Missouri Will Beat Florida: Here’s Why

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The 14th ranked Missouri Tigers, now led by redshirt freshman Maty Mauk, have a tough test this Saturday against the 22nd ranked Florida Gators, coming off a tough loss to LSU last week. Florida has one of the best defenses in the SEC, and that will prove very difficult for Mauk, making his first career start. There are a few reasons that I think Missouri beats Florida this week:

A Fired Up Maty Mauk- Maty Mauk will be making his first career start in college football this Saturday, and it will be against one of the toughest defenses in the SEC. People all over the internet are doubting Mauk, saying he isn’t ready, or isn’t good enough to be a starting quarterback in the SEC yet. Do you think Maty Mauk doesn’t hear those things? He does. He wants to prove the doubters wrong, and that is just what he will do.

Defense- The Missouri defense has struggled, and at times, badly, this season. The Tiger defense, however, has forced a turnover in every game this season. With a struggling Florida offense, the Tigers will force a couple crucial late-game turnovers to seal the victory.

Josh Henson- With James Franklin out with his shoulder injury, offensive coordinator Josh Henson will have to get a little tricky with the play calling on Saturday. Henson and Head Coach Gary Pinkel have already shown this season that they are willing to run trick plays. The Tigers faked a field goal against Indiana, which resulted in a first down. Last week against Georgia, Maty Mauk threw the ball to Bud Sasser, a wide receiver, and Sasser then threw it 40 yards to L’Damian Washington in the endzone for the touchdown.

Obviously the game will be decided on more factors than these three, but these are the factors that I feel are going to win the game for the Tigers. What is your prediction? Leave it in the comments below!