When October began, Florida football sat 10th in the AP Poll, with three victories and a two-point loss to the top team in the country.
When dawn rose on November, however, the program couldn’t have felt further from such peaks. Florida football lost three of its past four games, including a 34-7 beatdown at the hands of No. 1 Georgia a week ago. Now in the midst of his worst season at the helm of the orange and blue, head coach Dan Mullen and his team embark on the final third of their season Saturday with a 7:30 pm game against South Carolina. The Alligator’s football writers offer their thoughts on the contest.
Ryan: So let’s go over the bad.
Florida’s vaunted rushing attack, which compiled 1,290 yards and 13 touchdowns through four weeks, hasn’t reached 200 yards since Alabama came to town. The Gators still averaged 162.75 yards on the ground over its last four contests, which is still plenty formidable, but they’re now third in the Southeastern Conference in rushing offense. Florida’s still one of the best rushing teams in the country and they’re way better than South Carolina, but a team once poised to touch history now simply appears very good.
Also, the turnovers. Florida’s sitting at a -7 turnover differential as a team, and its 16 turnovers committed sit a glorious tie for 116th in the country. The Gators have thrown 14 interceptions, three more than anyone else in the SEC, and South Carolina’s defense has nabbed 11 of its own, tied for eighth in the nation. Not a great combo.
Florida’s also 0-2 in conference road games this season, and this week, the Gators are — you guessed it — on the road.
Now for the good. South Carolina is, politely, terrible. The Gamecocks are 1-4 in the SEC this season, and that win came with a comeback over Vanderbilt, who isn’t exactly stiff competition. They lost to Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M by a combined 82 points.
In a cold-weather showdown, Florida should statistically destroy the Gamecocks. I’m not sold the Gators have the motivation to get up for a blowout. Gators win, 20-14.
Michael: Let’s just get this out of the way: Neither of these teams are good. Both the Gators and Gamecocks sit at 4-4 in the middle of lost seasons with really nothing but pride to play for. The Gators haven’t won a game in nearly a month, taking losses to both LSU and Georgia with a bye week sandwiched in between. Meanwhile, South Carolina was dismantled 44-14 in its last game against Texas A&M.
The common denominator between these two squads? Their last victories each came against Vanderbilt.
On paper, Florida is a much better team. The ‘Cocks are dead last in the SEC in total yards and second-to-last in points per game, while the Gators are third in the conference in total yards and middle-of-the-pack in points per game.
As Ryan pointed out, the Gators hold a considerable advantage over the Gamecocks on the ground: Florida boasts four players — Emory Jones, Anthony Richardson, Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis — in the top 25 in rushing yards in the SEC. USC’s top rusher, running back ZaQuandre White, is 28th in the conference in yards, but he is averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
All the numbers point to a UF blowout, but I just can't get behind that. The Gators are simply broken: Between Richardson’s poor first start, Mullen’s dodging of the media and the defense’s lack of, well, everything, this Florida team seems beyond repair. I’m still taking UF, but I do not think it comes close to sniffing the 20.5-point spread. Gators win, 24-17.
Contact Ryan Haley at rhaley@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @ryan_dhaley.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @michael_hull33.
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
Ryan Haley, a UF journalism senior with a sports & media specialization from Jacksonville, Florida, is Summer 2022's Engagement Managing Editor. He grew up playing a bunch of different sports before settling on golf, following Rory McIlroy and all Philadelphia sports teams. He also loves all things fiction, reading, watching shows and movies and talking about whatever current story or character is in his head.
