas in Week 11
![University of Florida receiver Kadarius Toney (1) gestures after scoring a second touchdown during a game against the Missouri Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Oct. 31, 2020. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]Florida Missouri 03](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F1ca65dedccf782ccdaed69fa81d0a0cac48f9e48fab1204ecb1b0a575444e549.jpg "University of Florida receiver Kadarius Toney (1) gestures after scoring a second touchdown during a game against the Missouri Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Oct. 31, 2020. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]Florida Missouri 03")
![University of Missouri tight end Logan Christopherson (88) is upended by a Gators defender after making a catch during a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Oct. 31, 2020. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F28bfaafa2487ce62832f6ce010c90f78c958e32b8745bc9db1280ff68d361cc8.jpg "University of Missouri tight end Logan Christopherson (88) is upended by a Gators defender after making a catch during a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Oct. 31, 2020. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]")
2. Defense is finally coming together
The first three games of the season taught us something interesting about Florida’s defense: it wasn’t going to be the strength of the Gators in 2020. The next two games un-taught us that.
Florida couldn’t stop anyone through the first three weeks, struggling against Ole Miss, South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Gators allowed at least 35 in two out of three of those games and the secondary was getting gashed while they were forced to out-score everyone in a shootout effort if they were going to have a chance.
And then COVID-19 hit the program. Florida got three weeks off and returned to face Missouri, holding the Tigers in check. Connor Bazelak was not nearly as effective as he had been all year. And then Florida dominated Georgia to begin November, holding the Bulldogs to just 14 points after the first two drives of the game.
The Gators have been looking more like their old selves in the past two games against Missouri and Georgia that maybe that three-week break actually helped fix things. They will keep the Razorbacks in check.