Game week is upon the Florida Gators

It’s Game Day Baby. Well, it is game week anyway. The Florida Gators will open the 2016 season against the University of Massachusetts Saturday. The Gators pride themselves on their long winning streak in season openers but to be fair Florida seldom faces a top tier opponent on opening day. This season is no different. If Saturday’s game is still in contention in the fourth quarter it will not bode well for the Gators’ season.

UMass has won a total of eight games over the last four seasons. Not a single one of those victories was over a Power 5 conference opponent although they did give Vanderbilt a scare in 2014. The Minutemen return a total of eleven starters with five on offense, five on defense and one on special teams. It will not help them that none of those returning starters is the quarterback. Sophomore running back Marquis Young did average 6.3 yards per carry for 960 yards last season. Young should provide a decent first test for a Gator run defense that will need to be stellar with the list of Heisman candidate backs Florida will face in 2016.

I cannot envision a scenario where this game is about what UMass has or does. I really can’t. I get that every game must be taken seriously and any team can beat any team on any given Saturday but….. This game should be all about seeing just how much the Florida Gators have improved in the second season under the current coaching staff. There are things the Gator Nation should be looking for while watching this game. Here is what I will be checking out.

Will the defense play with the intensity we expect even though they feel the opponent is overmatched. One thing that I have noticed over the years of watching good teams play lesser opponents in the opener is a lack of focus and intensity on defense. What I would like to see is a front seven that is determined from game one to completely take away the running game. Anything over 60 yards rushing by the UMass running backs would be a little disappointing. I would also like to see the Gators keep the opposing quarterback contained. It might not be a good sign for the Tennessee game if Ross Comis or Andrew Ford are ripping off 20 yard runs by breaking containment.

With Jalen Tabor unavailable for this game, Gator fans will get a chance to see if depth in the secondary is really a concern. With the Minutemen’s leading receiver from last season gone along with the starting QB the passing game should not be a big threat to the Gators. If this group of receivers are getting loose against the Tabor-less secondary, depth is a concern. If there are a handful of coverage sacks by the Gators things are setting up nicely for the 2016 season.

I expect starting quarterback Luke Del Rio to be successful facing the UMass secondary that returns only one starter from a group that wasn’t exactly dominating to begin with last year. What I will be looking for is quick decisions, accuracy and most importantly the zip on Luke’s passes. He will likely be fine lofting the ball to open receivers Saturday but that will not cut it against the defenses he will face in the SEC. I want to see Gators receivers catching the ball in stride and not having to slow up to wait on the ball. Hopefully this will be the kind of game that allows coaches to play three of four quarterbacks.

One constant with the Florida offenses the last four or five years has been a dearth of playmakers among the receivers. There is reason to believe that will change this season. It will be a huge bonus to have Antonio Callaway available for this game, but the important thing Saturday is seeing who else steps up to make plays in the passing game. It is a little disappointing that Tyrie Cleveland and Rick Wells are not playing this week. This would have been a good opportunity for them to stake a claim to their niche in this offense before the first conference game, but as coach Jim McElwain keeps saying, decision have consequences. Hopefully, Ahmad Fullwood will use this opportunity to shine. And, of course, we are all anxious to see Brandon Powell and Dre Massey making plays in the slot. Luke also needs to get comfortable finding the tight ends when they have a mismatch. Hopefully DeAndre Goolsby will be 100 percent by game time.

The depth and talent of the Florida running backs should wear the Minutemen defense down as the game progresses so we should see some impressive runs by multiple backs. More importantly will be how they handle their blocking assignments on pass plays. They must also avoid putting the ball on the turf. Turnovers are the one thing that can keep this UMass team in the game longer than Gator fans would like. I am also interested in seeing how the Florida backs hit the line of scrimmage. In my opinion Jordan Cronkrite was the only back last year that ran with vicious intent the majority of his carries. The Todd Gurley, Leonard Fournette and Nick Chubb type backs run with a violence and meanness that I really haven’t seen out of a Gator back in years. That is why those backs I named get their yardage even when everyone knows they are going to get the ball.

Last, but certainly not least, every Gator fan will be holding their breath the first time Florida has to kick a field goal. Yes, Eddy Pineiro has looked good in practice and the spring game but this will be his first time kicking under real pressure. Kicking is as much mental as physical, or so they say, so until we see Eddy in a real game the jury is still out on the kicking game. Lately the Gator kicking game has been all mental, mental anguish. This team’s inability to kick field goals dramatically affected the offensive play calling in the red zone down the stretch last season. I think I speak for every Gator fan everywhere when I say I don’t want to ever see that again.

So, instead of feeling a little left out of the opening weekend excitement because of what we THINK is a lesser opponent, fire up the grill, chill some beer or bourbon and remain perched on the edge of your seat looking for signs of what we can expect in weeks to come. Saturday begins a journey on the crest of a three month long wave where we find out if Florida has once again struck gold in the dark unpredictable coaching mines with the hire of McElwain. Let’s light the fuse on this thing. Go Gators.

Mark Miller
Mark Miller's bravery knows no limits. He's a Gator living deep in the heart of Georgia. Mark's weekly columns appear in the Coosa Valley News in Rome, Georgia, where Gators are few and Bulldogs are many. His updates about football and life among the heathens will appear in Gator Country on a weekly basis.

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