3 Biggest X-Factors For Florida to Bounce Back vs South Carolina

The Florida Gators will be taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks this weekend, with the team looking for a bounce-back effort.

Florida fell to the Missouri Tigers a week ago, getting blown out on the road. This was the first loss for the Gators in the Jon Sumrall era, and now the program will need to get back to playing strong football.

The Gators still have a lot in front of them, but how they respond to the loss will determine a lot for this team. Here are three of the biggest X-Factors for Florida to get back on track this week against South Carolina:

1. Feed Jadan Baugh

Against the Tigers, Baugh was locked up, seeing the star back rushing for just 13 yards on 12 carries. Missouri did a good job containing the Florida star, keeping him from beating them in the game.

But against South Carolina, the Gators need to make sure that Baugh gets back on track by feeding him the ball. If Florida can get him back to dominating on the field, this team could easily come away with a win this week.

For the season, Baugh has rushed for 613 yards and 11 touchdowns, showing impressive ability out on the field. Baugh is invaluable to this Gators team, and they need him to put together a bounce back effort in this contest.

2. Aaron Philo Uses His Legs

Philo entered the season with a lot of questions around him, mainly due to his lack of experience. But he has done just enough for the Gators this year, allowing this team to have a chance to win.

However, this week, Philo may need to use his legs more to extend or keep plays alive. This could be especially true if Baugh has another tough game and the signal-caller is asked to do more.

Philo has three rushing touchdowns this season, and the Gators need more from him. If he can give them this, it could help unlock different areas of the offensive attack as well.

3. Limit the Penalties

This is still the same Gators team that completely dominated Ole Miss a few weeks ago, and they will need to get back to the basics against South Carolina. One way for this to happen is to limit penalties.

Florida has been terrible with penalties this season, and it's something that Sumrall has spoken about. Against the Gameocks, the Gators can't beat themselves if they expect to get back on track.