Expert Predictions: What to expect from Florida-South Carolina matchup
Florida football is slated to host the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday for the final game in the Swamp this season for the Orange and Blue. The Gators enter the matchup with a 5-4 record (2-4 SEC) while the Gamecocks are a game better at 6-3 (3-3 SEC), and neither team has been particularly impressive during the 2022 campaign.
UF holds a commanding 29-10-3 record in the all-time series dating back to 1911 when the game resulted in a 6-6 tie in Columbia. The two schools met off and on until 1939, after which they faced once in Gainesville during the 1964 season before the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1990. Since 1992 — the first meeting as SEC foes — the Gators are 13-7 in the series, though they have evenly split the last 12 matchups.
The Gators Wire crew converged to give their predictions for Florida’s final home game of the season against South Carolina. Take a look below at what we think will go down this Saturday in the Swamp.
Adam Dubbin - Managing Editor
Tim Warner/Getty Images
The Gators looked alive against an undermanned TAMU squad on Saturday despite continued defensive struggles at times. The way the team came out in the second half was reminiscent of its surge leaving the locker room at halftime against the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Gamecocks are a much better team than the Aggies but have had their share of struggles this year as well. They beat Kentucky — who beat the Gators — but also lost to Mizzou which fell at the hands of Florida on homecoming.
While [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] seems to play better on the road the hype of Senior Day and what will hopefully be a raucous crowd should be enough to back the Orange and Blue on Saturday.
Florida 34, South Carolina 27
David Rosenberg - Assistant Editor
Tim Warner/Getty Images
The win over TAMU was nice, but the Aggies weren’t exactly at full strength nor have they been particularly good this year. Now it’s time to take care of business in the South Carolina game, an annual contest Gators fans expect their team to win.
This won’t be an easy win, though. The Gamecocks were once ranked in the top 25 this year, and they have wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M, which is better than UF can brag.
Still, the Gators have played extremely well over the past two weeks, especially quarterback Anthony Richardson, who seems to have figured out his turnover woes. If Richardson can keep the offense flowing and the defense comes out with the same attitude it has in the second half of the last two games, Florida should take home the W.
Florida 28, South Carolina 20
Pat Dooley - Staff Writer
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
The big question everyone has going into this game is about Florida’s defense. Was the second half of the Texas A&M game the start of a turnaround for this team or did the defense just have a good half and will go back to normal in this game?
We thought the Gamecocks would come into this game 7-2 and ranked, but Missouri beat them two weeks ago to knock them out of the top 25. If Richardson can just play at home the way he has on the road this season, it should be a Florida win. He appears to be getting better as the season goes deeper, which is good news.
Florida 31, South Carolina 21
Sergio De La Espriella - Staff Writer
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Last week’s win against Texas A&M came at a great time for the Gators. With a loss, they would have dropped three straight games against teams they should be at least on par with. With a win, the conversation now shifts from “will the Gators be bowl eligible” to “can they finish the season 8-4”. There is still a ways to go for the latter question, but the former has a chance of being answered when the Gators host South Carolina.
Defensively, this team still has a lot of question marks. Defensive coordinator Patrick Toney has shown that he has the ability to make adjustments in the middle of a game. The question is if Florida can play like they have been playing in the second half these past few games.
Offensively, Richardson is finally starting to put together some consistency. In his last three games, Richardson has amassed 835 total yards, 9 TDs and 0 INTs. That consistency is what the Gators need if they’re going to send the seniors off on a positive note.
Florida 35, South Carolina 21
Tyler Nettuno - Gators Wire alumnus
Tim Warner/Getty Images
Florida’s win over an already struggling and extremely shorthanded Texas A&M wasn’t exactly the most confidence-inspiring victory, but there are a number of reasons to be optimistic about the way the team has played over the last two weeks. The offense has been effective and Richardson has taken care of the ball, avoiding turnovers in each of the last three games.
Defensively, things are still a bit iffy, but the Gators forced a bad game from Stetson Bennett IV in Jacksonville and adjusted well in College Station. The group was, admittedly, horrendous in the first half but put together a second-half shutout.
I certainly feel a lot better about a matchup against a South Carolina team whose 6-3 record feels fairly misleading. This is a struggling team, and the addition of quarterback Spencer Rattler has not gone to plan, as he’s thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this year.
The Gamecocks won this game big last year in Columbia, expediting the end of the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] era. I expect a different result this time around in Gainesville.
Prediction: Florida 31, South Carolina 20
Editor’s note: Tyler is the managing editor of LSU Tigers Wire and a college football staff writer for FTW!
Composite Prediction
Tim Warner/Getty Images
The Gators Wire roundtable consensus predicts a 10-point win for Florida this Saturday as each respondent projected at least a one-touchdown margin in favor of the Orange and Blue. It appears that the group feels quite confident heading into the final home game of the 2022 season.
Florida 32, South Carolina 22
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