Pre-Game Discussion: Arkansas at FLORIDA

I hope the Black uniforms accidentally find their way into a dumpster fire!

 

Even if we go on a winning streak with them

 

I will be there as well

 

Really don't think the uniforms will have anything to do with it, do you?

 

I was joking around, hence the ..I really don't think unis or what you wear have a thing to do with it..but many are superstitious lol

 

It is kind of silly to have a blackout game at noon in Florida.

 

Wearing Black is not good.

ORANGE AND BLUE FOR ME. NO WHITES EITHER

 

Hoping Mr. Great Spot ref doesn't follow the team to Gainesville for the game.

 

That too!

 

This Gator will be there! I got two games this year, Tennessee was the first one.

 

LOL
My point exactly.
Go Gators!

 

Ark is now the game of the year for the Gators. Win and we are assured a bowl berth and .500 regular season. Lose and we're facing a gauntlet of three ranked opponents while still needing that coveted sixth victory. A look at the numbers:

Team.....scorO.....scorD.....runO.....runD.....passO.....passD.....3rd%.....3rdDef
Ark.........26.5.......22.9.......109.0.....131.6.....196.9......201.4........40.0.......35.9
FL...........28.0.......22.9.......137.2.....130.6.....274.1......203.5.......33.7.......31.9

Sos: FL 29th / Ark 16th
NCAA College Football Strength of Schedule Rankings & Ratings

FPI gives the Gators about a 51% chance of winning, while ranking Ark 34 and FL 40. Early line is Gators -6.

There's not much in terms of difference here, except for offensive yards, where the Gators run and pass for more yards than Arkansas. I think this one comes down to winning the run game, winning the t/o battle, and pressuring Jefferson. If we can do all three or at least two of three, we should win. It would be nice to win comfortably, but I fear a GA hangover + Ark coming in off a bye and they will be hungry for a much-needed victory. It's a 'nooner, so let's hope the Gators can be ready to go early on Saturday.

 

Pittman is coaching to save his job and they have a new interim OC. I would love for this to be a statement game for the Gators but I'd expect a tight one.

 

Can our defense hold them to their averages? I think our offense will do enough to win.

 

Florida needs to quickly get over this Georgia loss and move on to the next game. Don't make the Georgia loss a multi-game losing streak like in some previous seasons.

It's a good thing that the Arkansas game is a home game rather than a road game. In both 2017 (McElwain's last season at UF) & 2021 (Mullen's last season at UF) after the Georgia loss, UF went on to lose the next road games against USCe, Missouri. In 2018, Florida would lose to Missouri at home. https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/57/season/2018

Get back to what was working successfully against South Carolina, Vanderbilt & Tennessee. For instance, get off to a fast start and keep playing hard for all four quarters!

 

So on paper two evenly matched teams. Great.
If we have an advantage it looks to be the passing game. I like Mertz in that case.

 

Arkansas can keep games close, but can't win games decided by one score if their life depended on it.
our last noon kickoff was an utter embarrassment, we better be ready from the start. We have to set the tone early.

 

The only thing is that Florida should be used to playing a noon game. It will be their 3rd/4th one this season and UF should be ready for this game.

I still have the Georgia hangover, too, but looking at the box score, Florida's running game was very effective against Georgia; Florida just did not run enough after getting behind on the score board:
M. Johnson: 9/82 (9.0 avg)
T. Etieene: 7/42 (6.0 avg)
T. Webb: 4/17
-------------------------------
20/140y, 7.0 avg

The four sacks by Georgia and their pass rush caused two fumbles/one fumble recovery & negated some of the rushing stats. Against Arkansas, Florida needs to rush more than the 20 times against Georgia. Also, throw to the TE's more often, too.

Georgia 43-20 Florida (Oct 28, 2023) Box Score - ESPN

Florida's defense needs to play better and not have the special teams misques:
i.e, blocked punt(GA), blocked kick(USCe), not having 11 men in some special teams line-up.

 

I think everyone understands the importance of winning the game vs Ark..

No excuses. C'mon Gators get up and go!