Florida meets East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday. (Getty)
The Basics
Who:
Florida (6-5) vs. East Carolina (8-4), Birmingham Bowl
When:
Saturday, Noon Eastern
Where:
Legion Field – Birmingham, Alabama
TV Info:
Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Dave Neal (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analysis), Laura Rutledge (sidelines)
Line:
Florida (-7). Line provided by bovada.lv
All-Time Series:
Florida leads 1-0
Last Year’s Birmingham Bowl:
Vanderbilt 41, Houston 24
Florida Highlights
East Carolina Highlights
Heavy’s Pick
In Game 1 of Florida PM (Post Muschamp), the Gators get a high-flying East Carolina team capable of scoring 70 points in a game. Because they have. ECU stumbled down the stretch a bit, losing 3 of its final 5 games. Florida stumbled all season, hence Will Muschamp is a former head coach and now a defensive coordinator – for Auburn.
The Gators did play some D to close the season, they allowed just 16 points per game as they finished 3-2. They played their hearts out for Muschamp in his final game as coach in the finale against No. 3 Florida State, but fell 24-19. ECU finished 2-3, giving up 28.8 ppg.
UF freshman QB Treon Harris, who ran afoul of the law recently, will start, but he’s a little wet behind the ears. Expect the Gators to lean on running backs Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor a bit more.
The Pirates will not be leaning on their running game as Shane Carden has thrown for the 2nd-most yards in the FBS. Receiver Justin Hardy, a third-team All-American, has 45 of his 110 receptions in the past 4 games.
Florida is going to try to slow the tempo. I would not be shocked if Carden throws 55 passes. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful with them. Florida has the stingiest pass D ECU has come across all season.
The Gators will want to put on a good show for incoming coach Jim McElwain (with a new sheriff in town, jobs are on the line for next season) and the folks at the SEC Headquarters, which calls Birmingham home.
Florida gets the “W” the SEC big dogs – Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State – couldn’t get.