I think confidence and momentum is a very powerful thing to possess when traveling into a hostile environment. I think this past weekend was a good test for our young team to play Tenn at night with 110,000 fans getting crazy with expectations that the volunteers would win that game. Florida showed up in a big way particularly the defense. Secondary is still a working progress with so many young guys thrown into the mix early on but our defensive line and linebackers were flying all over the field. Having Reese back was a huge boost to the defensive moral. The biggest key to this game imo is if Florida can contain miss states run game. Kentucky was able to completely shut down Fitzgerald and the run game and force them into a passing game which is not their forte. Keeping them in 3 and 6+ will be key. We have to maintain gap control and maintain the edge in order to not allow Fitzgerald to scramble for bulk yards. I think having Reese in this game will help with assignment discipline to keep Fitzgerald in the backfield. Mullen will know his tendencies/weaknesses as he taught him how to play the position. Fitzgerald will know this but Mullen will have some curve balls for him. Our defense played a lot better than the stat sheet would suggest against Kentucky but with 20 plus missed tackles and poor QB containment at times, we allowed them to convert big third downs and huge plays. I believe we have improved significantly on tackling. Franks has to continue to manage the offense, make some plays when they are there and not force any balls into tight coverage. Offensive line has been playing a lot more physical the past few games and they will need to continue. Running game has to be established early in order to take some heat off of franks. A part of me wants to believe that Mullen has not opened up the playbook just yet. He didn't have a reason to open it up against Colorado State or Tennessee. I think he prepped the offense for more plays believing the Tenn game would have been closer. All in all, I think we come out of Starkville with a couple cowbells and a WIN. 30-17. Go Gators!
