The Florida Gators were once considered to be the dark horse of the College Football Playoffs but now, they are 3-4 with most of their top players out with an injury or suspension and Jim McElwain is no longer the head coach. Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was named the interim head coach with McElwain no longer being in the picture. The Gators will be going up against one of the top offenses in the SEC but also one of the worst defenses in the country. The Florida offense will be led by Malik Zaire as he will be counted on to provide a spark for one of the worst offenses in the country. Will Zaire be able to help led the Florida offense to victory against the Tigers?
Florida Gators
It has been a very tough and weird season for the Florida Gators as they have had multiple players suspended and their head coach was recently let go. The Gators will go with Malik Zaire as their starting quarterback. This will be the third starting quarterback for the Gators this season. Zaire will provide more of running threat as he known to cause havoc with his legs. Unfortunately, the Gators will be without Malik Davis as he is done for the season with a knee injury. Luckily, Florida still have Lamical Perine who has had a solid season and has a solid offensive line blocking for him. The passing attack must be a part of Florida offense due to the Missouri defense being one of the worst passing defenses in the SEC. Tyrie Cleveland and Kadarius Toney must have big games for the offense to finally start clicking.
As for the defense, defensive line coach Chris Rumph will take over as the defensive coordinator with Shannon as interim head coach. The Florida defense has a tough task at hand with the Missouri offense. Drew Lock is one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC as he has thrown for 2,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. While the numbers look great, the Florida defense will be one of the toughest defenses he’ll play against. The biggest key for the Florida defense to stop the Missouri offense is to put pressure on Lock. The Gators have only had 15 sacks on the year and will need more to force bad throws. The Florida secondary is good enough to handle Missouri’s receivers. The defensive line must get to the quarterback in order to shut down the Tigers offense.
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers are one of the top scoring offenses in the SEC but they are a team that is still searching for their first SEC win. The Missouri offense like always has to rely on their offense led by Lock. The Tigers are a top five scoring offense in the SEC and it is thanks to Lock and wide receiver J’Mon Moore. The senior receiver has 39 receptions for 676 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Moore is coming off of two great games against Idaho and UCONN. Against Idaho, Moore had 11 receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown. Against UCONN, Moore had 8 receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Lock and more will need to stay hot as the Florida secondary is known for turning turnovers into points.
For the defense, the Tigers might have finally gotten a weak offense they can handle. While Florida is one of the worst offenses in the country, their running game is actually very good. Perine and Davis have almost single handedly carried the Florida offense all year long. Davis is done for the season but Perine will be the starter behind two other solid backs in Mark Thompson and Adarius Lemons. If the Missouri defense could slow down Florida’s rushing attack, they will force Zaire to beat him with him arm. Florida has one of the worst passing games in the country but Missouri’s secondary isn’t any better. This is going to be a pretty interesting match-up between the Florida Gators offense against the Missouri Tigers defense.
5 Players to Watch: Florida Gators
- RB Lamical Perine
- CB Duke Dawson
- WR Kadarius Toney
- DE Cece Jefferson
- CB Marco Wilson
5 Players to Watch: Missouri Tigers
- WR J’Mon Moore
- QB Drew Lock
- DL Terry Beckner Jr.
- RB Damarea Crockett
- LB Cale Garrett
5 Predictions:
- Malik Zaire throws and rushes for a touchdown.
- Drew Lock throws for over 250 yards.
- Florida has at least one interception.
- Missouri defense sacks Zaire three times.
- Florida beats Missouri 27-24
