Scouting Campbell: Florida’s Defense Put to Test Again
The Florida Gators enter Week 2 of the college football season set to take on Campbell University’s Fighting Camels on Saturday afternoon.
Florida and Campbell will meet for the first time at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Saturday’s matchup will also mark Campbell’s 15th game against an FBS opponent. The Fighting Camels are still looking for their first win against an FBS program, entering with an 0-14 record in those matchups.
Campbell enters the weekend with their first 2-0 start since 2018. Last week, the Camels defeated Western Carolina 28-19, a team coached by Gator alum Kerwin Bell. Campbell won its season opener against East Tennessee State 49-37. It has produced more than 1,000 total yards of offense in those games: 528 yards against Western Carolina and 514 yards against East Tennessee State.
Florida, meanwhile, enters the matchup following a strong offensive performance in its season opener against Florida Atlantic. The Gatos totaled 624 yards of offense and scored nine touchdowns in the 66-21 win in The Swamp.
However, the Florida defense appears to be an area of concern.
The Gators allowed Florida Atlantic three touchdowns and 396 offensive yards. Despite the dominant final score, coach Jon Sumrall’s deafening description of Florida’s defense being “atrocious” has been a key takeaway from the opener.
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Brad White addressed the unit’s need to improve.
“There’s going to be good, and there’s bad,” White said. “Immediately after the game, the whole deal, you’ve got that pit in your stomach because you know we could have played better. That was not the standard and the bar that we want to set for how to play defense around here.”
The Gators’ defensive struggle become apparent when heading into the upcoming game against Campbell, who exhibit an impressive offense. The Camels rank fourth in the FCS in passing offense, averaging 336.5 yards per game, and eighth in total offense, averaging 521 yards per game.
The North Carolina based team is led by senior quarterback Kamden Sixkiller, who has emerged as one of the most productive quarterbacks in the FCS through the opening weeks of the season. Sixkiller ranks among the top 10 in the FCS in several categories, including completions per game (ranking second), total offense (third), passing yards (fourth) and rushing touchdowns (ninth). Only behind Sixkiller, running back JJ Cowan leads in rushing yards at 99, while wide receiver Spencer Jones has recorded a team-high 175 receiving yards.
Defensively, Campbell has also shown plenty of talent. Charles Battaglia leads the team with 17 tackles, followed by linebacker AJ Benton with 14 and cornerback Vance Sheppert with 12. Benton was recently named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week. In its last game, Campbell’s defense held Western Carolina to just 2-of-13 on third-down attempts.
While Florida enters Saturday as the clear favorite (49.5-point favorite in some betting books), Campbell’s offensive production will provide the Gators an opportunity to address the defensive issues that surfaced during the season opener.
Sumrall emphasized Monday the importance of not underestimating Campbell, noting the Fighting Camels are a different team than they were last season.
“They’ve got really quality football players and it’s a challenge, it really is,” Sumrall said. “They didn’t have the year they wanted to have last year record-wise. But, you can tell there’s a shift within their football team with how they’re playing.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
