The battle for the Sunshine State is right around the corner, and it is one of the most anticipated matchups for college football fans this season. This matchup is so important for both programs and coaches for rather similar reasons. With all the implications of this game, the week one excitement, and the first look at incoming transfers for both teams, this will be one of the best games we see all season.
Entering the 2024-2025 season, Mario Cristobal has something to prove to the city of Miami, as well as the media and critics, and it all starts Saturday. In his first two seasons leading Miami, he coached the team to a 5-7 record, then improved to 7-6 last season. Some might say 7-5 in the regular season isn’t that bad of a season for Miami, considering it’s an improvement from the year before. However, the fact that it was a winning season for Miami was darkened by the last-minute touchdown at home against Georgia Tech that directly fell on the coaching. So much so that Cristobal has announced that the Hurricanes have hired a time-management coach who will be on the sidelines for every game. Anyhow, Cristobal enters his third year with a plethora of incoming talent from the transfer portal, including dual-threat quarterback Cam Ward from Washington State.
On the other sideline, Billy Napier should be excited for summer to come to a close with a lot to prove after an off-season full of reports about the Gators’ daunting schedule, which comes with their projected win total at a shallow 4.5 o/u. Napier is in the hot seat after posting two consecutive losing seasons with last year’s coming with no bowl game. This is a must-win game for him and the program considering their formidable list of opponents coming up. If the Gators are able to beat this talented squad from Coral Gables, it will give them the motivation they need when they have to face the SEC powerhouses in the coming weeks.
Game Keys
Miami:
The Swamp is one of the most intimidating stadiums in college football, and it doesn’t help when the away team is coming in as the Gator’s historic rival in week one. The crowd will feed off an early Florida takeaway or score, which is why Miami needs to take care of the ball on their first drive as well as slow the Florida offense down. This game will be a dogfight, and one of the most important things for a team when entering a war is that their leader stays calm and focused. That is why if Miami wants to win, Cam Ward can not come out on the field looking like he is nervous of the bright lights, or like he has first-day jitters. Cam Ward must show why he was brought to Miami. He needs to walk on that field as a leader on Saturday afternoon and give confidence to the Hurricanes.
Florida:
Since they are at home and don’t have to deal with the roaring crowd noise, the Gators should look to apply pressure early. One of the best ways to do this is for quarterback Graham Mertz to get some dropbacks early considering Miami only returned one player in the secondary from last year. However, Florida will need to count on someone else to break big catches on Saturday after Ricky Pearsall was selected by the San Fransisco 49ers in the NFL Draft this April. Mertz’s number one target will most likely be returning sophomore Eugene Wilson III, however, Florida did bring in some other receivers through the transfer portal with 5th-year senior Chimere Dike from Wisconsin as well as senior Elijah Badger from Arizona State. The bottom line is that Florida needs to play with the home-field advantage on their back and apply pressure on Cam Ward. If he becomes flustered by the rowdy Florida crowd mixed with pure harassment by Austin Armstrong’s defense, there is a good chance the Gators kick off 2024 with a win.
Odds and Prediction:
- Pick ATS: Miami (-2.5)
- Pick OU: Over (54)
- Prediction: Miami 31, Florida 27