Florida QB Will Grier had a near-perfect game against Ole Miss at home (24-of-29, 271 yards, 4 TDs).

This weekend, however, the Gators likely will need a better stat line from him than his first road start at Kentucky on Sept. 19 (13-of-22, 125 yards, INT; 12 rushes, 61 yards, TD). It won’t come easy on the road against a good Missouri defense.

Missouri has raised eyebrows with narrow margins of victory against Arkansas State (27-20) and UConn (9-6), but the Tigers’ defense is one of the top units in the SEC.

Mizzou’s seven interceptions are tied with Ole Miss and Alabama for best in the conference. The pass coverage is aided by a strong pass rush. With 13 sacks on the year, the Tigers are behind only Florida (18) and Texas A&M (19). DL Walter Brady is tied for second in the league in sacks with five. UM LB Kentrell Brothers is the leading tackler in the conference with 59 tackles (as well as two interceptions).

On offense, the Tigers are hoping that freshman QB Drew Lock can come through again in place of suspended QB Maty Mauk. In UM’s 24-10 win over South Carolina, Lock was accurate and efficient (21-for-28, 136 yards, 2 TDs) and took what the defense offered him (longest completion: 17 yards).

First Mauk, and now Lock, have had to deal with throwing to inexperienced receivers. In the ranking of the SEC’s top individual receivers, Missouri is one of the last teams represented, as Nate Brown (17 catches, 192 yards) finally shows up at No. 23.

With Mauk suspended and RB Russell Hansbrough dealing with a sprained ankle, the Missouri running game has shifted more touches to RB Ish Witter. Witter is coming off his best game of the season against the Gamecocks (17 carries, 98 yards, TD).

If UF is properly focused for a conference road game, it should be able to take care of business. But if the Gators are caught thinking about last week’s win over Ole Miss and next week’s showdown with LSU, the Missouri defense will take advantage of unfocused play. The Tigers seemingly have been written off in the SEC East after losing to Kentucky and failing to dominate against non-conference opponents, but with a win over Florida, they would be back in the division race.

MISSOURI TIGERS CLOSER LOOK

Top player, offense: Russell Hansbrough, Sr., RB – Hansbrough was the top rusher last season, notching 1084 and 10 TDs on 205 carries. The senior ball carrier has been hurt to start this season, but gradually being worked into the offense.

Top player, defense: Aarion Penton, Jr., CB – Penton provided good pass coverage last year with 10 passes broken up and three interceptions.

Top player, special teams: Andrew Bagget, Sr., K – Bagget was reliable (12-of-14) on field goals of 40-yards or less last season.