OGT 2024 Week 6: Florida Gators vs UCF Knights

[Escambia94]

The Florida Gators will host the UCF Knights in The Swamp on Saturday, October 5th at 7:45 ET/ 6:45 CT. This game feels like it could be one of the last, if not the last, home game for William Hall Napier. Billy "Scared Money Does Indeed Make Money...at least $26 million dollars" Napier is 13-16 at Florida, 2-2 this season, 53-28 overall. The UCF Knights are 3-1 wins over New Hampshire, Sam Houston, and TCU and an embarrassing loss to Colorado at home. The Gators are 2-1 all-time against UCF, with the last game being a 17-29 loss in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl. For some odd reason the Gators are favored by 1 point, but this might as well be a toss-up with the way the spread has been moving.

UCF will be led by former Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson, who has given Florida problems before. Most of the statistics are skewed towards UCF.

	UF	UCF
Passing	QB DJ Lagway - 34/51, 617 YD, 4 TD, 3 INT, 182.4 RAT QB Graham Mertz - 42/56, 487 YD, 4 TD, 2 INT, 164.5 RAT ---- TOT - 77/111, 1114 YD, 8 TD, 5 INT, 168.4 RAT	QB KJ Jefferson - 52/86, 847 YD, 7 TD, 3 INT, 163.1 RAT QB Jacurri Brown - 5/9, 22 YD, 0 TD, 0 INT, 76.1 RAT ---- TOT - 58/96, 869 YD, 7 TD, 3 INT, 154.3 RAT
Rushing	RB Montrell Johnson - 48 CAR, 234 YD, 3 TD RB Jadan Baugh - 10 CAR, 98 YD, 0 TD RB Treyaun Webb - 21 CAR, 93 YD, 1 TD ---- TOT - 123 CAR, 583 YD, 9 TD	RB RJ Harvey - 75 CAR, 525 YD, 8 TD QB KJ Jefferson - 49 CAR, 211 YD, 2 TD RB Penny Boone - 26 CAR, 166 YD, 2 TD ---- TOT - 209 CAR, 1304 YD, 14 TD
Receiving	WR Elijah Badger - 14 REC, 305 YD, 1 TD WR Eugene Wilson - 13 REC, 191 YD, 1 TD (OUT) WR Chimere Dike - 11 REC, 189 YD, 1 TD TE Hayden Hansen - 4 REC, 92 YD, 1 TD ---- TOT - 77 REC, 1114 YD, 8 TD	WR Kobe Hudson - 15 REC, 349 YD, 2 TD RB RJ Harvey - 6 REC, 129 YD, 2 TD TE Randy Pittman - 9 REC, 113 YD, 0 TD ---- TOT - 58 REC, 869 YD, 7 TD
Kicking	PK Trey Smack - 16/16 XP, 3/3 FG, 47 YD LNG, 25 PTS	PK Colton Boomer - 19/20 XP, 3/6 FG, 50 LNG, 28 PTS

	UF	UCF
Total Offense	#50 424.2YPG/F 7.25YPP	#4 543.2YPG/F 7.30YPP
Total Defense	#112 425.5YPG/A 5.69YPP	#53 331.5YPG/A 5.41YPP
ESPN FPI	#46 5.4	#31 7.9
Sagarin Rating	#39 76.45	#34 77.20

 

[DRU2012]

Got a bad feeling about this one.
Given what we've seen, crap defense and having somehow lost a great part if our "edge in The Swamp" (even though we are still packing it out--which somehow makes it even worse).
I so wanna be wrong--but at the same time cannot see what great difference it will make to the season's eventual overall general outcome, nor Billy's ultimate fate.
Or OURS.

 

[Escambia94]

On paper the Gators are more talented and more multidimensional than the Bronze Knights. The game plan should be easy: stack the box on defense and throw vertically. Those are simple tactics already in Napier’s Post-It note playbooks that should work against Rural Central Florida Basement’s weaknesses.

All that to say, Napier will blow this game with two damn weeks to prepare. If Napier loses this game he should be shipped back to Gainesville…Georgia!

 

[DRU2012]

On paper the Gators are more talented and more multidimensional than the Bronze Knights. The game plan should be easy: stack the box on defense and throw vertically. Those are simple tactics already in Napier’s Post-It note playbooks that should work against Rural Central Florida Basement’s weaknesses.

All that to say, Napier will blow this game with two damn weeks to prepare. If Napier loses this game he should be shipped back to Gainesville…Georgia!

Unfortunately, I find myself actually EXPECTING that last.
Hope I'm wrong--but if we don't have this game in hand by the half, I HOPE I will be smart enough to TURN IT OFF rather than expose myself to the possibly painful indignity of having to watch us let another inferior squad embarrass us for all to see--IN OUR OWN HOUSE!
("Gainesville...Georgia" will be too GOOD for him, if that comes to pass...and make no mistake: That USF team and their fans have been WAITING, hoping and praying for a chance just LIKE this one...As a program we DESERVE a long slink to the darkest corner with our tail between our legs if we DO permit this scenario to play out.
I truly fear the bottom falling out of what has to be by now a brittle version of "team spirit and cohesion" on the Gator squad.