Florida Heads to College Station as Road Underdogs, Again
Riding the high of their huge 29-21 win against then-No. 9 Texas, the Florida Gators must now turn the page and get ready for another top-10 road showdown against No. 5 Texas A&M. This will be the third time in four games Florida (2-3, 1-1 SEC) will play a top-5 opponent, the others were road losses at LSU and Miami.
Knowing that UF would once again have one of the toughest schedules in football, it should be no surprise that every week is going to be a grind. Gators coach Billy Napier understands that this is what you sign up for when you are in the SEC, and with the frequency of these teams facing each other, there are no real surprises anymore; you just have to go out there and take care of business.
“We’re very familiar with these teams. The players know each other, the coaches obviously know each other, respect each other. So these are teams we played just one year ago, and we’re very familiar with the scheme, the personnel, the venue, right? We know what it’s going to be like, so we’re capable,” Napier said. “I mean, I think that’s the big thing, is you wake up knowing that you’ve got the tools to do it.
“It’s just going to be about who plays the best that day. And that’s reality in college football right now, is you got to be ready to go each week, so independent of the opponent.”
Loading ...Now, the Gators will head to one of the premier venues in college football — Kyle Field in College Station. With the fourth-largest stadium in the United States, Kyle Field has a capacity of 102,733, but when called upon, it can more than double those numbers. The attendance record came in 2014, when 110,633 packed in to watch Texas A&M host Ole Miss.
Florida center Jake Slaughter, who is making his second trip to College Station, the first coming back in 2022, when Florida beat A&M 41-24 after a noon kickoff. While it was not as intimidating a crowd during the day as it will be at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Slaughter described the venue well and understands that it is going to be a much different environment.
“We kicked off at 11, so we didn’t get to see it in all of its glory at night,” Slaughter said. “It wasn’t as loud as it will be, I’m sure. It was a cool stadium, it was massive, that’s what I remember.”
For the fourth straight game, Florida will be an underdog ahead of its matchup Saturday. The Gators are 7.5-point underdogs, according to Hard Rock Bet.
This will be the fourth time it has hosted Florida since A&M joined the conference in 2012. The Gators are 2-1 at College Station, but trail the all-time series 3-4, including last year’s 33-20 home loss.
“This is an incredibly talented team, big, long, fast,” Napier said. “They’re a tough group, physical group, and Coach (Mike) Elko has done a really good job there. His pedigree and track record as a defensive coach, and then the brand of football they play on the offense and the weapons that they have, so, and they’re always a tough prep in the kicking game. Seven o’clock Eastern, six central kick, Kyle Field, it’s gonna be a heckuva football game.
“So we respect the opponent, certainly off to a great start, top-five team in the country, undefeated. And some vets you know the quarterback obviously, his background and his ability to make unannounced plays. Defensive players at every level, weapons at returner. You name it, this team’s got it. So it’s going to be a great challenge. We’re going to need to be at our best.”
The Gators play the Aggies (5-0, 2-0) at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN and 98.1-FM.103.7-FM/850-AM WRUF.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC
