The Florida Gators were forced to start true freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett last week against LSU. While Brissett wasn't awful, the Gators offense was virtually non-existent. The Gators this week however travel to Auburn as 2 point favorites and against a defense in Auburn they should be able to score on. Andy Hutchins of Alligator Army points out that Brissett did have a big play he can build on.
Florida Vs. Auburn TV Schedule, Spread, Game Time And More
Gators freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett will make his second start against Auburn
Brissett will make his second collegiate start his second straight start, and looks to improve on a performance against LSU that had an outstanding moment - a 65-yard touchdown pass to Andre Debose - and a lot of things that he would likely rather forget, including two interceptions.
Auburn on the other hand does bring a good offense to match up with the Gators, who’ve been scored on in their last two games. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Florida’s offense has been completely ineffective, but the Gators also have had trouble stopping the run and one thing Auburn does well is stop the run. Jay Coulter over at Track Em Tigers points out that head coach Gus Malzahn might have trouble getting the ball in all of his talented backs hands.
Averaging more than 28 yards per return, Tre Mason has Auburn ranked second in the SEC in kickoff returns. However, his success returning kicks has not resulted in more carries at tailback. Through the first half of the season, Mason has only 12 carries for 64 yards, despite averaging 5.3 yards a touch.
By comparison, Dyer has124 carries for 679 yards, while McCalebb has rushed for 312 yards on 56 carries. Both are also averaging more than five yards a carry.
The dilemma for Malzahn is how to get the ball in Mason's hands more often. There's no easy answer. At the end of the day, as talented as he is, those in front of Mason are better - for now.
Unlike the last two weeks for the Gators and Tigers, this game should sport quite a bit of scoring. The question is, which defense will show up and what will each team get out of their quarterbacks. Florida is rolling out a true freshman with another freshman in Jeff Driskel as the back up with senior quarterback John Brantley still out. Auburn on the other hand has a bit of a quarterback controversy with Barrett Trotter struggling, but their rushing attack should carry the load. The Gators haven't beaten Auburn since 2002.
Game date, time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 15th
Location: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
TV channel: ESPN3
Spread: Florida favored by 1 1/2
Series history: Auburn leads 43-38-2
For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit the SB Nation Florida blog Alligator Army and the SB Nation’s Auburn blog Track Em Tigers. Here’s this week’s college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.
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