Florida vs. Towson: GatorMaven staff picks and predictions

The ninth-ranked Florida Gators will face off against the No. 10 Towson Tigers today at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL... well, 10th ranked in the FCS, we should specify.

Given that, it should be pretty easy for Florida to improve to 5-0 today. We'll see the Gators play a lot of backups and young players in the second half to prepare for game action against tougher competition.

But how do the GatorMaven editors and staff writers see the game playing out? Keep in mind, the current spread is Florida (-37.5).

Side note: Welcome Donavon Keiser to the GatorMaven team! He will be contributing a couple of articles a week and chatting with our members on the community board.

Zach Goodall: Gators 49, Tigers 10

Florida is playing in its third cupcake game in a month, with a +76 score differential in the previous two games. Expect that differential to go over 100 against Towson.

Sure, Towson is a ranked FCS team, making them a bit more of a challenge than UT-Martin, but it doesn't mean much at the end of the day. They have a solid quarterback in Tom Flacco, the brother of Denver Broncos QB Joe Flacco, but not enough around him to hang with Florida's defense. Young players such as Khris Bogle and Kaiir Elam could continue to make plays today, while Florida covers.

Graham Marsh: Gators 51. Tigers 14

Towson isn’t any good. We know this. This is going to be a blowout either way, what really matters is if Florida can make it a blowout via the running game, or if the Gators have to hit a few deeps balls like against UT Martin to break it open. UF needs a heavy spoonful of Malik Davis today. He has to get going for this team to beat more special teams later on. The offensive line needs to push people better than it has all season. I expect ugly early, blowout late.

Donavon Keiser: Florida 48, Towson 3

The Gators will take on the mighty Towson Tigers today... and regardless of what happens, Florida will win big. I expect Dan Mullen to spend all day trying to establishing the run, preparing for next weekend’s top 10 matchup against the Auburn Tigers.

UF has struggled immensely this season in the run game, and this is the last opportunity to get in reps against a weak opponent before the bulk of SEC play begins. Lamical Perine and Dameon Pierce should get the bulk of the carries, with Malik Davis slowly earning his reps back. Kyle Trask will do his thing, slinging it all over a clearly outmatched secondary. I’m looking to see if Trask will improve his decision making, as he threw two interceptions last week against division rival Tennessee. Emory Jones will get some burn as well, but it seems Mullen is holding back and saving his arm for a game like Auburn or Georgia.

The defense should not give up a point, but Todd Grantham will use today to test certain packages and we will see the freshman defensive backs run free. I have UF winning 48-3... because shutouts are hard.