I’ll be honest – I had no idea LIU had a football program, let alone was doing the unthinkable and scheduling some Division 1-A opponents.  I was shocked to discover they have been playing football since 1927, and are currently playing in the tiny Northeast Conference in Division 1-AA.  Yes, it will be a massive payday for their athletic dept., but this matchup will be as uninteresting and non-competitive as you could imagine.

The Sharks obviously lack the talent and depth to compete at this level, and struggled last season even within their conference.  Their historical record is actually decent at over 60% wins, but they were a bad team last season, and are severely outmatched against the Gators.  I wouldn’t even call this an exhibition game – it will be a glorified scrimmage for Florida.  I don’t expect anything but the most basic of schemes on offense and defense.  This game hopefully allows DJ Lagway to knock off some of the rust from an inactive offseason, and lets the team work on fundamentals and timing.  The Gator staff should be able to start emptying out the bench in the 3rd quarter.  Not much good can come from this game other than serve as a walk-through for the freshmen and other inexperienced players.  

Florida suffered injuries during Fall practice to key players such as WRs Tre Wilson and Dallas Wilson, DE LJ McCray, and DT Caleb Banks.  None of them will be needed in this game, and I’d be surprised to see any of them dressed out.  As always, the mantra for a game like this is……NO INJURIES.

Prediction:

Florida 63

LIU 3