No. 11 Florida at Missouri: Three-minute preview
1When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia
TV/radio: SEC Network; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 3-1
The line: Florida by 4 1/2
What’s at stake
Realistically, a shot at a third straight SEC East title. A win would effectively give Florida a three-game lead against Missouri, which would trail by two games in the loss column and be on the wrong side of the tiebreaker.
Cheers if ...
Missouri sustains the physicality it showed at the point of attack in the run game against South Carolina. The Tigers, who’ve won seven straight at home, still only averaged 3.9 yards per carry but were dominant and imposing at time last week, a trend that must continue.
Jeers if ...
Missouri can’t control Florida’s run game. The Gators only average 3.9 yards per carry on the season, a number that drops to 3.2 yards in SEC play. The Tigers’ goal should be to force quarterback Will Grier to beat them then get after him.
Tod Palmer’s pick: Florida 23-17
Florida’s defense is playing exceptionally well and Missouri has enough question marks on offense to give pause. The Gators are motivated by last season’s embarrassment in The Swamp, but the score easily could flip if the Tigers win the turnover battle.
MISSOURI (4-1, 1-1 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-3 |
Sept. 12 | at Arkansas State | W, 27-20 |
Sept. 19 | Connecticut | W, 9-6 |
Sept. 26 | at Kentucky | L, 21-13 |
Oct. 3 | South Carolina | W, 24-10 |
Sat. | Florida | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 17 | at Georgia | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 24 | at Vanderbilt | TBA |
Nov. 5 | Mississippi State | 8 p.m. |
Nov. 14 | vs. BYU (at Arrowhead Stadium) | TBA |
Nov. 21 | Tennessee | TBA |
Nov. 27 | at Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
FLORIDA (5-0, 3-0 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | New Mexico State | W, 61-13 |
Sept. 12 | East Carolina | W, 31-24 |
Sept. 19 | at Kentucky | W, 14-9 |
Sept. 26 | Tennessee | W, 28-27 |
Oct. 3 | Mississippi | W, 38-10 |
Sat. | at Missouri | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 17 | at LSU | 6 p.m. |
Oct. 31 | vs. Georgia | 2:30 p.m. |
Nov. 7 | Vanderbilt | TBA |
Nov. 14 | at South Carolina | TBA |
Nov. 21 | Florida Atlantic | TBA |
Nov. 28 | Florida State | TBA |
Three things about Florida
1 The Gators are tied for third in the nation with 46 tackles for a loss, including four players with at least 6 1/2 tackles for a loss. Defensive tackle Jon Bullard is tied with Missouri’s Charles Harris and Texas A&M’s Myles Garret for the SEC lead with 9 1/2 tackles for a loss.
2 Redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier ranks fifth among starting quarterbacks in the SEC with a 153.6 pass efficiency rating. He’s one spot ahead of Missouri’s Drew Lock (140.0).
3 Florida junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III is ranked No. 3 among all NFL Draft-eligible prospects on ESPN analyst Todd McShay’s latest Top 32.
Key matchup
Quarterback Drew Lock vs. Florida’s secondary: Obviously, the offensive line must protect Lock, who is making his second career start, or nothing else matters, but he’s going to have to take some chances against an aggressive, talented group of Gators defensive backs, who collectively boast 78 career starts.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 6 | J’Mon Moore | 6-3 | 190 | So. |
WR | 2 | Nate Brown | 6-3 | 205 | So. |
LT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 63 | Brad McNulty | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Sr. |
RT | 55 | Nate Crawford | 6-5 | 300 | So. |
TE | 10 | Jason Reese | 6-5 | 250 | So. |
WR | 18 | Wesley Leftwich | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 3 | Drew Lock | 6-4 | 205 | Fr. |
RB | 32 | Russell Hansbrough | 5-9 | 195 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 56 | Walter Brady | 6-3 | 255 | Fr. |
DT | 79 | Terry Beckner Jr. | 6-4 | 300 | Fr. |
NG | 97 | Josh Augusta | 6-4 | 345 | Jr. |
DE | 91 | Charles Harris | 6-3 | 255 | So. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. |
LB | 25 | Donavin Newsom | 6-2 | 230 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Kenya Dennis | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. |
SS | 22 | Anthony Sherrils | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
FS | 21 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 26 | Corey Fatony | 5-11 | 185 | Fr. |
FLORIDA OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 11 | Demarcus Robinson | 6-1 | 208 | Jr. |
TE | 83 | Jake McGee | 6-6 | 244 | Sr. |
LT | 78 | David Sharpe | 6-6 | 359 | So. |
LG | 63 | Trip Thurman | 6-5 | 307 | Sr. |
C | 54 | Cam Dillard | 6-4 | 311 | So. |
RG | 51 | Antonio Riles | 6-4 | 312 | So. |
RT | 75 | Mason Halter | 6-6 | 295 | Sr. |
WR | 81 | Antonio Callaway | 5-11 | 206 | Fr. |
WR | 4 | Brandon Powell | 5-9 | 185 | So. |
QB | 7 | Will Grier | 6-2 | 203 | Fr. |
RB | 21 | Kelvin Taylor | 5-10 | 206 | Jr. |
K | 98 | Jorge Powell | 5-10 | 171 | Fr. |
FLORIDA DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 96 | Cece Jefferson | 6-1 | 270 | Fr. |
NT | 91 | Joey Ivie | 6-3 | 290 | Jr. |
DT | 90 | Jon Bullard | 6-3 | 280 | Sr. |
DE | 94 | Bryan Cox Jr. | 6-3 | 265 | Jr. |
LB | 3 | Antonio Morrison | 6-1 | 234 | Sr. |
LB | 40 | Jarrad Davis | 6-2 | 232 | Jr. |
CB | 1 | Vernon Hargreaves III | 5-11 | 200 | Jr. |
S | 42 | Keanu Neal | 6-1 | 215 | Jr. |
S | 20 | Marcus Maye | 6-0 | 210 | Jr. |
DB | 24 | Brian Poole | 5-10 | 208 | Sr. |
CB | 6 | Quincy Wilson | 6-1 | 210 | So. |
P | 19 | Johnny Townsend | 6-1 | 200 | So. |
Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer
This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 2:19 PM with the headline "No. 11 Florida at Missouri: Three-minute preview."