It has been a long time since there was this much anticipation for a game in Gainesville.
The eyes of the college football world will descend upon the Swamp on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when the No. 10 Gators take on No. 7 Auburn. The Tigers are making their first trip to Gainesville since 2007 for a homecoming game that could have massive ramifications in both SEC divisional races.
The game will be broadcast nationally as the CBS Game of the Week. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town for the first time since 2012. Around 90,000 rabid fans will pack Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“This is why you come to Florida, to play in big, big games like this,” coach Dan Mullen said. “We don’t shy away from it.”
Auburn is Florida’s first ranked opponent this year, and it goes without saying this is UF’s biggest test to date.
Mullen and the Gators, however, are not a team that is unfamiliar with the spotlight. Florida won big games last year over LSU and Michigan. Its Week 0 win this year over Miami was ESPN’s highest-rated game since 2016. College GameDay was at that game, too, along with last year’s Florida-Georgia game.
UF will receive the added boost of at least six players returning from injury – defensive back C.J. Henderson, defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga, safeties Shawn Davis and Jeawon Taylor, linebacker Ventrell Miller and wide receiver Freddie Swain.
Auburn has played in plenty of big games, as well.
The Tigers, led by freshman quarterback Bo Nix, already have two wins over ranked teams this year, including an upset in Week 1 over No. 11 Oregon.
Nix is arguably the most dangerous quarterback UF has faced to this point. He has thrown for 980 yards (sixth-highest in the conference), seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also has 173 rushing yards (second-highest in the conference) and two rushing touchdowns.
Nix will try to replicate his father, Patrick, who in 1994 became the first SEC quarterback to defeat then-UF coach Steve Spurrier in Gainesville.
“He’s already had to play in some big games, big moments, and he’s handled that well as a freshman,” Mullen said about Nix. “He can throw, he can run and he’s a talent.”
Opposing Nix will be Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who has been everything UF fans could’ve wished for after Feleipe Franks’ season-ending injury. He has thrown for 647 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions this year, but he’s yet to face a defense like Auburn’s.
The Tigers have one of the best defensive lines in the country, something that could give Florida’s lackluster offensive line trouble. They’ve given up just 95.2 rushing yards per game, third-best in the conference. They also have recorded 13 sacks, the fourth-best in the SEC.
Florida outpaces Auburn in both categories with just 86.8 rushing yards allowed per game (second-best in the SEC) and 24 sacks (best in the conference, by far). The Tigers have the second-best rushing offense in the SEC (over 250 yards per game), so something will have to give.
The rushing game is the biggest difference between the two teams. Florida is averaging just 141.4 yards per game on the ground. The Gators, however, have more passing yards themselves and have a defense that has allowed less passing yards than Auburn (though the discrepancies in the two team’s schedules make it hard to draw any conclusions).
The combination of inexperience at quarterback – Nix and Trask have combined for just seven collegiate starts – and the talent on both defenses means Saturday’s game may be a low-scoring affair.
“We could open a lot of eyes,” Swain said. “Hopefully it’ll show what we can do and show how we are as a team.”
Follow Sam Campisano on Twitter @samcampisano. Contact him at scampisano@alligator.org.
Defensive end Jabari Zuniga (92) will play Saturday for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the game against Kentucky.
