Above Image Credit: Tampa Bay Times
When: Saturday, Sept. 20th, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
How to Watch: ABC
It’s a Sunshine State showdown in South Florida as the Florida Gators face the undefeated Miami Hurricanes.
Miami Up, Gators Down
It’s almost obvious how things have been going between the Gators and Hurricanes. One team has been riding enough early in the season while the other has a tough time trying to keep it together.
Miami has been on an incredible run so far. They started their season surviving a tough battle against Notre Dame before making mincemeat out of Bethune-Cookman once again. Last week, they continued their winning ways with a dominant 49-12 victory over USF.
Florida, on the other hand, hasn’t been doing so hot. They easily dominated their first game against Long Island University, but it’s been downhill after that. It started with a 18-16 loss against USF, and the struggles continued with a 20-10 loss to LSU. As of last week, they gave up 20 points or less in seven games dating back to last season.
Florida vs. Miami: Final Thoughts and Prediction
How embarrassing have the Gators become so far? So embarrassing that last week, QB DJ Lagway threw five interceptions in that one game. They could’ve sidelined him after the third interception, but no. It’s surprising that he has a 71 percent completion rate (23rd in the nation), yet he made a mistake as big as this.
The road is just getting harder for them. This is the second week in a row where they will battle a top-5 team, and they can’t allow themselves to mess up worse. The team has been hanging by a thread for a while, and they still are. It would take a miracle for them to win this game.
Meanwhile, it might be too early to think about the Heisman right now, but Hurricanes QB Carson Beck is already a frontrunner for this honor. He’s already ran for 812 yards and made two touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has the 4th-highest QB rating (89.9) and leads the nation with a 79.3 percent completion rate.
Miami has won the last eight out of 10 meetings against the Gators. They have also won six consecutive games against in-state rivals, including USF and Bethune-Cookman.
Last season’s Florida vs. Miami matchup saw the Hurricanes demolishing the Gators, 41-17. Considering how each team is looking right now, I believe there will be a repeat of said “demolishing” on Saturday night. It won’t be long before college football fans know the story of this Hurricanes team.
