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No. 3 Florida (1-0) will have its first home game of the season Saturday, playing host to SEC East foe South Carolina (0-1). After losing to Tennessee in their opener, the Gamecocks will be anxious to get into the win column and upset the Gators in The Swamp.
Here are five keys to Saturday’s game.
1.
Kyle Pitts’ production
After a career day for tight end Kyle Pitts with eight catches for 170 yards and four touchdowns, the Gamecocks will be on a mission to try and take him out of the game. They did so successfully in 2019, limiting Pitts to five catches for just 29 yards. That marked a season low for him against SEC opponents.
Based on his offseason development and 2020 debut, Pitts should be more of a mismatch for South Carolina this time around and may triple his production from a season ago. He has also strengthened his connection with quarterback Kyle Trask, who won’t have the rain working against him Saturday like he did in Columbia last year.
2.
Florida’s ground game
In the previous meeting between these two teams, UF turned in one of its better rushing performances of the season. Jets rookie running back Lamical Perine saw his third highest rushing total of 2019 with 14 carries for 68 yards, while Dameon Pierce notched a 75-yard touchdown run.
The Gators closed out their 38-27 win with 154 rushing yards, which was a season-high in conference play. If Pierce and Malik Davis can lean on an improved offensive line unit and put up similar numbers Saturday, the Gamecocks will have trouble handling Florida’s offense.
3.
Bobo, Grantham chess match
History between coaches always makes for an interesting matchup, and Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and South Carolina offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo will cross paths Saturday. The two coached together at Georgia for four seasons, and Grantham said this week they know each other real well.
Bobo was UGA’s quarterbacks coach from 2001-2006 and then offensive coordinator from 2007-14, while Grantham served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2010-2013, including associate head coach the last two years. The two will meet again in Gainesville in Bobo’s first season with the Gamecocks.
4.
Shi Smith vs. UF’s secondary
Florida’s secondary needs to show some improvement Saturday after getting embarrassed in the opener against Ole Miss. The Gators’ pass defense had their worst showing under Grantham, allowing Matt Corral to throw for almost 400 yards and giving up 10 receptions to Elijah Moore for an inexcusable 227 yards.
South Carolina’s Shi Smith will be hungry for another big game, coming off his 140-yard performance on 10 catches against Tennessee. He’s the No. 1 target for transfer quarterback Colin Hill and the Gators can’t let Smith dominate the way Moore did against them. Having safety Shawn Davis back will help their cause.
5. Fewer missed tackles
Tackling was a huge area for concern for Florida’s defense in game one. UF missed more than 20 tackles against the Rebels, allowing Corral to scramble and pick up first downs. A lot of teams across college football struggled with tackling due to the long layoff, so some sloppiness was to be expected.
Nonetheless, the Gators knocked the rust off last Saturday and can’t have another performance like that. Cornerback Kaiir Elam said tackling comes down to “want to” and wrapping up with the right technique. It’s been addressed in practice this week, but only Saturday’s game will tell if the issue was fixed.
