Here’s everything you need to know about the showdown in The Swamp between Eastern Kentucky and Florida on Saturday afternoon.

When: Today
Where: Gainesville, Fla.
Game Time: 12 p.m. EST
TV: SEC Network
Current Line: Florida (N/A)

Game Buzz: Florida’s SEC goals are no longer attainable but Saturday represents an important day for the Gators — Senior Day. With Will Muschamp on the way out, it also will be his last home game as head coach of the Gators. Florida will look to get ready for in-state rival Florida State with a strong performance against Eastern Kentucky.

Saturday Down South previews

EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS

Players to watch:

  • QB Jared McClain
  • RB Dy’Shawn Mobley
  • WR Jeff Glover
  • WR Devin Borders
  • QB Bennie Coney
  • TE Matt Lengel

Keys for Eastern Kentucky

  • Pound the rock. EKU’s biggest strength on offense is running the football behind big, bruising running back Dy’Shawn Mobley. He scored all six touchdowns for the Colonels last week in their comeback win, and a similar approach will be the team’s best bet on Saturday.
  • Limit turnovers. As always in these games for FCS teams, limiting turnovers is one of the biggest keys. These teams already are much more inferior in terms of talent, so they often can’t afford to make mistakes, especially on offense, and stay in the ball game. EKU can’t make it easy on Florida today by turning the ball over.
  • Don’t be intimidated. The Swamp is probably going to be the loudest and biggest environment that EKU has played in all season. Don’t let the crowd get to you and force you to make poor decisions. If EKU can make some big plays early, it should actually take the crowd out of the game.

Glaring weakness to watch: EKU’s overall talent is much less than Florida’s and the Colonels should have a hard time staying competitive in this game. Let’s see how EKU plans to compensate for the lack of talent compared to the Gators.

Most interesting part of the game: Florida struggled and lost to Georgia Southern at this time last year. EKU doesn’t run a gimmick offense like Georgia Southern does, but if the Colonels are able to put some pressure on the Gators, I’d imagine it would get very tense around the Swamp.

Team Buzz: Thanks to a couple of FBS transfers, EKU could post a double-digit win season with an upset today. Either way, the Colonels are hoping for a FCS playoff berth.

FLORIDA GATORS

Players to watch:

QB Treon Harris
RB Matt Jones
WR Demarcus Robinson
DE Dante Fowler
CB Vernon Hargreaves
ATH Andre Debose

Keys for Florida:

  • Let Treon get out and run. It’s doubtful that EKU has the speed on defense to keep up with Treon Harris in the open field. Call some designed runs and allow him to use his best asset to beat the Colonels this afternoon.
  • Convert the deep ball. The Gators’ coaching staff hasn’t been afraid to let Harris throw the ball deep, but he’s been inconsistent in actually completing the passes. With the state the Gators are currently in right now, some excitement is desperately needed. A couple deep passes from Harris to Robinson should do the trick.
  • Play for the seniors, Muschamp. This is the last home game for the seniors, Muschamp and even possibly some key juniors. Allow that motivation to fuel the fire today. Anything less than a win is unacceptable for the Gators, especially on a day like this.

Glaring weakness to watch: Passing the ball. Harris has been inconsistent at best when throwing the ball and the staff hasn’t exactly made up its mind when it comes to actually letting him throw the ball. It’ll be interesting to see what approach the coaches take this afternoon.

Most interesting part of the game: With it being Will Muschamp’s final home game, the home crowd reception should be intriguing, considering the Gators have lost their previous three home games. Overall, I expect a fairly supportive crowd for Muschamp as long as things don’t go haywire like last season against Georgia Southern.

Team buzz: At this point in the season, the Gators’ postseason aspirations are no longer possible. A win today makes them bowl eligible. We should see a much more inspired team in these final weeks due to the dismissal of Muschamp once the season finally concludes.