Florida Gators football mailbag: Ole Miss Rebels

For the first time since 2012 the No. 25 Florida Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) will host a Top-25 matchup in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night when the No. 3 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0, 2-0 SEC) come to town.

Chad Kelly and Laquan Treadwell lead a high-powered offense and Robert Nkemdiche gives teeth to the Land Shark defense. Florida will have their hands full with the Rebels this week but are ready to test themselves against one of the best teams in the country.

With a big game on tap and a ton of excitement surrounding the Florida Gators football team, you all had a lot of questions about the game so let’s get to those.

MrGator: What do you think of the Vandy v Ole Miss game last week? Was it just a sandwich game between Bama/UF or was there something real to be learned and used by the Gators?

I think that might be the worst thing that could have happened to Florida. To me, Ole Miss was hit with the Alabama hangover last week and probably took Vanderbilt lightly heading into that game. Similarly to what Jim McElwain was able to tell the Florida Gators about their preparation showing itself in the ECU game, Hugh Freeze will be able to send that same message to Ole Miss.

It would have been better for Florida if Ole Miss had had a lousy week of practice before Vanderbilt and still gone out there and rolled them by 50.

 

RodanX: What is the latest in the 2 Ole Miss OL who are banged up? Playing but not 100%?

Well, there’s actually three. There is no update on Laremy Tunsil, who is sitting out while the NCAA investigates how long he kept a loaner car while his was in the shop. Rod Taylor is out this week and Justin Bell will play, they’re just not sure how many snaps he will play this week.

 

Gatorstuckey: With our current LB situation, what do you see as our primary D, nickel or dime?

Dime. There won’t be a ton of Antonio Morrison in this one. Gators have to be in the dime to combat how many targets Ole Miss has in the passing game.

Gatorstuckey: How do you think our O-line will do against Nkemdiche and crew, especially when they start mixing in different stunts?

Not well. There isn’t an offensive lineman in the country that can stop Nkemdiche one-on-one. This is a bad matchup for Florida and I expect that Ole Miss will get the best of it.

BigemoryGator: From watching practice this week, how would you describe the emotional mindset of the team? Any difference from previous weeks? Do you think they have put the UT game behind them?

Definitely. A couple of things are factoring in to this. First, Florida is being completely counted out of this game. You could say that some people picked Kentucky over them and some picked Tennessee over them, but this week there won’t be a soul in the media picking the Gators. Florida is sort of relishing in that fact. They seem to really enjoy being thought of in that manner and want to make anyone who picks against them look silly.

The second part is that it’s a big top-25 matchup. Players come to the University of Florida to play in games just like this and if you can’t get up to play the no. 3 team in the country there’s something wrong with you.

G8trGr8: Is WG wearing a flak jacket to protect him as much as possible?

He’s always worn one. I haven’t noticed or been told by anyone that he has added extra padding to that flak jacket he regularly wears.

Dopplegangerg8r: Will we see GatorTail this week?

That’s a negative, Ghost Rider.

 

Phillip214: What does Hotty Toddy mean and what do you think of Chad Kelly’s rap song?

Hotty Toddy means nothing and yet means everything to Ole Miss. “Time is a flat circle” kind of stuff.

I think Chad Kelly should stick to throwing footballs.

UFadam: What is it about Riles that the coaches see? Before the season started everyone was speculating Nick Buchanan was going to play this year. Why not give him some reps or move Halter inside?

I think Nick Buchanan fell behind a little when the whole offensive playbook was put in. Listen, it’s hard for freshmen to play on the offensive line as freshmen. It’s pretty amazing that Florida has three of them that they are confident in throwing out there this early. Pretty remarkable.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC