Here’s everything you need to know about the season-opening meeting between the Idaho Vandals and Florida Gators tonight on ESPNU.

When: Tonight
Where: Gainesville, Fla. – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Game Time: 7 PM ET
TV: ESPNU
Current Line: Florida (-36.5)

Game Buzz: The Florida Gators head into what is easily the most important season of Will Muschamp’s tenure at Florida. Idaho shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge for the Gators and tonight’s game will be a great opportunity for Florida’s new offensive coordinator, Kurt Roper, to showcase his new spread offense.

Saturday Down South previews

FLORIDA GATORS

Players to watch:

  • QB Jeff Driskel
  • DE Dante Fowler
  • WR Quinton Dunbar
  • CB Vernon Hargreaves
  • RB Kelvin Taylor
  • WR Demarcus Robinson
  • LB Jarrad Davis
  • OT DJ Humphries

Freshmen to watch:

  • CB Jalen Tabor
  • S Duke Dawson
  • DL Gerald Willis
  • WR CJ Worton

Keys for Florida:

  • Protect Jeff Driskel. The Florida signal-caller returns in his first game back from fracturing his leg last season. It will be vitally important for the offensive line to give him as much time as possible today. With a new offense and first-game jitters, more time for Driskel will help him settle down and settle into Roper’s new spread offense.
  • Force turnovers. Part of last year’s struggles was the Gators’ turnover margin, which finished up at -2. Muschamp has placed a big emphasis on taking the ball away on defense. The Gators are 19-3 under Muschamp when they win the turnover battle, so setting the tone early on defense will be crucial for the Gators.
  • Get the wide receivers involved early and often. Florida has lacked playmakers at wide receiver for the last few seasons. Part of the blame can be placed on past offensive systems as well as the lack of talent at the position. This year, Roper’s offense should be a much better fit for the wide outs, so expect them to be involved quickly today.

Gators’ glaring weakness to watch: Offensive Line – The Gators have experience on the offensive line, but it’s also a rather unproven line. They are finally all healthy coming into the season, so they’ll be at full strength. However, it’s very much up in the air on how they’ll perform. Inconsistent play will make things much tougher on Roper and Muschamp as they proceed through their SEC schedule.

Most interesting part of the game: Florida holds the second-longest winning streak for season openers at 24 games, behind only Nebraska.

Team buzz: 2014 is a make or break season for the Gators. All eyes will be on the Gators offense tonight as Roper makes his Florida debut. The success of his spread offense could very well decide the fate of Muschamp’s job at Florida.

IDAHO VANDALS

Players to watch:

  • QB Chad Chalich
  • QB Matt Linehan
  • RB Richard Montgomery
  • RB Jerrel Brown
  • DT QuayShawne Buckley
  • DT Alphonso Hampton

Freshmen to watch:

  • WR David Ungerer
  • DB Dorian Clark

Keys for Idaho:

  • Keeping composure on offense. The Vandals come into tonight’s game planning on playing two quarterbacks – Chad Chalich and Matt Linehan. Linehan is more of a prototypical passer, while Chalich possesses dual-threat capabilities. Different styles of quarterback can confuse offenses somewhat and disrupt any rhythm. Add in the crowd noise of a rowdy Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will make it even tougher for the Vandals offense to keep their composure.
  • Pressure the Florida offensive line. If there’s one area where the Vandals can exploit, it’s probably the offensive line. Idaho has a defensive tackle by the name of QuayShawne Buckley who returns after leading the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Buckley plus 345-pounder Alphonso Hampton will put a lot of pressure on the offensive line. In order to contain Florida’s spread offense, penetrating the Gators’ backfield will be key for the Idaho defense.

Idaho’s glaring weakness to watch: Secondary – Idaho’s defense allowed an average of 48 points last season, so the Gators will be sure to test the Vandals secondary early. Roper averaged more than 70 plays per game while at Duke, so expect Florida to put the pedal to metal and try to overwhelm Idaho early.

Most interesting part of the game: RB Richard Montgomery is Jacksonville, Fla. native and grew up rooting for the Gators. He’s said in the media this week that he feels Florida overlooked him during his recruitment and he plans on showing them what they missed out on.

Team buzz: Idaho’s talent doesn’t match up with Florida’s across the board, but they have some playmakers on both sides of the ball. If all goes well for the Vandals, they could hang with the Gators for maybe one half before succumbing to the superior Florida team.