Florida walked out of last week with a 52-28 statement win over Ole Miss, and now the challenge shifts from making noise to handling success. The No.
8 Gators are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, but their next test comes away from home against No. 25 Missouri, a team looking to bounce back after a 31-24 loss at Mississippi State.
Florida enters Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC as a 5.5-point road favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. That line didn’t stop David Pollack from making the Tigers the team he’d most like to side with in the matchup - at least at first glance.
On his “See Ball Get Ball” podcast, Pollack pointed to the way Florida has become one of the more talked-about teams in the country, with Buster Faulkner handling the offense and Jon Sumrall leading the program. He made it clear he thinks Missouri’s home field changes the feel of the game, especially after Florida’s big win last week.
“I want to be Missouri so bad in this matchup because everybody, everybody is like 'Oh, this Buster Faulkner guy's good. This Jon Sumrall guy's good!'"
Pollack said. "We've been talking about it for a while -- welcome aboard everybody.
"Here's the thing why this matchup becomes really awesome. You have that going for you, again, just like [with Florida vs.
Ole Miss] last week, Missouri is playing at home. Florida is not sneaking up on anybody, right?"
For Pollack, the key for Missouri is simple: make Florida’s offense less comfortable and force quarterback Aaron Philo to do more than hand the ball off. Florida’s ground game has been rolling, with Jadan Baugh piling up 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 7.2 yards per carry, while Duke Clark has added 259 yards and three scores at 8.1 yards per carry. As a team, Florida ranks 11th nationally in rushing at 260.0 yards per game.
Philo, the Georgia Tech transfer who followed Faulkner to Florida and is starting for the first time, has thrown only 87 passes in four games. He has 917 passing yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Against Ole Miss, he went 16-of-23 for 196 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and he also ran for a score.
Pollack liked what Missouri’s defense can bring to the table, especially up front and off the edge. He singled out Daeden Hopkins, who already has six sacks and two forced fumbles, and said the Tigers need to make Florida earn everything through the air.
"Missouri's defense, watching them vs. Mississippi State, Missouri's defense always finds a way to be physical, they always find a way to be good in the front 7.
They can rush the passer, 10 coming off the edge is consistently a problem," Pollack said of edge rusher Daeden Hopkins, who has 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles already. "...
Here's what I'm interested to see, this is the only thing that matters to me, can you put it in Philo's hands? Like literally, at some point who can make Philo be a QB because right now -- and I'm not knocking Philo, they're doing what they need to do and they're undefeated -- but right now Philo is getting worn out by handing that thing off.
"Over 300 [rushing yards] a game the last two games against Auburn and Ole Miss. That is a feat, that is impressive.
The offensive line is impressive. The system is impressive.
Who is going to be the first to say, 'Philo, you've got to beat me'? And can he go through progressions and make those plays when it's not the easy stuff.
Can you take away the layups, get him off schedule a little bit? If Missouri can do that at home, that will be interesting for me to watch.
That's what I'm looking for the most in this game."
Missouri’s own offense has a different shape. Quarterback Austin Simmons, the Ole Miss transfer, has thrown for 947 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Jamal Roberts leads the ground game with 395 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 4.4 yards per carry, while star Ahmad Hardy remains out as he continues to recover and work back from an offseason gunshot wound.
Even with Missouri at home and Florida coming off its biggest win of the season, Pollack landed firmly on the Gators. He expects Sumrall’s team to handle the trip and keep rolling.
"I trust Florida by this point now, I do. I trust them," Pollack said.
"I will say this, Florida's receiving corps is banged up to heck. It's going to be very interesting to watch them.
I've got Florida 38, Missouri 27ish. I'm trusting Florida on the road after a big game."
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The Gators have also shown real balance on the ground, ranking second in the SEC in rushing yards and leaning on a run game that has helped set their tone this season. Jadan Baugh has been at the center of it, giving Florida a reliable threat Missouri has to account for as it gets ready for a contest that now feels a little more complicated than it did a few days ago. [Read more 🡒]