Florida Notes |
Missouri Notes |
Game-Day Guide
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The final road trip of the regular season is the longest of the season for the Gators.
Florida boarded a two-hour flight to St. Louis on Friday afternoon, and then due to refurbishing of the landing strip at the Columbia airport, took a two-hour bus ride to the team hotel here near the University of Missouri. On Saturday afternoon, the Gators (5-5, 2-5) close out what has been a long Southeastern Conference season when they face the Tigers (5-5, 2-4) at Memorial Stadium.
The Gators can become bowl eligible with a victory and perhaps take some heat off head coach
Dan Mullen. Neither is expected to be easy in a game that Missouri can also become bowl eligible in with a victory.
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Florida snapped a three-game losing streak a week ago with a 70-52 home win over FCS opponent Samford, which featured a school-record 550 yards of total offense from quarterback
Emory Jones. Still, much of the buzz afterward focused on the defense allowing 52 points and 530 yards, and Mullen's future at UF.
"I know some people think, like, we've given up and all, but we're not just coming out here to practice every day and giving up,'' fifth-year senior defensive lineman
Zachary Carter said this week. "Guys really want to win."
The Gators face a Missouri team coming off a 31-28 victory over South Carolina, a team Florida lost to by 23 points two weeks ago. Whether that's a barometer on Saturday's outcome remains undetermined. What isn't up for debate is that the Gators, after a 3-1 start and climb to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, has lost four of its last six games to derail Mullen's fourth season.
Despite three consecutive New Year's Six bowl games, Mullen faced a barrage of questions from the media this week about his UF tenure.
"I love being the head coach of the Gators,'' Mullen said. "We've got great young guys that are willing to battle and fight no matter what the adversity is."
The Gators vow that is the plan Saturday. Outsiders can question their effort or focus, but they say they are determined to finish the season strong and earn a fourth consecutive bowl trip.
"This game is no different than the Alabama game,'' running back
Nay'Quan Wright said. "This is the big picture — Missouri."
For more on the Florida-Missouri game, here is
The Opening Kickoff:
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THREE STORYLINES
- Both teams enter in need of one more win to become bowl eligible. The stakes are much higher for the Gators though. Florida snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Samford at home last weekend, and now will try to snap a three-game SEC losing streak to build some momentum heading into next week's regular-season finale at home against Florida State.
- The future of UF head coach Dan Mullen is in question and remained a hot topic after the Gators allowed 52 points to Samford, including 42 in the first half. In his fourth season, Mullen is 34-14 overall and 2-1 against Missouri. Despite this season's struggles, Mullen is 21-12 in conference games since taking over the Gators in 2018.
- The teams had a memorable skirmish a season ago at "The Swamp" right before halftime. Mullen and Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz confronted each other as the teams headed to the locker room. Three players got tossed from the game — including UF's Zachary Carter and Antwaun Powell — Mullen was fined $25,000 by the SEC, the Gators won 41-17 and then defeated Georgia the following week for Mullen's biggest win at Florida. Saturday's game has a tough act to follow.
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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCHÂ
- UF quarterback Emory Jones is coming off a career game, throwing for 464 yards and six touchdowns in last week's victory. Jones added 86 yards rushing and a score on the ground, accounting for a school-record 550 yards of total offense. Jones has thrown for 2,139 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He leads the team in rushing with a team-high 628 yards and four scores. Most importantly, Jones did not commit a turnover against Samford, a feat the Gators hope he repeats at Missouri.
- Tigers running back Tyler Badie ranks fourth nationally in rushing yards (1,239) and fifth in rushing touchdowns (16). Badie rushed for 209 yards in last week's win over South Carolina, a team that held the Gators to 82 yards rushing two weeks ago. Slowing down Badie is a must for UF's defense to depart Columbia with a victory.
- Sophomore defensive tackle Gervon Dexter is fifth in tackles (39) for the Gators. Dexter has 2.5 sacks but those are his only tackles for loss. To stop Badie, Florida could use a disruptive game from Dexter between the tackles. As one of the top underclassmen on defense, a strong finish to the season for Dexter is something Gators fans would like to see.
SIX DIGITS
 175 – Points allowed by the Gators in the last four games after their shutout of Vanderbilt on Oct. 9.
 43.8 – Average points per game for UF opponents over the last four games.
 8 – Consecutive games between Florida and Missouri decided by 17 points or more.
22.9 – Average margin of victory in Florida-Missouri series over last eight meetings.
13 – Touchdowns for Gators running back
Dameon Pierce (10 rushing, 3 receiving), which ranks third in the SEC.
4 – FBS players to account for seven touchdowns in a single game this season:
Emory Jones (Florida),
Matt Corral (Ole Miss),
Sam Hartman (Wake Forest) and
Casey Thompson (Kansas).
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NOTABLES
- This is the 11th all-time meeting between the Gators and Missouri; series tied 5-5 with UF owning a 5-4 advantage since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012.
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- Florida's 717 yards of total offense last week against Samford was second-highest output in school history and most since a 708-yard performance against Central Michigan in 1997.
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- Gators linebacker Mohamoud Diabate has a career-high 81 tackles, which ranks tied for fifth in the SEC.
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- Emory Jones' 464-yard passing game last week is the most by an SEC quarterback this season.
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- Missouri ranks 13th in the SEC in total defense (456.2 yards per game), last in scoring defense (35.9 points per game) and rushing defense (248.9 ypg).
- The Gators played their first turnover-free game of the season against Samford. UF has a minus-8 turnover margin, 121st among FBS schools.
- Missouri running back Tyler Badie needs 339 yards rushing to match Devin West's single-season school record of 1,578 yards in 1998.
- Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak, Co-SEC Freshman of Year in 2020, has passed for 2,344 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine games.
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- Gators tight end Kemore Gamble is coming off a career-best game with six catches, 122 yards and two touchdowns against Samford.
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- Â Dameon Pierce has 20 career rushing touchdowns, three shy of tying Jeff Demps and Kelvin Taylor for 10th in school history.
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INJURY REPORT
FLORIDA — OUT: CB
Jaydon Hill (knee, out for season), S
Kamar Wilcoxson (knee, out for season); LB
Ventrell Miller (arm surgery, out for season);
QUESTIONABLE: DL
Khris Bogle (undisclosed); LB
Lacedrick Brunson (undisclosed), S
Tre'Vez Johnson (undisclosed), DL
Daquan Newkirk (undisclosed), OL
Ethan White (ankle).
MISSOURI — OUT: DB Ish Burdine, OL Bobby Lawrence, DB Shawn Robinson, DB Chris Shearin;
PROBABLE: QB Connor Bazelak (leg).
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BOTTOM LINE
The forecast is chilly. It's Senior Day for Missouri. The Tigers can become bowl eligible with a victory. When the Gators come to town it's a big game for the locals. Everything points to a Missouri win. Let's check the spread: Florida by 8.5. Let's check ESPN's Football Power Index: Florida has a 76.7 percent chance to win. This is confusing, sort of like Florida's season. Having seen this game before, I'm expecting the Tigers to win. If the Gators win, they will deserve credit and shouldn't have to hear "this team has quit" next week.
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