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Gators Game Day
A friendly PSA: The University Athletic Association wants to remind fans who plan to attend the Saturday night game against Missouri that while Halloween masks are permitted, they are not approved by the CDC as COVID-19 protection.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The wait is almost over.
On Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the No. 10-ranked Gators (2-1) play for the first time in three weeks, a layoff induced by a COVID-19 outbreak that spread through the team and all the way up to head coach
Dan Mullen following Florida's loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 10. Florida's roster is expected to have missing pieces against Missouri (2-2) but not enough to keep the Gators off the field.
When the Gators returned to practice this week, they did so eager to flush the last three weeks, a stretch that kicked off with a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M on a last-second field goal.
"You have that little taste in your mouth," linebacker
James Houston said this week. "That's the fuel, though. You need that. You need that to keep pushing yourself and have that motivation to keep grinding. I think it was a very good motivator that we had two weeks to let that marinade and sink into everybody's head, what we've got to do and how we've got to move forward."
The Gators seek to rebound against the Tigers and rebuild momentum heading into next weekend's showdown against SEC East rival Georgia in Jacksonville. Missouri has won two in a row and given the Gators trouble since joining the league in 2012, beating the Gators four times over that span.
But if Florida is serious about contending for the SEC championship and perhaps more, it must start by taking care of the Tigers on Halloween night.
"You know, they're a pretty sound team,'' running back
Malik Davis said. "They play good defense, they got some athletes on defense. I think the main thing for us, we just have to stay up-tempo and make every play count. Know your assignment, know what you're doing because they're a great team just like us."
Saturday night can't get here fast enough for the Gators. They are tired of watching others play on TV like the past two weeks.
"I know everybody on the team is probably itching to play, itching to hit, itching to do everything and prove themselves because we just came off a loss," Houston said. "We're itching to prove ourselves that we're still the same Florida Gators. We're coming for the national championship. We're coming for the SEC championship."
For more on Saturday's game between the Gators and Tigers, here isÂ
The Opening Kickoff:
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH ... GATORS RUNNING BACK NAY'QUAN WRIGHTÂ
Redshirt freshman running back Nay'Quan Wright had the best game of his college career in the loss to Texas A&M, rushing for a touchdown and team-high 31 yards while adding a 26-yard reception. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
- Do you feel like you've been overlooked in your time here due to the amount of competition?
I wouldn't call it being overlooked. I mean, Lamical [Perine] was a good guy, good leader, and amazing running back. I mean, it showed that he done got drafted. So, I just waited by patiently, waited my turn. But Dameon [Pierce] and the other guys had all the hype all of this offseason. I mean, he put in the work for us. He deserved it. He deserved all the hype coming into the season. I think he's living up to the hype with his name. Just the opportunity presented itself. I knew the work that I put in this offseason, so I knew it would have to unfold sooner or later, so I just waited.
- What are some of the obstacles you have had to overcome to get to this point?
Growing up, man, I faced a lot of obstacles. Growing up as a kid, I was down in Miami. One incident that a lot of people know about, that took over the media, was I had got shot as a kid growing up. I mean, I overcame that. Doctor said I wouldn't – my family got a call that I had passed away. So, it's just a bunch of stuff going on. I overcame that with the grace of God and then I came into high school, had broke my ankle. So, it's just, like I said before, just some bumps in the road that are going to come. They may hit you unexpected, but you have to move on. Adversity, it builds a person, so I'm more person that it built. I don't dwell on it, I just move forward. That's it.
- How did you get shot?
It was just a regular day at practice. Shots fired, Coach was yelling "get down," everyone got down. And then a bullet ricocheted off the ground hit me. And I noticed a couple other people got shot also.
- Do you feel you survived because of a purpose in life?
Yeah, I got a purpose in life. I mean, if it was my time here, he'd call me home. So, I feel like he's not done with me yet. A lot of guys get shot and die instantly. I feel like my job is not done, but he's not done with me on this earth, so when it's my time he's gonna call me at a decent time. It's just not right now.
THREE STORYLINES
- The major talking point in this one is what impact will a two-week layoff between games have on the Gators. Florida's games against LSU and Missouri were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak that engulfed the team after the loss to Texas A&M. The Gators returned to practice Monday and head coach Dan Mullen said they couldn't pretend the layoff didn't happen. Mullen's plan was to gradually build up to game day and be ready to go Saturday night.
- Missouri has played the Gators even since joining the SEC in 2012, splitting eight games overall and four in Gainesville. First-year Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz came up the coaching ranks as an offensive coach like Mullen and is also the offensive coordinator. The Tigers won a shootout against LSU and a defensive battle against Kentucky. Florida's defense, in search of improvement, could be tested in a variety of ways by Drinkwitz's play-calling.
- The Gators open a seven-week stretch with no bye weeks starting with Missouri. If they are going to win the SEC East and get to Atlanta, they need a win over the Tigers before immediately turning their attention to next week's showdown with Georgia in Jacksonville. Due to the adjustment of the schedule, there is no bye week before facing the Bulldogs.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCHÂ
- Gators quarterback Kyle Trask joined the Heisman conversation after throwing for 996 yards and 14 touchdowns in the season's first three games. Coming off an unexpected and extended layoff, will Trask pick up where he left off or be rusty along with the offense? The answer will be a big factor in this game for the Gators.
- Florida's defense has been under scrutiny, ranked 13th in the SEC in the wake of the road loss at Texas A&M. While the Gators are not expected to be at full strength on Saturday due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they do get senior defensive tackle Kyree Campbell back. Campbell did not play in the first three games for undisclosed reasons but started 13 games a season ago, finishing fifth on the team with 39 tackles.
- Mizzou safety Josh Bledsoe has made game-clinching plays in each of the Tigers' wins, breaking up fourth-down pass in the end zone against LSU and forcing a fumble late in the win over Kentucky. The Tigers play a lot of man-to-man coverage and Bledsoe is expected to cover Gators tight end Kyle Pitts, which is not an easy assignment.
FIVE DIGITS
2 – FBS teams averaging 400 yards of offense and less than 65 plays per game (Florida and Michigan). The Gators are averaging 61 plays per game and 7.6 yards per play, which ranks fourth nationally.
495.0 – Yards per game for Florida's opponents through first three games, which puts Gators' defense 93rd nationally.
37 – Carries for Mizzou running back
Larry Rountree (126 yards) in the win over Kentucky. Rountree had one more carry than the Wildcats had total plays (36).
55 – Yards needed by Rountree to become Missouri's all-team leading rusher for a non-quarterback. QB
Brad Smith (4,289 yards from 2002-05) is the school's all-time leading rusher.
1,800,000 – Approximate number of seconds between time Gators walked off field at Texas A&M and kick off against Missouri according to
TimeandDate.com.
INJURY REPORTÂ
DOUBTFUL: OL
Ethan White (knee);
OUT: DB
Ethan Pouncey (hip, out for season);
UNAVAILABLE:Â During the unprecedented 2020 season, Florida releases a list of players not available on game days prior to kickoff.
NOTES FILE
- The Gators have split eight games against Missouri since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012, going 2-2 at home and on the road. Missouri leads the all-time series 5-4.
- Former Gators receivers coach Bush Hamdan, who replaced the late Aubrey Hill at the start of the 2012 season, is Missouri's receivers and quarterbacks coach.
- Gators quarterback Kyle Trask's four touchdowns passes at Texas A&M increased his career total to 40, moving ahead of Terry Dean (39) and Feleipe Franks (38) into eighth on the school's career list.
- UF junior running back Dameon Pierce needs 141 yards to reach the 1,000-yard career mark. Pierce is Florida's leading rusher (25 carries, 130 yards) through three games.
- Missouri allowed only 145 yards against Kentucky last week, the fewest the Tigers have surrendered to an SEC opponent since joining the league.
- Tigers freshman quarterback Connor Bazelak is 3-0 as a starter, winning against Arkansas in 2019, and LSU and Kentucky in 2020.
THE OTHER SIDE
Missouri running back
Larry Rountree is one of those names fans around the SEC recognize by now. A senior, Rountree has been a staple in Missouri's offense since 2017.
Gators fans know all too well.
In Florida's 38-17 homecoming loss to the Tigers two years ago, Rountree broke off a 27-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter that put the Tigers ahead -- for good. In his only visit to the Swamp, Rountree rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries to help spoil
Dan Mullen's first homecoming game as UF's head coach. In 2017, Rountree rushed for 83 yards and three touchdowns against Florida in Missouri's 45-16 home win. The Gators finally clamped him down a season ago in their 23-6 win at Missouri. Rountree had just 30 yards on seven carries.
However, Rountree has picked up the pace in 2020. He opened the season with 67 yards against Alabama and 84 against Tennessee -- both losses. But in Missouri's two wins, Rountree rushed for 119 yards against LSU and 126 last week against Kentucky. In fact, as noted above, Rountree had more carries than the Wildcats had plays.
Need proof. Mizzou made a video of each of Rountree's career-high 37 rushes:
THEY SAID IT
- "We'll have some guys who can play." -- Florida head coach Dan Mullen on how many players would be available coming off the team's COVID-19 outbreak
- "Both sides of the ball, they played the game exactly the way we wanted it to be played in order to win, and that doesn't happen very often." -- Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz after his team's 20-10 win over Kentucky
- "I think the biggest thing, when I look at everything, we want to play to the standard that we have the last two years. No. 1, we have to improve our physicality, and I don't just mean in the front. I'm talking about across the board in everything we do. That means tighter coverage, contested, physical at the point. Just really improve our physicality as a defense in general.'' -- Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on what his unit must do to improve
- "When you're out there, you're a competitor, you're looking to make a big play for your team, and that happens, of course it's frustrating. You may feel a certain type of way, but the most important thing, you have to just move on and keep working. I can't let that bring me down." -- Gators running back Malik Davis on his crucial fumble at Texas A&M and not letting it linger
- "I'm not going to confirm or deny anything. I'm not going to say yes or no on anything as far as medical records and stuff. But we feel that, again, we have not had tons of, really, a whole lot of major issues or anything that we've seen be really serious to this point." -- Dan Mullen on his approach to sharing details of team's COVID outbreak
THEY WROTE IT
BOTTOM LINE
This game offers intrigue because of the obvious: what impact will the two-week layoff have on the Gators? Florida is comfortably favored over the Tigers on Halloween night at the Swamp, but Missouri has shown improvement since losing to Alabama and Tennessee to start the season. The Gators lost a ton of momentum in the last-second loss at Texas A&M and then the COVID-19 outbreak that shut down the program for two weeks. Still, they control their own destiny and their aspirations to win the SEC East remain real. They know they have to beat Missouri to make next week's game against Georgia matter the way it should. Florida might not be at full strength, but it should be good enough to beat the Tigers and get back on track.
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