Two teams coming off
lopsided losses meet Saturday in Auburn when the Tigers host the Florida Gators
at Jordan Hare Stadium. Kickoff is 7 PM ET on ESPN and the game between the
longtime SEC rivals opened as a pick.
Florida (4-2 SU &
3-2-1 ATS) is in third place in the SEC West tied with Georgia and one game
behind division leader South Carolina. The Florida Gators are 15-6-1 in their last 22
road games.
Auburn (4-2 SU &
2-4 ATS) is also in third in the East trailing the unbeaten co-leaders LSU and
Alabama who are both 6-0. The Auburn Tigers are 8-1 ATS in their last nine conference
games but most of those wins came in 2010 when Cam Newton was at the helm.
Since 2004, Auburn
and Florida have combined to win four of the seven Southeastern Conference
Championships and three of the last five national championships. The Tigers won
the 2004 and 2010 SEC and 2010 BCS titles, while the Gators claimed the 2006
and 2008 SEC and BCS championships.
One year ago
Freshman Wes Byrum
kicked the game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired to lift Auburn to a
20-17 victory over No. 4 Florida in front of 90,685 fans at Ben Hill Griffin
Stadium. The Tigers snapped the Gators
11-game winning streak while handing Urban Meyer his first home loss since he
took over the program in 2005.
Tigers gouge Gators
As expected, No. 1
LSU had no problem with Florida, routing the Gators 41-11. LSU’s defense
overwhelmed QB Jacoby Brissett, who became the first true freshman to take his
first career snap as a starter.
Brissett went 8 of 14
for 94 yards including a 65-yard TD pass to Andre DeBose and was also
intercepted twice. He got very little help from Florida’s running attack which
amassed 113 yards led by Chris Rainey’s 52 yards. The Gators were outgained by the
Bayou Bengals 453-213. LSU had 238 yards rushing alone. As for his starter at
QB this week against the Tigers, Florida head coach Will Muschamp doesn't know
who his starter will be, just that it won’t be John Brantley. The fifth year
senior is expected to miss a second straight game with a lower leg injury
suffered in the Alabama game. Backup Jeff Driskel should be able to play after
sitting out the LSU game with an ankle injury but if not that means Brissett
would make his second consecutive start.
Auburn awful
The Tigers had no
answer for Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson who completed 19 straight passes
at one point, throwing for 262 yards and accounting for three touchdowns as the
Razorbacks dealt Auburn a 38-14 setback.
The Tigers finished
with 395 total yards but most of that came on the ground. Starting
quarterback Barrett Trotter was 6 of 19 passing for 81 yards finishing
with 104 passing yards and three picks. Michael Dyer rushed for 112 yards
while Onterio McCalebb ran for 91 yards
as Auburn had just 291 total yards. Dyer now has eight career 100+ yard rushing performances
with six of those coming against SEC teams. He’s the first AU running back
since Ben Tate in 2009 to go over the century mark in three consecutive league
games. With Dyer leading the way (679 yards, eight touchdowns)
Auburn ranks seventh in the country with 219 yards per game.
The loss was Auburn's
first against a ranked opponent in the last nine tries and snapped its five
game road winning streak in SEC games.
This begins a rough
stretch of the schedule for the Tigers who still have LSU, Georgia and Alabama
on the schedule. Their win total for the season is listed as six and they’ll be
hard pressed to top it without a victory over Florida.
Gators and Tigers ATS
splits
This will be Florida’s third road game of the season (1-1 SU & ATS).
They’re averaging 29.5 points per game away from the swamp compared to 30.3 at
home where they’re also averaging 380.2 total yards.
The defense ranks 11th in the nation in total yards allowed
(291) and is 13th in passing yards, having surrendered 176 but they’ll
need to do a better job of stopping the run, something they failed to do against
Alabama and LSU.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are unbeaten at home (3-0 SU & 1-2 ATS) and are
averaging 37.7 points per game at home compared to 27.8 overall. They’ve given
up 29.2 ppg through six games but are slightly better (28.7) in their own yard.
Auburn is 25-8-1 against Florida and has won the last two meetings at
home (2001 & 2006).
Each of the last four games in this series has been decided in the final
minute, with Auburn winning three of the four. The Tigers are 9-0 in games
decided by four points or less, including 5-0 vs. SEC teams, under head coach
Gene Chizik.
Auburn has won 10 of its last 11 conference games and 11 of 12 against
SEC opponents. The Tigers have won 11 consecutive games at home and since 2000 are 23-4
(.852) at JHS in night games.
Down year for the Sunshine State
For the first time
since Dec. 6, 1982, none of the Florida schools were among the Top 25
Associated Press rankings. It marked the end of 472 straight polls where the
Gators, Seminoles or Hurricanes were on the list.
On Saturday, Florida,
Florida State and Miami lost on the same day for the first time since Oct. 30,
2004. It's happened only one other time since FSU and Miami began football,
Oct. 14, 1978.
The weather for
Saturday’s game is calling for clear skies and temperatures in the 70’s.
I’ve started a thread
in the college football sub-forum and would appreciate your input on this and any other college football picks. Should this game be a pick, especially if the Gators
are going with the freshman again? Is this a slap on Auburn not being favored
at home?
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