Missouri Tigers vs. Florida Gators, prediction, odds, TV, and coaches who’ve met before

Blair Kerkhoff
·2 min read
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THE DETAILS

Kickoff: 11 a.m.

Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.

TV: ESPNU

Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)

Line: Florida by 11

After defeating Florida a year ago, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz completed his postgame news conference by pulling the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head and grabbing a toy lightsaber out from behind the lectern.

May the force be with you, Drinkwitz said then. The stunt was a response to Gators coach Dan Mullen delivering his entire postgame meeting with reporters a year earlier in a Darth Vader costume.

The force wasn’t with Mullen, who was fired the next day.

But the current Tigers-Gators coaching storyline is based previous jobs, not Star Wars films. Drinkwitz and Florida’s Billy Napier have faced each other twice. It happened in the same season, 2019, when both men were coaches for Sun Belt Conference programs.

Napier was in his second season at Louisiana. Drinkwitz was making his head coaching debut at Appalachian State. The Mountaineers won the regular-season encounter at Lafayette, La., then won again in the conference championship game.

Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III celebrates a big moment during last Saturday night’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Columbia.
Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III celebrates a big moment during last Saturday night’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Columbia.

After that contest, Drinkwitz met with Missouri officials who had flown to Boone, N.C. On the following Tuesday, he was introduced as the Tigers’ new head coach in Columbia. And two years later, Napier became his SEC East rival at Florida.

“That seems like a long time ago,” Napier said. “Fantastic program, Appalachian State. Eliah did a good job leading that program that year he was there.”

Drinkwitz said Napier has carried some familiar tendencies to his new job. “He’s very aggressive on fourth down. It’s been that way for a long time.”

The other connection to watch in Saturday’s game at Gainesville: Mizzou linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper spent his first three seasons at Florida. But he’s having his best season yet at Missouri. Not that he needs additional motivation, but look for a big effort from Hopper against the Gators.

Prediction: Florida 28-24

Last game prediction: Georgia 33-10

2022 record on picks: 4-1

2022 record against the spread: 3-1