It has been a harrowing week for the Sunshine State in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which caused billions of dollars of damage as it pummeled the peninsula with heavy rains, wind and flooding. As a precaution, college football games that had been slated at major schools were rescheduled, including the Florida Gators’ matchup with the FCS Eastern Washington Eagles in the Swamp, which was moved back a day to Sunday.
The visitors have never stepped foot on a football field in Florida while also never having faced a Southeastern Conference team in their history. Not only that, but Sunday’s game marks the third attempt at playing this game after being postponed due to COVID in 2020 and this year’s delay due to the storm.
While the matchup does not raise many eyebrows on paper, the CBS Sports college football staff broke down what they expect to see in the makeup game. Below is why they believe that Florida will cover the 29.5-point spread.
Florida will be looking to wash the taste of two early SEC losses out of their mouths but will take at least some solace in the play of starting quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson [/autotag]last week in the loss to Tennessee. After throwing four interceptions without a touchdown pass and failing to throw for more than 168 yards in his first three games, Richardson threw for 453 yards and two scores while adding 62 yards and two scores on the ground. He’s a premier athlete that an FCS opponent should be ill-equipped to handle and prepping for the 6-foot-4-inch, 236-pounder will be a problem for the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Florida defense has forced seven turnovers in the first four games of the year and could have opportunities to steal possessions again on Sunday against an Eastern Washington offense that has turned the ball over five times. [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] has three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble already this year and could play a major role on Sunday.
On the other hand, here is a look at how they think EWU can cover the spread.
Eastern Washington is a proud program with a long history of success and Aaron Best will have his squad ready to compete. The Eagles have made the FCS playoffs in three of the last four seasons and have been to the semifinals or further in five of the last 12 seasons, including a national championship win in 2010 and a runner-up finish in 2018.
Quarterback Gunner Talkington has thrown for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions so far this year and he could tax a Florida defense that gave up 576 yards to Tennessee last week. Freddie Roberson (11-214-2) and Efton Chism III (16-145-3) are his two top receivers and if they can manage to have a big day, the Eagles could hang around in this one.
The game is set to kick off at noon EDT on Sunday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and can either be watched on the SEC Network+ or heard on the Gators Radio Network.
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