The Opening Kickoff: Gators at No. 23 Mississippi State
Thursday, September 27, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They could not wait for the show to start.
Nine years ago when Dan Mullen prepared for his first game as a head coach, the Mississippi State fan base was head over heels. The school set a record for season tickets and fed off Mullen's enthusiasm and drive to succeed.
Mullen owned Stark Vegas.
"Coach Mullen would've been a great farmer, anything,'' then-Bulldogs cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
In his first game, Mullen raced from the tunnel at Davis Wade Stadium. A lightning bolt struck. The team raced back into the locker room, enduring a half-hour delay before going out and defeating Jackson State in front of a crowd of 54,232, at the time the third-largest crowd in school history.
Over the next nine seasons, Mullen proved to be the right man for the job, lifting a program that was going nowhere fast and turning the Bulldogs into a consistent winner in the rough-and-tumble SEC West.
They can't wait for the show to start Saturday, either.
This time, Mullen comes back as the villain when the Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) visit Mississippi State (3-1, 0-1) in a marquee matchup on this week's schedule.
"It was a place I went to and asked them on day one, told them we need you to show up and sell out the stadium, and if you do that we can build a program here,'' Mullen said this week. "And you know what? The fans believed in that. The fans bought into that. Heck, with selling out the stadium, my first year there, we went 2-5 at home and they sold out. You couldn't get a seat for games."
It'll be the same way on Saturday night (6 ET, ESPN), even after Mississippi State's success under Mullen helped the school expand the stadium.
The Gators are coming off an impressive road win at Tennessee; Mississippi State suffered a 21-point loss at Kentucky.
The mood in Gainesville this week has been even-keel, with Mullen setting the tone at his Monday press conference, chatting freely with the media about his return trip to Starkville. Meanwhile, the mood at Mississippi State has bordered on tense.
"I think that what we covered in there was necessary," Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald told the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger. "I think it was pretty obvious what we had to cover, but it needed to be said and it needed to be brought up and brought to light and just kind of put out in the open so people could accept it, get over what they did, put those emotions that they were playing with to the side and focus on football."
What does all this mean come Saturday?
That's what everyone is waiting to see.
In this week's edition of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Mississippi State matchup:
THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS RECEIVER FREDDIE SWAIN
Q:What do you think about Coach Mullen going back to the Starkville? Freddie Swain A: It'd be great to give him a win versus a Mississippi State team he just came from. I didn't really know too much about his time up there. I know he did great things. I was very excited to have him come in.
Q:How much do you know about cowbells?
A: Yeah, I've heard. Last week they told us the cowbells get kind of crazy up there. Hopefully we won't hear too much of them.
Q: Did quarterback Feleipe Franks feed off crowd at Tennessee?
A: I think he fed off the crowd [and] us. We were just pumping him up. He runs like that in practice. I mean, sooner or later it was gonna come out. He just got a chance to run the ball and show what he can do.
THREE STORYLINES
The familiarity factor looms large on both sides. Gators head coach Dan Mullen and his staff know the strengths and weaknesses of Mississippi State's team, and the Bulldogs are privy to Mullen's tendencies. Will they balance each other out or will the game be decided at a key moment of insight on the opposing sideline?
Kentucky limited Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to 165 total yards (145 passing, 20 rushing) in last week's victory. The Gators would take that considering Fitzgerald is averaging 95 yards rushing per game. The less Fitzgerald does in the run game the better for Florida.
The Gators responded well to their first road test under Mullen in last week's win at Neyland Stadium. Once again, they will walk into hostile territory on the road. They quieted the crowd at Tennessee with early turnovers and big plays. For the Gators to leave Starkville with a win, another fast start would do wonders.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mississippi State's defensive line is one of the best in the country thanks to tackle Jeffery Simmons and end Montez Sweat. Simmons leads the SEC with 7.5 tackles for loss and Sweat has 13.5 tackles for loss over his last seven games. Neutralizing the duo is paramount for UF's offensive line.
Junior linebacker David Reese was spectacular in his season debut, leading the Gators with 11 tackles at Tennessee. Reese's presence in the middle will be key for the Gators as they try to slow down quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and tailback Kylin Hill in the run game.
Fitzgerald is the more accomplished of the two quarterbacks, but Feleipe Franks has shown steady improvement as a passer and has thrown 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions through four games. Franks can take a huge step by playing well in a win on the road against one of the top quarterbacks in the conference.
THREE DIGITS
10.7 –Yards per rush for Gators freshman running back Dameon Pierce (225 yards on 21 carries).
5 – Number of times in SEC history a league coach has left one SEC school for another and played his previous team the next season (Dan Mullen is the fifth and first since Houston Nutt in 2008).
3 –Number of quarterbacks in SEC history to rush and pass for at least 35 career touchdowns (Nick Fitzgerald, Dak Prescott and Tim Tebow).
"It's just coming from the hard work, the drive to be a dog on the field. If you can't bully the man across from you it's going to get real ugly." – Gators defensive lineman Adam Shuler, who had a career-high nine tackles in victory over Tennessee
"We'll do a lot of crowd noise. We'll have some cowbell, right? We've got to play a little `Don't Fear the Reaper' in practice and get some more cowbell going. Maybe we can edit it and just get the cowbell part going louder." – Florida coach Dan Mullen on simulating environment at Davis Wade Stadium
"When I broke it to them, I could just see it in their faces. It was just like, 'Come on, C. Come on, C. You can't do that.' I apologized to them." – Gators senior defensive end Cece Jefferson on missing the first two games due to a suspension for failing to meet academic requirements
THEY WROTE IT
After nine years of memories, Dan Mullen returns for one strange night in Starkville writes Will Sammon of The Athletic. (subscription site)
The 10-year anniversary of Tim Tebow's famous "Promise" speech was Thursday. This is a chart we've done in various forms over the years as the Gators struggled to find Tebow's replacement. However, here is an updated version courtesy of Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com:
*Burton lined up at quarterback on first snap at FSU in 2010 while Brantley lined up at receiver.
NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
The Gators have outscored opponents 101-13 in the first half through four games and have scored 30 points in the first quarter, more than their total all of last season (29).
Florida leads the country with 14 takeaways through four games, which is just three shy of the Gators' total from a season ago when they finished 81st nationally.
The Gators face Mississippi State for the first time since 2010. Florida leads the all-time series 33-19-2, but is only 4-7 in Starkville. UF defeated the Bulldogs 29-19 in its last trip to Starkville in 2009.
Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks has thrown two or more touchdown passes in six consecutive games. Franks now has 21 career touchdown throws and needs only two to tie Jeff Driskel for the most by a UF quarterback since Tim Tebow. Driskel started 21 games at Florida; Franks is set to make his 13th career start.
Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has rushed for 2,772 yards in his career, second all-time for an SEC quarterback behind Tebow. Fitzgerald enters Saturday's game needing 176 yards to break Tebow's record.
Fitzgerald has 16 career 100-yard rushing games, a record for SEC quarterbacks and the leader among all active FBS players.
UF junior defensive end Jachai Polite is tied with Oregon's Justin Hollins for the national lead with three forced fumbles. Polite's sack/forced fumble at Tennessee last week led to Florida's first score. Polite's three forced fumbles are the most for a UF player since safety Marcus Maye forced five in 2015.
The Bulldogs lead the SEC in total defense, surrendering 269.2 yards per game. This game features the league's top two teams against the pass, with Mississippi State allowing 148.2 yards per game through the air, Florida 150.5.
In Mississippi State's win at Kansas State on Sept. 8 – the program's first road win against a Power 5 nonconference opponent in 23 years – sophomore running back Kylin Hill rushed for a career-high 211 yards, the sixth-best rushing performance in school history.
THE OTHER SIDE
Modern technology allows coaches to break down game film easier than ever.
Same goes for casual fans or those diehard enthusiasts who are as much interested – if not more intrigued – in reliving why something happened in the big game than what happened.
If you're like me, you were a bit surprised to see how easily Kentucky beat Mississippi State last weekend in Lexington. Of course, Florida fans didn't need a reminder that the Wildcats are improved, but still, the Bulldogs entered the game ranked 14th and got beat 28-7.
Mississippi State was penalized 16 times and managed only 201 yards of total offense. For a closer look at some of the issues the Bulldogs faced, here is a film study session from YouTube.com analyst Matt Wyatt:
BOTTOM LINE
This is the type of matchup that makes college football great and one I've been waiting on since the day Dan Mullen took over the Gators. The atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium is going to be insane on Saturday night as Mullen returns to Starkville for the first time since leaving. The pregame hype will last until the moment the ball is kicked off and then the drama finally shifts to the field. Prior to last week, I figured this was going to be a likely loss for the Gators. However, Florida's convincing win at Tennessee and Mississippi State's poor performance at Kentucky has recast this game in my view. Will the Gators win? Hard to say. What I know is that the Bulldogs don't seem nearly as scary. I won't be surprised by a win or a loss – hey, it's the SEC. Still, a victory by Florida would be a huge moment for a team still trying to chart its course in Mullen's first season.
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