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Background Check...University of Florida
After six years of Internet battles, the Hurricanes and the 8th ranked Gators square off again. The two schools meet in the middle in Orlando, but the crowd will favor the Gators.
UF carries an emotional high from a ten win season by first year coach Dan Mullen. After failing to get the Miami job, twice, Mullen took over for UF after Scott Frost and Chip Kelly turned them down. Mullen is a great quarterback coach, but it was the run game that took UF from 22 ppg to 35 ppg from 2017 to 2018. UF finished top twenty in scoring defense last year, but was average on 3rd downs and against the run.
Current Standings
They don’t call it Week 0 for nothing.
What happened the last time they played?
Florida fans told Miami the game was over before the game was over. Still, Will Muschamp dropped his first of eight games against current Detriot Lions linebackers coach, Al Golden. Miami won the game because of timely turnovers, such as Perryman’s 1st quarter force fumble and Tracy Howard’s redzone interception, and a great deep pass by Stephen Morris to Phillip Dorsett.
Six years later these programs are still searching for consistency. Over the last nine seasons, both teams averaged 7.7 wins per season.
Coach Talk
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“It’s the perfect opener. We need to understand what it means to be Miami,” coach Diaz told Don Bailey on his weekly show. He expressed his main focus were turnovers, third down defense, and pre snap communication on both sides of the ball. Miami finished 1st in third down defense last year but our turnover margin took a hit after an incredible 2017. Florida finished 7th in turnover margin as Franks took care of the ball. Lamical Perine is the engine of Florida’s offense.
“Game 1 you’re always concerned about tackling. We need to really wrap up and bring these guys to the ground.” Praise the Lord for Pastor Pinckney and Reverend Quarterman. McCloud and Finley will be on the attack as well.
Todd Gratham and Mullen know Diaz and Enos very well. All four have proven track records as competent coaches. Gratham used Arkansas and Central Michigan film to prepare for the week.
“Enos does a good job formationally with motions and trades and things like that to try to keep you off balance...He does like to run the ball, but then off of that he’s going to have his shots and things like that,” Grantham said.
Mullen gave Diaz a job after strong stints at NC State and Louisiana Tech. Diaz considers Mullen a good friend and coaching equal, and he reiterates it will come down to turnovers third down defense, and overall execution from our players.
Florida’s dynamic defensive backs:
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Marco Wilson and Chris Henderson are NFL corners. Remember them? Both chose UF over Miami. Henderson is a ball hawk who can use long arms to break up passes while his track speed matches even the Jeff Thomas and Mike Harleys of the world. Marco is coming off a torn ACL but looked just as good as Henderson in year 1. Marco does a lot of things well. He knows how to flip his hips, snuff out screens and defend jump balls against bigger wide receivers.
Florida does not have the Muschamp and Meyer athletes on defense, but these two could fit in on any UF team.
Player who will score:
Lamical Perine/Malik Davis
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Perine steps in the spotlight alone after sharing the limelight with Jordan Scarlett, one time FAU commit. Go Owls! Perine, 5’11 220, was extremely average his first two years under McElwain but bumped his ypc from 4.1 to 6.2 last year. Perine runs hard and sheds defenders off in the open field. He does not have the speed of Davis or Scarlett (4.87 40 yard dash pre college), but picks up first downs on 2nd and 3rd down with his build. He had a strong game against LSU with 17 carries, 85 yards and two touchdowns. Like Manny said, wrapping up and tackling is of the upmost importance.
Malik Davis broke his left foot last September but was a force to be reckoned with in 2017. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a freshman and could have a better NFL future than Perine.
Player to worry about:
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Jabari Zuniga
Jabari Zuniga is Florida’s best player on defense. Zuniga is a potential 1st or 2nd round pick. The Georgia native struggled in space against LSU and other offenses, but turned up 11 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. Against our green offensive tackles, Zuniga will look to get off blocks quick and cause havoc.
Failed Background Check:
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Feliepe Franks
Following a beatdown against UGA, Feliepe Franks looked to bounce back against Missouri. It was a home game and Missouri was an average team with a 4-4 record. Despite Missouri finishing the year 112th in the passing defense, Mullen pulled Franks for Kyle Trask because of his struggles. He had zero interceptions, but couldn’t move the ball down the field. Franks struggled against pressure and power 5 teams all season. The only times he threw over 250 yards was against Idaho, FSU, and Vandy who combined for 15 wins last year.
“What kind of name is Feliepe Franks anyway?” – D$
Passed background check: Florida’s WRs
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Following the departures of Bethel and Smith, Miami is thin at defensive back. Don’t be surprised to see Frierson and Te’cory Couch in the nickel. Throughout the past two weeks, Diaz cited UF’s depth and experience, bringing back their six top pass catchers. In addition to Perine out of the backfield, Florida WRs rotate in without drop off. Toney is liable for a big play while guys like Swain and Jefferson can move the chains on third down. Trevon Grimes is a great athlete with good size. Tyrie Cleveland is another big body they will throw at us. They do not have multiple A or A+ receivers, but this a strong group.
Keep an eye out for:
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David Reese
Reese racked up 77 tackles, 22 solo, in 10 games last year. He struggled to get in the backfield after 10 TFLs in 2017, but he has the ability to do so. He runs hard to the ball and put himself alongside Brandon Spikes and Antonio Morrison with his tackling ability.
James Houston is Reese's backup.
Meme of the week
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