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          Florida Gators

          Game preview: Gators vs. Ragin' Cajuns

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterNov 9, 2012, 01:00 PM
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          Louisiana Lafayette (5-3) at No. 6 Florida (8-1)

          Saturday, 12:21 p.m. ET

          Florida Field, Gainesville, Fla.

          SEC Network

          Gators to watch

          RB Omarius Hines: With WR/KR Andre Debose out with a knee injury, Hines will have to take over the role as the Gators’ primary ball carrier on the jet sweeps and the kick returner. He did it last week against Missouri and had a 36-yard TD run on a jet sweep. Hines isn’t as fast as Solomon Patton, but he is a more physical runner and that allows the Gators to use him in other ways, too. He’s a player who needs to touch the ball more and will get his chance again.

          FS Josh Evans: Evans is having the best season of his career, and not only because he leads the Gators with 62 tackles. He has picked off two passes, broken up three others and has two sacks as a blitzer. His improvement has allowed the Gators to walk SS Matt Elam up to the line of scrimmage without worrying about giving up the big play.

          RB Chris Johnson: He has only touched the ball five times on offense, but Johnson is pretty much everywhere on special teams. He nearly had a touchdown on a fumble return against South Carolina and he leads the Gators with nine special teams tackles.

          Ragin’ Cajuns to watch

          QB Terrance Broadway: He has filled in capably for Blaine Gautier (broken hand) and is coming off back-to-back games in which he has accounted for at least 349 yards of total offense. He threw for 265 and rushed for 84 against Arkansas State and threw for 373 and rushed for 87 against Louisiana-Monroe. He’ll have a tougher time against UF, which is giving up only 140.1 yards passing per game.

          WR Jamal Robinson: He’s another player who is excelling as an injury replacement. With Javone Lawson out with a broken wrist, Robison has caught eight passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games. That’s 32.4 yards per catch.

          DT Christian Ringo: Ringo leads the Ragin’ Cajuns with 4.5 sacks. He had preseason gallbladder surgery but missed only the season opener. He is one of the team’s strongest players (he squats a team-high 605 pounds and benches 430 pounds).

          Key matchup

          Florida WR Quinton Dunbar vs. ULL CB Jemarlous Moten

          The Gators have got to try and make some vertical plays down the field and the most likely target is Dunbar, who tops all UF wide receivers with 20 catches. Like all of UF’s receivers, he has struggled to get separation. He has good speed and size (6-foot-1, 189 pounds) but his production isn’t there. Moten (5-11, 175) has six career interceptions and three career defensive touchdowns. He was the team’s defensive newcomer of the year in 2011.

          By the numbers

          4 -- Florida scored four defensive TDs in the 55-21 victory over ULL in 1996. Fred Weary returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns, Lawrence Wright returned a fumble for a touchdown, and Takeo Brown also returned an interception for a TD.

          35 -- ULL has scored just 35 points in the four meetings with Florida. The Ragin’ Cajuns were shut out in their first two meetings and have been outscored 206-35 in the four games.

          512 -- The Gators set a school record with 512 yards passing in the 61-14 victory over ULL in 1993. It still stands.