GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we bring you our Friday prediction podcast before the Florida Gators take on Mississippi State on Saturday night.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre breakdown the game and what their keys are for both teams on Saturday and what the Gators need to do in order to get a win on Saturday.
Andrew and Nick also give you their three players to watch for the Gators, plus pick the top games around the country.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, Friday before the cowbells. Are you ready for the headache of the cowbells?
Nick: I think I’m going to bring earplugs. I don’t think I’m ready for it. Some of the other writers that are going to the game have talked about being ready for it. I think they’re just full of it. I’ve heard cowbells once or twice in my lifetime and don’t care to have 60,000 of them being rung around me.
Andrew: I would much rather hear cowbells than that dumb Rocky Top.
Nick: No. That’s just wrong.
Andrew: No. That’s just right. That’s just your opinion, your flawed opinion. Nick, we all know that inside you like Rocky Top. It’s okay. But Rocky Top sucks.
Nick: No.
Andrew: It does. I was doing a radio show this week, Nick, with some Mississippi State guys. They continued to talk about the whole narrative with Dan Mullen, and they asked me something, Nick, and this is weird to say. The players are Florida are the least talked about people going into a football game that they have to play. All you hear about is Mississippi State players, how they’re going to react to Dan Mullen, how Dan Mullen is going to react to their players, and the Dan Mullen versus Joe Moorhead. When you take that narrative, the guys should be going in pretty free. They haven’t been talked about all this week this week. It was something that I didn’t really think about until it was brought to my attention. The guys are really the only ones that are really not talked about this week.
Nick: I think that’s what Mullen kind of said on Monday. He liked that narrative, because it kind of put the pressure on him and took the pressure off of his team. I think that’s what you’re talking about now and what we’re kind of seeing.
Andrew: Again, it’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s going to be a game that is going to be physical. It’s going to be a game that I think probably goes into the fourth quarter, or at least into the second half, in my opinion, I think both of them come out, and it would not surprise me to see both teams make some early mistakes as they try to get out to an early lead, as the adrenaline is coming about. This may be more on the side of Mississippi State. Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Nick Fitzgerald come out and commit a big turnover, or turn that momentum into a big touchdown. Lord forbid if that happens. That stadium may fall down because of the atmosphere there.
Nick, I just go back to this. I’ll say it again, and I’ll say it again on Saturday. Whichever team can be more physical on the line of scrimmage on Saturday is going to win this football game.
Nick: If you say that, I don’t think it bodes well for Florida.
Andrew: Okay. Let me ask you this. I’m not saying that you’re saying I’m wrong, because I know, I’m pretty sure that you agree with me in some capacity that the physicality is going to win this football game. If physicality is not the number one key for you, what is?
Nick: No. I think that’s where this game is won or lost. I just don’t think that’s good for Florida.
Andrew: I agree. It’s not good. But this is what I said on Wednesday, and I’m not going to go on that whole spiel again, Florida has the ability to be physical.
Nick: They have the ability to do it. Dan Mullen built a team for nine years in Starkville that that’s what people were recruited for. They were recruited, because they were physical. They were recruited and then coached to be the most physical team on the field. Like Urban Meyer came to Florida and said, we’re going to be the fastest team in the country. Dan Mullen got to Starkville and said, we’re not going to be able to be the fastest, but we’ll be the toughest team in the country, and I’m going to go out and get those kids that I think are tough and then make them even tougher through training. Florida hasn’t had, the last coach didn’t care if they were tough or not.
Andrew: Right. We’ll see just where it is. After talking to Brett and going back and watching some tape myself, Nick, both quarterbacks may need to wear some extra protection in the game. Maybe a double rib protector, maybe some extra padding in the legs. Because both tackles maybe have more watch out blocks than they do pancake blocks on the year.
Nick: I think Martez Ivey played really well. He’d probably be the first person, well I guess not first. There’s really three that you would worry about. But Martez, according to Pro Football Focus, didn’t allow any pressure against Tennessee from his side. I mean, that’s good for him, but you talk about Jeffrey Simmons and Sweat and the guys that they have up front, I think it’s a big, big tall task for Florida’s offensive line. I’m not sure that they’re ready for that.
Andrew: Then turn it around, Nick. Are they ready for Jachai Polite? Are they ready for Cece? Are they ready for Jabari? Are they ready for that? I say this knowing that Jachai had an off game in the Kentucky game and can get a little out of control at times, but Jachai Polite is one of the best pass rushers in the SEC as well. I think you would agree with me. Jachai Polite is a physical son of a gun when he wants to be as well. That doesn’t bode well for Mississippi State either.
Nick: No. That doesn’t bode well for Mississippi State. I think their offensive line is probably a little bit better equipped than Florida’s, just based on what we’ve seen.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: I was about to say something. It would have been wrong. I think, when it comes to in terms of being a passer, I would give Florida’s Feleipe Franks the edge over Nick Fitzgerald. He’s just not a great passer, but he is one of the best running quarterbacks they’ll face, and I think probably since Terry Wilson. Those will be the one, two guys that Florida faces in terms of running quarterback all year long.
Andrew: Right. This is an interesting stat, Nick. Mississippi State, as bad as their tackles have been, have only allowed five sacks on the year.
Nick: I think that’s because of Fitzgerald. That’s because of how good of a runner he is.
Andrew: Right, because when I say this stat it’ll make even more sense. Florida’s only allowed how many?
Nick: I think eight. Seven?
Andrew: Six.
Nick: Again, there have been times where Feleipe Franks could have or should have been tackled or sacked and wasn’t.
Andrew: Right. It’s a little misleading for that part, but, again, when you look at these teams, both Fitzgerald and Franks have done a good job overall of escaping the pocket, throwing the ball away. I think that would be probably the thing that Feleipe has grown the most at overall. We’ll just continue to kind of see where that goes this week. This is going to be the week that he’s tested.
On the year, Mississippi State in four games have sacked the opposing team 13 times, with Montez Sweat leading the way at 4.5 sacks on the year. The one thing that has shown throughout the entire season is that Mississippi State, despite not having Todd Grantham, they’re still blitzing multiple people. When you pull up their sack line, they’ve got linebackers in the mix. They’ve got two DBs with sacks already on the year. They’re a team that is multiple in their blitz packages, just like Florida is.
Now, will that help Florida? Having seen Todd Grantham’s defense for all of spring and most of fall camp, it should. We’ll see kind of where that goes. It should not come as a surprise to this offensive line or running backs.
Nick: No. We’re talking about the offense and defensive line, both of those being big keys for Florida. Their tackles aren’t that great. But then it gets into the fact that I was talking about with Brett and you on Wednesday, does Florida play wild and aggressive, and do the tackles, even though they’re not good, are they able to push Florida’s ends up so far down the field that now you got these huge running lanes for Nick Fitzgerald? That’s what we saw against Kentucky. What is your plan? If you’re a coach, if you’re John Hevesy, if you’re Christian Robinson, what is your plan to keep Fitzgerald in the pocket and not let him beat you with his legs like Terry Wilson did?
Andrew: For me, Nick, and it sounds simple, it’s not. It’s not, because if it was simple, all these coaches would be doing it. I mean, Todd Grantham’s a lot smarter than I am. If I was in Todd Grantham’s shoes, and I’m sure this is some of what Todd Grantham has planned, you go in there, and you tell your defensive line, be aggressive to the point of the quarterback. Do not go past the quarterback. Form that pocket, and make that pocket stick, while bringing in the pocket and making the pocket collapse.
For me personally, Nick, I would not be surprised to see Vosean Joseph or Rayshad Jackson or potentially David Reese spying Nick Fitzgerald for a majority of the game. Would not surprise me at all to see that happen.
It sounds so easy, but it’s not. The ends and the tackles cannot go past Nick Fitzgerald, because once that happens, you just check a guy off of the defense. You’re playing one less guy. That’s what happened multiple times against Kentucky, and at times it was multiple guys running past Terry Wilson, to where it was both Jabari and Jachai out of the play already, and that’s, at the time, two of your better defenders.
Nick: That happens so often. It does sound easy, not going past the quarterback, but when you’re coming and trying to rip off the ball it’s easy for somebody to take advantage of that speed and kind of just shove you a little father down field than you wanted to be.
Andrew: Right. For tackles at Mississippi State, who aren’t the best in the world, they’re going to be okay with letting you fly by Nick Fitzgerald. That’s going to be what they’re taught. That’s what all offensive linemen are taught. If you get beat, just shove him on past the quarterback, because then they’re out of the play. That’s the same way I think Florida has to do with Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. Let those guys fly by Franks. Allow Franks to step up in the pocket and have that run-pass option there and see where things go.
For me, Nick, it’s all going to be about Franks and Fitzgerald’s ability to hit that hot route, to see this is what it is. And for both quarterbacks, not rushing a decision, and then throwing into coverage. Because with both offensive lines being questions marks, defensive touchdowns, special teams touchdowns, short fields are huge.
Nick: That probably would be, going back a couple minutes ago, when you asked me what would my key be, I think special teams would be a key, because I don’t think you need just a big special teams play. Being Florida this week, I think you need a special teams touchdown this week, or if not a touchdown on special teams, a block punt or a returned punt, returned kick, that puts you in touchdown territory, inside the 10, inside the 20-yard line. I think Florida will probably need something like that on special teams this week.
Andrew: Yeah. You have to create a short field, because when you have a team who is going to probably be more physical than you, the less you have to run to get there, the better. You and I both know it’s going to be tough for both teams to go 75 yards, 80 yards, multiple times in a game. It’s just going to be tough.
Nick: Which team do you think, if you had to guess, if you had to make a bet on which team will have more drives of 70 yards or more?
Andrew: I would say probably Mississippi State. Just from the fact of Mississippi State’s defensive line against Florida’s. But then again, I wonder how Mississippi State’s offensive line is going to hold up against Florida’s defensive line. Listen, I don’t think people understand how much of a difference it makes having Cece and David Reese back, those two guys that missed that Kentucky game. It sounds so cliché to say, David Reese, what’s he doing to help the defensive line? He’s helping a ton, because he’s a leader out there. I would say State by a close margin, but I don’t know that I would go gamble on that, by no means.
Nick: I’d probably go State. I think I would gamble on it.
Andrew: Really? I mean, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong. I just say that for me it’s tough for me to say for sure one or the other. I mean, listen, I don’t mean this in a negative light to Kentucky, but Kentucky’s defense was okay. I mean, Florida made a ton of mistakes there, but State never sustained a drive whatsoever.
Nick: Yeah. You could say on the road versus at home, but I don’t think that’s a very intimidating atmosphere at Kroger Field there in Kentucky.
Andrew: Right. I mean, for me, I will say this. When you look at the atmosphere in Starkville, it’s going to be raucous, and that will be something that you’ll have to look at and worry about for Florida. That’s nothing different than Neyland Stadium. Neyland Stadium is going to be louder than Starkville. It just is. I mean, period. It just is.
Nick: Yeah. What we talked about with Will, and what I think makes it different, is this is like the first time Lebron James went back to Cleveland.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: That place was an insane asylum. Maybe like the first time Shaq went back to Orlando after he left to go to the Lakers. This is their guy. Their guy left. Judging just on Brett retweeting this week has caused my mentions to be just filled with people who I didn’t even know they had internet access in Starkville. Apparently, they do, and they’re yelling at me, like I’m the one that left. They’re mad at everyone.
Andrew: Right. Shouldn’t have caused problems, Nick.
Nick: Don’t tell Brett about the Friday podcast, because he’ll retweet that, and they’ll hear that comment.
Andrew: Let me ask you this, Nick. What do you see from the backup? Keytaon Thompson, did I say that right?
Nick: Probably didn’t.
Andrew: Probably didn’t. He’s been used in three game so far this year. That could be something that you have to look forward to as well. That will a package that I’m sure Mullen is going to be prepared for as well. When that happens, you definitely have to be fundamentally sound, because we all know he can throw the ball, and he can run the ball. I would say, if he has a package, it’s probably to run the ball more so than it is to pass the ball, but you still have to go into that package on defense being very fundamental and coming in and knowing that I have to play my gap football. I have to explode in my gap and make a play from my gap, but I cannot get out of my gap, because it looks I have a hole, because when it looks like you have a hole, 9 times out of 10 it’s because the offense wants you to think you have a hole.
Nick: It’s designed to look like that.
Andrew: Right. Exactly.
Nick: His extended playing time was that first game, when Fitzgerald was out. He only completed 41.9% of his passes. He was 13 of 31 against Stephen F Austin. The yards look great, 364, 11.7 per attempt, with 5 touchdowns. That looks great. When you look at it form a running perspective, he ran the ball 10 times for 100 yards and two more touchdowns. So, seven touchdowns he created in the game is fantastic. I look at that completion percentage, because that’s a terrible team and a terrible completion percentage. This is really the Nick Fitzgerald show. Might be some packages. Maybe if Fitzgerald is hurt you really talk about that. To me, this is kind of he’s okay. I think Florida will be able to take advantage of him, if he’s in the game a bunch. But this is really the Nick Fitzgerald show.
Andrew: Exactly. I agree it’s the Fitzgerald show. I just say that I think it’s one of those deals where when you start to look at the packages and the small essences of the game, what will this come about? That could very well be a package for Mississippi State, for Thompson, in the game. We’ll see. Nothing for sure there.
When you look at special teams, Nick, Mississippi State punt returner just averaging 7.2 yards per return on punts. Just 10 returns so far this year. Then kickoff return, not really doing much. A lonely 23.4 on a kickoff return. They’re only allowing 21.1 on kickoffs as well. That’s a little bit of a number to look at. Then on the opponents, when they’re punting, they’ve only allowed one return all year, Nick. That’s something we were used to last year with your boy Johnny Townsend. This will be something to look for this week for Florida as well. How can they take advantage when Mississippi State is kicking off or punting as well?
Nick: You’ve got a team that, I think Brett said it, kind of looking at mirrors of each other. This is a team, when I said earlier that you need a special teams touchdown, this is a team that’s been hearing special teams, special teams for how long now? They’ve been hearing about special teams for nine years with Dan Mullen as their coach. So, they’re coached well on special teams. I’m sure it’s still a big point of emphasis with their coaching staff there. That’s super impressive.
When you look at their punter, you know I always like to look at the punter, that’s a great stat to look at. Sometimes we look at punting average, but a lot of times punters are punting from the 50, and we just need you to kick the ball 30 yards. Just get it inside the 20. That skews your average. When you look at their punter and only having one returned all year, that sounds like he’s getting hang time.
Andrew: Right. Exactly. The one key that I think when you look at this game, Nick, is field goals. Their field goal kicker is only one for three on the year, Nick. That’s something that Evan McPherson, knock on wood, has been good with. So, that’s something you’ll have to continue to watch in this game. We talk about special teams, a missed field goal could be the turning point.
Nick: I could see that.
Andrew: Either way. Either way that could be a turning point in the game. Nick, for me, and we’ll go ahead and start moving on here into our players and stuff like that, for me, it’s just I talk about the key being physicality, even more so than that is just calming the nerves. Is this a big game for Florida? Is this an important game for Florida? Yes. But the pressure is not on Florida, in my opinion, in this game. The pressure is on State, because it’s a home game for them. It’s a game that everybody in the country is going to predict them to win. They’re the favorites in the game. For me, the pressure is on State. Florida can just go in there, relax, and play for your coach. That’s the key for me.
Nick: Yeah. I can see that. I also think that Mississippi State is the team expected to win this game. That comes along with its own pressure. Florida won’t say it unless they win, but I know that this game means something more to them. It was all, listen, Mississippi State circled this game in December. The second Dan Mullen was on that private jet headed to Gainesville, they took a Sharpie, a ballpoint pen, pricked their finger and circled it in blood. This game has meant something to them, to their community, to their school that it doesn’t mean for Florida, until probably this week when Florida sees how crazy and how much this game means to the other team.
Then you start thinking about it, and then you start thinking, let’s win this one for Coach. I think the players want to win this one for Dan Mullen. They walked about wanting to win it for Charlton Warren and Coach Scott last week, with both of them going back to Tennessee for their first time. When they see these people on Facebook and Twitter and message boards from Mississippi State, there has to be some kind of let’s win this one for Dan. Let’s win this week for Coach. There has to be some of that, and I think that kind of adds pressure too, or can add pressure.
Andrew: Yeah. I get that. I’m with you. This is a game that the players will have Dan’s back in this game. They’ll go in, and they’ll say this win is for Mullen. If they do win this game, the game ball will go to Mullen and all that good stuff. I just think all the pressure is on State in this game. After the embarrassing loss to Kentucky, and everyone had them at a team that could potentially be a top 10 team in the country heading into the Kentucky game.
Nick: They were on their way there. They beat a top 10 team if they won last week.
Andrew: That’s what I’m saying. Everyone had those, and everyone was talking about could they stay with Alabama, could they knock off Auburn, could they somehow either make it to Atlanta or be the #2 team. All that stuff was there and talked about. Listen, all that stuff is still there. You can still reach all your goals. That loss last week was in the past and everything else. For me, it’s just a pressure game. You don’t want to lose two in a row for them. Florida, we can talk about Tennessee being down and everything else, that’s a momentum win. You go on the road, you beat your rival. It’s a momentum win.
Nick: What are Mississippi State’s goals, to lose to Alabama in Tuscaloosa? Because that’s a very reachable goal.
Andrew: You know what I mean when I say their goals. Their goal is to get to, I mean, every team in America will tell you their goal is to reach their conference championship. That’s their goal. They can still get there. They’re not going to.
Nick: In what alternate universe are they still getting there?
Andrew: I didn’t say they were going to get there. I said they won’t get there. I said their goal is still there to get there, if they want to, if they can beat Alabama. They’re not going to. The goal realistically isn’t there, but the goal on paper is still there. That’s what I’m saying. What I’m saying, Nick, is losing two in a row for them is something that is going to put pressure on them. I think Florida comes out loose. It would not surprise me to see Florida take an early lead in the game. We’ll make our prediction here in a little bit, but, for me, it’s going in there, playing loose, and then not playing with your adrenaline because of the atmosphere there and Dan Mullen and all of that. Don’t allow yourself to get out of your normal. Feleipe, don’t go out there and revert back to your old ways of trying to sling it into four-man coverage.
Nick: That gets into one thing I wanted to hit. Playing with that emotion, I don’t think Florida will be able to overcome turnovers. That’s a way to get yourself into trouble early is coming out too fired up, too much adrenaline going, and then just forgetting. Coughing up a ball or, if you’re Feleipe Franks, throwing an interception trying to squeeze something in. This is a game where you can’t let that stuff. The emotions are going to be going crazy, because they’re going to be hearing stuff from the stands that maybe you heard last week, but you probably expected it.
Andrew: Your grandma don’t want to hear these words.
Nick: Yeah. Grandma would blush if she heard the stuff that’s going to be coming out of the stands. I’m sure they heard some stuff. I mean, I tweeted that crazy Tennessee fan was telling Feleipe Franks that he was his daddy, and he was ugly. I’m thinking, if you’re his daddy, that means he got your DNA, so are you ugly? I couldn’t tell with all the face paint he was wearing, but I was just like, that’s some Knoxville, Tennessee logic right there. I’m your daddy, and you’re ugly. Okay. What are you, idiot?
I mean, you heard that stuff last week, but I just don’t think Florida is a better team than Mississippi State on paper, and I think they are against Tennessee. I don’t think you can overcome early turnovers, especially if Mississippi State is able to capitalize on those turnovers. I don’t think you can overcome that.
So, come out and, I guess, try to use that adrenaline to your benefit, but don’t let it get out of hand. Don’t lose control of it.
Andrew: Agreed. I don’t know if either team can overcome turnovers, to be honest with you. Just because you don’t want either team pinning their ears back and just flying at your quarterback.
Nick, let’s go. I got first pick this week for players, and, Nick, I talked about him before, and I’ll say it again. #33, David Reese is my first pick. Captain of your defense. If Florida is going to do well on defense, it’s all going to start with 33.
Nick: Yeah. I think every week we’re going to be fighting for David Reese, because he’s going to lead the team in tackles every week.
Andrew: Nick, that’s all fine and dandy. Don’t get me wrong. That’s a big thing in our picks, but I don’t think anybody can really understand how important he is to that defense from a leadership standpoint.
Nick: David Reese has played one game, and only has 14 less tackles than the leading tackler, who’s Rayshad Jackson.
Andrew: Right. Again, it’s Tennessee, but when you look at that defense, it was a lot less confused. It was a lot quicker getting lined up. That all goes back to your leader, your quarterback on defense.
Nick: Agreed. I think it’s a good pick. If I had picked first, I might have gone him. Instead, I’m going with Jordan Scarlett. I think without Malik Davis that running back rotation is really just two, and really just Lamical Perine and Jordan Scarlett. Right now, Jordan Scarlett is getting most of the reps. So, got to run the ball.
Andrew: There you go. I’m going to go with Mr. David Wunderlich’s pick for my #2.
Nick: Who?
Andrew: The guy he told us to fight over.
Nick: We already picked these players, and I already have both of them, so you can’t pick the players I already picked. That’s tough for you.
Andrew: You know I don’t play by the rules, but no, my second pick, Nick, I’m rolling the dice here. I’m going with the guy who I call out when he plays bad and praise him when he plays good. QB1 is going to be my pick, Nick, Feleipe Franks, Nick, he’s going to do well. Florida will not lose because of Feleipe Franks this week.
Nick: I’ll let people on Twitter and on the message board tell you how they think about your pick there.
Andrew: That’s fine. Nick, I’m going to ask you this question real quick. I’m sorry to get off track here, but a couple of radio shows this week have asked me to grade Feleipe Franks this year. I want to ask you that real quick.
Nick: What was your grade?
Andrew: I’m going to say that in a second, but I’m going to ask you too. They said, has he improved under Dan Mullen?
Nick: I would say marginally. I would say yes, you’ve seen some things that are better, that are better than last year, but I still think you still see some of the same mistakes.
Andrew: My answer was you have two Feleipe Franks. You have the Feleipe Franks who has improved under Dan Mullen, and then you have the old ways of Feleipe Franks that come back at times. I said that in that at times you see Feleipe going through his reads, making the good reads, and then at times you see him forcing the ball or throwing the ball into the dirt to a wide-open receiver. I said, I’ve seen it improve, but it’s like a quarterback who has not been taught, but who has done things a certain way that when the pressure gets there reverts back to the old person.
Nick: Exactly. I think that’s kind of what I was getting at as well.
Andrew: You were. I’m just saying, it’s a tale of two Feleipe Franks with him. I will say this. I do believe Feleipe Franks has improved under Dan Mullen.
Nick: I think a little bit. Not as much as, I mean, he’s still learning the offense. People don’t like to hear that and probably get mad. It’s been 10 months. It’s a brand-new offense. It’s going to take him a year.
Andrew: For me, Nick, it’s not even so much about learning the offense as it is him getting it from a mental standpoint. Listen, I know what the play is going to be, trust it. I say that jokingly, because it’s like how do I not trust this, but it’s very easy not to trust. Okay, Van Jefferson is my read. He’s about to break wide-open on a post route. Throw it. It’s not easy to do that, but good quarterbacks start to trust that feel, trust themselves. I will say that at times I don’t think Feleipe Franks trusts himself.
Anyway, I just wanted to ask you that. I meant to ask you that earlier. It was a question posed to me, and I thought it was a good question. So, go ahead.
Nick: Before you get any crazy ideas, I’m going to say my next two picks, since we go back and forth. I pick, you pick, I pick, you pick.
Andrew: I promise I’m not picking your third guy. You have my word.
Nick: Okay. I’m going Jachai Polite. We talked about the offensive tackles, and I’m going to go with Jachai Polite having a big game.
Andrew: I am switching it up and going a different defensive lineman. I’m going Cece Jefferson as my third pick. My pick was Van Jefferson, and I still do think Van Jefferson has a pretty good game, but I do think Cece Jefferson ends up having a really good game. National TV against a top 25 team. His first big game of the year. Another chance to put good tape on film. So, you can put Cece as my third pick.
Nick: All right. I’m going Jabari Zuniga.
Andrew: Okay. There you go. I think that it was key what we just said, and that is the offensive and defensive lines. As it is, three defensive linemen. There you go.
Nick, let’s go to games. I want to throw this out there. For the most part, there’s no good games. There’s a select few games that are going to be pretty good this weekend.
Nick: There’s a bunch of trash, and then some big top 25 and top 10 matchups.
Andrew: Who do you want to pick first? What is it, Oregon at Cal?
Nick: I got them down here in order. We’ll go in order of, I guess not the best games, but Oregon-Cal will be the first game. Oregon at Cal.
Andrew: Oregon at Cal.
Nick: Oregon is coming off of a complete collapse against Stanford.
Andrew: I was going to say, a complete collapse. That collapse continues. Mario Cristobal is not a good head coach. He’s a wonderful recruiter. Not a good head football coach on Saturdays. So, I’m going Cal.
Nick: I’m going to go Oregon. I’m going to do Oregon with a bounce back.
Andrew: Do you believe in Cristobal?
Nick: I do.
Andrew: Okay. Listen, I think he still has a lot to prove. I think he’s a really good recruiter. I think he has a lot to prove. Next game is?
Nick: Next game is, I’ll save this one, because I figure you’ll probably end up ranting about them. So, I’ll go Ohio State at Penn State. I think we both know who’s winning this one.
Andrew: Whiteout. Man, that’s going to be pretty cool. I read a story, Nick. CBS did it, and they interviewed a couple recruits. Well, they’re not recruits anymore. They’re players at Penn State. Who said in the middle of the whiteout game they instantly knew they wanted to play at Penn State. I think that just speaks volumes for how crazy Beaver Stadium will be. Buckeyes win though. Dwayne Haskins.
Nick: I got Buckeyes here too. Pretty easy. Not even really thinking about it twice.
Andrew: What is it, Stanford at Notre Dame?
Nick: Yeah. That would be the next one. Stanford at Notre Dame.
Andrew: For me, it’s a tough one, Nick. I’m just going to be honest. I just don’t know how good Notre Dame is. I mean, they barely beat Vandy. They beat a Michigan team that’s not good. I’m going with the trees this week.
Nick: I think I picked against Notre Dame a couple times. I’m going to do it again though.
Andrew: Go with the trees?
Nick: Yeah. I’m going to go with the trees.
Andrew: The fighting Tiger Woods.
Nick: South Carolina at Kentucky. Will Muschamp never lost to Kentucky while he was at Florida.
Andrew: Well, he gets that loss this week. Stoops continues on. Stoops with the win. Will Muschamp doesn’t win big football games.
Nick: That’s true. I agree with that. I’ll take any chance to pick against him, so I go with you. The fighting Benny Snells.
Andrew: There you go. Benny Snell might run crazy in this game.
Nick: The fighting Jeremy Pruitts move into Week 2 of their gauntlet, of their hell month, and they go at Georgia, playing between the hedges.
Andrew: Can I ask you a question, did last Saturday make you believe what I said to you about Jeremy Pruitt being a lot like Will Muschamp?
Nick: Yes.
Andrew: Okay. That’s all I want to know. You and I talked about it, and I knew what your answer was going to be, but I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind. He can’t keep his cool there. It’s over with, man. Georgia. Big time.
Nick: Georgia big. Georgia big. What’s the odds on that game?
Andrew: I don’t know. There’s a couple of them, Nick, this week. The LSU-Ole Miss game was a low spread too. It was like, what are they doing? 31.5, Georgia. 51.5 is the over-under.
Nick: What do they think, they think it’s going to be a 51-0 game?
Andrew: I guess.
Nick: I got Georgia and lay the points. Points down. Georgia will cover that.
Andrew: Give me that too. Here was that crazy one, Nick. LSU is only a 10.5 point favorite over Ole Miss at home at night in Death Valley.
Nick: That’s tough. They’re really not believers, I guess.
Andrew: Whatever. I’m not a believer either, but still. Nick, here we go. Gators-State. Who you got in Starkville?
Nick: I got Mississippi State. I think what we’re going to see Saturday is the difference between what Dan Mullen can build, what he is building, and what it will look like in five, six years. I think that’s what we’re going to see on Saturday. Dan Mullen is building right now, but this is what, they’re going up against the product of what he built for almost a decade.
Andrew: Are you taking the points?
Nick: Yeah. I’d say Mississippi State probably covers that seven-point spread.
Andrew: Every part of me, Nick, tells me to pick State, every part of me does. Every part of me says that it’s going to be a 7-10 point ballgame on Saturday, and that State will pull away late. Every part of me is right. I’m still going to go with State to win, 7-10, late fourth quarter, win the game. Florida keeps it close at halftime, but Mississippi State pulls away late.
Nick: I thought you were going to go Florida there for a second.
Andrew: I was trying to talk myself into it.
Nick: Couldn’t do it?
Andrew: Couldn’t do it. I can’t trust the offensive line, Nick.
Nick: I think that’s where the game will be lost.
Andrew: I trust Feleipe Franks more than I trust the offensive line.
Nick: I don’t trust Feleipe Franks this week, because I think he’s going to be under a lot of pressure. I think Florida will be down, and I think that’s a recipe for him to get in trouble.
Andrew: Couple of things real quick, Nick, as we get out of here, get ready for Starkville. Adarius Lemons, nasty arrest.
Nick: I didn’t even see Adarius Lemons’ arrest.
Andrew: Adarius Lemons was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. Yeah. A strangling charge, felony battery for strangling.
Nick: Not good.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s that. Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. We’ll get out of here, and we’ll see everyone on Monday recapping either a huge upset for the Gators or a tough one. I will say this. Next week, Nick, recruiting. We’ll talk recruiting, because the visitors list is insane for that 3:30 kickoff in the Swamp for Gators and LSU.
Nick: www.GatorCountry.com for all your Florida Gator news. The podcast is there in audio and transcript form. Find the Gator Country podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. It’s all there. Just search @GatorCountry. Subscribe. Never miss an episode. Do your social media thing. @GatorCountry on Facebook and Twitter. @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. I’m @NickdelaTorreGC, and he’s @AndrewSpiveyGC.
Andrew: There you go. Guys, we really appreciate it. Come check us out. We’ll have plenty of coverage of this game. Eric and Baileigh are doing the basketball deal after Media Day. Some good stuff from Mike White there. Recruiting. We’ll have plenty of recruiting stuff as well. Come check us out on Gator Country and get ready for next week for that big one in Gainesville. Also, Nick, can’t forget next week we’ll be giving away a tailgate from Moe’s for that LSU game.
Nick: Yeah. That’s a great deal. That’s a nice little package. I think it’s $400 value of delicious freshly cooked Moe’s burritos, tacos, quesadillers, all of it.
Andrew: They bring it, set it up. You eat it, and they clean it up, and they take it away. All you have to do is …
Nick: All you got to do is show up and eat.
Andrew: That’s it. We’re going to be starting that. Going to post that up on Sunday. This week we’re going to just say, show us your picture in your favorite Gator gear, and we’ll let Bernadette and Ray and myself and Nick choose a winner somehow or another. Do all that. Guys, we appreciate it. As always, chomp, chomp, and go Braves.
Nick: You stay classy, Gator Country.