Florida football vs. UT-Martin: All you need to know for the home opener

Here is a comprehensive look at all you need to know for tonight’s matchup between No. 11 Florida football and the UT-Martin Skyhawks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

No more Week 0. No more neutral site. Florida football is coming home.

Tonight, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is the site of No. 11 Florida hosting the UT-Martin Skyhawks in the Gators’ home opener.

Florida opened the season in Week 0 with a 24-20 win over Miami at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Now, Florida football gets to be at home.

Storylines

Florida: For the Gators, the biggest thing will be to see if they have corrected some of the issues they faced against Miami. A shaky offensive line has had a week off to gel which, if that happened could lead to big nights for both quarterback Feleipe Franks and running back Lamical Perine.

Perine had a lackluster game against the Hurricanes, mainly because the holes were pretty small. Franks endured a lot of criticism for his performance after the game. It will also be good to see if the Florida defense can carry the momentum from the Miami win into tonight (I mean, really, 10 sacks against Miami!).

UT-Martin: It’s the first meeting between the Skyhawks and the Gators. UT-Martin is coming into the game fresh off a 42-20 win over Northwestern State where running back Peyton Logan had 13 carries for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback John Bachus III had a bit of a slow night, throwing for just 130 yards, but two touchdowns — one to Jaylon Moore, the other to Colton Dowell. But, UT-Martin will be facing a much stronger defense in Florida.

Connections

• Florida head coach Dan Mullen was an offensive coordinator for the Gators when UT-Martin defensive line coach Clint McMillian was defensive tackle (2005-07).
• UT-Martin safeties and co-special teams’ coordinator Chris Pollizzi and Florida quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson worked on the staff at Utah at the same time — in 2011. Johnson was the Utes’ quarterbacks coach while Pollizzi was a graduate assistant working with the tight ends.
• Gator defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Skyhawks co-offensive coordinator Nick Petrino served on staff together at Louisville from 2014-16. Grantham was the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator while Petrino was a graduate assistant and later quarterbacks coach.

How to watch

• Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.
• Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — Gainesville, Florida.
• TV: ESPNU with Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia
• Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network with Mick Hubert, Lee McGriff and Tate Casey.
• Satellite: Sirius/XM Ch. 81.

The line

According to our resident gambling expert Derek Taylor, the Gators are 44.5-point favorites against the Skyhawks. Last season, Florida football was 3-0 against the spread when they were favored by 20 points or more. Read his betting recommendation here.

Weather

With Hurricane Dorian out of the area, it is going to be a scorcher in Gainesville Saturday. According to weather.com, temperatures will be around 96 degrees with a 10% chance of rain. At kickoff, expect it to be warm, but cooling off to a low of 71 degrees later in the night. Overall, a typical early September night in central Florida.

The Last Line

This should be a big tune-up game for the Gators leading into their trip to Lexington next week to take on Kentucky. With a home date with Tennessee looming the following week, it is key for the Gators to show improvement from Week 0 now, against the Skyhawks. The offense needs to be crisp and the defense needs to continue to dominate, as they did against Miami.

What do you think? Post your comments below.