Why This Former Auburn Tiger Believes Florida Has ‘A Lot of Advantages’ Against Tigers

Although he played under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium, this SEC Network analyst believes the Auburn Tigers could be fighting an uphill battle this weekend.

SEC Network analyst and Auburn graduate Cole Cubelic believes that the Tigers could be at a disadvantage against Florida. | USA TODAY Sports

The Auburn Tigers are just four days from kicking off their Week 3 matchup against the Florida Gators, a matchup that has largely been predicted to be the best of the season in terms of the strength of the two teams. 

Florida and Auburn are incredibly similar in a lot of ways–both are under first-year, former Group of Six coaches, both are utilizing a litany of transfer talent and both desperately want to prove themselves against their opponent on Saturday.

However, former Auburn offensive lineman and ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic believes that though the two teams are quite similar, the Tigers may be disadvantaged in this matchup.

“Florida has a lot of advantages,” Cubelic said. “Jaden Baugh has been beyond dynamic this year. The Florida offensive line with Bryce Lovett has exceeded expectations this season. They’re a more physical football team than I imagined, and I imagine any football team Jon Sumrall fields is going to be a physical football team.”

Physicality, on the other hand, is an aspect that the Tigers have struggled with this season, particularly on offense. The Tigers’ guard play, in particular, has been wildly inconsistent this season as Alex Golesh and Joel Gordon work to figure out who will be the front-line starters, opting to work with a three-man rotation in the interim.

As a result, the Tigers’ rushing attack has suffered from a lack of physicality, and the game may come down to whether or not Jeremiah Cobb can rush the ball effectively against a strong Florida rush defense. 

One area in which the Tigers have not struggled with physicality, though, is on defense. The Tigers, who will now return top edge rushers Da’Shawn Womack and Chris Murray, have boasted some of the most physical defensive play in the country over the past couple of weeks, particularly in their matchup with Baylor, when the defense held strong on a two-point conversion to seal the win for the Tigers.

Needless to say, football is a game of physicality, and the Tigers have no shortage of it, but the Gators appear to be in an upper echelon of the trait. However, the Gators have only played Group of Six teams this season, while the Tigers have already experienced the physicality of a Power Four game, which may prove to be a big-time advantage for the Tigers, especially early in the game.

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