Florida vs. Eastern Washington: Picks and Predictions
The Gators are back in The Swamp this weekend after their first away game of the 2022 season last weekend at Tennessee, now set to host the FCS Eastern Washington Eagles in a game that has been postponed twice since it was originally announced in September 2016.
The Gators were first scheduled to host the Eagles — former UF head coach Jim McElwain's (2014-17) alma mater — during the 2020 season. But the game was moved after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic that year, to Saturday, October 1, 2022, and then postponed once again to Sunday, October 2, due to Hurricane Ian's impact on the state of Florida.
Two head coaches later, the Gators will finally get to see what the Eagles of the Big Sky Conference are made of this weekend.
There is no spread or over/under currently available for Florida vs. Eastern Washington. You can find All Gators' picks and predictions for the matchup below.
Zach Goodall (2-2): Florida 41, Eastern Washington 17
As I discussed in my key matchups article on Friday, UF shouldn't be afraid to run the ball on every single snap. I understand that isn't going to happen, but the strategy would likely be fruitful.
If you combined the FBS and FCS into a Super Division 1, it would consist of 254 teams. Eastern Washington would rank No. 253 in rushing defense for allowing 302.7 yards per game on the ground. Only Colorado would fall behind the Eagles on the list as the Buffaloes are allowing 323.3 ground yards per game.
Therefore, I'm keeping my prediction simple. Florida is going to impose its will by rushing the football and exit the game with a much-needed convincing victory to rise to 3-2 this season.
Brandon Carroll (2-2): Florida 50, Eastern Washington 14
After a borderline breakthrough performance in their loss to Tennessee last weekend — overcoming a sizable second-half deficit to nearly pull off an improbably upset — the Florida Gators return home under strenuous circumstances due to Hurricane Ian to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles in what should be a get-right game.
While the game should sway in Florida’s favor, there’s more at stake than just the outcome on the scoreboard.
The Gators have failed to establish an identity to this point in the season as they’ve fielded a drastically different team on both sides of the ball in each contest. They need to discover what works well, their go-to philosophies and their ideal lineups in this game as a tough stretch of conference opponents approaches.
To do so, Florida needs to run the football, stop the run and find its groove through mixing and matching various members in the secondary in week five.
As Zach mentioned, the Eagles bring in an abysmal rushing defense this season, giving the likes of Montrell Johnson, Nay’Quan Wright, Trevor Etienne and even Anthony Richardson the ability to exploit them for considerable yards on the ground. Florida will play into that.
Defensively, this contest gives the Gators an opportunity to find a fix to the up-and-down performances so far this season through a youth movement of sorts in the backend.
The Gators win big in this one, but a truly successful outcome will be predicated on their ability to firmly establish who they are as a team.
Conner Clarke (3-1): Florida 45, Eastern Washington 13
After a hard-fought loss last in Knoxville last week, the Gators return back home to the Swamp looking for an easy bounce-back win against FCS opponent Eastern Washington.
While Florida did not come away with a victory last Saturday, we did see the team fight, and more importantly, we saw Anthony Richardson break out of whatever funk he was in and return to the dynamic playmaker we all expected coming into this season.
Sitting at 2-2 on the season, this game against EWU couldn’t come at a better time. It’s an opportunity to get back above .500, build on Richardson’s performance from last week and continue to improve his confidence, as well as a game that should allow the Gators to see how the young talent performs when the lights are on.
On the depth-chart release this week there were some significant changes. Most notably, true freshman safety Kamari Wilson will be getting his first career start in place of the injured Trey Dean III. Expect to see a lot of young players and those on the two and three deep to get their opportunities because this matchup should be out of hand early.
Expect most of the key starter's days to be done about midway through the third quarter as the Gators roll to an easy victory on Sunday afternoon.
Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.
