Florida-Missouri Game Notes: There's A Score To Be Settled
- Kyle Curtis
- Oct 6, 2022
- 3 min read
“That feels like a long time ago,” Napier said when referring to his and Drinkwitz's previous matchups.
BY: KYLE CURTIS
Florida is set to face the Missouri Tigers this upcoming weekend for the annual homecoming match. Last week, the Gators made history by becoming the first collegiate program that started in the 20th century to win 750 games. This week though, the Gators are looking for revenge after last year's defeat to Missouri that ultimately cost Dan Mullen his job.
Florida is also looking to avoid a streak that hasn’t been mentioned in over 70 years. The Gators will go into Saturday looking to avoid losing their seventh straight SEC matchup, something that has not occurred since 1945-1947 when the Gators lost 11 straight SEC games. The losing streak dates back to Halloween of last year against Georgia.
Nonetheless, despite the big picture, the Gators will have to find a way to overcome last year’s heartbreaking one-point overtime loss. The overtime defeat was the only time Florida has been in an overtime matchup over the last 83 games.
All time, this will be the Gator's 12th all-time matchup between Florida and Missouri while this is the Tigers’ sixth time in Gainesville. Historically, Missouri has had the slight upper hand on Florida with a record of 6-5, although the Gators have the edge at home with three games won while only losing two. As SEC members, the two schools are 5-5.
Despite last year’s barnburner of a game, where Missouri’s Tyler Badder tore the Gator's D-line apart with 146 yards on the ground, this has not been a close series historically. Not including the 24-23 matchup from last year, each of the last eight matchups in this series has been decided by 17 or more points (2013-2020).
Both head coaches also have some history with past success in the Sun Belt Conference. This is the third time that Billy Napier and Elijah Drinkwitz will meet as head coaches. Drinkwitz has had success against Napier in the past going 2-0 at Appalachian State during Napier’s tenure at Louisiana.
“That feels like a long time ago,” Napier said when referring to his and Drinkwitz's previous matchups.
Coming off a week where the Gators were forced to move their game against Eastern Washington to Sunday due to Hurricane Ian, that gave the Gators one less day to prepare. “This isn’t something new,” Napier said. “Back at Louisiana and having those Friday games gave us a script for how a shortened game week looks like.”
During his head coaching career, Napier is 4-0 in games where the games were played with less than one week of prep.
A familiar face will also be returning to the field Saturday, just not in the orange and blue. Linebacker, Ty’Ron Hopper, will be back in The Swamp after transferring to Missouri in the offseason after the departure of Dan Mullen. Hopper had 62 tackles last year and was poised to have another big year for the Gators if he had chosen to stay.
“We certainly would have loved to have him on our team,” Napier said on Hopper. “He’s a good player.”
Since joining the Tigers, Hopper has emerged as one of the premiere linebackers in all the SEC. He is currently third in the SEC in tackles for loss with 7.5 along with 32 tackles, two sacks, an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Nonetheless, Hopper’s old teammates are ready to compete against him.
“I think it just brings more fuel to the fire,” Ventral Miller said Wednesday on Hopper’s return. “I hated to see him go. But since it’s down to rival teams now, I think it just brings more fuel, to show up and dominate.”
Quarterback Anthony Richardson has also found his stride after having a roller-coaster start. He is coming off back-to-back 200-yard passing games - the first two of his career. Over those two games, Richardson threw for 693 yards and four touchdowns while adding 107 yards and two more scores on the ground. Richardson’s five rushing touchdowns through five games lead the SEC and is tied for fourth in the whole FBS.
Offensive-line Coach Robert Sale and his unit have gotten off to a strong start. Sale’s unit has allowed just three sacks throughout the season which ranks as the second-best in the SEC. This unit is led by pre-season all-American O’Cyrus Torrence who is currently the top-rated guard in the country with a 91.1 grade, according to ProFootballFocus.
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