Key takeaways from Florida’s 29-26 win over Utah

The Swamp did its job and was electric in Billy Napier’s first game as the head coach of the Florida Gators, edging out Utah 29-26 late in the fourth quarter.

Saturday nights attendance is the tenth highest of all time in Florida football history. While also hitting a number of 90,799 fans, it now sits as the largest attendance of any opening game ever for the Gators. 

I think I speak for most Florida fans when I say I saw a very much improved football team on both sides of the football.  I saw great things Saturday night from almost every position group. Although, there’s always room to improve, and there’s always things to fix up and clean. Here I give some positive takeaways from last night’s win over Utah, as well as some negatives. 

Positive Takeaways:

• The one major positive I took-away from last night’s win was the efficiency of the offensive line play, and the run game. Running Back Montrell Johnson had a great bounce back game after fumbling on his first drive in a Gator uniform. The sophomore finished the night with 12 carries, 75 yards, and 1 touchdown. Not only did Johnson have a big game, but Freshman Running Back Trevor Etienne did as well. Rapidly emerging as Florida’s second team running back, Etienne finished the night with 5 carries for 64 yards, while averaging a whopping 12.8 yards per carry. The ability for these up-and-coming backs to thrive in the run game starts with the efficiency of the offensive line and always will. Veteran Running Back Nay’Quan Wright also showed flashes of his known potential finishing the night with 10 attempts, 39 yards, and averaging 3.9 yards per carry.  

• Yes, the defense struggled last night, but they also looked ten times better than what we all witnessed under Todd Grantham. I say this because it was clear as day that Coach Corey Raymond was the coach of our defensive backs, as well as Defensive Coordinator Coach Toney. Florida’s defensive backs looked the best they have looked since 2016 under Defensive Coordinator Geoff Collins when it came to pass coverage. Players were set before the snap almost every single time while making switch calls constantly and ended up being where they needed to be. I don’t think we went one full drive without being out of position at least once last season, or even years prior under Mullen. The future is bright for this Gator defense given they clean up a couple fixable issues. 

• Seniority isn’t a thing here at Florida anymore, I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again. The best player will be on the field for Billy Napier. Several recent priority players from the 2021 recruiting class last season got their opportunity to showcase their talents after a strong showing during fall camp. On the defensive side of the ball Freshman Defensive Back Devin Moore made a great tackle late in the game against Utah when thrown in the game. Freshman Linebacker Shemar James, as well as Freshman Safety Kamari Wilson both also recorded tackles. Without a doubt the most impactful freshman so far has been Trevor Etienne who continues to display his talents. Expect many freshmen to get early playing time and be more than impactful for this Florida football team. 

• A couple players that I want to give some props to last night were Sophomore Quarterback Anthony Richardson and Senior Linebacker Ventrell Miller. Anthony made the best decisions I’ve ever seen him make with the football on a consistency level, he did miss some throws, but he took care of the football. Richardson finished the night going 17/24, and 168 yards in the sky. On top of that, Richardson had 11 carries on the ground, for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ventrell Miller is a grown man and that was evident last night after multiple huge tackles to come in clutch during critical moments in Saturday evenings game. Miller finished the game with 9 total tackles, 3 solo. Senior Linebacker Amari Burney also finished very strong sealing the game winning interception with less than a minute left to go. Burney worked his tail off last night and never wavered or put his head down

Negative Takeaways:

• Without a single doubt, the main thing in general that stood out to me last night was the number of undisciplined penalties on both sides of the football. After hearing for the past couple weeks how discipline and penalties were the main focus in camp, I have to admit I expected a lot better than what we all witnessed. The Gators finished the night going 7-38 on penalties. Many of which could have resulted in a Gator loss. 

• Although Florida’s defense looked the part during the first half against Utah’s offense, they continued to struggle with tackling. While also struggling to tackle in key moments, the defensive front failed continuously to finish plays from bringing solid pressure, which they did quite often. I’m sure this will be the main focus at practice this week for the defense, as well as coverage in the box. 

• Again, although there were some great plays made; specifically, from transfer Wide Receiver Ricky Pearsall who had 4 catches, 67 yards, averaging 16.8 yards per catch. The Gator wide outs struggled. Specifically in the open field, there weren’t many times where Florida receivers created or found any space. It may come as a surprise to some, but redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Trent Whittemore didn’t have one single catch. 

• Not that it was awful, but I’d like to point it out. Special teams and specifically punting could use some improvement. There were multiple times where Utah started in Florida’s territory, which should not be happening. I’m hopeful Billy and the special team’s staff will get this cleaned up. 

Overall, the Gators upset the Utes in a thrilling 29-26 win. Which you could argue was one of the loudest Florida football games to date for Billy Napier’s introduction to The Swamp. Like I said in the roundtable earlier this week – Florida needed to win that game and it’s the most important game of the 2022 football season for Billy Napier and the Gators. Florida will have great momentum throughout this season as they continue to find their new identity. Florida will take on Kentucky next weekend at 7:00 pm E/T in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.