Both Florida and South Carolina may view Saturday’s Week 7 matchup as a must-win game, and ESPN is breaking down the case for both teams.
For Florida, the team’s record on the road since Billy Napier took over is an easy metric to point to when looking for UF’s motivation to win this game. Not to mention a daunting portion of the schedule up ahead following the bye week.
“The Gators are 1-7 when they’ve ventured outside the Swamp,” wrote ESPN’s Chris Low, “and after the trip to Williams-Brice Stadium, they still have to play Georgia in Jacksonville and LSU and Missouri on the road before closing the season at home against No. 4 Florida State.”
The Gators don’t have that many opportunities to secure bowl eligibility left, so beating South Carolina (and Arkansas) feels like a must. The Gamecocks are also in the middle of a make-or-break season under third-year coach Shane Beamer, who led South Carolina to an eight-win season in 2022.
But Beamer Ball hasn’t gotten off to a strong start this season. Taking down Florida could be the first domino to fall in South Carolina’s explosive finish to the season, or it could be another one-sided affair — UF handled SCAR easily last season, 38-6.
South Carolina got the job done last year, beating both Clemson and Tennessee after falling to the Gators. Low believes that the Gamecocks could kick off “a similar resurgence” to last year’s stretch.
Both teams certainly have the proper motivations to come out and battle, but South Carolina has the home-field advantage. That could make all the difference in the end.
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