Three things to know about Florida football, Missouri's next SEC opponent

After last week’s tough loss to Georgia, Missouri football is on to the next challenge. The Tigers will head to Florida on Saturday to take on the Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Before the game, here’s what to know about MU’s next opponent.

The new coach

Missouri actually played a part in the changing of the guard at Florida. When the Tigers beat the Gators in Columbia last season, it was simply too much for the UF administration to take.

Former coach Dan Mullen was clearly on his last legs, but he was finally fired the day after the game. In his place is former Louisiana-Lafayette coach Billy Napier.

Napier was head coach at ULL from 2017 through 2021. He found success with the Ragin’ Cajuns, taking the team to the Cure Bowl in his first season, and earning back-to-back Sun Belt titles in 2020 and 2021.

Even before he accepted the Florida job, Napier had been thought of as a possible candidate for several other SEC openings. He was named the Gators’ new head coach in November.

Napier played college football as a quarterback at Furman, which he helped to an appearance in the 2001 Division I-AA national championship game, before entering the coaching ranks. After starting out as a graduate assistant at Clemson, he had several stops before getting his first head coach job, including as wideouts coach at Alabama, quarterbacks coach at Colorado and offensive coordinator at Arizona State.

Napier holds a career record of 43-14 as a head coach.

Offensive attack

Florida’s offensive attack is led by quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson was suggested as a possible dark horse contender for the Heisman Trophy ahead of the 2022 season, after taking over as the starter toward the end of the 2021 season.

In the first game of the season against Utah, Richardson looked every bit as expected. He finished that game with 179 yards passing, along with 109 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

Since then, he’s come back down to earth. He struggled at times in a loss to Kentucky, plus the Gators’ close call against South Florida.

Against UK and USF, he didn’t manage to throw a single touchdown, but had four passes intercepted.

On Sunday against Eastern Washington, Richardson was solid, albeit against a lower-tier opponent than Florida usually plays in the SEC.  He completed eight of his 10 pass attempts for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

That followed a good effort in a loss to Tennessee, when Richardson threw for 453 yards and two touchdowns.

If Florida is to find success against what has proven to be a tough Missouri defense, it will need to start with Richardson. Saturday will be a prove-it game for the quarterback, as he looks to show he can be a solid signal-caller in the SEC.

Defensive challenge

It’s well-known that Missouri’s offensive line has had its struggles this season. However, the unit does not have to go up against a defensive front that is up to the caliber that it faced last week against Georgia.

Florida’s defensive line is not an area of strength for the Gators. The team ranks eighth in the SEC in sacks.

The Gators did look solid for the most part against Eastern Washington, which could provide the opportunity to jell as a unit. However, the defense struggled early in that game, allowing two long drives in the first quarter.

Saturday’s game could be a chance for the Tigers to finally get on track offensively, after struggling mightily in all of their Power Five games this season.

Missouri and Georgia are scheduled to play at 11 a.m. Saturday in Gainesville.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football: What to know about SEC opponent Florida