Florida makes the short trip to Tampa on Saturday to face in-state foe South Florida at Raymond James Stadium. It’s an interesting bit of scheduling for the Gators, who face Florida State on the road every other season but otherwise seldom face nonconference opposition on the road.

Of course, how much of a true road game this will be for Florida remains to be seen. Tampa is just a 2-hour jaunt from Gainesville and is home to one of the University of Florida’s largest alumni bases.

Nevertheless, it’s a game that USF alumni and students have looked forward to since it was scheduled and at least early in the game, it will be nice to see how Florida’s young offense and new starting quarterback Emory Jones react to their first taste of road crowd noise. Florida plays 4 SEC road games this season, including 4 of their last 6 conference games outside The Swamp, so Saturday represents a nice dress rehearsal before the meat of their schedule begins when Alabama visits Gainesville next weekend.

Here are 3 things SDS hopes to see when the Gators square off with the Bulls on Saturday.

1. Get vertical in the passing game

Between starter Emory Jones and ballyhooed backup Anthony Richardson, Florida averaged a ghastly 4.4 yards per attempt in the opening win over Florida Atlantic. A big reason for those putrid numbers? Whether by design or a quarterback’s decision-making, Florida didn’t take many shots down the field. The Gators were 1-for-7 on throws of 20 yards or more, and 4 of those passes came from Richardson late in the fourth quarter, with the game no longer in doubt. Those numbers simply must improve if Florida is to once again challenge for the SEC championship.

Yes, the Gators enter Week 2 ranked No. 1 in the country in rushing offense and No. 3 in rushing success rate (roughly explained as a measure of the number of rushing plays that garnered a successful result in terms of yardage gained, given down and distance). But behind those gaudy numbers lies the reality that the offensive line is still a work in progress and the running backs, while admirably running hard, did a lot of hard work after contact Saturday night against FAU.

Eventually, an opponent — say one with a linebacker like Will Anderson, for example — will finish tackles. If Florida can’t keep defenses honest vertically, it won’t matter much how prolific they are running the football.

USF won’t be able to slow Florida’s run game. Why? Well, to begin with, USF is very bad at football. How bad? How about “1-9 under new head coach Jeff Scott and just gave up 293 yards rushing to NC State bad?” NC State also hit 4 passes of 20 yards or more in their 45-0 opening night win over USF, which means this Bulls secondary, which has nice talent in players like Will Jones and Matthew Hill but starts only one upperclassman, can be had over the top.

Florida should test that theory, understanding that they’ll need something from the vertical pass game to have any chance against Alabama in a week.

On the bright side? Emory Jones throws a nice deep ball, and Xzavier Henderson and Jacob Copeland have the speed and ability to take the top off a defense.

Florida also has running backs like Malik Davis and Nay’Quan Wright who, like Ricky Person Jr., can contribute in the passing game, something that would both help build Jones and Richardson’s confidence and challenge USF’s linebackers in coverage. The wheel route remains undefeated, last time I checked. Florida should go to it to create explosives in the passing game — and finding explosives in the passing game should be a focus for Florida in Tampa on Saturday.

2. Florida’s pass rush should feast, but how about some big plays in the secondary?

Another reason USF struggles is the lack of answers at the quarterback position. Starter Cade Fortin, a transfer from UNC, had a miserable night against NC State, averaging 2 yards per attempt with an interception before being replaced by true freshman Timothy McClain.

McClain was better, throwing for 126 yards on 13 attempts and showing a spark moving in the pocket and using his legs, but he did throw 2 interceptions, both on third down when he faced a blitz. Whether Fortin, McClain or Miami transfer Jarren Williams plays Saturday afternoon, the Gators won’t be facing a quarterback who can hurt them badly with his arm or legs.

Florida is coming off a game against FAU where it registered 6 sacks, including 3 by senior Zachary Carter, the SEC Defensive lineman of the Week. USF surrendered 7 sacks against NC State in the opener. Do the math.

What remains to be seen is whether Florida’s ferocious pass rush can help generate turnovers on the back end. No one throws at Kaiir Elam — and that won’t change Saturday. But it would be a promising sign for Gators fans if someone else — a safety, a young corner, a nickelback, would make a big play when a quarterback forces a throw under pressure.

A lack of turnovers was a huge reason Florida faltered defensively a season ago. Changing that, especially in the secondary, will help define Florida’s 2021.

3. Another solid game from the Florida offensive line

Glenn Spencer is a quality defensive coordinator, and he’ll likely use stunts with All-AAC tackle Thad Mangum and move around the rest of his defensive line just to try to confuse Emory Jones and give Florida different looks up front.

The Bulls held their own for a while against NC State defensively but wore out when the offense simply couldn’t move the sticks. Playing in front of a home crowd in a big game against an in-state power, they’ll be plenty motivated to play well.

Florida’s o-line entered the season as a significant question mark, having lost their best lineman in Stone Forsythe to the NFL as well as their starting center. The Gators entered fall camp with questions at tackle and center and hopeful that sixth-year senior Stewart Reese would bounce back from a disappointing 2020 campaign where he failed to give Florida the lift they expected from him in run blocking.

The good news? The offensive line started well, paving the way for a 400-yard rushing performance and surrendering 0 sacks. Keeping Jones’ and Richardson’s jerseys clean Saturday on the road, while continuing to make progress as a run blocking unit, will be important with Bama lurking around the corner.