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Michigan Football: What to expect from Jim McElwain’s Florida Gators

By Peter Arango

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach Jim McElwain leads the Florida Gators onto the field before the game against the North Texas Mean Green at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach Jim McElwain leads the Florida Gators onto the field before the game against the North Texas Mean Green at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
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he bvMichigan football will battle Florida in the season-opener on Saturday. Here’s a look at what to expect from the Gators.

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There are lots of snapping jaws coming from Gainesville in anticipation of the opening game against Michigan football, a game that sets the table in many ways for both programs.

The last tilt between the two left the Gators with a 41-7 slam-down in the Citrus Bowl, and this one arrives with Florida’s coach, Jim McElwain, protesting that he is not the man widely believed to be the human humping a shark in a widely seen video.

That aside, both teams and both coaches have held some cards close to the vest, allowing McElwain to take a few shots at Harbaugh.

“He obviously felt that they needed to do some things to become relevant,” said McElwain, according to Deadspin. “And that was his choice in doing it. It’s probably not something I’d do, so it’s all right.”

OK, actually what is relevant is the suspension of six of Florida’s players, including Antonio Callaway, Florida’s best receiver.

Michigan Wolverines Football
Michigan Wolverines Football /

Michigan Wolverines Football

Also relevant is the continuing question of who will start at quarterback for Florida. Malik Zaire, Notre Dame’s starting quarterback until injury put DeShone Kizer on the field, has left snowy South Bend for swampy Gainesville, adding a third quarterback to the mix. Redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks and redshirt junior Luke Del Rio probably wish Zaire, a playmaker with the ability to operate on the run, had remained Irish, but all three could conceivably see action on Saturday.

Another MIA for Florida is James Robinson, the highly touted freshman running back, suspended recently for his second marijuana citation. The other player cited, Ventrell Miller, had already been suspended for the Michigan game as one of the six players allegedly misusing the school’s debit cards.

So what should Michigan football be worried about on Saturday? According to Nick Baumgardner in the Detroit Free Press, although Florida said farewell to seven outstanding defenders in the NFL draft, DE Cece Jefferson, DBs Marcell Harris and Chauncey Gardner, and LB David Reese, the Gators have more than enough athletic ability to slow down the Michigan offense. Harris takes it one step further in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel:

“Best defense in the nation. That’s how we come out,” said Harris, a fifth-year senior from Orlando. “That’s how we go about things. That’s what our attitude is: we come out to be the best every time.”

Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time

Uh huh.

Let’s wait and see.

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