GAINESVILLE -- Billy Napier's next must-win game will be decided in a manner Florida's coach can appreciate.
Napier wants a team able to impose its will, run the ball, affect the quarterback and wear down an opponent. The combination was a winning formula during last weekend's win against Texas; it will to be again Saturday night when UF (2-3, 1-1 SEC) visits No. 5 Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0).
"Most championship teams, that's the blueprint," he said. "Look at who's won consistently in college football. You've got talent on the line of scrimmage."
After Miami pushed around the Gators during a 26-7 loss Sept. 20 in South Florida, Napier's team dominated the Longhorns up front during a 29-21 decision in the Swamp to finish with 159 rushing yards to 52 for Texas and six sacks.
Mike Elko's Aggies are built to better stand their ground.
Texas fielded four new starters on the offensive line, while Texas A&M returned four, along with center Mark Nabou Jr. after he missed most of 2024 with a torn ACL. The unit paves the way for the 1-2 punch of tailbacks Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens III.
"They're a gritty bunch," said UF sophomore linebacker Myles Graham, the team's leading tackler. "We just got to play sound football. We stay disciplined in our gaps; that's kind of something that we didn't do our best versus Miami."
Three defensive lineman from the 2024 Aggies were drafted in the first two rounds. But Elko and assistant coach Sean Spencer, UF's defensive line coach in 2022-23 before Napier fired him, have reloaded.
The Aggies are third in the SEC with 18 sacks and 41 tackles for loss.
"A&M has got a revolving door of really good guys up front," Florida All-American center Jake Slaughter said.
Expected to be one of the nation's top O-lines, too, Slaughter and Co. finally found their stride against Texas just in time to face an A&M team playing as well as any in the SEC.
"It was a huge confidence boost for us," Slaughter said of the Gators' 457-yard performance. "Now we know that this is what it is and this is what it needs to be every time."
Struggling sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway also produced his best performance of the season just in time for his long-awaited return the Lone Star State.
"He is on a mission to get back to play to his potential," Napier said.
Meanwhile, true freshmen receiver Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III combined for 9 catches for 183 yards, including a 60-yard catch by Brown and 55-yarder for Wilson.
Lagway, Aggies' quarterback Marcel Reed and a host of playmakers on the perimeter are sure to have their say Saturday night.
But this old-school SEC slobberknocker will be decided in the trenches, where most games inevitably are won or lost.
"If you're gonna win around here, that's who you gotta be," Napier said.