Florida Gators

ORLANDO — On Oct. 17, 2009, Mississippi State went to Murfreesboro, Tenn., looking for a third victory in seven games. For the Bulldogs, it was their first season under first-time head coach Dan Mullen and the lone wins to show for it were a season-opening defeat of Division I-AA Jackson State and one on the road at Vanderbilt. 

MSU beat Middle Tennessee, the reigning Sun Belt Conference champ, that day, 27-6, The Bulldogs didn't turn their season around, but the outcome definitely had an impact on future seasons. 

"I remember, after we played him, I put his name in my folder as people to consider if the position came open," Mullen said earlier this week. 

That "him" was then-Blue Raider defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, whose energetic sideline ways and unconventional schematic plans was a challenge to Mullen, who'd carved quite the reputation not only calling plays, (for Urban Meyer), but for grooming quarterbacks (Chris Leak and Tim Tebow) and winning championships (two Southeastern Conference, two nationals) the previous four seasons at Florida. Mullen saw some "outside-the-box" thinking by Diaz, whose unit limited the Bulldogs to 333 total yards and forced nine punts despite a 15-minute difference in time of possession. 

After finishing 4-8 that season, it didn't take long for Mullen to reach for that folder. 

Diaz was Mississippi State's defensive coordinator in 2010, when the team had one of the nation's best turnarounds in going 9-4. In 2015, after stints at Texas and Louisiana Tech, Diaz was back in Starkville, Miss., alongside Mullen again, with the Bulldogs repeating that 9-4 record, a season and performance that got the attention of some folks in Coral Gables, Fla., and ultimately led Diaz to his penultimate position as defensive coordinator at the University of Miami. He held that for three years before the ultimate offer came. 

Now, he's the Hurricanes' head coach. 

"I've got a lot respect for Dan. We get along very well and I consider him a friend," Diaz told reporters in South Florida earlier this week. "I feel like we've always viewed the game similarly. He's a very creative guy, a little bit of an outside-the-box thinker, and we tried to always be the same way defensively." 

With this "outside-the-box" stuff in common, maybe it was only a matter of time before the Mullen-Diaz relationship came full circle. 

As in Saturday night at sold-out Camping World Stadium. 
  Florida vs. Miami won't just be the only game in town or in the state, but the only one in the country. The cross-state foes who played annually from 1938-87 (except for a one-year break during World War II) before disbanding the series, will officially kick off the 2019 season and mark the 150th anniversary of college football. The Gators and Hurricanes will have the airwaves and social media all to themselves, not to mention the pregame pageantry of ESPN "GameDay" and "SEC Nation" crews on site to prime the prime-time affair. 

UF and UM last played in 2013, with the Hurricanes capitalizing on four red-zone turnovers to upset the Gators 21-16. Before that, Florida won in 2008 at Gainesville (Mullen's last season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach there), Miami won a Peach Bowl matchup (about two months after the firing of UF coach Ron Zook) and also swept a home-and-home series in 2002 and '03. There was also a Sugar Bowl matchup after the 2000 season won by UM in the only series meeting with Coach Steve Spurrier on the sidelines. 

Prior to that, the two had not played since 1987. 

So, just six meetings over 31 years for two marquee programs located only six hours apart, with fan bases clamoring for more games between them. 

This one, with its magnitude and neutral-site venue, should quell the masses for a while (though one set of fans will do a lot of talking afterward … and for a while). 

Florida is coming off 10-3 season that culminated with a regular-season-ending road blowout of rival Florida State (the Gators' first defeat of the Seminoles in six years) and equally dominating smash job of No. 8 Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. UF finished the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2012. 

The Gators return seven offensive starters, including quarterback Feleipe Franks and tailback Lamical Perine, to a unit that improved by leaps and bounds under Mullen by vaulting from the worst offense in the SEC to 42nd nationally (426.7 yards per game). Mullen, though, will have to see what he'll get out of an offensive line that lost four starters, but does have some promising young prospects for position coach John Hevesy to work with. 

On defense, coordinator Todd Grantham has eight starters back, led by linebacker David Reese and cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson, who will play his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the '18 season. On that side of the ball, UF finished 28th in the country (342.3 yards per game) and 18th in forcing turnovers. 

The Hurricanes' strength is expected to be on the defensive ball, where Diaz oversaw a unit that last season finished fourth in the nation in allowing just 278.9 yards per game, as well as third nationally in stopping opponents on third down. Five starters from that defense are gone, but linebacker Shaq Quarterman and safety Romeo Finley are outstanding players who will pick up the guys around them. 
  Offense is the big question mark for UM.

Really big. 

On Monday, Diaz named redshirt freshman Jarren Williams, who has three career passes against Savannah State on his collegiate resume, as the team's starting quarterback. Similar to the Gators, the Hurricanes have a rebuilt O-line of four new starters, but some play-making skill position guys in tailback DeeJay Dallas and wideout Jeff Thomas. That said, UM ranked 105th in total offense (358.8 yards per game) last season, including 113th passing the ball. 

Familiarity on the sideline will go only so far. 

"I don't think there is any sort of advantage because we know him and he knows us," Diaz said. "We'll just get on the grass, and it's going to come down to all the standards of who can block and can get off blocks, who can cover and who can throw and catch."

Kickoff is 7 p.m. on ESPN, with the A-team crew of Chris Fowler on play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit providing analysis and Maria Taylor working the sidelines. Replays will air Sunday at midnight on the ACC Network, at 1 a.m. on the SEC Network, 3 a.m. on ESPN, 7 a.m. on ESPNU and again at 9 p.m. on SEC Network. If those aren't enough, the ACC Network will show it again Monday at 1:30 and the SEC Network again Tuesday at 12 a.m.. 

Also, check out the "First & 10 Pre-Game Show," hosted by GatorVision's Shelby Granath, coming from the field via Facebook Live on the Florida Gators page at 6:30 p.m. This week's lineup includes a chat with Mullen, along with appearances from FloridaGators.com senior writer Scott Carter, Gator Radio Network sideline reporter Tate Casey, ESPN's Marty Smith and Maria Taylor, plus a visit with Wilson, the UF defensive back. 

Finally, follow Carter and fellow senior writer Chris Harry on Twitter (@GatorsScott and @GatorsChris) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, as well.