Get to Know Florida:
- Location: Gainesville, FL
- Established: 1853
- Enrollment: 54,814
- Mascot: Gators
- Colors: Blue and orange
- Conference: SEC (duh)
What You Need to Know:
- Texas A&M is 5-0 (2-0) and ranked No. 5 in the country. This is the first time A&M has started a season 5-0 since 2016.
- Florida is 2-3 (1-1) and coming of a perception-altering upset of Texas last week in The Swap..
- Florida has the No. 26 rushing defense and No. 49 passing defense, and will go up against an A&M offense that is No. 37 in rushing and No. 35 in passing. On the other side of the ball, A&M is No. 32 against both the pass and the run, while the Florida offense is No. 101 in rushing and No. 74 passing.
Betting Lines:
- The Aggies are a 7.5-point favorite
- The over/under is 47.5.
Historical Notes:
- Texas A&M leads the all-time series is tied 4-3, and leads 3-2 since joining the SEC in 2012.
- The Aggies are 1-2 against Florida at Kyle Field, winning in 2020 but coming up short in 2012 and 2022.
- Famous Florida alumni include Erin Andrews, Tim Tebow, Emmitt Smith (who’s son E.J. plays for A&M), Marco Rubio, Darrell Hammond and Bob Vila. And while he didn’t go to UF, you can’t omit Gainesville’s favorite son, Tom Petty.
What To Watch For:
- Which Florida team shows up?: Florida looked like a different team against Texas last week, especially on offense. It’s easy to ascribe that to the Longhorns playing poorly, but I don’t think that’s all of it. Whether it’s the ascension of Dallas Wilson, D.J. Lagway clicking or just figuring some things out schematically, I think we’ll see a much better Gator squad than the one who lost three straight games to USF, LSU and Miami.
- PENALTIES!: Penalties continue to handicap this A&M’s team’s ceiling, with seven in the first half alone against Mississippi State (most of which were on offense). The team seemed to clean things up in the second half, but can they maintain that over an entire game?
- Throwbacks: The Aggies will wear 1975 throwback uniforms this Saturday, honoring the 50th anniversary of a team who won the Southwest Conference. We’ve seen the retail version of the jerseys, and expect to get the full uniform reveal on Thursday evening.
Media Blitz:
- Venue: Kyle Field (College Station, TX)
- Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11
- TV: ESPN
Weather:
- Clear skies. High near 90F, low near 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
