GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, noon ET
SITE: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.
TV: ESPNU
SERIES: First meeting
RANKINGS: Florida No. 13
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vandals
–RB Isaiah Saunders is approaching the 900-yard mark rushing but would need a huge game to get to 1,000 as Idaho closes out its season. He has rushed for 878 yards with eight touchdowns in 10 games and also has 10 receptions for another 55 yards.
–WR David Ungerer leads Idaho in receiving with 66 catches for 692 yards and has 1,045 all-purpose yards thanks to 190 yards on punt returns, 157 on kickoff runbacks, and 9 rushing.
–LB Kaden Elliss is billed as “Mr. Everything” for the Vandals. He has 50 tackles this season with 15 for losses (seven sacks), forced and recovered a fumble, and broken up two passes and also will play multiple positions on offense. He has three receptions playing tight end. “He’s such a good player and so smart he usually only needs one rep to understand something and get it down,” coach Paul Petrino said. “You’d like to be able to steal him and play him all the time on offense, but he’s so valuable on defense. You’ve got to pick your times.”
Gators
–WR Kadarius Toney was a dual threat in the win over South Carolina, finishing with 51 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving and one receiving touchdown. Florida coach Dan Mullen said he’s going to continue to try to find creative ways to get Toney touches. “That’s a different type of guy,” Florida junior running back Lamical Perine said. “They’ll have a run that’s supposed to go left and he’ll cut it back all the way to the right and score, so you never know what to expect with Kadarius. He’s a talented, good kid, man. He’s done a lot for this program and he’s going to keep doing that.”
–RB Jordan Scarlett rushed for a career-high 159 yards on 18 carries against South Carolina. Scarlett has rushed for a team-high 629 yards on 6.2 yards per carry and three touchdowns. A redshirt junior, Scarlett could be playing his final game at The Swamp against Idaho.
–DE Jachai Polite was again disruptive against South Carolina, finishing with three tackles, two tackles for loss and half a sack against Florida. The junior has continued his breakout season which has included 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
It may be Senior Day when Florida plays its final home game of the season at The Swamp against Idaho on Saturday. But how much a freshman plays could garner the most attention.
Kickoff at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville for the non-conference affair is noon ET on ESPNU.
Freshman quarterback Emory Jones has moved into the backup role behind Feleipe Franks and could see extensive playing time against the underdog Vandals (4-6). Jones can appear in two more games before his redshirt is burned
“We always have a plan for Emory,” coach Dan Mullen said.
Jones became the backup after redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask broke his foot in the week leading up to last week’s game against South Carolina. Franks started at quarterback against the Gamecocks and helped lead the No. 13 Gators (7-3) to a comeback win.
Down 31-14 in the third quarter, Florida rallied for 21 straight points in the 35-31 win, with Franks scoring the go-ahead TD on a 1-yard sneak. Franks accounted for three of UF’s five touchdowns, with two rushing touchdowns and one passing.
“You can’t get complacent,” Franks said. “I think this game will be a big confidence-builder heading into Florida State week.”
Idaho, which dropped down from the FBS level to the Football Championship Subdivision this season will be playing its season finale. This will be the first game for the Vandals in Gainesville but not their first trip.
They came to play the Gators for their 2014 season opener but, after a three-hour lightning delay, the teams managed just the opening kickoff before another lightning delay. The game was canceled after an hour wait when torrential rains created unsafe playing conditions.
Idaho quarterback Mason Petrino, the son of coach Paul Petrino, has completed 187 of 302 passes for 1,863 yards, with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. The junior passed for a career-high 310 yards in a loss to Montana last week.
Senior running back Isaiah Saunders ran for 123 yards against Montana to move to 10th in school history in career rushing (2,155 yards). He broke off a 60-yard run against the Grizzlies.
“They were playing the run all day, over-pursuing,” he said in the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review. “I knew in the first half I was going to pop one.
“I could have cared less about my stats. I could have run for 30 yards, and if we would have won, I would have been happy.”
Brothers Kaden and Christian Elliss, both linebackers, lead the Idaho defense. Kaden has 15 tackles for loss, including 7 sacks, both team-highs. Christian leads the Vandals with 68 tackles. Their father, former NFL All-Pro defensive lineman Luther Elliss, coaches Idaho’s defensive line.
Mullen said this week’s game could be a chance for a number of Florida freshmen to see the field because there are no limitations to the number of players that can dress in a nonconference game (the SEC limit is 70 players).
But Mullen is not taking the Vandals lightly.
“It’s a good challenge for us,” Mullen said. “It’s their last game of the season so they can treat it like a bowl game. They can throw everything at us on offense and defense and special teams.”
Florida will honor its seniors before the game. They include standouts Cece Jefferson on the defensive line and Martez Ivey on the offensive line. The seniors were part of Florida teams that won back-to-back SEC East division titles in 2015 and 2016. Florida stumbled to a 4-7 record last season but is enjoying a resurgent campaign in Mullen’s first season as coach.
“I told them once they buy in, we’ll start winning football games,” Mullen said.
Florida running back Jordan Scarlett is coming off a career-high 159-yard effort against South Carolina. He has a team-high 629 yards on 6.2 yards per carry and three touchdowns. A redshirt junior, Scarlett also could be playing his final game at The Swamp.
