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Florida vs. Colorado State: Get To Know The Gators
Colorado State faces its second-straight SEC team.
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Colorado State heads across the country to take on the Florida Gators in another big game for the seasonf or the Rams. To get to know Florida a bit better we chatted with Andy Hutchins of Alligator Army for some local insight.
1. What happened last week vs. Kentucky and will Florida take out that frustration against Colorado State?
Florida just got manhandled up front, really. The Gators didn’t really stop Benny Snell and the Wildcats on the ground until it was too late, couldn’t meaningfully pressure Terry Wilson — or contain him, when the rush chased him from the pocket — and never got their own running game going, so the onus fell on Feleipe Franks to go win it for the Gators, and he didn’t.
I do think Florida is likely to be pissed off from the opening kickoff on Saturday, but the physical limitations of both lines have shown up in games against FCS Charleston Southern and mid-tier SEC team Kentucky now, so there’s no telling whether the Gators’ physicality might match their mentality.
1. What happened last week vs. Kentucky and will Florida take out that frustration against Colorado State?
Florida just got manhandled up front, really. The Gators didn’t really stop Benny Snell and the Wildcats on the ground until it was too late, couldn’t meaningfully pressure Terry Wilson — or contain him, when the rush chased him from the pocket — and never got their own running game going, so the onus fell on Feleipe Franks to go win it for the Gators, and he didn’t.
I do think Florida is likely to be pissed off from the opening kickoff on Saturday, but the physical limitations of both lines have shown up in games against FCS Charleston Southern and mid-tier SEC team Kentucky now, so there’s no telling whether the Gators’ physicality might match their mentality.
2. With this game is part of the Jim McElwain buyout from a few years ago does that have a bitter taste for still playing this one?
Eh. Not really? Florida players downplayed that this week, and McElwain no longer being around means that the game is weirder than it is momentous. Unless Florida loses this one — possible, though not probable — I think this probably goes down as a footnote rather than a chapter.
3. Who are the key players on each side of the ball that Colorado State should look out for?
Franks, obviously, is Florida’s key on offense: If he’s good, Florida can be very good, but if he’s average or bad, the Gators might struggle to score.
On defense, I think the name to know is Jachai Polite, whose pressures haven’t translated to sacks thus far this season; if Florida is going to keep Colorado State’s potent offense from putting up points, it will probably need pressure from its front seven to keep the pressure off its young and shallow secondary, which will be playing its first game without sophomore stud Marco Wilson, lost for the season thanks to a torn ACL suffered against Kentucky.
4. The Colorado State offense has shown to be good, in spurts, what does the Florida defense look to do to stop this up-and-down unit?
Again, the pressure is going to be important, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more blitzing from notoriously pressure-happy defensive coordinator Todd Grantham than we’ve seen in Florida’s first two games. Florida might also tweak its fronts — it spent a lot of time in a 4-2-5 against Kentucky and couldn’t stop the run as a result — if Colorado State finds a foothold on the ground.
5. How do you see this game playing out?
While I do think Colorado State has enough offense to hang for a while, I expect Florida to rebound from being pushed around against Kentucky, to do more to establish the run in this game than it has thus far this year, and to control the contest in a relatively comfortable win.
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