Florida vs. Missouri Prediction, Game Preview

Missouri (4-1) came up with one of its weirdest wins in its history beating Florida (5-0) 42-13 last season despite being totally outplayed and coming up with almost no offensive production. This time around, the Gators have a stronger team coming in off the huge performance over Ole Miss. Mizzou might be struggling a bit offensively, but one win over Florida takes control of the SEC East – for now. Check out the Florida vs. Missouri prediction and game preview.

Florida vs. Missouri Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, Oct. 10
Game Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field, Columbia, MO
Network: SEC Network

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Why You Need To Care

If the win over Tennessee was stunning, the victory over Ole Miss showed that Florida might be for real. At the very least, it showed what the team is capable of under new head coach Jim McElwain in his first season. With LSU and Georgia up next, there’s no time to take any sort of a break – that comes in November. But for now, if the Gators can get by Mizzou for the second time in the five games the two have played, they’ll make the game in Baton Rouge one of the biggest showdowns of the first half of the season.

Missouri might not be playing very well, but it’s still 4-1 and the road ahead isn’t all that bad after hosting the Gators and going to Georgia. It doesn’t matter how it all looks – if the Tigers can win the next two games, they’re going to have more than just the inside track to win a third straight SEC East title. But to do that, the offense has to finally wake up to help out a nasty D that’s carrying the team at the moment – Mizzou hasn’t allowed more than 21 points in any game so far.

Why Florida Will Win

The Gator defense is killing it right now. It might have had problems early on against Tennessee, and East Carolina had a few moments, but it’s 15th in the nation against the run and it’s all over the backfield with a ridiculous 46 tackles for loss on the year – only two teams have more. Missouri can forget about running the ball, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry and not finding any room to move, so unless it’s a case like last year when the Florida special teams implode and the mistakes start coming, it’ll be up to Drew Lock to throw against the loaded Florida corners. The Tigers aren’t going to move the ball.

Why Missouri Will Win

Yeah, Florida is ties for third in the nation in tackles for loss with 46 – tied with Penn State. Oklahoma State is No. 1 with 51, and Missouri is second with 48. How are the Tigers surviving with a lousy offense? Their defensive front is camping out in opposing backfields and keeping games in check. The Mizzou O doesn’t have to press and it doesn’t have to push – partially because it can’t. The Florida offensive line is doing a good job of holding up, and Will Grier is throwing like a seasoned veteran, but the Tigers should be able to rattle the cage a little bit.

Player Who Matters

Walter Brady is the new Mizzou star pass rusher, and he needs to be all over Grier as much as possible. It took a year to get back in the mix academically, but the 6-3, 255-pound Alabama native has come out of the gate roaring with a team-leading five sacks – all in the last three games – with 13 tackles. Really quick and with a great closing step, he fits the Mizzou mold. Now he has to try to make some noise against a decent Gator line that’s playing at a relatively high level.

What’s Going To Happen?

Missouri has had Florida’s number for the last two years, but the Gator D will shut down the horrible Tiger offense to a dead stop. It’s going to be a brutally ugly game, and both teams are good in terms of turnover margin, but Missouri just can’t move the attack.