GC VIP Thoughts of the Week — 8/28/19 Edition

    by David Parker

    Thoughts on the Miami Game

    I’ve seen a lot more college football games than many of you, and many of you have seen a lot more college football games then me. Same for Gator games in particular. All told, we have combined to see thousands and thousands of college football games in our lives.

    And I feel very confident in saying that none of us – NONE of us – have ever seen a game remotely like that one.

    “Ugly” is the word that has been used the most, and with good reason. It is likely the most properly descriptive word. But there are many more words that describe this game:

    Unbelievable. Otherworldly. Miraculous. Cursed. Confusing. Maddening. Insane.

    But it wasn’t unprecedented. We’ve seen this game before. Almost every year, in fact, the Gators get into a game that just feels eerily weird from start to finish. Where absolutely everything goes wrong that can, and almost nothing goes right – and when it does, it is immediately nullified by an equally negative counter-punch of bad luck. And this game always sees the other team benefit immensely from all the Gators’ mistakes…but Saturday, Miami effectively minimized the damage, taking virtually the least advantage that they could. And in the past, we always lose this game. But Saturday, we won. That is truly remarkable, in a way I will touch on later.

    Now, I’m not trying to mitigate how ugly it was. It was beyond ugly. But I have seen many uglier games. And many, MANY uglier Gator games. The 2013 loss to FCS opponent Georgia Southern at Homecoming comes to mind.  Heck, the second half of the 1995 Fiasco Bowl alone was uglier than this game. Truly, every game we’ve ever lost was uglier than this. Because they were losses. We may have played better in a lot of them, but we still lost. This may well have been the ugliest win. But then again, I can think of many wins that were likely uglier than this one. The 10-9 win over Tennessee in 2014. The 2012 Louisiana–Lafayette game, where we needed a late punt block to avoid overtime. The 2002 Kentucky game. The 2015 Kentucky game, for that matter. Because in none of those games did we have any part of our team dazzle like our defensive line did Saturday night; we never had the big downfield passes at key times like we did Saturday night; we never looked good like we looked good to great at certain points Saturday night.

    But either way, let’s be honest here and recognize that the prettiest loss is always uglier than the ugliest win. And when the game is a win over Miami, I don’t care how ugly it is: I am kissing it and taking it to prom.

    The Good Among the Bad

    If you want to take a pessimistic view of the game, that’s not exactly a crazy idea. It could be easily said that we didn’t deserve to win. But if that’s true, then Miami didn’t either. In the end, we didn’t deserve to win less than they didn’t deserve to win. And that’ll do.

    But – shocking, I know – I came away from the game with a lot of encouragement and excitement about the season and what this team will be. Because despite all the egregious, horrific play Saturday night by most of the Gator team, it cannot be overlooked that this was the opening game of a team just 1 season and removed from a 4-win, coach quitting/firing/lying his way out the door at midseason dumpster fire. And it was an opener against a solid Power 5 team that will finish this season ranked, perhaps in the Top 10 given their schedule, with an outstanding defense, and which was sky-high and treating the game like their Super Bowl, while the Gators had no respect for them and assumed they’d be able to crush them without much effort. Every possible mistake that can happen in an opener is magnified dozens of times when you open against a legit opponent.

    We knew we were going to struggle on offense because of our brand new, young and inexperienced starting offensive line, which by the way also has no depth. Yep, as much as they were dominated by Miami’s front in the run game as expected, they were downright stout in pass protection the whole night. In this game they actually outplayed last year’s experienced and deeper offensive line in the first real game of 2018 (Game 2 against Kentucky), and frankly also in last year’s opener – and that was against Charleston Southern. And last year’s offensive line developed into a very good unit by the time Game 5 rolled around, when the SEC gantlet really got rolling with ranked MSU and LSU teams back to back. I expect this year’s OL to gel and get up to SEC speed in 3 weeks when vulnerable Kentucky and Tennessee hit the schedule, and certainly in a month and a half when the SEC gauntlet cranks up again with Auburn LSU and UGA all within a 4-game stretch.

    We know we have amazing skill talent at receiver, running back and tight end (although the tight ends need to block a lot better than they did Saturday night – like the receivers did). We know we aren’t going to turn the ball over like this the rest of the year: Florida only had 3 games in all of 2018 with multiple turnovers, and their max was 3, just once against Vandy (and they won that game, too). And Feleipe Franks, for all his faults and all his mistakes Saturday night, is miles ahead of where he was at this time last year. Consider this: Franks had 2 pass plays Saturday night that went for over 60 yards (66 yards to Kadarius Toney, and 65 yards Josh Hammond); he only had 2 pass plays of over 60 yards all of last season. You can try to mitigate that by saying one of the passes was a short pass that the receiver did all the work, but that’s true for one of his 60+ yarders last year, as well (to Lamical Perine). So any way you slice it, he doubled his 60+ yard throws from the entire season last year. And this was against one of the best defenses in the country, not a directional FCS school. Not only that, but Miami’s defense hadn’t given up a single pass play of over 45 yards since 2017! He connected for 2 in one game. And while he was involved in 4 turnovers (of which I only blame him for the two interceptions), Saturday was the first time he has turned the ball over in any way since October last year, a span of 6 games turnover-free. His first pick against Miami broke a streak of 157 consecutive attempts without an interception. That is the second-longest streak in UF history, behind only Heisman winning Tim Tebow, who threw a lot more high-percentage short passes than Franks throws. I will expound on Franks later.

    Then there is the defense. The defensive line was obviously playing against an injured antelope, but that only explains so much of the dominance they displayed. Especially since they were being held worse than I can ever remember seeing, without ever getting the holding penalty unless they we body slammed in a WrestleMania-takedown right in front of the ref. This is going to be a banner DL unit for the Gators, one that will challenge the best lines we have ever had. The secondary had an abysmal night, but they are a known commodity. They don’t play like that; we know that from watching them all last year. They were unfocused, or over-aggressive, or frustrated, or any number of things. But we know our defensive backfield is elite. And we know this team knows how to tackle (and you better believe it will be a mission to restore their pride in the tackling department from here on out). And as badly as the linebackers played in pass coverage, they were dominating in run defense.

    And our special teams look more special than any unit we have had since the last time Dan Mullen wore a Gator visor on the Florida sidelines.

    All the bad things that happened Saturday night not only were not typical of this Gator team last year, they are all easily correctable. And we have two weeks to work on them all before getting to practice on UT Martin, then another week to refine it all for the Kentucky game. As frustrating, incensing, depressing, or crazy as Saturday’s Gator performance was, I don’t think we have too much to worry about. If we are still doing this against Kentucky, then we are in a ton of trouble. But I don’t think we will be. Do you?

    A Team That Won’t Be Beat Can’t Be Beat

    That’s a mantra that Dan Mullen and Urban Meyer used a lot during their run as Gator coaches last decade. A mantra that led to a lot of championships, awards and trophies. And I don’t know if Dan has used it yet in this Gator tenure, but it sure applies to his new program.

    Simply put, this is a team and program that has demonstrated it can win in many different ways. Maybe every kind of way. Last year, it showed that it can win getting lead and then stomping on the opponent’s throats (see: Tennessee, FSU, Michigan). It showed it can win games even when it gets way behind, by making furious second half comebacks (see: wins after being down by 18 points to Vandy; down 17 points to South Carolina). It proved it can make the big deciding play at the end to win super-close slugfests that are neck-and-neck for 60 minutes (see: MSU and LSU). Now in the 2019 opener, it has showed that it can finally, maybe for the first time in program history, win a game where they spend 60 minutes trying to run in molasses, where everything goes wrong, where they shoot themselves in the foot again and again, and all the stars seem aligned against them.

    That is the mark of a championship team. More importantly, when it happens over multiple seasons, it is the mark of a championship program. It’s like a baseball team that can beat you playing small ball and speed on the bases, beat you with 3-run homers, beat you with great starting pitching, beat you with a strong bullpen, and beat you with defense. Any kind of game you get into, they can beat you. Beat you playing their game; beat you playing your game. This may be the most promising aspect of the Mullen era in its infancy. Spurrier and Meyer teams could and did win in almost every way, but they never won the games like the one Saturday night.

    This bodes so well for our future.

    The Dan Factor

    As an extension of the last segment, something that really jumped out at me Saturday night was Dan Mullen’s postgame on-field comments and his postgame presser. They were exactly like they were after last year’s debacle against Kentucky, albeit with more smiling. A game that had a critical mass of Gator fans declaring that the Mullen era was a disaster before it even started. Little did they know. But they should have known based on his postgame game. He was matter-of-fact, direct, honest, and even keel, keeping it all in perspective. Just like he was after beating Miami Saturday, a win that most fans considered as bad as a loss. Quite appropriate, since last year’s loss and this year’s ear loss both occurred because the players did not take the opponent seriously, and for the most part played with poor focus and at best sporadic effort.

    When they lose games, or win horribly ugly games like Saturday, most coaches would have either emoted or pretended to emote anger, frustration, rage, you know how it goes. McElwain would have been immersed into a word soup of deflection and annoyance, and sniping at the press. Muschamp would have been bleeding from the ears, and barking at the press. Urban Meyer would have been rubbing his head, faking a medical condition, but otherwise would have said essentially the same things, win or lose. Spurrier? He would have been visibly upset, he would have heaped blame on himself and his staff, but he’d have said essentially the same things, win or lose. Just like Dan did.

    Because that’s what the great ones do.

    Franks-ly Speaking

    To expound on what I stated earlier, Feleipe Franks had an uneven game, for sure. Made a few huge mistakes, for sure. Made some small mistakes that could have led to big plays if he had executed properly, for sure. But he did not have that bad a day. And to be plain, the fact that Saturday’s performance is viewed as a bad game by so many just goes to show how far he has progressed in just 1 year and change of real college coaching. If he had this same game in Week 1 last year, objective observers would be remarking on what a significant jump forward he made in one offseason under Mullen’s tutelage. Because in his year starting under Jim McElwain’s watch, he would have committed all the mistakes and turnovers, but none of the long completions, none of the important tough runs, and none of the good decisions he made when under pressure.

    But some Gator fans would still be hammering him. And it’s that which I want to address this week.

    Criticizing Franks’s play is fair, especially after the errors he made Saturday. But assailing him on a personal level is never okay. And that is what has been happening, and it has been for a long time. And it’s ugly and aggressive. Franks’s mother had to close her Twitter account to the public and make it private because so many people were posting to her feed an avalanche of nasty personal insults and vile characterizations of her son. And that’s the point here: Franks isn’t a robot playing football at our disposal. He’s a human being. He’s a son. He’s a little brother. And whether you are measuring in years or maturity, he’s a kid. He’s a kid. And he’s a kid who has been dealing with a deluge of ugly personal attacks since he signed with Florida. He’s a kid who had zero confidence or clue how to be a college quarterback for 2 years at UF until a real head coach and quarterbacks coach took over in 2018. He’s a kid who has been trying so hard to overcome and outrun the ubiquitous criticism and personal attacks that when he reached the pinnacle of his 2018 improvement, balling out in a beat-down of Michigan in the bowl game, that he wept, literally wept on the field after the game. He and the whole team were coached up not only in their skills, but in simply how to be. Dan Mullen had to teach the team not just how to win, but how to enjoy football and life again, after years of pure misery.

    Now think about that and cast your mind back to the spring game of 2018. We saw not only Franks, but the whole team doing silly celebratory stuff, showboating if you will, after making big plays, and it struck many a Gator fan as odd, even annoying. Because none of these guys out there acting like they are the belle of the ball had to that point ever done anything to feel confident about, or to show off about. But they were told to do this – they were told to make a clean break with ALL of the past and start enjoying the game. Celebrating the good, not just immediately turn to the fans and see if it was good enough for them to stop booing them.

    And that’s the lens through which I view Franks’s extracurricular behavior. The antics that have so many Gator fans upset with him. Running around the stadium Saturday night cheering up the Gator crowd, and mugging for the camera, shouting smack talk into the national ESPN TV feed. On the surface, this is the kind of behavior that will irk most fans. And I am not saying it shouldn’t. I’m only suggesting everyone consider the full context. This is a kid who has been booed and profanely assailed on a personal level by his own fans his entire UF career. This is a kid who was taught by his head coach to express his elation after making good plays, to enjoy the game and enjoy the moment. This is a kid who grew up in an age where college and NFL players are rewarded and praised and given TV shows for running all the smack they can and being as braggadocious as they can be. He grew up seeing the Cam Newton template as the gold standard of behavior. I truly think he is doing off the field what he thinks he is supposed to be doing. He clearly doesn’t know where the top is, and where he shouldn’t go over it, but I see a kid trying to revel in achievement and live in the now the only way he knows how. In my opinion, he needs to learn how to celebrate success the right way, and that requires maturity and years that he may not yet have. But he’s got good people around him to guide him that way, and his teammates absolutely love him. And it clearly helps him elevate his game. So at the very least, he should not be burned in effigy on social media for it.

    Now, back to his play on the field. Criticism is always unevenly and unfairly heaped on the QB, no matter what anyone else is doing. Yes, Franks did not play like the Franks we saw in the last 7 games last year. But neither did almost anyone on the team outside of the defensive line. People have been bashing Franks, but I can list out over a dozen players who played just as bad or worse. Most of them are starters and some of them will be on the All-SEC team and possibly All American teams at the end of the year.

    I think the personal attacks on players trigger a paternal and maternal instinct in some folks when they see one kid getting crucified while others are not, when they are all equally at fault. It’s just that the QB is the most visible and his mistakes are almost always hugely impacting (or at least seem to be). To wit, Franks didn’t miss 1,000 tackles, didn’t blow coverages, didn’t forget to cover the tight end repeatedly, didn’t commit 55 pass interference penalties to extend crucial Miami drives or shout a bunch of smack in an opponent’s face to draw a personal foul and extend a crucial Miami drive. He didn’t fumble a pitch right in his hands, and then fail to fall on it, and he didn’t try to take a handoff that the QB was pulling back. He didn’t call for a pass on 1st down with 4 minutes to go, and he didn’t call a naked QB keeper on 3rd and long in the red zone. He didn’t commit multiple late hits out of bounds. He didn’t keep calling for running plays up the gut into the strength of the Miami defense, behind the weakness of our offense. He didn’t abandon Kadarius Toney for the entire game after he had two electric plays in the very early going, one for a long TD. But Franks is getting 100% of the blame for everything that went wrong Saturday night from a huge portion of Gator fans.

    Yep, the throw to the Miami defender when all we needed were a couple first downs to run out the clock, was abysmal. But a redshirt sophomore Danny Wuerffel did the exact same thing against Auburn in 1994, only our defense didn’t stop them from scoring the winning touchdown on the ensuing drive, and those Gators were ranked #1 in the country at the time, and a Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier sent in that play call. Franks is a redshirt junior, a year ahead of where Wuerffel was then, but Danny had 2.5 years of position coaching from the greatest quarterbacks coach in the history of the game. Franks has only received position coaching from a great quarterbacks coach for 1 year and 1 game, and started that coaching in a deep hole from 2 years of the worst coaching anyone could possibly have received. Danny was also the son of a coach, and was a very advanced QB when he got to Gainesville; Franks was as raw a prospect as they come entering college.

    Now, I don’t say all this to compare Franks to arguably the greatest pocket quarterback in the history of the college game. But rather to just float that timeless reminder that no player and no team are ever as great or as bad as they seem on a given Saturday. And that nothing is new, and even the greatest of all time make bonehead plays, and call bonehead plays. And that as frustrating as some of Feleipe’s play was Saturday, he did nothing unprecedented – for terrible or legendary players alike.

    Spur-rier of the Moment Reaction

    Much has been made by some Gator fans about the live cutaway to Steve Spurrier’s expression after Franks threw the ill-advised interception just outside of the 4-minute mark that jeopardized the game. It’s been roundly said that the expression confirmed Spurrier’s disapproval of the entire game Franks had, and some have even suggested that it confirms Spurrier thinks he shouldn’t be the starting signal caller.

    Allow me to offer an alternate hypothesis or two. I mentioned that he and Danny Wuerffel combined to do the exact same thing in 1994 against Auburn, costing the Gators the #1 ranking and a shot at their first national title. Maybe he was remembering that game in that moment, and coming to grips with the possibly inevitable ending that would be the same: a devastating loss.

    Maybe it was just simple dyspepsia caused by the prospect of losing to Miami again. Remember, Spurrier hates Miami almost as much as he hates Georgia. Maybe even more since he went winless against them as a Gator player or Gator coach. He certainly hates them far more than he hates FSU. He has said so many times. Miami was UF’s primary in-state rival when Spurs was a player, he was born there, and that blood-hate runs deep.

    Last Casts

    — The 10 sacks Saturday night were the most in Gator history “at least since 1996”. I don’t really know what that means, but that’s how it has been reported, leading me to think there must have been some sort of grease fire at UF and ESPN, coincidentally destroying all pre-1997 records at both places.

    — This was the 4th game since 1996, apparently the year they started writing these “statistics” down on paper, in which the Gators converted 4 or more 4th downs. They won all 4 games, 2 of them against Tennessee, the other against Marshall.

    — Keeping with the theme of 4s, while it was shocking to see Florida win a game when it turned the ball over 4 times, the Gators have remarkably won 3 of the last 4 games in which they committed 4 or more turnovers.

    — Van Jefferson may not be racking up the receiving highlight reels at Florida yet, but he is still enhancing his NFL draft stock. Unless he is a first round draft pick, he will likely be looked at to play special teams early in his NFL career. In his gunner role Saturday night, he not only recovered the muffed punt that turned the game around at that point for Florida, he also downed Miami inside the 5-yard line in the second half, a play crucial to keeping Miami pinned down at a juncture of the game where things could have gotten away from Florida with a Miami score. This sort of thing is going to look very good to NFL teams looking to maximize their contract buck.

    — Josh Hammond, one of the unheralded guys on UF’s receiving crew, not one of the guys at the top of NFL scouts’ target lists, continues to come up night in the biggest games. He had a career night Saturday with 93 receiving yards, topping his previous personal best of 83 in last year’s war against LSU.

    — Florida held to Miami to just 2 of 13 on 3rd down conversions (15%). That would have been the second-best effort of the season last year, behind the 7% (1 of 14) against FSU.

    Chomps from the GC Staff & Columnists —

    ANDREW SPIVEY

    — Florida has trending up for both offensive linemen Marcus Dumervil and Issiah Walker after they both visited for Friday Night Lights. Walker was in attendance for Saturday’s game against Miami and walked away saying he was on the verge of committing to Florida. Both of these guys would be huge for Florida as they fill a big need at offensive tackle.

    — Despite the sloppy game, I’m told that Dan Mullen told the team that he was proud of the way they fought and pulled out the victory. Mullen also explained that the team had to clean those mistakes up and make improvements over the next few weeks if they want to accomplish their goals for 2019.

    NICK DE LA TORRE

    So the team is 1-0 but it wasn’t exactly the kind of game we expected. I personally didn’t expect Florida to look that sloppy and there are definitely things to clean up, which the staff and Nick Savage and making sure to do this week.

    Let’s start off with Urban Meyer. I got a text message from a friend before kickoff saying “Urban and Shelley Meyer are at our tailgate and they’re both in Gator gear.” Well I was shocked. Urban and Shelley are both still on the Ohio State payroll. I learned that the Meyer’s paid their own way to get to the game but that they were invited by Scott Stricklin and Dan Mullen. UF also provided the Gator gear. I was told that Urban will likely be inducted into the Ring of Honor. I don’t think the time is right and the source I spoke with says it isn’t now but that at some point in the future “it will feel right and it will get done.”

    On to the team

    Brenton Cox’s waiver has not been processed by the NCAA yet. Don’t expect him to play this year. He’s going to be a good player for the Gators but they’re good this year with Moon and Greenard. How good did those guys look against Miami? Sheesh.

    Kyle Pitts was in a walking boot on Monday and Tuesday. I’m told he’s fine, good thing the Gators are off so he can continue to rest it.

    The team will practice on Wednesday and then Dan Mullen is giving the coaches an the players a 4-day weekend. They won’t have practice or meetings Thursday, Friday or Saturday and won’t get back as a team until team dinner on Sunday night. I was walking with Mullen back to my car after practice and he told me it’s because they took a week away from the guys’ and coaches’ summer vacations when they had to start early. Mullen himself had a trip planned with his family but that may be affected because of the tropical storm.

    That’s all. Last bit I would offer is that UF is 1-0. It wasn’t the way we wanted to see the team win but we can’t change it. Enjoy 1-0, it’s better than 0-1. Yes there are issues on the field but we can only trust that the coaches will coach ’em up and that the players will respond.

    DAVID WUNDERLICH

    Florida’s offensive line had some issues with blocking against Miami’s excellent defensive front. Redshirt freshman Chris Bleich had the roughest night of them all, while Jean Delance was right behind him. Delance got dinged up late in fall camp; hopefully he’ll be better after getting some rest during the open week. The rest of the line was mostly fine, and Brett Heggie only missed one block when not being held by a defensive lineman.

    Aside from the right side of the line, the tight ends didn’t cover themselves in glory with their blocking. Kyle Pitts isn’t there yet, while Lucas Krull was so bad at blocking he almost disappeared in the second half. At one point in the second half, Dan Mullen had Tyrie Cleveland and Trevon Grimes blocking a defensive end from a spot where it’d make sense to put a tight end. Pitts and Krull were co-starters with an OR on the Game 1 depth chart; I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitts stands alone there for Game 2.

    Kemore Gamble got a chance in the third quarter after Pitts got poked in the eye on a play. Gamble was picture perfect on his blocks before Pitts returned to the game a few plays later. Gamble is not as big a weapon in the pass game as Pitts is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got some of Krull’s snaps in the future. Florida’s offense can’t maximize what it has with the lackluster blocking Krull showed on Saturday.

    ERIC FAWCETT

    My favorite time of the year!!

    This has been one of the most exciting summers for Florida basketball in some time with all the player movement including bringing in Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Tyree Appleby (who will have to sit a year) but one thing that has been great recently is being able to see Scottie Lewis and Andrew Nembhard compete in two very different but interesting events. Scottie Lewis got to partake in the Nike Skills Academy alongside NBA players like former Gator Bradley Beal and DeMar DeRozan. He made a major impact on scouts there and I think there will be tons of NBA eyes on the Gators this year. Lewis had a scary fall near the end of the camp that saw him need to leave on a stretcher but don’t worry, it seems to have just been a precaution! Everything I’ve heard suggests there was no concussion or any other injury.

    Nembhard is currently with the Canadian Senior Men’s National Team and playing in a handful of exhibition games has given us a chance to see all that he’s worked on. Let me tell you, he is looking like a brand new player with the offensive flash he displayed. Crossovers, inside out dribbles, through the legs moves, he was really looking like a much flashier offensive talent. The passing is always going to be there for him but I’m expecting him to be much, much more of an offensive threat this year and I can’t wait to see what he does when the season starts.


    That’s all, folks!

    We’ll send you off with our photo of the week below. Until then, see you in your inbox next Wednesday. : )

    Florida Gators linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) as the University of Florida Gators hold on to win 24-20 over the University of Miami Hurricanes at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. August 23rd, 2019. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.

    All the best,
    Your friends at Gator Country
    …where it’s GREAT to be a FLORIDA GATOR!

    Raymond Hines
    Back when I was a wee one I had to decide if I wanted to live dangerously and become a computer hacker or start a website devoted to the Gators. I chose the Gators instead of the daily thrill of knowing my next meal might be at Leavenworth. No regrets, however. The Gators have been and will continue to be my addiction. What makes this so much fun is that the more addicted I become to the Florida Gators, the more fun I have doing innovative things to help bring all the Gator news that is news (and some that isn’t) to Gator fans around the world. Andy Warhol said we all have our 15 minutes of fame. Thanks to Gator Country, I’m working on a half hour. Thanks to an understanding daughter that can’t decide if she’s going to be the female version of Einstein, Miss Universe, President of the United States or a princess, I get to spend my days doing what I’ve done since Gus Garcia and I founded Gator Country back in 1996. Has it really been over a decade and a half now?

    1 COMMENT

    1. Please don’t ever compare anything Franks does to what Tim Tebow again – there is no comparison. Same thing for Mullen to Spurrier. It is a disservice to those two Gator legends, and makes you sound really dumb. If you want to have your man-crush on Franks that it your thing, but spare the rest of us. And can you please explain “the math” on how Franks has thrown two 60+ Td’s this year and two all of last year, but “he doubled his 60+ throws from the past year”? Isn’t 2 = 2, or does that change when you’re wearing orange and blue glasses Franks gave you?