‘ESPN College GameDay’ Picks Miami over Gators
Miami Gardens played host to “ESPN College GameDay” Saturday morning, and while the crowd arrived as early as 5 a.m., Miami fans still had plenty of energy to hate on Florida.
Most of the College GameDay crew – including the guest picker, Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk – chose the Hurricanes to win. Pat McAfee added emphasis to his pick as the analyst jumped off the high dive into the pool to pick the Hurricanes, who he said are “back.”
“You start looking around here in Coral Gables and you start feeling the energy,” McAfee said. “It’s starting to feel a certain way in Coral Gables again.”
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Former Alabama coach and analyst Nick Saban said Miami is the most complete team he has seen this year. Analyst Desmond Howard said only Florida believes in its abilities, but Miami will still win, and Tkachuk said Florida stands no chance in the game.
After DJ Lagway threw five interceptions last week, College GameDay host Rece Davis referred to the Gators offense as “a flop.”
“So what can the Gators do? Well maybe try the deep ball because Miami’s been a little vulnerable there, but Florida hasn’t been able to do that either,” Davis said. “So the Gators have no chance tonight unless DJ Lagway stops lagging.”
Herbstreit acknowledged Lagway’s lack of preseason training due to injury, but participating would have helped build chemistry with receivers. Gators coach Billy Napier told the analyst that 40 players took Lagway out to dinner Wednesday night to lift him up, showing that the team responded with good culture that still exists in the program.
Saban added that Florida has the opportunity to be really good if they fix the problems at quarterback.
“I think Florida has the best roster they’ve had since Billy’s been there,” Saban said. “They had some tough times at the quarterback position with turnovers and so forth, but this is a very good defensive team.”
Miami defensive back OJ Frederique Jr. and Cristobal consider Lagway to be one of the best players in the country who just had a bad night against LSU in the 20-10 loss.
Florida has had more touchdowns called back (3) this season than the offense has scored (8). Self-inflicted wounds continue to deny the Gators from making any progress. McAfee and Howard both said this season is fixable, but the penalties have to stop.
“Our pride is on the line,” Florida edge rusher Tyreak Sapp said.
The Gators defense was praised during the show, as it has allowed only two touchdowns this season. Herbstreit echoed Napier’s proclamation Wednesday that Florida could win and easily be 3-0 even though the team is “limping” into this game. Still, Saban says Miami is hard to beat.
On the other side, Howard picked No. 4 Miami as the best team in the country in all areas of the game. Miami coach Mario Cristobal told the ESPN crew that the team who executes the best will come out on top.
“Understanding that in rivalry games, you’re never all the way out of it and never all the way secure in it,” he said.
The analysts praised Cristobal for his ability to win in a “cage match” against any other coach in the country.
“There are no ‘what ifs’ about the Hurricanes, but fortunes and perception can change through a complete 180 in a rivalry game,” Davis said.
Miami’s defense has the mentality of “excitement, swarm and violence,” and it is prepared to attack the flaws of Florida’s offense.
“Make it a damn asylum tonight,” Cristobal messaged to the GameDay crowd, made up of mostly Hurricanes fans.
Category: College Football, Football, Gator Sports, Gators Football, Miami Hurricanes, NCAA
