GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we bring you our Friday prediction podcast for the Florida Gators vs. South Carolina game on Saturday afternoon.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre breakdown the keys for the Gators on Saturday in Columbia as they take on South Carolina.
Andrew and Nick also predict several games around the country on Saturday, plus we predict our three players to watch for the Gators on Saturday.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country. Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, another Friday, another chance to pick some games this week. Decent week of games. Not so much in the SEC, but some decent games. Let me ask you this, Nick. This is just a little off topic before we pick games. Have you ever seen a year where there’s been such high spreads?
Nick: Not like in conference. Certainly, higher than you’d think.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: I mean, they’re getting covered too, I think.
Andrew: For the most part they are. What about the kid calling in the bomb threat because he was scared Florida was going to cover?
Nick: My goodness.
Andrew: It’s not that serious, guys. Not that serious. I guess it is if you’re depending on the bet.
Nick: Yeah. How much money?
Andrew: Still, old boy going to probably end up in the federal penitentiary for a few years.
Nick: Can’t call in a bomb threat on a public university that has 102,321 people there.
Andrew: Probably not a good idea if you’re that kid, or if you’re any kid.
Nick: I don’t want to make a joke about it, but they say football is different in the South, and there’s an example.
Andrew: It definitely is. First of all, an Alabama fan was betting on LSU. That’s progress in the South.
Nick: Depending on when he made the bet, it ended up pushing.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: His friend either pushed or won.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: He didn’t get the spread at 15, so he either got it anywhere from 12-14. Either pushed or won.
Andrew: Right. Exactly.
Nick: And his other buddy’s going to be in a federal penitentiary.
Andrew: That money will come in handy for bail.
Nick: If you won the bet, go ahead and start putting some money in your buddy’s commissary.
Andrew: For real. Let’s get to this game, Nick. How you feeling?
Nick: So, for me, in looking at South Carolina, I just think it’s a game, we’ll get into this weather, stuff like that. I just think it’s a game where Florida has more talent, more talented depth, and it’s a game where you can’t go in just roll the ball out there, put the helmet on, and we’re going to win. You can’t go into it with that mentality, but to me it’s a game that Florida should win. If Dan Mullen has the program and the players believing in themselves and working hard all week, which I haven’t heard anything to the contrary, it’s a game Florida should win.
Andrew: Right. Yeah. This is where good teams become great, and good teams or good programs start to turn great.
Nick: Yeah. This is the separator. When you’re for real, when you’re the Alabama, you go ahead. You walk into William Bryce Stadium, and you take care of business.
Andrew: To further my point on that, you don’t allow one loss to sink into two losses. You can’t let one game dictate the rest of your year. If the players are buying into what Dan Mullen is selling, and I think you and I agree that they are, and Dan Mullen is truly building this program back up to be a national contender like we think so, then they don’t allow LSU to trickle into this week. I also will say this. They don’t allow the outside praise for the most part to overtake what happened last week. At the end of the day, you lost. You have to get better. Dan Mullen says that. It’s kind of cliché, because he says it every week, but he says, “They must practice, and they must prepare better this week than they did last week.”
Nick: I think that was a big learning lesson last year. That’s something I asked Dan Mullen on Monday. He didn’t really give me the answer I was looking for. Is it easier to make changes or to coach after a loss, because you can kind of put the tape on? We say it all the time. Winning cures all.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: You could have an entire coaching staff that hates each other, but if you’re winning, you figure out a way to make it work. It’s when you start losing that people start getting called out and fingers start getting pointed.
Andrew: You can hide a lot of things when you win.
Nick: Yeah. I think it was a big eye-opener last year to go in and let that Georgia loss, one loss turn into two. That’s something you can turn on tape and say, this is what you did. Not just game tape. Turn on the practice tape. This is what you did in practice after you lost to Georgia. That is why we lost on Saturday, because of what we did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That’s why we lost on Saturday. You show them that on probably Sunday before team meal. Ruin team meal on Sunday by showing them that stuff, and that sets the tone for the week.
Andrew: We’ve all talked about the Kentucky loss last year was probably the turning point, and that was a situation that they’re maybe not as good as you are. You’re probably not as bad as you are. That’s the message that’s got to be laid out on Saturday. You lost to LSU. You lost to a very good LSU football team. No reason to hang your head. Had you done XYZ, you beat a really good team, and instead of us talking about a one-game losing streak we’re talking about a one-game winning streak. That’s the message Dan Mullen’s probably telling the guys. Had the defense got one stop, or had the Kyle Trask pick not been there, guess what? You may be talking about Florida being #3 in the country right now, instead of LSU. But didn’t happen. Like we said before, every goal that you want to accomplish is right there in front of you. Take care of your business. Your goals are accomplished.
Nick: As a coach, this is where you earn your money, because it’s really hard. We’re still talking about 18, 19, 20-year-olds, who in their mind, in every single player’s mind, we’re going undefeated, and we’re winning a national championship.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: To lose that first game, you immediately have that letdown. I don’t want to say depression, but that letdown, that disappointment. It’s hard for them. They have a lot going on in their lives. They’re not robots. They have lives outside of football. It’s easy to get distracted, and it’s easy to, we’re not going to do that, so what are we really working for now?
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Just keep them on task. Keep them focused.
Andrew: Maybe the biggest thing is you just played two top 10 teams. You just had College GameDay here. You’re going up against a South Carolina team. Granted, South Carolina now probably opened their eyes a little bit more that they beat Georgia, but let’s also face it. South Carolina is not Auburn, and they’re not LSU. You can’t have that letdown. I feel like that’s kind of what happened last year against Missouri is this isn’t Georgia, we should win. Well, in the SEC there’s no given wins. Georgia proved that on Saturday.
Nick: Absolutely. Shoot, we didn’t see that coming. We would have given them more points against the spread when we picked the game last week.
Andrew: For real. Obviously, we feel like neither Greenard, I don’t know what is my problem today. Greenard and Jabari are not going to play on Saturday. So, I guess, how do you think, and what’s been kind of the general feel in your opinion of what will be taking place there? Do you feel like Grantham’s going to blitz more? How do you think?
Nick: Well, I know a lot of people were upset with some off coverage in the LSU game and maybe blamed some of that on how LSU was able, and we said it. You got to play press against LSU. You got to force them. You can’t give them room. If you give them room, they’ll burn you. They did at times. I think try something different. I think we’re going to see, first off, talking about Greenard and talking about Zuniga, big game, big stage, you need Jeremiah Moon to have probably his best game. He’s going to have to be out there more without those two guys.
Andrew: Zach Carter.
Nick: Also, where’s Zach Carter? We talked about him, and everyone said he’s a monster, he’s a freak. I mean, the kid looks completely different from when he first got here. He is a large, large human. Khris Bogle too. I know you’re only a freshman, but you’re seven games into your freshman season, probably time to stop calling you a freshman. You’re going to get your biggest opportunity now. Those three guys on the defensive line and at that buck position, I think really need to see a good game from Khris Bogle, Jeremiah Moon, and Zach Carter, just show up. Show up and show out on Saturday.
Andrew: Andrew Chatfield’s a guy to watch, in my opinion, too.
Nick: He’s a guy that I think has even gotten more, not more playing time than Carter, but you’re going to have to rotate. Chatfield’s a guy that’s going to have to play.
Andrew: Yeah. I think they’re going to blitz more.
Nick: Okay. I think this’ll play into that as well. I think we’ll see more of Marco Wilson at star.
Andrew: Okay.
Nick: In the second half, and this is from some people I’ve talked to, in the second half we saw it against LSU. Trey Dean was having a rough game. It’s going to happen. I think most of the second half, not the entire second half, but most of the second half Marco Wilson replaced him at star. They put Kaiir Elam on the outside, opposite of CJ Henderson. I think we’ll see more of that, and Marco’s a guy that certainly can blitz. Grantham likes to blitz from that position. We saw Chauncey Gardner do it a lot. To your point about blitzing more, especially if you’ve got Hilinski back there. I mean, I don’t know. Listen, injuries can look a certain way. When Kyle Trask got hit in the knee, I thought season over.
Andrew: You immediately texted me and said, uh-oh.
Nick: Yeah. I thought his season was over. Then one series later he comes jogging out of the locker room. It certainly looked like Hilinski couldn’t put any weight on his leg, but when Will Muschamp tells me that Dominique Easley has a knee, and all of a sudden it’s a torn ACL, I don’t really trust Will Muschamp when he’s updating injuries.
Andrew: Also, Tyler Murphy was ran in the ground by Will Muschamp.
Nick: Yeah. So, I don’t know if Hilinski will play, and if he does play how healthy he’ll be. Certainly, you blitz. If they put Dakereon Joyner in, I don’t know if you blitz that much, because you don’t want to get forced upfield, and then have two, three guys upfield out of the play, and now you’re playing 11 on 8 with a guy who can scoot like that. You’re probably putting in two different game plans. If Dakereon’s in, we’re not blitzing. We need to play contain. Set the edge. Try to keep him in the pocket, force him to throw. If it’s Hilinski, let’s test to see how mobile he is, and let’s get after him.
Andrew: Maybe even have a spy if Joyner’s in the game.
Nick: Probably have to have a spy, whether it’s the star or whether it’s Amari Burney. It’s not going to be Ventrell, and it’s not going to be David Reese. I don’t want to see those guys try to chase down Dakereon Joyner. I don’t think that’s a recipe for success. I think Amari Burney could probably do it, and Marco or Trey Dean, whoever’s at star, could do it as well.
Andrew: I agree. I think that’s the biggest key here. Don’t let, whether it’s Hilinski or Joyner or whoever it may be, don’t let those guys get comfortable. We say this a lot, and I’m going to say it again here this week. Get out early. Get the crowd out of the game, and let South Carolina know this is not Georgia again where you’re going to stay around in this game.
Nick: I don’t want to say it like that, because it’s not UT Martin, but it still holds true. If you’re a better team, which I think we both believe Florida’s a better team that South Carolina, don’t let the lesser team hang around.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Don’t let them build confidence throughout the game, and then all of a sudden it’s a three point game in the fourth quarter, and you’ve got a really confident team on the other sideline, when you probably had opportunities to stomp out that confidence.
Andrew: Yeah. Remember what happened last year. If you’re Dan Mullen, you got to remember and tell your team, we almost lost last year.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: There’s a lot of taking back from that. We’ll see there. Offensively for Florida, I feel like Will’s going to bring the pressure.
Nick: As much as I’ve talked down on Will Muschamp, he can coach some ball on the defensive side. I don’t think Will Muschamp will even be phased by Florida showing so much of Emory Jones last week and stuff like that. I don’t even think that will phase him.
Andrew: Do you think he’s shocked that Florida has and offense?
Nick: Maybe.
Andrew: I joke about that. I shouldn’t joke about that. I don’t think he will. I don’t think that he will change much from his game plan because of that, but I definitely feel like he’s going to go into this game just like he did with Fromm, and that is going to be put pressure, put pressure, put pressure on Trask. I feel like this is where, we say it every week, those screens, those swing passes, those stand passes, those jet sweeps are going to come in handy.
Nick: You love that Toney forum. I can’t even say that, because Josh Hammond’s been doing a good job.
Andrew: Josh Hammond’s been doing a really good job.
Nick: North and south, and there’s no dancing. It’s ball’s in my hand, let me get it. Where’s the line of scrimmage? I got to run towards that.
Andrew: Right. I like Trey Grimes getting the stand pass.
Nick: Yes. We talked about it early on. He is hard to bring down.
Andrew: Right. I like that. That was one thing that last week you didn’t see a lot of Trey. I think that should change a little bit, and we’ll see how much they get him involved. We say this, and I feel like we can say this every week, but take advantage of your mismatch with Kyle Pitts.
Nick: That was our Monday podcast. I mean, he got 10. He got 10 targets.
Andrew: Right. Is 10 enough?
Nick: Yeah. Post either in the comments or on the message board or tweet at us, what number of targets would be like that’s too many? I don’t know if there’s a number.
Andrew: Listen, as a Falcons fan, I feel like I can relate. They never throw the ball enough to Julio.
Nick: They could throw the ball to him 25 times in a game, and you’d be like, why didn’t you throw it 27?
Andrew: Because there’s that one play where you say, why didn’t you throw it to him?
Nick: There’s always going to be that play. Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. Listen, I’m not comparing Kyle Pitts to Julio, by any means, but I’m saying that you have that freak of nature that you just want to say, if I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose with my dude getting as many touches as he can.
Nick: I agree with that. Question for you. I think Florida’s running game, obviously we’ve talked about it not being great all year, but looking at South Carolina and just going through their numbers, right now South Carolina has given up 193 yards on the ground at, excuse me. Those are there running. I need to look up their opponent. Sorry. Wrong one. Give me a second. I’ll pull that up.
Andrew: I was going to say. Do we need to bring Georgia Southern to town?
Nick: That’s what they’re rushing for. Right now they’re allowing 3.8 yards per carry. Only three touchdowns on the ground. Can Florida get anything going on the ground? There’s going to be weather. I didn’t even get into that. There’s a storm coming through. Literally 100% chance of rain. Right now the weather forecast looks like it’s going to be a sloppy mess. Do you think Florida can get anything going against South Carolina?
Andrew: Do the offensive line get nasty and ugly this week?
Nick: I guess we’ll see.
Andrew: I can tell you the answer is no, so no, they can’t.
Nick: Yeah. I mean, it’s going to be like 60 degrees, so it’s going to be cold.
Andrew: Let me just say this, Nick. Just chill for a second here. Let me just say this. I know people listen to the podcast, and I’m sure some of the offensive linemen listen to the podcast. We’re a popular podcast. Show me. Prove me wrong. You can call me out on Twitter. I don’t care. I want to see an offensive line get absolutely nasty. I don’t even care if you get a personal foul because you blocked the son of a gun into the bus like on Blindside. Show your nasty. Please. You’re called the big uglies for a reason. Get nasty. I mean, you’re going to have to get nasty against a Will Muschamp defense. Kinlaw, he’s going to eat your lunch if you don’t get nasty with him, because he’s sure enough going to get nasty.
Nick: Yeah. Alabama’s not running the ball like they used to, but Alabama only ran the ball for 76 yards on 25 carries against South Carolina. They gave up 238 in the first game. That was their worst game in terms of yards. Didn’t give up a rushing touchdown against North Carolina, but gave up 238 rushing yards on 52 attempts. Will Muschamp quickly clamped down on that. They gave up 72 and 76 the next two weeks, on just over three yards a carry. Kentucky had some success, 115 yards rushing and a touchdown. Georgia had some success, 173. Both teams carried the ball on average more than four yards per carry, and each scored a touchdown. They’ve only given up three rushing touchdowns all year.
Andrew: Let me ask you a question, Nick. I meant to ask you this on Monday or Wednesday, but every time I forget. Do you feel like the running game is less important in this day and age?
Nick: Yeah, depending on. I mean, certainly in the NFL the rules have changed so much that those guys, running backs, are a dime a dozen, because they’re not, back in the old days Barry Sanders would carry the ball 40 times in a game. You built your team around a running back. Now, the rules have changed so much it’s a passing league.
Andrew: You get a pass interference if you don’t catch it.
Nick: Yeah. I think yes. Certainly, you see Alabama’s changed the way that they’re playing. It all starts, I think it started from probably players, the best athletes, not wanting to get hit as much as running backs do.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: So, you’re playing different positions. Then it comes from a safety standpoint.
Andrew: I think a lot of it changed with the RPO, Nick.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: It’s kind of like Florida last week, where they were so off balanced and things. I mean, let’s just be honest about things. A lot of times it’s a lot easier to throw the ball, especially if you got a little bit of time, because nowadays receivers are built like animals. I mean, I don’t mean that in a bad way, but they’re built different, to where you’re not going to cover those guys for as long.
Nick: Yeah. That’s true. I mean, the RPO is so hard to defend.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: You’re literally calling two plays and running two plays.
Andrew: It’s an option at the line of scrimmage. If the defender is running at you and about to tackle your running back, you just flick the ball out.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: I do. Someone, I don’t know who it was, but somebody tweeted, one of the national guys tweeted that they feel like that in the years to come they’re going to have to make some kind of rule, because offensive linemen are getting further and further downfield blocking on these plays, to where it is almost unfair to the defense. That’s a story for a different day. I wanted to ask you. I’m with you. I feel like the running game has went to the wayside a little bit more, because of that stuff, because of safety and just different things like that. I don’t know. I like the running game. I feel like the running game is football.
Nick: You’re an old-school guy.
Andrew: Listen, there’s nothing more that I love than throwing it around the yard, but I think that you need to be able to run the ball too. That’s just me. I might be wrong. It is what it is.
Nick: Well, I was talking to Brian Johnson about a month ago, and we were talking about the RPO and stuff like that, because they really started doing it at Utah when he was there. He said, soon we’ll be back in the I formation. I’m like, no way. He goes, watch.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Maybe.
Andrew: It all evolves.
Nick: Maybe it’s coming back to you, Spivey.
Andrew: Oh, I don’t like the wishbone. Let me not go there. I love the Spurrier offense, where you can easily go five wide, but if you need to you can put your running back there and just run him right at the line of scrimmage and get some bullied yards.
Nick: Bring back the fullback. I miss Hunter Joyer.
Andrew: I don’t know. Fullbacks are coming back into play a little bit.
Nick: I just miss Hunter Joyer.
Andrew: Lordy. Nick, any final things? Any final keys in this game?
Nick: No. What do you do as a coach, are you just wetting balls in practice? You don’t want to make weather an excuse, but it’s something that you’re going to have to deal with, so how do you prepare for it?
Andrew: Wasn’t there butter on the balls in the Auburn game anyway?
Nick: There were, but I think it’s a different kind of slippery.
Andrew: I mean, you have to understand what you’re going through. Florida does a good job of that. They do a good job in the fall camps and spring and that kind of stuff of bringing wet balls out there and all that. I think they’re there. The biggest key in this game is Florida’s had a little bit of problems with fumbles. Malik Davis has, Kyle Trask has. You got to protect the ball. If it’s a situation where it’s a wet game, a sloppy game, it goes back to your punter and how well Tommy Townsend is going to punt a wet ball. Then you want to get down there and cover it, because that wet ball has got to come down in the air, and that punt returner’s got to catch it.
Nick: Yeah. I’m going to bring my umbrella to the stadium.
Andrew: Probably bring your rain jacket and a change of clothes too.
Nick: Might do that as well.
Andrew: I mean, it’s there. Here’s the thing. Florida’s a very tough team. They’ve been a very tough team. They just went into Death Valley and handled that, so I don’t think the rain’s going to be an issue. The rain may settle the crowd down a little bit. That may be a good thing.
Nick: There’s a lot going on. If you’re going up, talk to somebody local and find out where to park and do all that, because the State Fair is in Columbia this weekend, so there’s a lot of people around. Certainly.
Andrew: They’re playing like Oklahoma-Texas at the County Fair.
Nick: Yeah. The fanbase has to be excited. I don’t know what the mood is around campus, but you have to be excited coming off a Georgia win. They brought back half the damn hedges from Athens, brought them back to Columbia. Probably enough to plant and make your own hedges around that stadium. Does rain keep them away? Does rain keep the students away? Are they going to sit through rain to watch a game at noon?
Andrew: We’ll see. Nick, what’s some games this week? Let’s go ahead and pick some games.
Nick: We got some good ones. We’re going to go, and we’re going to start up. It’s a night game, but we’re picking it first. Michigan traveling to Penn State. Michigan, they’re 5-1, but have not looked good all year long. Facing a ranked, what’s Penn State ranked?
Andrew: Eight, right?
Nick: Right ahead of Florida?
Andrew: Hold on. I’m pulling it up myself. It’s a whiteout game though, Nick.
Nick: When you talk about atmospheres, and we talked about a ton the last two weeks with Florida and Auburn. Great atmosphere.
Andrew: Penn State’s 7.
Nick: 7. We talked about atmosphere a ton. That’s one I want to see. I want to see a whiteout night game in Happy Valley.
Andrew: Yeah. That place is going to be bonkers. In my opinion, this ain’t even a game.
Nick: No. Jim Harbaugh doesn’t win big games. Definitely doesn’t win.
Andrew: His offense is straight trash.
Nick: I don’t think Penn State’s a rival, but he doesn’t win rivalry games either.
Andrew: And his offense is trash.
Nick: Not a good combination.
Andrew: No. Ja’Juan Seider and the fighting Nittany Lions come out with a W.
Nick: Take them too. Moving down South. This one is a game. We keep picking Miami games, but I think I picked this one for us to pick because it’s our boy, Geoff Collins.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Georgia Tech down in Miami Gardens.
Andrew: My boy, Geoff. Shout out Kerry Dixon, the rest of those guys up in the ATL. I’m pulling for you guys this week. Let’s go Ramblin’ Wreck.
Nick: Are you pulling for them or picking them?
Andrew: Ramblin’ Wreck wins.
Nick: I’m going to go, I wanted to be different, but I’m picking Georgia Tech too.
Andrew: Ramblin’ Wreck. Geoff Collins.
Nick: Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.
Andrew: Geoff Collins is going to build a winner in Atlanta. You just watch. Might take a couple years, because he’s shifting.
Nick: Might be the first team to win in the state of Georgia in, what, a month? The Braves sucked.
Andrew: When’s the last time Georgia won? I mean, was Georgia at home when they beat …
Nick: They lost everything last week.
Andrew: It was bad. He’s going to build a winner up there, don’t worry about that. Go ahead. What’s the next game?
Nick: Next game. I think our only top 25 matchup of the week, or the only top 25 we’re picking.
Andrew: No. We just picked Michigan and Penn State.
Nick: That’s right. Michigan’s ranked. They won’t be ranked after they lose to Penn State though. #12 Oregon at Washington.
Andrew: Oregon. Herbert’s playing really well again.
Nick: Herbert’s playing well. I’m going to go with Washington at home.
Andrew: Okay.
Nick: I wrote that wrong on my little document here.
Andrew: Yeah. No. I’ve got Herbert. I mean, he’s playing well. He’s trying to continue to be a first rounder after not going last year. I got them.
Nick: All right. Arizona State at Utah.
Andrew: This is another top 25 matchup.
Nick: Yup. I didn’t write it down. I looked down quickly, and just didn’t write it down.
Andrew: Give me the Utes.
Nick: I’m going to go with Arizona State.
Andrew: Okay. Give me the Utes. I’m all for the Utes.
Nick: We got some back and forth. Last week I think we picked all the same games.
Andrew: That’s all right, but the Utes are going to win.
Nick: The fighting Willie Taggerts on the road in North Carolina. They’re taking on Wake Forest.
Andrew: Give me the Demon Deacons.
Nick: No trust in Willie? You’re going with the 5-1 Demon Deacs?
Andrew: Who trusts Willie?
Nick: I’m going with them too. That’ll be a two-game losing streak for FSU, after getting mollywhopped by Clemson last week.
Andrew: Man said he don’t even know what his game plan is.
Nick: That’s not great.
Andrew: Demon Deacons win. Is that it?
Nick: We’re picking against the spread.
Andrew: Okay.
Nick: Tennessee on the road at Alabama. Speaking of the spreads you talked about, this one is 34.5, and I think Tennessee would take all 35 points.
Andrew: Let me give you a background, Nick. Tennessee fans have never tweeted. They’ve never Facebooked. They’ve never Instagrammed. They’ve never LinkedIn. They’ve never iMessaged. They’ve never Snapchatted a win over Alabama. Those things did not exist the last time Tennessee beat Alabama. Did not exist.
Nick: Tennessee football team, this is the third Saturday in October. There have been no cigars in Knoxville.
Andrew: Jeremy Pruitt though says he’s not going to punt, and he’s going to do all onside kicks, when he was asked how to beat Alabama.
Nick: 12 straight for Alabama.
Andrew: But I’ve got the Tide.
Nick: Last win for Tennessee over Alabama was in October 21, 2006. They won 16-13.
Andrew: Yup.
Nick: Last three years Alabama won 49-10, 45-7, 58-21. If you’re doing math at home, that covers that 34 point spread. I’m going Bama.
Andrew: Bama. Bama cruises.
Nick: On to our players, and then we’ll pick Florida-South Carolina at the end.
Andrew: You got first. Go ahead.
Nick: I said it. I’m going Jeremiah Moon. I said he needs to have a big game, and he’s going to be in there a lot. Got to make up for what we’re expecting, Greenard and Zuniga to not play, and I think Jeremiah Moon picks up the slack.
Andrew: I don’t think Greenard and Jabari should play even if they feel like they can. Just chill. Get ready for Georgia. He’s done me right, and he’s going to continue to do me right. Let’s touch Jesus tonight. Texas forever.
Nick: Gosh darn it. See, I wanted to pick Trask first, because I figured you’d take him. Well, I’m not allowed to take quarterbacks, because they don’t play well when I pick them.
Andrew: Nope. So, we touching Jesus tonight.
Nick: Let’s touch God tonight.
Andrew: Let’s go ahead. Give me that gunslinger.
Nick: I’m going to back to the offensive side of the ball, and I’m taking Kyle Pitts.
Andrew: Okay. There you go.
Nick: I’m not letting you take both the Kyles.
Andrew: I’m going to go with the new star, Marco Wilson.
Nick: Okay.
Andrew: As Will Muschamp said, he did not get his talent from Chad.
Nick: No?
Andrew: No. He called him out. He was asked if it’s still a personal rivalry with Florida. He said, he still has three brothers, and he said he remembers sitting in Quincy’s living room with Marco being little bitty and thinking about how good he was going to be, because Chad told everybody that Marco was going to be better. He said, but he didn’t get his athleticism from Chad. He got it from Carmen. He said, because Chad played at Miami.
Nick: That’s funny.
Andrew: Shots fired.
Nick: Shots sent.
Andrew: Yup. Low blow, Chad. Duck.
Nick: All right. My third player. I’m going to go with, I wanted to pick Evan McPherson, but wet ball, maybe not. I’m going to go with Joshua Hammond. You seem to keep picking him, and he gets two catches, three touches, and a touchdown, and that wins. So, I need to get back on track after an 0 for 3 week.
Andrew: Well, it’s going to be a running game, and he didn’t do well at the beginning of the year for me, but that 251 looks mighty good on Saturday night.
Nick: Okay. You’re going Lamical Perine.
Andrew: Lamical Perine is going to tote that rock.
Nick: Okay. I almost went with Perine too.
Andrew: He going to tote that rock. Come on, LP, tote that rock, baby. Give me the win.
Nick: Okay.
Andrew: Give me an X factor.
Nick: X factor for me. It’s not going to be a player. It’s going to be how mature is Florida? They’re an older team, second year of a program. How did you handle this week of practice? How are you going to handle a team that’s excited, a team that probably thinks they should have beat you last year? Quite frankly, had the game dead to rights, and just Muschamped it away. How are you going to cancel out the weather and come bounce back from a loss? Show me something. Show me you’ve matured since last year.
Andrew: My X factor is going to be Todd Grantham. He was embarrassed on Saturday in Death Valley. If I know Todd Grantham enough, he’s not going to be embarrassed again on Saturday in Columbia. Todd Grantham. I think he has a defensive game plan. Would not shock me at all if they didn’t throw a shutout on the board.
Nick: Shutout.
Andrew: That’s a pissed off defense.
Nick: Shutout.
Andrew: You act like that’s hard on Will Muschamp.
Nick: He finds ways.
Andrew: Score a field goal.
Nick: He finds ways to not score.
Andrew: Yeah. Nick, who you got this weekend?
Nick: I got Florida. I don’t think it would be a particularly even close game, honestly. I think Florida, the spread’s only 4.5?
Andrew: Yeah. I’m going to go opposite with you here. I think Florida wins, but I think it is going to be a close game, because of weather.
Nick: You think it’s close because of the weather. Are we talking like shootout close, or low score?
Andrew: No. I think it’s a low scoring game. That means wet footballs throwing the ball, so you’re probably going to be a little more careful. You’re going to be a little more conservative in the game. I think it’s somewhere 21-13, 21-10.
Nick: What happened to your shutout?
Andrew: I said he could throw a shutout. Wouldn’t surprise me. Wouldn’t surprise me if he did. 21-10, 21-13, something like that. No, it wouldn’t surprise me if he threw a shutout. That’s Will Muschamp. He can get shut out in any game. Hell, he can play Georgia Southern and get shut out. Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. We’ll get out of here. We’ll see everyone on Monday as we recap a victory for the Gators, hopefully.
Nick: www.GatorCountry.com for all your Florida Gator news. The podcast is there in audio and transcript form. You can find the podcast wherever you consume your podcasts. Just search Gator Country. Never miss an episode. Do your social media thing. @GatorCountry on Facebook and Twitter. @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. I’m @NickdelaTorreGC. He’s @AndrewSpiveyGC.
Andrew: There you go. Guys, we appreciate it. We’ll see everyone on Monday. As always, chomp, chomp and go Braves.
Nick: You stay classy, Gator Country.
You guys need to do more podcasts.