Florida vs. Miami: GatorMaven staff picks and predictions for Week Zero

Predictions are like opinions and opinions are like... well, you know the saying.

Hurricanes at 7 P.M. at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL, GatorMaven's Zach Goodall and Graham Marsh have their predictions ready.

How do they see the first matchup between Florida and Miami in six years going?

Zach Goodall: Florida 31, Miami 13

ZG: Florida's young, inexperienced offensive line faces a huge test today against Miami's front seven, a key matchup that I recently wrote about. Those groups sparing against each other can certainly push momentum one way or another, but at the end of the day, Florida's roster is so much more well-rounded and ready to win on a big-stage than first-year head coach Manny Diaz's squad.

So long as Florida can set the tone with a heavy run game to start things off - which they should be totally capable of - they'll open up the ability to pass as the game goes on, while wearing down Miami's defense.

Offensively, Miami doesn't have much hope. They're lead by a redshirt freshman QB in Jarren Williams, who has eight career snaps under his belt. Protecting him is a 2019 two-star prospect starting at left tackle in Zion Nelson, and a redshirt freshman with four games of experience in John Campbell. Florida's pass rush should be licking their chops.

Don't expect Florida to put points on the board quickly to start the game, but they should begin to pull away early in the second half.

Graham Marsh: Florida 17, Miami 7

GM: Ugly.

Expect this game to be sloppy, especially early. This game is happening too early to be a sound game. Miami more so than Florida, but expect early mistakes: false starts, too many men on the field, delay of game, etc.

The Gators are a much better-coached team on the offensive of the ball. As the game goes on and Mullen makes adjustments, expect UF's offense to start clicking later on, perhaps into the second half.

Contrarily, expect Miami's offense to do next to nothing. With Jarren Williams having almost no real-game experience against an excellent defensive line, and an absurdly aggressive defensive coordinator in Todd Grantham, he will struggle. Also, with CJ Henderson shadowing Jeff Thomas all game, he should have a limited day, and he is by far Miami's most talented skill player.

This is why I have such a low final score. Defenses tend to dominate in games where mistakes get made. It is more difficult to generate points than to stop points in an ugly game.

Yes, Florida's offense should be one of the nation's best in 2019, but not in Week 0 against a front seven as good as the Hurricanes'.