Florida vs. South Carolina: Picks and Predictions
Quarterback Jaden Rashada's commitment flip from Miami to Florida might have made UF fans forget: The Gators have a game on Saturday! And Rashada will be there!
In what will be the final home game of Billy Napier's debut tenure as head coach, Florida (5-4, 2-4 SEC) will host the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3 SEC) at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. The matchup will also mark UF's annual Senior Day ceremony.
Florida is viewed as an eight-point favorite over South Carolina, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 59 points.
You can find All Gators' picks and predictions for the Gators' matchup with the Aggies below.
Zach Goodall (5-4): Florida 31, South Carolina 24
As you can see in the note I made just prior to kickoff last Saturday, I'm kicking myself for not picking Florida over an illness-ridden Texas A&M squad in Week 10. If that information were available to me before last week's predictions went up, I'd be sitting at 6-3 on the year.
But here we are. I'm betting on the Gators to secure my sixth dub of the season, and their own.
On the simplest sheet of paper, the Gamecocks have been a better team than the Gators this season with a +1 advantage in the general and SEC win column. Aside from a road win at Kentucky, however, none of those victories have been all that impressive (six points over Texas A&M, nine points over Vanderbilt, and three Ws against lower-level squads) and South Carolina was memorably smoked by Georgia by 41 points earlier in the campaign.
Florida hasn't lost a game by more than 22 points this season, to the same Georgia team that nearly doubled its margin of victory over UF against South Carolina. Every other loss has been by ten points or fewer.
And, on the Gators' side of the equation, things have begun to click.
Their rushing offense remains dominant (the Gamecocks' rushing defense is, on the other hand, far from it), quarterback Anthony Richardson has played turnover-free football for three games in a row, and Florida's defense pitched a second-half shutout with two takeaways on the road against the Aggies last week. South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is prone to turnovers, too, foreshadowing the potential for another strong defensive showing from UF this week.
Maybe I'm drinking too much Kool-Aid here after Florida's Week 10 showing, but I think this team is beginning to turn a corner under head coach Billy Napier. The Gators will continue to push in the right direction with a victory on Saturday.
Brandon Carroll (6-3): Florida 37, South Carolina 24
The Florida Gators finally put together a complete game in College Station with the offense ticking at a high level and the defense using superb halftime adjustments to shut out Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M in the second half.
The Gators look to replicate that success as they return home for senior day. The best way to do so is playing to their emerging identity on offense: run the football.
I know it’s been a constant point each week, and can feel redundant, but it’s the aspect of the game that is working the best for Florida right now.
Not only that, but SCAR presents weaknesses defensively in that area.
The Gamecocks are just one game removed from allowing 226 yards on the ground to Vanderbilt, giving Florida a hole to exploit with the undeniable strength of their game.
I think the Gators build off their performance against Texas A&M — particularly offensively as the defense continues to work out the remaining kinks — as they pound the rock with the likes of Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne to control the clock and give the Gators defense adequate rest against the well-balanced SCAR attack.
Signal caller Anthony Richardson turns in another productive, efficient day with his arms and legs and gives Florida a boost at home. I like him to continue to score at least one touchdown throughout the air and on the ground.
Florida is able to secure their sixth win of the season and reach bowl eligibility with two games to spare.
CJ Clarke (7-2): Florida 34, South Carolina 21
The Gators are fresh off their first road victory in SEC play in quite some time and seem to have gained a little bit of momentum with the elevated QB play of Anthony Richardson.
The Gamecocks come in with a 6-3 record but have been wildly inconsistent this year and to be quite honest, unimpressive. There is not a single thing they do on either side that should scare the Gators. Also, they have been very reliant on RB Marshawn Lloyd, whose status is up in the air this week after missing their game against Vanderbilt a week ago.
Offensively for the Gators, Billy Napier has found his guys in the running game with Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne and looks content to lean on them for a chunk of the offensive production.
South Carolina is allowing just south of 172 yards per game on the ground and Florida has been running the ball extremely effectively the last few weeks. Couple that with the fact that Spencer Rattler is one of the more turnover-prone QBs in the country I think you could see the Gators apply pressure to get the ball back for their talented backfield.
Florida needs this game to get bowl eligible, which is extremely important for the production of the young guys on the roster. I think they do it.
Chris Thornton (2-0): Florida 31, South Carolina 21
Chris Thornton joined All Gators' prediction story in Week 10
Ladies and gentlemen, let us get to 3-0.
The second half of the Gators/Aggies game was a bit of a surprise to me but instilled confidence in this football team. Scoring-wise, these teams could not be much closer, with Florida averaging 31.2 points a game to South Carolina's 31.1 points per game. This game will once again lie on the Gator's defense to rise to the occasion and have a showing closer to their potential.
This week, I'm again rolling with Billy Napier and the Gators with a big momentum-building win over South Carolina. A strong win this week could kickstart a run to close out the season and eclipse eight wins.
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