Florida Gators Game Preview: Jimbo Fisher and UF Rekindle Rivalry

Old foes meet again: The storyline behind the Florida Gators first matchup with Jimbo Fisher since he departed from the Florida State football program in favor of Texas A&M following the 2017 season.

Since the last time Fisher stood opposite from the Gators sideline, you could say a lot has changed for both parties.

For Fisher, he is now wearing a darker shade of red, attempting to lead an A&M team to success that exceeds the dreaded 8-5 campaigns they’ve seen since entering the SEC. Unfortunately for him, the results that were seen with Kevin Sumlin at the helm for TAMU have continued. In fact, in some areas, they’ve even worsened.

With a 3-8 record against AP Top 25 teams under Fisher, the Aggies look to make it 4-8 with a momentum-shifting victory against fourth-ranked Florida. To this point, however, they haven’t shown any indication that beating UF can be an achievable goal.

Starting their season with an unconvincing win against a bottom-of-the-barrel Vanderbilt team before being dismantled by second-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa, A&M has issues that appear on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, TAMU is led by the third-year starting quarterback Kellen Mond.

Widely considered amongst the most talented QB's in college football in preseason rankings for multiple years in a row, Mond has failed to put all of his intangibles together long enough to be consistent.

Standing at 6-foot-3, 217-pounds, Mond doesn’t resemble the prototypical quarterback due to his slimmer frame. Still, the athletic gifts he presents allow for flashes of high-caliber play and makes him a constant breakout candidate.

With Jalen Wydermyer averaging a first down on every reception, the big body receiving threat will bring a sure-fire mismatch for Mond to utilize.

“Yeah, when you look in the last game against Alabama, he had a really good game. Kinda came up to showcase his talents,” Florida Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham stated.

“I mean, what it does is, it gives them another playmaker on the field so now, you know, you’ve got three wides out there plus a tight end, in essence, it’s four wides. You’ve just got to understand that and understand the matchups and try to get the best matchups possible to be successful in that situation.”

A possible matchup against Wydermyer includes Amari Burney, who has been critical of his play to this point in the year.

“I've got to step it up. These past two weeks have been unacceptable for me, personally,” Burney said on Monday. “You know, just talking with the coaches, my parents, watching film, it's been unacceptable on my part just being a starter and not doing my job."

Complimenting the passing game for A&M is sophomore running backs, Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith. Despite lackluster outings in last week's competition versus 'Bama, the tandem is in for a favorable matchup, facing off against a Gators defense that has been abysmal against the run through two weeks.

Defensively for Texas A&M, the unit is coming off a game where they allowed 435 yards passing to Mac Jones and 52 points to the Crimson Tide. As a result, Florida should have its way against a dicey TAMU defense.

On top of Fisher’s move to the SEC, another notable difference arises from the fact that Dan Mullen is in Gainesville, and with that, so is the offensive attack.

Accumulating just ten yards under the 1,000-yard mark throughout two games, Florida has seemingly transformed into an explosive offensive unit built to score points.

The passing game has taken a significant step forward with Kyle Trask at the helm, one of the best receiving options to ever touch the field in Kyle Pitts, and complimentary options filling the wide receiver room. In addition, a call for increased utilization of the run game and Dameon Pierce is also at hand against Texas A&M, and the 22nd ranked rushing defense.

Defensively, the Gators have struggled, to say the least.

Allowing 35 points and over 600 yards of total offense to Ole Miss in week one, Florida improved—in relation—upon their performance against South Carolina in terms of yardage and scoring.

On a positive note, the defense has only allowed 4.0 yards per play this year but has faltered when attempting to get off the field. As a result, the Gators defense saw for 83 snaps this past Saturday compared to the Florida offense’s mere 53.

Converting on six of seventeen third downs and five of six fourth downs, SCAR hurt Florida by targeting the flats and middle of the field, something that can very well occur again by way of TAMU TE Wydermyer.

“You’re always going to get attacked in the middle of the field relevant to the quarterback in the sense it’s a much easier throw. So, philosophically, you do always work to protect the middle of the field,” Grantham said about opposing teams' success attacking the middle.

Therefore—albeit redundant at this point—the matchup's outcome lies within the hands of the Florida defense. Despite throwing for 507 yards, four touchdowns, and only one interception this season, Mond still presents multiple opportunities for the Gators to create turnovers.

With Mond averaging a completion rate of 58.3% and having four turnover worthy plays with two fumbles lost through two games, the Gators ball-hawking secondary and menacing pass rush of the past gets an opportunity to re-emerge in College Station.

Improving tackling against the run, taking what Mond gives them, and allowing the offense to go to work by getting off the field on third and fourth downs win Florida this ball game, comfortably.

Will a switch be flipped for the Gators at the right time, or will the defense continue on the same path it has been on through two weeks? That depends.

What we do know is that if this week results in another poor defensive outing, it’s safe to say it’s time break out the panic button on the Florida Gators national title hopes.