Florida Gators Have Challenge in Eastern Kentucky Running Game

Right now, Florida Gators football fans are focused on a search for the next head coach. But current head coach Will Muschamp will need to keep his team focused if it wants to become bowl eligible. At 5-4, the Gators need another win for bowl eligibility and while a team from the Football Championship Subdivision should be a win, they will be facing a running-oriented team in the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

Sound familiar?

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Muschamp’s last face-of with a team from the FCS, it was a Georgia Southern team whose 26-20 victory over the Gators in the Swamp may be the worst in school history. The loss hung around Muschamp’s neck like an albatross until his dismissal earlier this week. But it wasn’t just the loss, but how it happened, with Georgia Southern running all over the Gators, and throwing only three times the entire game.

So could another upset loss like this happen again? Probably not. But the Gators will have to neutralize the opponent’s talented running back.

The Gators are facing a good FCS team in the Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels are 9-2 and ranked No.16 in the FCS poll.  It’s also worth noting that Muschamp coached the Eastern Kentucky secondary in 1999.

Eastern Kentucky has a power running game, averaging 5 yards a carry and 243 yards a game. The running attack is led by All-American candidate Dy’Shawn Mobley, a transfer from Kentucky who scored six touchdowns in last week’s Colonels win over Murray State. They also have a senior quarterback in Jared McClain, who is completing 60 percent of his passes, but doesn’t throw much because of the success of the run game.

Georgia Southern used the unique running offense of the “triple-option” to frustrate Muschamp’s defense in last year’s win. However, the Colonels’ running success comes not from its scheme, but from its star running back Dy’Shawn Mobley, who is a finalist for the Walter Payton award — the FCS’s Heisman.

Still, the Colonels have not shown to be a strong defensive team, allowing 409 yards a game, and are vulnerable to the run. And they haven’t seen the run like they will in the Swamp against the Gators. The Colonels do get a lot of turnovers, so ball protection will be another issue the Gators must focus on against Eastern Kentucky.

The Gators will have to stop a talented back who will probably get some yardage against them. And the defense has shown lapses this year in the run game, with LSU, Georgia and South Carolina all showing success at times.

But even with a sub-par performance, the Gators should be able to slow Mobley enough and use their talent advantages at other positions to win. With a great performance, the Gators can send Will Muschamp out with the convincing win that all fans want to see for the coach.