The smiles will be even bigger if the Gators come up with some timely plays when No. 7 Auburn comes to town for a top-10 clash.
Mullen: 'This is why you come to Florida'
Monday, September 30, 2019 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Defensive back Marco Wilson was asked Monday if this week perhaps was shaping up to be unlike the run-ups to the previous five Florida football games this season.
"I don't think it feels any different," he said.
It will.
Try to follow. When No. 10 Florida (5-0, 2-0) plays host to No. 7 Auburn (5-0, 2-0) Saturday, it'll mark the first game between two unbeaten and top-10 teams at the "Swamp" since 2012. The Gators and Tigers, who once played annually for 58 consecutive years (1945-2002) before the Southeastern Conference revamped its scheduling format, have not met since 2011 and have not played at Spurrier/Florida Field since 2007. The game, which coincides with UF's homecoming weekend and all that entails, earned a national audience and the coveted 3:30 p.m. time slot on CBS, and the ESPN "College Game Day" crew will set up shop on the Plaza of Americas to further hype the biggest SEC showdown of the season to date. Oh, and the home team will trot out special "throwback" uniforms for the occasion.
Here's guessing there will be a divergent kind of vibe in town this weekend.
"This is why you come to Florida, to play in big, big games like this," UF coach Dan Mullen said Monday, picking up on a theme he touched on two nights earlier following his team's 38-0 home defeat of out-manned, FCS-classified Towson. "I think they know this is here and you've got to pick up the intensity. This is what you go for. I don't want to downplay last week. I talked about last week. I talked about how last week was all about us improving and all of that stuff. It's hard to keep yourself at peak intensity for every single week in a long season. This is one of those weeks you don't really need to do that. If we do, we're in a lot of trouble. I told our guys today, if they need me to give a rah-rah to get us going, then they're pretty messed up in the head right now."
The Gators, presumably with their heads right and laser-focused on the huge task at hand, hit the practice field Monday afternoon intent on rolling some missing bodies back into the fold, with cornerback CJ Henderson (ankle), out since the second half of the Tennessee Martin game Sept. 7, and defensive end Jabari Zuniga (ankle), lost in the first quarter Sept. 14 at Kentucky, being the most prominent. A handful of other players who were held out against Towson for precautionary reasons — wide receiver Freddie Swain, safeties Shawn Davis and Jeawon Taylor, plus linebacker Ventrell Miller — were expected to join Henderson and Zuniga on the increasing-reps plan as the week progresses.
UF needs to be at full strength for an Auburn team that, frankly, has as good a claim as any team in the country to be ranked No. 1. The Tigers certainly have a five-star five-game résumé, with victories over No. 11 Oregon at Arlington, Texas, at No. 17 Texas A&M, and most recently, a 56-23 shellacking of Mississippi State on Saturday at home.
This is one of those "measuring-stick" games.
"[With] top-10 matchups, you definitely find out a lot," senior wide receiver Josh Hammond said. "Guys are going to be excited, ready to go, energized all week, excited for this opportunity to play on this stage that we've been given. We've worked hard to put ourselves in this position. I think we'll definitely walk in with a little bit of a sense of urgency and put a little more pep in our step and be ready to rock and roll."
How rare have top-10 home matchups been around here? This will be the first since 2012, just the third of the last 13 seasons, the seventh this century, and only the 18th in program history.
CHARTING THE GATORS
All-time games between top-10 teams at the 'Swamp'
* Record: 12-5
One of the most famous — infamous, actually — came on Oct. 15, 1994, when Coach Steve Spurrier's No. 1 Gators met the No. 6 Tigers. UF turned the ball over five times (to Auburn's zero) and the home crowd watched in horror as quarterback Patrick Nix threw an 8-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left to hand the Gators a 36-33 loss (Spurrier's first home SEC defeat in 16 games as coach) that knocked Florida from the national-championship race.
That was nearly 25 years ago to the day.
Nix's son, Bo, is now Auburn's starting quarterback. A true freshman, in fact.
"He's already had to play in some big games, big moments, and he's handled that well as a freshman," Mullen said. "He can make throws, he can run, and he's a talent."
So far, Nix has completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 980 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He erased a 15-point deficit and tossed the winning TD with nine seconds left to beat Oregon in his collegiate debut. Nix was cool enough to go into Kyle Field and beat A&M in front of nearly 102,000. And Saturday against Mississippi State, he completed 16 of 21 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns, plus he led the Tigers in rushing with seven carries for 56 yards and a score, as Auburn punched the Bulldogs in the mouth on the way to a 42-13 halftime lead.
"He's a young quarterback, but he's handling the job," Wilson said.
The Tigers, in the seventh season under Coach Gus Malzahn, rank fifth in the SEC in total offense (454.4 yards per game), including third in rushing (251.0 ypg), thanks to tailback JaTarvious Whitlow (463 yards, 7 TDs), and 13th in passing (203.4 ypg).
Their calling card, however, is defense. Specifically, a nasty defensive front and pass rush, led by Derrick Brown, expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and outside linebacker Nick Coe, also a projected first-round selection. The Tigers rank sixth in the SEC in total defense (320.2 ypg), including third against the run (95.2 ypg).
"They have a lot of veteran guys and they're really deep," said UF fourth-year junior quarterback Kyle Trask, who has completed 77 percent of his passes for 647 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in handling his battlefield promotion with aplomb after the loss of starter Feleipe Franks three games ago. "They have a great front and I know Coach Mullen and his staff are going to put a great plan together this week, just like they always do."
The plan, in a perfect world, would include an element of a ground game, but the Gators have struggled to mount much of one in their games against FBS opponents. Against UT Martin and Towson, UF averaged 195.5 yards. Against Miami, Kentucky and Tennessee, the Gators averaged only 105.3 rushing yards.
Anything similar against Auburn will allow Brown and friends to do some teeing off. That said, Mullen hasn't carved a reputation as an elite offensive coach and play-caller without knowing how to mask some weaknesses.
"It's going to be a battle," Trask said. "There is, obviously, not going to be anything handed to you in this game."
No. Everything will have to be earned in a big way.
A very different way than in any game thus far.
"I don't think it feels any different," he said.
It will.
Try to follow. When No. 10 Florida (5-0, 2-0) plays host to No. 7 Auburn (5-0, 2-0) Saturday, it'll mark the first game between two unbeaten and top-10 teams at the "Swamp" since 2012. The Gators and Tigers, who once played annually for 58 consecutive years (1945-2002) before the Southeastern Conference revamped its scheduling format, have not met since 2011 and have not played at Spurrier/Florida Field since 2007. The game, which coincides with UF's homecoming weekend and all that entails, earned a national audience and the coveted 3:30 p.m. time slot on CBS, and the ESPN "College Game Day" crew will set up shop on the Plaza of Americas to further hype the biggest SEC showdown of the season to date. Oh, and the home team will trot out special "throwback" uniforms for the occasion.
Here's guessing there will be a divergent kind of vibe in town this weekend.
"This is why you come to Florida, to play in big, big games like this," UF coach Dan Mullen said Monday, picking up on a theme he touched on two nights earlier following his team's 38-0 home defeat of out-manned, FCS-classified Towson. "I think they know this is here and you've got to pick up the intensity. This is what you go for. I don't want to downplay last week. I talked about last week. I talked about how last week was all about us improving and all of that stuff. It's hard to keep yourself at peak intensity for every single week in a long season. This is one of those weeks you don't really need to do that. If we do, we're in a lot of trouble. I told our guys today, if they need me to give a rah-rah to get us going, then they're pretty messed up in the head right now."
The Gators, presumably with their heads right and laser-focused on the huge task at hand, hit the practice field Monday afternoon intent on rolling some missing bodies back into the fold, with cornerback CJ Henderson (ankle), out since the second half of the Tennessee Martin game Sept. 7, and defensive end Jabari Zuniga (ankle), lost in the first quarter Sept. 14 at Kentucky, being the most prominent. A handful of other players who were held out against Towson for precautionary reasons — wide receiver Freddie Swain, safeties Shawn Davis and Jeawon Taylor, plus linebacker Ventrell Miller — were expected to join Henderson and Zuniga on the increasing-reps plan as the week progresses.
UF needs to be at full strength for an Auburn team that, frankly, has as good a claim as any team in the country to be ranked No. 1. The Tigers certainly have a five-star five-game résumé, with victories over No. 11 Oregon at Arlington, Texas, at No. 17 Texas A&M, and most recently, a 56-23 shellacking of Mississippi State on Saturday at home.
This is one of those "measuring-stick" games.
"[With] top-10 matchups, you definitely find out a lot," senior wide receiver Josh Hammond said. "Guys are going to be excited, ready to go, energized all week, excited for this opportunity to play on this stage that we've been given. We've worked hard to put ourselves in this position. I think we'll definitely walk in with a little bit of a sense of urgency and put a little more pep in our step and be ready to rock and roll."
How rare have top-10 home matchups been around here? This will be the first since 2012, just the third of the last 13 seasons, the seventh this century, and only the 18th in program history.
CHARTING THE GATORS
All-time games between top-10 teams at the 'Swamp'
* Record: 12-5
| Date | Teams | Outcome |
| Oct. 12, 1991 | No. 10 Florida vs No. Tennessee | W 35-18 |
| Nov. 30, 1991 | No. 5 Florida vs No. 3 Florida State | W 14-9 |
| Sept. 18, 1993 | No. 9 Florida vs No. 5 Tennessee | W 41-34 |
| Nov. 27, 1993 | No. 7 Florida vs No. 1 Florida State | L 33-21 |
| Oct. 15, 1994 | No. 1 Florida vs No. 6 Auburn | L 36-33 |
| Sept. 16, 1995 | Nov. 4 Florida vs No. 8 Tennessee | W 62-37 |
| Nov. 25, 1995 | Nov. 3 Florida vs No. 6 Florida State | W 35-24 |
| Sept. 20, 1997 | Nov. 3 Florida vs No. 4 Tennessee | W 33-20 |
| Nov. 22, 1997 | Nov. 10 Florida vs No. 2 Florida State | W 32-29 |
| Sept. 18, 1999 | No. 4 Florida vs No. 2 Tennessee | W 23-21 |
| Nov. 18, 1999 | No. 3 Florida vs No. 1 Florida State | L 27-20 |
| Dec. 1, 2001 | No. 2 Florida vs No. 5 Tennessee | L 34-32 |
| Sept. 7, 2002 | No. 6 Florida vs No. 1 Miami | L 41-16 |
| Sept. 17, 2005 | No. 6 Florida vs No. 5 Tennessee | W 16-7 |
| Oct. 7, 2006 | No. 5 Florida vs No. 9 LSU | W 23-10 |
| Oct. 6, 2012 | No. 10 Florida vs No. 4 LSU | W 14-6 |
| Oct. 20, 2012 | No. 3 Florida vs No. 9 South Carolina | W 44-11 |
One of the most famous — infamous, actually — came on Oct. 15, 1994, when Coach Steve Spurrier's No. 1 Gators met the No. 6 Tigers. UF turned the ball over five times (to Auburn's zero) and the home crowd watched in horror as quarterback Patrick Nix threw an 8-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left to hand the Gators a 36-33 loss (Spurrier's first home SEC defeat in 16 games as coach) that knocked Florida from the national-championship race.
That was nearly 25 years ago to the day.
Nix's son, Bo, is now Auburn's starting quarterback. A true freshman, in fact.
"He's already had to play in some big games, big moments, and he's handled that well as a freshman," Mullen said. "He can make throws, he can run, and he's a talent."
So far, Nix has completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 980 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He erased a 15-point deficit and tossed the winning TD with nine seconds left to beat Oregon in his collegiate debut. Nix was cool enough to go into Kyle Field and beat A&M in front of nearly 102,000. And Saturday against Mississippi State, he completed 16 of 21 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns, plus he led the Tigers in rushing with seven carries for 56 yards and a score, as Auburn punched the Bulldogs in the mouth on the way to a 42-13 halftime lead.
"He's a young quarterback, but he's handling the job," Wilson said.
The Tigers, in the seventh season under Coach Gus Malzahn, rank fifth in the SEC in total offense (454.4 yards per game), including third in rushing (251.0 ypg), thanks to tailback JaTarvious Whitlow (463 yards, 7 TDs), and 13th in passing (203.4 ypg).
Their calling card, however, is defense. Specifically, a nasty defensive front and pass rush, led by Derrick Brown, expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and outside linebacker Nick Coe, also a projected first-round selection. The Tigers rank sixth in the SEC in total defense (320.2 ypg), including third against the run (95.2 ypg).
"They have a lot of veteran guys and they're really deep," said UF fourth-year junior quarterback Kyle Trask, who has completed 77 percent of his passes for 647 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in handling his battlefield promotion with aplomb after the loss of starter Feleipe Franks three games ago. "They have a great front and I know Coach Mullen and his staff are going to put a great plan together this week, just like they always do."
The plan, in a perfect world, would include an element of a ground game, but the Gators have struggled to mount much of one in their games against FBS opponents. Against UT Martin and Towson, UF averaged 195.5 yards. Against Miami, Kentucky and Tennessee, the Gators averaged only 105.3 rushing yards.
Anything similar against Auburn will allow Brown and friends to do some teeing off. That said, Mullen hasn't carved a reputation as an elite offensive coach and play-caller without knowing how to mask some weaknesses.
"It's going to be a battle," Trask said. "There is, obviously, not going to be anything handed to you in this game."
No. Everything will have to be earned in a big way.
A very different way than in any game thus far.
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