The noise can be silenced. Coming off a tight loss in Starkville, Eli Drinkwitz and his squad stare down the barrel of a red-hot Florida team, that is on cloud nine after a massive win over Ole Miss at home, 52-28. Welcome to life in the SEC.

Missouri goes from arguably playing against the best QB in the country in Kamario Taylor to now going against the best running back in the country in Jadan Baugh. Through four games, Baugh has already hit 600 yards on the year, which means he’s averaging an absolutely absurd 150 yards per game. He has already found the endzone 11 times. Different gravy. Eli Drinkwitz said in his Tuesday presser that Baugh reminds him of someone he’s quite familiar with, referencing Ahmad Hardy.

Gators quarterback Aaron Philo has been a steady presence for the offense. Philo hasn’t done anything yet that’ll wow you, but he hasn’t made any crucial mistakes. Philo has 7 TDs on the year with only 2 picks and also boasts an impressive 72% completion percentage. Philo is a talented quarterback who tends to make the right decisions, and he reminds me of Brady Cook in that way.

Philo has plenty of weapons to spread the ball to, but in similar fashion to Missouri with Lee and Olugbode, Philo has two in particular that he goes to most frequently. Leading the team in receiving is none other than Vernell Brown III. Brown is coming off an impressive true freshman year, where he eclipsed 500 yards. Brown has carried that momentum into this season, surpassing the halfway mark with 271 yards through 4 games.

Brown is a speedster, a solid route runner with sure hands and a safety blanket. I see him in a similar light to Cayden Lee, but a little faster. Brown had 6 receptions for 117 yards along with a touchdown in the season opener, and his production has declined slightly but has remained steady. After all, in an offense that is built around Baugh, these receivers won’t have numbers that light up the world.

Dallas Wilson is the jelly to Brown’s peanut butter. Wilson has an impressive frame, standing at 6’3, 212 pounds, with speed to go along with that. Wilson is a possession receiver; the guy you throw goal-line fades to and one-on-one balls all over the field. The sophomore receiver has 236 yards on 14 receptions, stacking on 2 touchdowns. That means that the man is averaging 17 yards per reception. Holy moly.

The offense is driven by the mastermind, Buster Faulkner. Faulkner came in from Georgia Tech, bringing Aaron Philo along with him. Faulkner uses plenty of pre-snap motion and eye candy to confuse defenses. Given the fact that the Gators are averaging a whopping 52 PPG, it’s safe to say that it’s working.

The Florida defense is not short of talent either. The Gators’ linebacking core is as good as it gets, with Jayden Woods and Myles Graham. The tandem has combined for 47 tackles through four games. Jayden Woods has been a very effective pass rusher, with four sacks this year, averaging one per contest. Safety Bryce Thornton has done an excellent job at commanding the secondary. Thornton is the leading tackler in the DB room and has two pass breakups this year. Safety DJ Coleman leads the Gators with two interceptions this season.

As you can tell, Florida is very talented. They are also hot. So, how can Missouri knock them down on Saturday? Here are the three things the Tigers must do.

1. Put the ball in Simmons’s hands:

I’m a sucker for running the ball. I’m a believer in running on first down and setting your passing game up for success on 2nd and intermediate. However, two things have changed my mind on that, at least for now.

Firstly, I think the question still remains: can this Missouri running game be consistent? Far too often in Starkville, Missouri ran the ball on 1st down with little success, putting them in second-and-long scenarios. Then, there were plenty of second-and-long run calls. I believe in Jamal Roberts, but the run game has been very… meh.

Secondly, Austin Simmons is far too talented to not put the ball in his hands. Football may be a complex game, but one thing remains simple. Put the ball in your playmakers’ hands and let them go to work. Austin Simmons has been terrific so far this year and has done tremendously well getting the ball in his playmakers’ hands. Missouri has found the most success on offense when they let Simmons cook. More of that, please.

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2. Make anybody BUT Jadan Baugh beat you:

Aaron Philo is a very good quarterback. Jadan Baugh is the best running back in the country and could contend for the Heisman Trophy. If Missouri wants to win this game, you have to put the ball in Philo’s hands and make him beat you.

Jadan Baugh is good enough to get his, but by limiting his production, Missouri gives themselves their best shot. Stack the box, tackle better, and they might just have a shot.

3. Make Florida beat you:

I know this sounds like a silly point; however, it’s valid. What I mean is that Missouri needs to simply get out of their own way.

Missouri is allergic to playing clean football at the moment. That’s not just a statement either; it’s fact. Out of 138 FBS teams, Missouri ranks 125th in penalties per game, with nine. That’s awful. A lot of talk has been had about whether Eli Drinkwitz can win these big games. I’ll break the bad news and say that if the Tigers can’t play disciplined football on Saturday, the talk will continue.

Missouri was one play away from forcing OT vs. Mississippi State, and that was with undisciplined football. Now, just imagine if they can clean that up.

Official prediction:

Missouri’s biggest game of the season so far is this Saturday. That’ll likely be the trend we see for the rest of the season. Flordia is riding high after a big win, creating the opportunity for a letdown game.

Unfortunately for Mizzou, I just think Florida has a little too much firepower. The Missouri defense has struggled this year, and after watching Fluff Bothwell have the game he had last week, I don’t see how they realistically stop Jadan Baugh. I do think Missouri’s offense is good enough to give them a shot at it late. However, give me the Gators.

Florida 34

Mizzou 27