Rain could complicate Florida’s best chance to exploit South Carolina’s defense

The weather in Gainesville this weekend isn’t expected to be great. While the area is expected to be spared the worst of Hurricane Isaias, residual effects will still linger when the Gators take the field at 12:45 PM. There is currently a 90% chance of rain on Saturday, and it is bound to have an impact on the game itslef.

Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner claims he is ready for anything; one has to wonder whether or not rain on Satuday could even the playing field against South Carolina.

Hurricane Isaias will play a role in Florida’s game against South Carolina

Faulkner met with media members on Tuesday, and he was asked about the conditions for Saturday. Given that Saturday’s forecast isn’t a mystery and the fact that it has been raining all week in Gainesville, Faulkner is trying to use that to Florida’s advantage:

“You've got to do a lot of wet ball. The good thing is is we've got rain early this week and you just go out in the rain and do it, so it's not, we don't have to forecast it out the day, 'Hey there's probably going to be rain', we'll probably have it all week. 

So we're going to get out tomorrow hopefully in the rain and go from there."

Typically, a rainy day forces teams to lean on their run game, and before last Saturday’s debacle, we would have thought that was an advantage for Florida. But Missouri showcased that if you load the box against the Gators, Jadan Baugh can be stopped.

South Carolina’s run defense isn’t quite as stout as Missouri’s, but it ranks 37th in yards per carry and 56th in defensive success rate on rushing plays, so it can provide resistance. If South Carolina does provide run-game resistance, one has to wonder whether the rain will inhibit Florida’s ability to punish South Carolina’s pass defense, which ranks 109th in success rate on passing plays.

On paper, one might think Faulkner can scheme up some east/west plays to keep the ball moving, but Saturday showed that even Faulkner can be put in a box if he loses the threat of a vertical pass. The counter is that, given all the motion in a standard Florida play, one wrong step by South Carolina will be punished even more if it rains.

It all creates a fascinating chess match, and Saturday could come down to which team best mitigates the weather.

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