Rece Davis, Pete Thamel reveal predictions for Florida-Miami clash
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Rece Davis and Pete Thamel gave their takes on Saturday night’s showdown between rivals Florida and Miami, as the struggling Gators and surging Hurricanes hook up in 1 of Week 4’s showcase games.
It’ll be a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC between the longtime rivals who are heading in opposite directions, at least for now. Will that trend continue for both teams on Saturday night? Davis and Thamel gave their opinions on Thursday during the latest episode of The College GameDay Podcast.
“I’m taking the upset,” Thamel said. “There’s no more effective coach in the country than Billy Napier with the knife in his throat. I still have a lot of belief in DJ Lagway. I think that desperation is going to make it a close game. I’m going to call the upset, 28-27. I think we get a classic.”
Davis said he’s not ready to call this the last stand for Florida, but he said it’s a “significant stand.”
“I think Florida will play well. But I haven’t seen enough from Florida’s offense to make me think it can keep up,” Davis said. “I think the Hurricanes will win. I don’t think they’ll blow them out, because I don’t think anything will come easily against the Gators.”
The Gators have tumbled out of the rankings with 2 straight losses to South Florida and LSU, while Miami has inched up to No. 4 in the AP Poll after knocking off Notre Dame in its season opener before cruising to victories over Bethune-Cookman and USF. This was once destined to be a matchup of ranked teams, but right now Billy Napier‘s team is hanging on with a 1-2 record as it heads south to face the host Hurricanes, who are looking to get to 4-0.
We’ll certainly know come late Saturday night if Florida has sunk deeper in 2025 or if the Gators are ready to make that stand that Davis spoke about.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
