Last meeting: Florida 28, East Carolina 20 (2015- Birmingham Bowl)
All time series: Florida, 2-0
Time/TV: 7:00pm ESPN2 (also streaming on WatchESPN)
Pregame betting line: Florida, 21
Summer analysis and prediction: Florida 34, East Carolina 14.
What to watch for: The QB battle stretches into week two of the regular season. This time, it’s Will Grier who gets the start and Treon Harris who will be coming of the bench. ECU’s defense is by no means spectacular, but it’s a significant step up from New Mexico State’s. Let’s see how Grier and Harris do against it.
Florida key to the game: Harass new ECU quarterback Blake Kemp and see if he does something he shouldn’t. A night game in the Swamp for a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be the starting QB is hard enough, but throw in some fierce Gator pressure and he’s almost guaranteed to make mistakes.
East Carolina key to the game: Somehow win the line of scrimmage against a talented Gator front (albeit one that took a whole half to wake up against New Mexico State) and get running back Chris Hairston going. Without a successful ground game, ECU has virtually no shot.
Prediction: I’ll stick with my summer projection once again, though this is probably the last time I’ll do that. Florida 34, New Mexico State 14