Rece Davis, Pete Thamel each pick Texas over Florida

No. 9 Texas travels to Florida on Saturday in what is a pivotal matchup for both teams, but for different reasons. The Longhorns are opening SEC play on the road against the Gators, while Florida is looking to put a halt to its 1-3 start to the season.

Before the Week 6 matchup, the College GameDay Podcast crew of Rece Davis and Pete Thamel revealed their picks between the Longhorns and Gators.

“I don’t think the Gators are going to score more than 10 points,” Thamel said. “I just think Texas figures out a way to win. They muster enough offense. It’ll be interesting to see how healthy their tailbacks are. There’s some uncertainty around there, but I think Texas figures out a way led by that defense.”

Davis largely agreed with his colleague. He gave props to the Gators for their defensive unit, but in the end believes their efforts won’t be enough for Arch Manning and the Longhorns offense.

“I think the game will go exactly the same way,” Davis responded. “I think it’ll be relatively low scoring. It’ll be very low scoring for Florida. Texas walks out where they went, and maybe even feeling slightly better about the offense because that Gator defense is legit.”

To Thamel’s point, Texas running back CJ Baxter is listed as doubtful this week, while Tre Wisner is listed as probable. Both are dealing with hamstring issues. However, running back depth could be an issue for both sides, as Florida’s Ja’Kobi Jackson and Treyaun Webb have already been ruled out for Saturday’s game.

Both teams would have hoped to be at full health, as both Texas and Florida have struggled at times offensively this season. After failing to score more than one touchdown in the season opener against Ohio State, Texas has begun to come into its own in the three games since. However, those games have all been against Group of Five opponents.

For Florida, all three of its losses have come against teams that were ranked in the top 25. In those three matchups, the Gators offense was held to under 20 points. The last two matchups in that stretch were against LSU and Miami teams ranked in the top five at the time of the matchup. Saturday will be the fourth game in a five-game stretch where the Gators will only face ranked opponents.

Kickoff between Texas and Florida is set for 3:30 p.m. ET from inside the Swamp. ESPN will carry the national broadcast.