Jump in below as GatorsTerritory The crew makes their predictions for Florida’s Halloween matchup against Elijah Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers.
Bender: I don’t expect Saturday to be one of the cleaner performances from Dan Mullen’s roster. There’s no doubt which squad has the most talent, but Missouri has a good chance of spoiling it on Halloween. Aside from last week’s win over Kentucky, the Tigers offensive has scored at least 35 points in every game this season and is more than capable of multiple touchdowns at Gainesville as well. However, it’s still difficult to imagine the Tigers UF leaving four quarters behind, even though the Gators have little practice to shake off the rust. Florida’s offense will continue to roll in the beginning of the fourth quarter and eventually retreat. A win is a win this week, especially given the hurdles the Gators faced.
SCORE: 38-28, Florida.
Abolverdi: If there had never been an outbreak and UF had played Missouri as planned last Saturday, it would have been an easy win in my opinion. But with Florida going 21 days without a game and not holding full practice until Thursday of this week, the Tigers have a chance to make this a game. I was surprised to see the Gators as a 13 point favorite, but they are still the more talented team and will eventually overwhelm Mizzou with their high scoring attack. Florida will be missing some starters on defense due to COVID logs, but the unit should play better up front with the return of nose tackle Kyree Campbell.
SCORE: 35-24, Florida.
Clarke: With the Gators returning from a layoff and expected to play some new starters due to the need, I think the team will shake off some rust and possibly have mounting pain early in the game trying to find their booth. Because of this, I think this matchup will end early and maybe even move into the fourth quarter. I’m assuming Florida’s offensive will continue to fire like this for the first month of the season, and if Campbell gets back on the line-up, the defense can finally take a small step forward. The Gators should retreat late.
SCORE: 38-27, Florida.
Reynolds: After a three-week hiatus for UF, I don’t think this game will be particularly clean. I expect the game to be chaotic, but the key for the Gators will be to correct their mistakes early on so they can find their groove as a team. Florida’s offensive shouldn’t have a problem producing against the Tigers, the only SEC team not intercepted this season. However, Missouri should also thrive offensively when quarterback Connor Bazelak takes on a vulnerable UF secondary. For the Gators, avoiding burned covers and just playing a clean game will be crucial on Saturday.
SCORE: 38-24, Florida.
