Florida Gators vs. Missouri Tigers: Three Key Matchups to Monitor
Florida is in the thick of its regular season-ending gauntlet with the Gators' second of three-straight games against ranked opponents coming on Saturday against No. 9 Missouri.
Sitting at 5-5 (3-4 SEC), Billy Napier's Gators are one win shy of bowl eligibility, and they find themselves 11.5-point underdogs for Saturday's matchup.
Below are three key matchups between Florida and Missouri that could determine the victor in Columbia. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on ESPN.
Florida's run defense vs. Missouri's run offense: Don't let Cody Schrader be Ray Davis
Florida will match up with the SEC's leading rusher on Saturday in Cody Schrader, and it's crucial it avoids another Ray Davis debacle.
Schrader is in the midst of his best portion of the year and coming off of the top performance of his career. In a 36-7 thrashing of Tennessee, he became the first player in SEC history to record over 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game.
"The guy's got good instincts and vision. I think he can get small, plays at pad level with power. Ultimately, I think he's a guy that's been productive as a running back for a long time," Napier said about Schrader on Monday. "I think they do a good job conceptually creating running lanes for him, and he's able to maximize those."
Florida has struggled to contain top backs in the SEC. Outside of the 234 yards given up to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, it has allowed 103 yards to Arkansas' Raheim Sanders, 96 yards to Georgia's Daijun Edwards and 98 yards to South Carolina's Mario Edwards.
This doesn't include the 280 yards given up to Kentucky's Davis.
It may take a miracle, but if Florida can't find a way to contain Schrader and make tackles in space, something that was a massive eye-sore last week, it will be another long night for the young Gator defense.
Gators' pass defense vs. Tigers' pass offense: Don't let Luther Burden III and Theo Wease be Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers
Part of Daniels' historic performance against Florida was due to the dynamic duo of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., who combined for 282 yards and two scores.
Saturday's matchup against Missouri won't get any easier for the Gators with Luther Burden III and Theo Wease.
Burden III's 984 yards are 10th in the country with eight touchdown catches, which is good for third in the SEC. Wease adds 547 yards and five scores on the year.
"It comes down to one-on-one matchups and taking pride in your performance," said UF defensive back Jaydon Hill. "At the end of the day, it comes down to you or him."
Missouri also boasts the consistent arm of Brady Cook, who is fourth in the SEC in passing yards (2,746). After hitting at least 340 yards and two touchdowns passing in four straight games in the middle of the season, his numbers have dipped slightly over the last four games.
Cook has a four-to-three touchdown-to-interception ratio in that timeframe and had yet to hit over 250 yards passing until last week's win over Tennessee. The key, however, is how efficient and serviceable he has been throughout the year.
He has completed at least 60% of his passes in nine out of 10 games this season. The lone time he didn't was against Georgia. His consistency has been the key to the Tigers' offense.
"Their quarterback is essentially the foundation of the efficiency they've had on offense," Napier said.
These slight dips in stats shouldn't be a massive confidence booster going into Saturday. Florida's passing defense has been lackluster over the last few games, to say the least. In the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Gators are allowing 314 passing yards a game.
Florida's also struggled to get turnovers. The Gators only have three interceptions on the year. Outside of Princely Umanmielen's 5.5 sacks, Florida's struggled to get to the quarterback just as much.
Although Cook doesn't poise the rushing threat Daniels provided last week, if Florida can't get to him, it'll be another long night for the defense.
As Hill said, it'll come down to the one-on-one matchups, especially with whoever is on Burden III and Wease. Napier echoed that sentiment.
"When you do get put in those matchups, you've got to win them," Napier said. "I think every defensive call has got a weakness, and I think it's important that we do a good job mixing it up, and you've got to do a good job of disguising."
Billy Napier vs. Eliah Drinkwitz, Pt. 4: Two teams on opposite ends
From the Sun Belt to the SEC, Napier and Drinkwitz are all too familiar with each other.
In his lone season at Appalachian State, Drinkwitz defeated Napier's Lousiana Ragin' Cajuns twice, including a 45-38 win for the Sun Belt title. The two rematched last season, Napier's first at Florida, with the Gators escaping with a 24-17 win in The Swamp.
Now, it's part four for the familiar foes and their second at their current schools.
"Eli's done a nice job there in year four," Napier said. "They're getting incrementally better. They've got good quarterback play. They've got some significant matchup players like most teams in our league do."
At the moment, it's two teams on opposite ends. Missouri is in year four under Drinkwitz and with experience throughout their roster.
It took time for Missouri to get to an 8-2 start and a top-ten ranking in the CFP polls. The Tigers had yet to have a winning season during Drinkwitz's first three years, which included back-to-back bowl losses over the last two seasons.
Missouri welcomed offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to the staff after the end of the 2022 season. Napier credited Moore for the resurgence of Missouri's offense and used the Tigers as an example of a successful turnaround of a program.
"There's a number of people that have turned it around, and there's some that haven't, right? I think ultimately Missouri is a good example," Napier said. "Eli is a good coach. He's hired well. He's done a good job evaluating. He's got some veteran players, and they're playing at a high level."
Meanwhile, Florida is still finding its footing in year two under Napier. The Gators are 11-12 in that timeframe and have struggled with consistency in all three phases of the game.
They've also taken recent hits in recruiting with three decommitments from the 2024 class over a five-day period. Patience has been emphasized when it comes to Napier's rebuild of the Florida program, but he knows that positive results on the field need to come sooner rather than later.
"Patience is part of the game, but ultimately you've got to produce, right? I think we all understand that when we get into the profession," Napier said.
However, the Gators have one of if not the youngest team in college football. Only three players on Florida's two-deep depth chart will be out of eligibility after this season: Ricky Pearsall, Lyndell Hudson, Teradja Mitchell and Dante Zanders.
Additionally, 18 freshmen, whether it be redshirt or true freshmen, appear on the two-deep depth chart, which includes 12 on defense, at every position other than SAM linebacker.
Napier discussed those growing pains and the new experiences for those young players this week.
"I think toughness, endurance, faith, your ability to overcome, resiliency, those things are developed. You're not born with them. So you've got to go through tough things to develop some of those things. I think it will prove beneficial," he said.
Saturday's game will ultimately be decided by the players suited up on the field, but it could be a good indication of the states of each program under similar head coaches and a good example of how much patience is warranted for Florida's rebuild.
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