GAINESVILLE, FLA- Following a crushing 33-38 loss to No. 8 Tennessee in week four, the Florida Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) returned to Gainesville from Knoxville in preparation for their week five game versus the Eastern Washington Eagles. As expected, the Gators dominated the Eagles in The Swamp, notching a 52-17 win behind numerous big plays from the offense.
After regaining plenty of confidence and momentum, the Gators will welcome the Missouri Tigers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) to The Swamp in a week-six SEC Conference matchup. With this said, it’s worth noting that Florida will have less time to prepare for their week six tilt against Missouri due to the threat of Hurricane Ian, which rescheduled Florida’s week five game to Sunday, October 2nd, rather than Saturday, October 1st.
Review of Florida’s Week Five Win Against Eastern Washington
As previously mentioned and expected, the Gators handled the Eagles with ease, winning 52-17 behind numerous big offensive plays. Following his 515 scrimmage yards (453 passing, 62 rushing) and four touchdown performance against Tennessee, Anthony Richardson proceeded to complete 8-10 pass attempts for 240 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while also running for 45 yards against Eastern Washington.
Unlike Florida’s previous three-man running back committee, Napier and Offensive Coordinator Rob Sale decided to switch the playcalling up, as eight different players recorded at least one rushing attempt. What is more surprising is Florida’s leading rusher was Junior Receiver Ricky Pearsall, who ran for a 75-yard touchdown on his lone carry. Florida’s passing attack was quite similar to their running game, as 13 different receivers caught passes, highlighted by Junior Justin Shorter (1/75/1), Sophomore Xzavier Henderson (2/40/1), and Freshman Daejon Reynolds (2/74/0).
In a game where Florida had no real reason to exhaust their starters against a weaker foe, Head Coach Billy Napier decided to give the backups some playing time, including Freshman Quarterback Jalen Kitna. After Richardson was relieved of his duties with 5:16 in the third quarter, Kitna played well in his season debut, completing 8-12 pass attempts for 152 yards and one touchdown, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to Freshman Receiver Caleb Douglas. Likewise, backup Running Backs Eddie Battle (2/32/0) and Carlson Joseph (2/5/0) also saw playing time in the 35-point win.
From a defensive standpoint, Florida played well against Eagles’ Star Quarterback Gunner Talkington, limiting him to 24-37 passing for 250 yards and one touchdown while sacking him twice. Overall, this 52-17 thrashing of Eastern Washington was the exact game that Florida needed before beginning a six-game stretch against SEC Conference Opponents.
Review of Missouri’s Week Five Loss to No. 2 Georgia
Despite entering the game as 31-point underdogs, the Tigers impressively matched the reigning National Champion Georgia Bulldogs for the majority of the game.
Sophomore Quarterback Brady Cook played well in a game-manager role, completing 20-32 pass attempts for 192 yards and one touchdown. More importantly, Cook helped facilitate Missouri’s running game, which was quite effective against Georgia’s stout defense, as senior running backs Nathaniel Peat and Cody Schrader combined for 126 rushing yards on 15 carries. It’s worth noting that sophomore receivers Dominic Lovett (6/84/0) and Mookie Cooper (5/55/0) both had success in their respective matchups versus Bulldog cornerbacks Keelee Ringo and Christopher Smith.
Furthermore, Missouri’s defense was just as impressive, minimizing Heisman Candidate Stetson Bennett III. After a blistering start to the season, Bennett struggled mightily in Faurot Field, completing 24-43 pass attempts for 312 yards and zero touchdowns. Likewise, the Tigers slowed All-American Tight End Brock Bowers down, limiting Bowers to 66 yards on five catches.
Up until 14:09 in the fourth quarter, Missouri held a commanding 22-12 lead over Georgia, before the Bulldogs stormed back. After Kendall Minton and Daijun Edwards each ran for one-yard touchdowns, Georgia claimed their first lead of the night, and held onto it for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately for Missouri, this hasn’t been the only time when they’ve played well enough only to fail to close the game out. In Missouri’s Week 4 conference game versus Auburn, Cook and the offense managed to score 14 unanswered points to send the game into overtime, only for Peat to fumble the ball at the goal-line on his 19-yard run. In a competitive SEC East Division, Missouri can’t continue to fumble football games away after playing good football for the majority of the game.
Game and Betting Information for Missouri vs. Florida
Game Information
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Date: Sunday, October Ninth, 2022 - Kick-Off Time: 12:00 P.M. ET
- TV: ESPNU, ESPN+
- Game Spread: -11 Florida
- Point Total Over/Under: 54.5
- Moneyline: Missouri +328, Florida -430
- Football Power Index (FPI): Favors Florida at 71.0%
Betting Information
- Florida has covered the spread three times in five games.
- Florida has won once Against the Spread (ATS, 1-1) as an 11-point or higher favorite this season.
- Three of Florida’s five games have gone over the point total.
- Missouri is 3-2 ATS through the first five games of the season.
- Missouri has yet to lose ATS (1-0) as an 11-point underdog or more this year.
- Four of Missouri’s Five Games have gone under the Point Total.
Ten Facts to Know for Missouri vs Florida
- While Missouri isn’t known for producing large amounts of professional football players, the Tigers have seen Aldon Smith, Kellen Winslow, Sheldon Richardson, Albert Okwuegbunam, Nick Bolton, and Drew Lock all attend and play for the University of Missouri.
- Since Florida and Missouri began their rivalry in 1996, the Tigers lead the all-time series against the Gators, 6-5.
- Florida’s 40-14 win versus Missouri in 2016 remains the largest victory in series history.
- After Missouri upset Florida 24-23 in Overtime, the Gators proceeded to fire Head Coach Dan Mullen, who ended his coaching tenure at Florida with four straight losses against SEC Conference Opponents.
- Through five games, Florida has seen its offenses produce modest results, averaging 32.2 PPG, 463.8 TYPG, 253.6 PYPG, and 210.0 RYPG.
- Meanwhile, Missouri is averaging 26.8 PPG, 374.6 TYPG, 206.2 PYPG, and 168.4 RYPG.
- So far, Florida has rotated through a Three Running Back Committee, including Montrell Johnson (38/282/4), Trevor Etienne (35/223/2) and Nay’Quan Wright (39/153/2), while Richardson has also contributed (42/241/5).
- Both Florida and Missouri have been quite successful when attempting fourth-down conversions. So far, the Gators are 8-12 (66.6%) on fourth-down conversions, while the Tigers are 4-5 (80.0%).
- Both Florida and Missouri enter Saturday’s game 0-2 in SEC Conference play, and are fifth and seventh in the SEC East, respectively.
- After their week six bout with Florida, Missouri will face SEC Opponents in five of their last six games, including a week nine matchup versus No. 13 Kentucky and a week ten matchup vs No. 8 Tennessee.