GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The finish line to the regular season is within sight, and for both the Gators and Arkansas, the goal is to pick up speed and not stumble.
Florida (5-3, 3-2) got knocked down a week ago in Jacksonville by No. 1-ranked Georgia, losing 43-20. The Razorbacks (2-6, 0-5) had a bye week and have been trying to rediscover what a win is for more than a month.
Here is a simple breakdown of why this game matters: Florida can become bowl eligible with a victory, and Arkansas can at least say it remains eligible for a potential bowl bid with a win.
"Certainly that could happen,'' Florida coach Billy Napier said this week when asked about the motivation of playing to become bowl eligible. "Ultimately, I don't necessarily think we're thinking about that as much as we're thinking about we got to get consumed with the things that can affect the outcome.
"There is benefit to bowl games, there's no question about that. I do think with the team that we have in particular, that could be beneficial."
While neither of these programs are ranked or in the College Football Playoff conversation, they are proud Southeastern Conference programs with rich histories.
Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman, in his fourth season, has faced mounting criticism with expectations high in Fayetteville entering the season. However, injuries and close calls have doomed his team.
He is selling the opportunity to win for the first time at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to his downtrodden club.
"We've never won at Florida, in Gainesville. We've got plenty of incentives,'' Pittman said this week. "One of them is we need to play better and we need to get respect from the people of our state and our own university. We've got to get our respect back. We've been playing hard, so I'm not saying that we've lost respect from everybody. We've been playing hard. We've lost some close games, but we need to win one. I feel like we'll all feel a lot better."
Fans of both schools and the coaches and players know how this works. One of these teams is going to feel a lot better late Saturday afternoon as it walks off Florida Field. The other is in store for another dose of misery.
The Gators are 4-0 at home this season and 9-2 at The Swamp under Napier. They are 2-0 in this year coming off a loss. Keeping that record intact is priority No. 1 Saturday.
In this week's edition of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Arkansas matchup: THREE STORYLINES
The Gators need at least one win to become bowl eligible. With road trips to LSU and Missouri coming up, plus a home game against Florida State, this game is one Florida needs to win to likely show improvement in Coach Billy Napier's second season. The Gators can clinch at least a .500 record in the SEC with a victory.
The Razorbacks are one of the most competitive 0-5 teams in conference play in recent history. Arkansas has lost its five SEC games by a combined 29 points and the Gators must avoid complacency. Arkansas has not won since defeating Kent State 28-6 on Sept. 9.
Noon games are always tricky and the Gators bombed in their early start against Kentucky, falling behind 23-0 by the second quarter. The Gators say they are excited to play for the first time in all-black uniforms, so perhaps the special wardrobe will provide an energy boost. They need to come out sharp and set the tone.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Gators freshman receiver Eugene Wilson III was dynamic on the first drive against Georgia. Unfortunately, that was the Gators' highlight of the game. Florida could use Wilson to factor in the outcome in a greater way on Saturday. Wilson set a UF freshman record last week with 11 catches for 75 yards and a score. He ranks second on the team in receptions (37) and receiving yards (326).
The big storyline out of Fayetteville this week was whether talented running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders would play Saturday. Sanders has less than 100 yards rushing during an injury-plagued season. He has missed time with a knee injury but is listed as questionable against the Gators. Sanders rushed for more than 1,400 yards a season ago and adds an element to the offense that interim coordinator Kenny Guiton would like to have in his first game calling plays.
305.9 —Average yards per game for Arkansas' offense, ranked last in the SEC and 122nd nationally. 334.0— Total yards per game surrendered by Florida's defense, ranked sixth in the SEC and 34th nationally. 4 —Takeaways for UF's defense through eight games (two interceptions, two fumble recoveries). THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS DL PRINCELY UMANMIELEN
A fourth-year junior, Umanmielen leads the Gators with 7.5 tackles for loss.
Q:What is your role as a team leader over the final month of the regular season? Princely Umanmielen A: I would say just to keep our heads up. We've been through adversity this season, but I don't feel like we should go about the season just moping around, just coming here to be here. I feel like we should still play like we have something to play for. We shouldn't put our heads down just because we took the loss that we took. We should still keep fighting for the rest of the season to try to win out.
Q:What are the goals?
A: Bowl eligibility for sure. I would just say win. We have three losses, you're not playing football just to play football. Like, we're coming here so we can win games. I would just say winning for the rest of the season week after week.
Q:How difficult is it to not overlook a team like Arkansas, which has a six-game losing streak?
A: It's really important. Coach Napier had brought up that their record isn't the best, but they're still a team that can win. They've had a lot of tight games and things like that. Like after the Utah game, I told the team that we got to play every week like we playing the championship game no matter who we're playing. We can't come in, 'We playing Georgia this week, we got to play extra hard.' We have to play with that same mentality every week. NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
The Gators are 10-2 all time against Arkansas, including 5-0 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Florida has outscored the Razorbacks 217-102 in the five previous meetings at The Swamp, an average of 23 points per game.
Gators QB Graham Mertz has thrown 119 consecutive passes without an interception and has only one interception over his last 242 pass attempts.
The Gators are wearing alternate black uniforms for the first time in school history as part of their "Saluting Those Who Serve" game.
Florida has scored on 30 consecutive trips into the red zone (23 TD, 7 FG), and is tied for 11th nationally with a 93.9 percent conversion rate inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Razorbacks secondary coach Deron Wilson spent last season with the Gators as a defensive quality control analyst.
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said that RB Raheim "Rocket" Sanders might be available on Saturday. Sanders has missed much of the season with a knee injury after rushing for 1,426 yards and 10 TDs a season ago.
Razorbacks receivers coach Kenny Guiton is the interim offensive coordinator following the dismissal of Dan Enos following a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State two weeks ago.
With the loss of starting LB Shemar James to season-ending knee surgery, S Jordan Castell is Florida's leading tackler (40 stops) among available players.
The Swamp is one of two SEC venues where Arkansas has never won, along with Missouri's Faurot Field.
INJURY REPORT
GATORS — OUT: WR Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (lower body), TE Jonathan Odom (upper body), WR Caleb Douglas (lower body), LB Shemar James (knee, out for season), DL Justus Boone (knee, out for season), RB Cam Carroll (knee, out for season), TE Keon Zipperer (knee), OL Caden Jones (foot). QUESTIONABLE — DL Tyreak Sapp (upper body), DL Cam Jackson (upper body). ARKANSAS —OUT: TE Luke Hasz (shoulder, out for season), WR Sam Mbake (knee, out for season). QUESTIONABLE: RB Raheim Sanders (knee), DB Dwight McGlothern (concussion), P Devin Bale (undisclosed). THEY SAID IT
"It's called consequentialism, an ethical theory that says a decision is good or bad based on whether it has the desired result. Most sports fans are consequentialists, rarely granting that a bad outcome came from a good decision." — Gainesville Sun columnist David Whitley on fans who are second-guessing UF coach Billy Napier's fourth-and-1 decision against Georgia
"Ultimately, you get judged by the outcomes of those decisions." — Gators coach Billy Napier
"I don't think we've had a complete game this year. We do have a lot of young players. As a part of the young group, I feel like we're definitely getting better every week. We're looking up to the core group of veterans, Kingsley, Princely, Graham. I feel like once the team puts it all together, we're going to be dangerous." — Florida tight end Hayden Hansen
The Gators opened as a 6-point favorite in this one. The home-field advantage has been real for the Gators in 2023, most notably the upset of Tennessee. Still, this game has the feel of a dangerous one for Florida. Arkansas visits with a new play-caller and motivated to snap a six-game losing streak. The Gators want to become bowl eligible and rebound from last week's loss to Georgia. Flip a coin. That's kind of how I see it. But for the sake of taking a stance, Gators escape with an ugly win.
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