The injury report makes it harder for both of them. Florida lost RB K. Jimenez for the season back in September, WR D. Groce has no timetable, and WR Vernell Brown III is now ruled out with his knee. RB Duke Clark is active through a foot injury. Oklahoma has 8 players out, including WR Trell Harris and 2 offensive linemen, Ryan Fodje and Fred Hinton. TE Rocky Beers, one of Mateer's go-to targets, is probable. Florida opened as a modest home favorite and the number has drifted a bit further its way since.
The Georgia loss was ugly. Florida went into that game ranked No. 17, turned it over 4 times and trailed 24-0 at halftime. Chris Cole took a fumble 66 yards to the house. Georgia outrushed the Gators 217-48, which is about as one-sided as a ground game gets. Some of that is Georgia, but a lot of it is a team beating itself with the ball, and Florida has dropped to No. 25 since.
Oklahoma's loss was worse, and it was at home. South Carolina led 28-10 at the half, outgained the Sooners 307-71 through 2 quarters and won 179-25 through the air. Oklahoma also had 54 penalty yards before halftime. Kip Lewis's pick-six, the third of his career, was the only real highlight. It was the second time in 3 years South Carolina has blown OU out in Norman, and former Sooner Nik Bonitto publicly called for the program to 'make a change' during the game. Now there's a new playcaller, and that's what Brent Venables takes to Gainesville.
The common opponents nearly cancel out. Both teams lost to Georgia, both lost to South Carolina, and both beat Texas by the same 27-24 score. Florida's loss to the Gamecocks was 38-19 at home and Oklahoma's was 42-25 at home, so there isn't much between them on paper. The real gap is that Florida has a 52-28 win over Ole Miss and a ranking next to its name, while Oklahoma has lost 2 of its last 3.
The weather won't matter: cloudy, 66 degrees, 4 mph wind, no rain in the forecast. So this comes down to ball security and whether either new setup can move the ball. Florida needs Jones to stop the giveaways that sank the Georgia game, and Oklahoma needs Witten to get Mateer going early behind a line missing 2 bodies. Whichever team cleans up its own mess first probably wins it.
