Three Key Matchups for Florida vs. Missouri

Which personnel matchups will you need to keep your eyes on when the Gators face the Tigers?

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

To round out their away trips for the 2019 regular season, the No. 11 Florida Gators find themselves on the road to Columbia, MS. this weekend for their final bit of SEC action vs. the Missouri Tigers.

Florida has struggled against Missouri as of late, dropping their last two contests - including the previous at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. On the road this time, Florida is facing a far less threatening Missouri team, but the Tigers have playmakers on both sides of the ball that can make this a competitive matchup should Florida take the opponent lightly.

Here are the three most important matchups to watch for in Florida vs. Missouri, with in-depth stats from Pro Football Focus for context.

Kelly Bryant throwing into the middle of the field

When healthy, grad transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant has at least been serviceable for the Missouri Tigers after they lost Drew Lock to the NFL.

The signal-caller, who previously played at Clemson, has completed 62.2% of his 225 passes this season, going for 1845 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Despite his dual-threat label, though, Bryant has only amassed 205 yards and a touchdown on the ground through eight games.

Where Bryant has been winning is passing to all levels of the middle of the field, where he has compiled a stat-line of 96/132 (72.7%), 1292 yards - roughly 70% of his passing yards in the year despite the middle of the field receiving only 58.7% of his throws - eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

While Florida has done a great job pressuring the quarterback with their front four, and locking receivers down on the backend with their secondary, the middle of the field has been a target for opposing quarterback this year. 

Starting linebackers David Reese II and Ventrell Miller have combined to allow 68.5% of their 54 targets in coverage to be caught, tallying 324 yards allowed. While he was benched last week in favor of Marco Wilson, Trey Dean III had allowed 23/32 targets (71.9%) to be caught for 309 yards as he played the STAR position throughout the season - one that often covers the seams and intermediate level of the passing field.

Hopefully, Wilson will provide an upgrade to Florida's coverage in the middle of the field. He'll need to against Kelly Bryant.

Larry Rountree III vs. Florida's improved run defense

He's taken a step back this season in terms of rushing efficiency, but Missouri running back Larry Rountree III has found success against Florida in the past and is a player worth preparing for. 

Over the past two seasons, Rountree has recorded 155 yards and four touchdowns on 29 rushing attempts against Florida, averaging out to 5.34 yards per carry. An elusive back, Rountree is averaging 3.2 forced missed tackles per game this season, and 3.15 yards after contact.

Meanwhile, despite improved run defense performances over their past two games, Florida has struggled with making stops at first contact throughout the year. The Gators are averaging 10.8 missed tackles per game this year, the fourth-most in the SEC this season.

Allowing only 1.3 yards per rush for Vanderbilt and 3.2 per rush for Georgia, the Gators' run defense has improved from the 463 yards and five touchdowns it allowed to LSU and South Carolina's rushing attacks. 

Florida needs to continue that trend in Columbia, and prevent Rountree from getting into space where he can make defenders miss. Because if he gets there, odds are Florida is bound to miss a couple of tackles.

Missouri's defensive playmakers

Missouri may not have an elite defense across the board, but there are playmakers at every level of the unit.

In the trenches, defensive tackles Jordan Elliott and Kobie Whiteside have been a disruptive duo, combining for 36 quarterback pressures, six sacks, and 12 tackles for loss. That explosion up the middle will force Florida quarterback Kyle Trask to throw on the run and roll out of the pocket when the pass protection gets beat.

At linebacker, Nick Bolton and Cale Garrett have made plays all over the field. The first and second leading tacklers on Missouri's defense, the two have recorded 12.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, 14 quarterback pressures, five interceptions, and seven defended pass on the year. 

The duo will allow passes to be caught in front of them with quarterbacks posting 17 completions on 27 attempts at both in coverage, for 158 yards. But the linebackers seem to make up for those plays with ball-hawking skills.

And on the backend, safety Tyree Gillespie has been pretty dominant. Other than against South Carolina, when he took a poor angle on a screen pass - as the only defender within five yards of the completion - that went for 75 yards and a score, Gillespie has been locking it down in coverage. 

He has allowed only 42.9% of his 14 targets to be caught, for 132 yards and a touchdown.. Take out the screen play, which was a terrible play by the Gamecocks overall, and Gillespie has only allowed 57 yards on the year. Gillespie has also broken up four passes.

While quarterback Kyle Trask and the Gators' offense have faced some tougher defenses this year, it'd be in their best interest not to take Missouri's lightly. They're disruptive and can create big plays.