GAMEDAY: Troy at Florida
September 08, 2007
The run through the gauntlet continues today at No. 3 Florida, the defending national championship.
Part of me, when I think about this, thinks about last year’s Florida State game. FSU was clearly looking ahead to its next ACC opponent - I think it was Boston College but I’m not sure. Needless to say, they should have gotten beat by Troy. Florida has Tennessee next weekend, its big SEC rival. Could they be looking ahead? Probably, but they’re better coached and more talented than Florida State was last year.
Let’s take a look ahead
Time: 5 p.m. CST
TV: Sun Sports PPV
Radio: 94.7 FM WTBF (man that Jerry Miller’s going to sound good on color), more web information available at http://www.troytrojans.com
Key matchups: Troy’s secondary (Leodis McKelvin, Elbert Mack, Tavares Williams, Terence Moore, Sherrod Martin, Trevor Ford, Chris Bowens, Courtland Fuller) against Florida’s receivers (Percy Harvin, Riley Cooper, Andre Caldwell, Jarred Fayson, Cornelius Ingram, and a few more). Troy couldn’t stop the run last week, but will see if they can match up with this talented receiving corps from Florida. The first five DBs I mentioned are the ones that will play the bulk of the snaps. With that means just two linebackers in the game, but they will be Troy’s best in Marcus Richardson and Boris Lee.
Big question: Can Omar Haugabook and his receivers take advantage of Florida’s young and untested defense? The Gators lost nine defensive starters last year, but you’ve got to figure this is a team that just reloads. But they didn’t get tested at all last week. Troy’s going to have to keep up in a shootout if it doesn’t want to get blown out. Time will tell if the Trojans can trade left hooks and we’ll see if they make some stops, can the offense deliver any kind of knockout blow?
Player to watch, Troy: DE Brandon Lang. Lang didn’t show up much last week, but if he can rush Florida QB Tim Tebow’s blind side, the left-handed QB might take some hits he’s never had to take.
Player to watch, Florida: QB Tim Tebow. Everyone knows who he is. This will be the first time he’s got to play 60 minutes against a real defense.
Prediction: Florida 45, Troy 20
