Five storylines to follow in Florida's matchup with USF

Before every Florida game, Gators Online Senior Writer Zach Abolverdi comes up with five pertinent questions for the matchup. Here’s Week 3 against South Florida:

How will Richardson rebound from his Week 2 performance?

Following the high of his Week 1 performance, Florida’s SEC opener was a buzzkill for Anthony Richardson. He rushed for a career-low 4 yards, completed just 40 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions, including the go-ahead pick-six. Richardson was held scoreless and failed to connect on two fourth-down attempts in the final quarter. After his “confidence was shot” in the 26-16 loss, it’s key for him regain it against USF before his first SEC road start at Tennessee. Richardson had a breakout game against the Bulls last season, throwing for 152 yards and two touchdowns and rushing four times for 115 yards, including an 80-yard TD run.

Can the Gators exploit a struggling USF rushing defense?

The Gators dominated South Florida on the ground in last year’s matchup, racking up 363 rushing yards. They should be able to run wild against USF once again on Saturday night. The Bulls have struggled mightily at stopping the run through the first two weeks of 2022. Their rushing defense ranks 126th nationally, allowing 240 yards per game. Florida has the horses to exploit that weakness with Richardson and a three-headed monster at running back in Trevor Etienne, Montrell Johnson and Nay’Quan Wright. Lorenzo Lingard will likely receive his first carries of the season as well.  

Do the Gators end their third-quarter scoring drought?

This week in practice, Florida coach Billy Napier has emphasized starting fast in the third quarter and — more specifically — scoring. UF has been shutout in the third quarter of both games this year and didn’t score any points in the entire second half against Kentucky. Expect the Gators to come out aggressive after the break. “I don’t know that we’ve started as fast in the third quarter as we’ve started in the first quarter,” Napier said. “You always are evaluating what that time looks like and if you’ve got the team in the right frame of mind. Are they physically ready? Are they mentally in the right place? It’s certainly something we need to do better.”

How does the defense perform without Ventrell Miller?

The Gators will be without sixth-year senior Ventrell Miller, the quarterback and leader of their defense. He is sidelined with a lower leg injury, and now Florida has two freshmen linebackers in the starting lineup. Joining fifth-year senior Amari Burney and true frosh Shemar James will be redshirt freshman Scooby Williams. He stepped in for Miller during the fourth quarter against Kentucky but is now making his first career start vs. USF. Williams has big shoes to fill, although having a veteran next to him in Burney will be a big help.

Can Florida win the turnover battle against the Bulls?

One area where South Florida has excelled early on this season is turnover margin. The Bulls are tied for 23rd nationally in this category at 2+ and they also rank in the top 40 in takeaways (4). The Gators, conversely, have room for improvement. They are tied for 93rd nationally with a -1 turnover margin with half as many takeaways as USF. Three UF players have put the ball on the ground (only one lost fumble) and Richardson turned it over twice last week. The Gators need to take care of the ball in this matchup and try to create some more takeaways on defense. The secondary has yet to make an interception.