GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we bring you our Friday prediction podcast for the Florida Gators vs. UT-Martin game on Saturday night.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre continue to preview the game, plus we talk about the three young guys we want to see on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball on Saturday.
Andrew and Nick also predict the games around the country, plus we give you our three guys to watch for the Gators on Saturday.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew:                 What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, it’s almost game day. It’s Friday again. We’re going to pick some games, and it’s Gators-UT Martin, but it’s football.
Nick:                         Yeah. Football is back after a week away and a hurricane scare. Football’s back, and it’s a nice little tune up week for Florida. I mean, I shouldn’t say that. You don’t want to end up being Tennessee.
Andrew:                 I was going to say. Is it another Georgia State game coming down the wire?
Nick:                         I would hope not.
Andrew:                 I mean, UT Martin, they’re a decent team. Dan Mullen said it, they run that 3-3-5 defense, and that’s a little bit of a different defense. It’s a defense though that I think if Florida is doing what Florida does, Florida should have a ton, and I mean a ton, of success on the outside. 3-3-5 is kind of predicated on making sure that you block the edges, and as long as you block the edges in this game, jet sweeps should be there. Outsize zones should be there. Your option game should be there. Even some of your little bubble screens, that stuff should be there.
I know when we coached when we went up against a 3-3-5 we wanted our tight ends to get the edge, and we wanted our receivers to get those crack back blocks inside, because after that those edges were free, and you were able to run and get some ground on that outside. While the 3-3-5 is a little different, it’s also it can be very successful in your short game if you’re running and doing fundamentals correctly.
Nick:                         Now, this isn’t a defense that you would implement because you’re looking to get over like a talent gap, right? Like remember when people talked about Georgia Southern or Georgia Tech or the Academies running triple options, that was because they can’t get the same kind of athletes that a school like Florida or Alabama can, but we can run this thing they don’t see a lot.
Andrew:                 Right. No. I mean, a lot of it is just that they’re more of an athletic defense. Some of the better teams in the area when I was coaching ran the 3-3-5, because they had some bigger linebackers, but they were athletic linebackers and were able to just kind of work in space better, I guess is the best way to say it, but no, definitely not a defense that you’re going to implement for one week. It’s a defense that is assignment football. You better be in your assignment, because if not, you’re only playing six men in the box. A lot of bad things can happen if you’re not playing assignment football.
Nick:                         Yeah. I mean, even when you’re playing assignment football, you’re an Ohio Valley Conference football team that is going up against an SEC football team. Their coach, James Simpson, said it on his own. He said, “It’s an uphill battle.” He’s like 1-23 in his time against any FBS football teams. I was unable to go back and find the game that he won against them.
Andrew:                 That’s not good.
Nick:                         No.
Andrew:                 Not good at all. I mean, we can sit here, and we can talk about UT Martin and what they need to do to win the game and everything else, but at the end of the day, Florida plays their game, and this should be a game that’s over by halftime.
Nick:                         I lied.