Tag: The Athletic

The Athletic’s prediction for Florida’s Week 11 matchup with LSU

Bruce Feldman’s prediction for the LSU-Florida affair is not one the Gator Nation wants to hear.

Florida football prepares for its gridiron gruel against the LSU Tigers as the regular season schedule continues to wane. The Week 11 matchup between two Southeastern Conference rivals is a big one for the Gators, but their opponent is a formidable one.

Days ahead of the penultimate SEC game on the schedule for both programs, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman weighed in on what he expects to go down this weekend in the bayou along with his other top-25 picks. His take is one of the majority, picking the home team to prevail over the visitors with little difficulty.

“The Gators have been better than expected while the Tigers have been worse,” Feldman notes. “But I still have a lot more faith in LSU’s skill talent than Florida’s, particularly in a game in Baton Rouge.”

He predicts a final score of 37-20, in favor of LSU.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Nov. 11, inside Tiger Stadium and can be watched on the SEC Network.

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Florida falls in The Athletic’s Week 10 college football rankings

The Gators fell in yet another national ranking after the OT loss.

Week 10 of the college football season is in the rearview mirror, which means it is time to update the rankings based on the results witnessed on the field last weekend. The scene in Gainesville on Saturday was a sad one for Florida, which was outlasted in overtime by the Arkansas Razorbacks, 39-36.

As such, the sports media responded to the upset loss with unanimous pessimism. The Gators went voteless in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll this week, while USA TODAY Sports also dropped the Orange and Blue out of the top 50 schools in its re-ranking.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini also chimed in with his own rankings of the 133 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs and dropped Florida eight spots to No. 42. That puts the Gators just behind the Iowa State Cyclones and a spot ahead of the Memphis Tigers.

This is certainly not the peer group Florida fans want to see their beloved team surrounded by.

Next up for Florida are the LSU Tigers, who host the Gators in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Nov. 11, inside Tiger Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be watched on the SEC Network.

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Florida football ‘hit a wall’ in this week’s vibe check from The Athletic

The Florida Gators are on a downfall in this “vibe check” from The Athletic.

The Florida Gators have found themselves living in the darkest timeline.

Crucial mistakes were made against the visiting Arkansas Razorbacks until the very last second, and the Gators were upset, 39-36, a week before the upcoming three-game gauntlet.

The Florida faithful are losing their faith in the football program and, according to The Athletic, the vibes are on a massive downfall in Gainesville.

Senior writer Seth Emerson ranks every SEC football team based on the “vibes.” In other words, how the collective fans and team are feeling in regards to the narratives surrounding the season.

Emerson shed some light at the end of his explanation for the vibes of the Florida Gators, who ranked at No. 10.

“Oy gevalt. The good feelings from two weeks ago aren’t completely gone, but the Gators’ season has hit a wall,” Emerson said. “With major work to do to even be bowl eligible: at LSU, at Missouri, vs. Florida State. A five-game losing streak to finish the season is very much on the table. At least recruiting is still going well.”

The vibes might continue to fall in 2023 if the Gators fail to overcome any of their next three opponents, all of whom are currently riding tremendous winning streaks.

The Gators will take it one game at a time and this week’s challenge will be the road trip to Baton Rouge to take on LSU. There is currently no kickoff time or broadcasting plan.

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What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame at Clemson

What do you think happens?

What once was seen as a game with College Football Playoff implications has been relegated to an early kickoff time. For some, that means lessened interest in Notre Dame visiting Clemson. But the fact that the Irish mostly have had the upper hand on the Tigers over the past few years still makes this matchup intriguing. They really can assert their dominance in the series with a win here.

Let’s see if any experts out there think the Irish’s recent success against the Tigers will continue:

Which bowl game does The Athletic think Florida plays in after Week 9 loss?

The Athletic thinks the Florida Gators could play in the Gator Bowl, assuming the Gators lock up bowl eligibility over the next four weeks.

As the regular season grows closer, speculation on which teams will play in which bowl games is running wild.

Florida will achieve bowl eligibility with one more win, and the upcoming game against Arkansas feels like the perfect moment for the Gators to lock themselves into a postseason spot.

The folks at The Athletic think the Gators will play in the bowl of the same name against NC State on Dec. 29. While it’s not too creative to put the Gators in the Gator Bowl, it’s hard to argue with the financial success the pairing would ensure.

Florida’s best chance to get out of the low-tier bowls and into contention for a more prominent one is to upset both LSU and Missouri following the Arkansas game. A three-game win streak would put Florida at 8-3 entering the season finale with Florida State, which is an expected loss given the Seminoles’ top-five ranking.

There was little excitement for the Gasparilla Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl over the past two years. Florida simply needs to win more than six games in the regular season to get the fan base interested in a bowl game.

The Gator Bowl will be played in Jacksonville at EverBank Stadium.

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Florida drops 8 spots in The Athletic’s CFB rankings after losing to Georgia

Following a three-score loss to Georgia, Florida fell eight spots in latest update to The Athletic’s college football ranking

Florida’s three-score loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday was bound to move the Gators down a few spots in every college football ranking in the nation, and The Athletic is not the exception to the rule.

In the post-Week 9 update, The Athletic moved Florida down eight spots from No. 26 to No. 34 overall. Georgia remained in the No. 2 spot behind Ohio State, though.

Looking at the rest of the SEC, Alabama and Ole Miss round at the top 10 at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively. LSU and Missouri come in at Nos. 14 and 15, and Tennessee snuck back into the top 25 at No. 24 overall. Kentucky is the only other team ranked ahead of Florida at No. 30. Texas A&M is close behind at No. 36, though.

Oklahoma and Texas, both of which will join the SEC next year, are in the Nos. 7 and 8 spots.

Although there are just four games left in the regular season, the Gators have plenty of opportunities to get back into the top 25. Three out of the four opponents UF will play are ranked, including No. 3 Florida State in the season finale. Florida’s upcoming Arkansas ranks No. 76, though, making it a must-win game for the Orange and Blue.

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Did Florida football pass the The Athletic’s weekly ‘vibe check’?

Check to see if the Florida Gators passed the weekly “vibe check” by The Athletic after losing to the Georgia Bulldogs.

With the first College Football Playoff vote taking place in less than 24 hours, sports publication The Athletic released its weekly “vibe check” for teams in the SEC.

Senior writer Seth Emerson likes to ponder how each football program is feeling at the moment and ranks them based on the preseason expectations, recent play and general vibes. After the rivalry game loss, the Orange and Blue are ranked No. 7 on his list.

Emerson notes this week that the Florida faithful has been having trouble putting their trust in second-year head coach Billy Napier.

“This might become a pattern with Gator fans,” Emerson wrote. “For a while, they’re optimistic about Billy Napier, then something happens to worry them about him, then they get excited again, and then they lose another game, but maybe it’s better to do it this way. Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen, and even Will Muschamp, had pretty good starts, but when it went bad it went bad quick.”

Florida fans have certainly been back and forth about Napier’s job safety. The sky was falling after Week 1 when the Gators lost by double-digits to the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City, and the fans were certainly calling for Napier’s head after the next road loss to Kentucky.

Napier has built a strong future for the Gators and has a great rapport with the next couple batches of recruits, ranking at No. 3 on the 247Sports scale.

Florida will try to increase the vibes when they host the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday in The Swamp. It will be the first-ever blackout game in school history. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EST and is slated to broadcast on ESPN2.

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Report: Bills searching for help on defense ahead of 2023 NFL trade deadline

The #Bills are reportedly in the market for help on defense ahead of the 2023 NFL trade deadline:

The Buffalo Bills are searching the market ahead of the 2023 NFL trade deadline for a cornerback, according to a report.

Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Bills (5-3) have been asking around about that position ahead of Tuesday’s deadline:

The Baltimore Ravens are looking to add a running back, the Cleveland Browns are looking to add a receiver and the Buffalo Bills are scanning the cornerback market. The Washington Commanders are listening to offers on Chase Young and Montez Sweat. They want a second-rounder but have only received offers in the third-round range.

The interest Buffalo has reportedly expressed is not surprising. The two Bills players factoring into this discussion are Tre’Davious White and Kaiir Elam.

White’s season is over due to an Achilles injury. In an ideal world, your former first-round pick in Elam would help make up for White’s departure from the lineup… but he is not.

Buffalo’s Week 8 24-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers featured Elam’s name on the inactive list as a healthy scratch. Instead, veteran Josh Norman was called up from the practice squad.

But Elam might play a part here in a different way. The Bills are reportedly looking at needing three to tango.

Elam’s name has been tossed in trade rumors. However, it makes little sense for Buffalo to move him if there isn’t another plan in place to help makeup for the depth Elam provides–Or someone else that could potentially start.

Currently the Bills have Dane Jackson and Christian Benford as their top cornerbacks with White out. Both have dealt with their own bumps and bruises and have missed time, too.

Bills Wire will provide full coverage of the upcoming trade deadline.

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Florida-Georgia among best Week 9 college football matchups

While the news should not come as a surprise, one of the games ranked ahead of the UF-UGA matchup is pure disrespect.

The weekend that is marked on every Florida football fan’s calendar is quickly approaching as the Gators prepare to face the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in a grudge match between two Southeastern Conference East rivals.

Ahead of the action-packed weekend on the collegiate gridiron, The Athletic’s Justin Williams broke down his top 10 matchups for Week 9, with the annual neutral-field meeting between UF and UGA landing at No. 3.

“Officially, this is no longer referred to as ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’ by either program, with each instead resorting to friendly squabbling over which team gets listed first in this neutral-site matchup (Modern Day Hate would never), and debating whether the game will (or should) remain in Jacksonville,” Williams begins.

“The Gators have won just once in the past six years, but the Bulldogs will be without stud tight end Brock Bowers and possibly a few other starters,” he continued. “They can’t truly take the Cocktail Party name away from us, yet this is another one of those games that already has me dreading future SEC showdowns with no CBS intro music. Savor it while we can, folks.”

Ranked ahead of the SEC extravaganza are the Duke Blue Devils at Louisville Cardinals in second place and the Oregon Ducks at the Utah Utes in the top spot. While the Ducks-Utes game has a strong argument in its favor, the fact that Florida-Georgia lags behind Duke-Louisville is pure disrespect.

Gators face the Bulldogs at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 28, with a kickoff time of 3:30 p.m. EDT set. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports.

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The Athletic thinks Gators have a fighting chance against Georgia

An analyst from The Athletic picks the Florida Gators to beat the spread against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

Sports bettors across the nation are making their deposits and creating their several-legged parlays for the college football weekend.

If you’re a fan of playing against the spread, sports publication The Athletic made a spicy choice for the meeting between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs.

Senior columnist Stewart Mandel is taking the Gators at a plus-14.5-point spread. Not exactly promising a Gators win, but Mandel believes the game will be a tight one.

“The Gators have done a nice job of making me look like an idiot for picking them to go 3-9 They are in fact 5-2,” Mandel said. “There’s still a sizable gap between these two programs, but I’m curious to see what the Dawgs’ offense will look like without indispensable TE Brock Bowers. If it struggles, there could be a window of opportunity for Florida.”

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers sustained a left ankle sprain in the Bulldogs’ last contest against the Vanderbilt Commodores and underwent TightRope surgery to repair it on Oct. 16.

Mandel predicts the final score to read 24-17, with the Bulldogs on top in the end.

The showdown between UF and UGA is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports.

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