The Alabama Crimson Tide get their second test of the season as the Florida Gators come to town for an SEC showdown. This matchup has a lot of history dating back to the two head coaches. It is well documented that Florida head coach Will Muschamp was mentored by Nick Saban in their early days, working at LSU together and then with the Miami Dolphins. Now it is student vs. the teacher as the Gators and Tide faceoff on Saturday afternoon.
Florida and Alabama are very familiar with one another. The last two times the teams met was in the SEC Championship game, each taking one. They also met the first year Muschamp was head coach back in 2011 when the Tide beat the Gators 38-10 and then eventually went on to win the National Championship. Both are very different now than they were back then which will make this a fun game to watch.
The Gators must be tasked with slowing down Amari Cooper who is on his way to Heisman trophy like season. The wide receiver leads the nation in catches with 33 and yards in 454. He also tied the single-game record for catches. The next receiver on the list for Alabama is Christion Jones who does not even come close with nine catches for 133 yards. The Gators have the star defensive back in Vernon Hargreaves III who leads the nation with 2.50 passes defended per game. The two players are expected to go head-to-head all game.
If Alabama is going to be successful, they must spread the ball around. Right now, their offense is a successful ground game and Cooper. Saban has named Blake Sims the starting quarterback and he must get the ball in the hands of OJ Howard who does not have a catch on the season so far. DeAndrew White is also going to be back after missing two games with a shoulder injury. He will help take the pressure of Cooper.
Florida has Jeff Driskel back under center who is coming off a career-high game with 295 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He favors receiver Demarcus Robinson who has 15 catches for 216 yards on the season so far. The Gators will pass and pass a lot given the weak Tide secondary. Jarrick Williams is out with a fractured bone in his foot while Nick Perry is suspended for the first half of the game after getting flagged for targeting against Southern Mississippi.
