52-17. Nothing feels better than a W. Overall I feel the team took a collective step. The offense was the star of the show. 666 yards of total offense, almost 400 passing and 274 rushing. 17 guys got the ball today. The story of today was youth. Alot of first games, first starts and yes some mistakes were made but a team is being forged and depth (remember that?) Is being developed. Good time to be a Gator. AR The biggest takeaway here was his attitude. He looked relaxed. Like he had fun, performed well and got involved in the run game. 8 of 10 for 240. 2 TD's and a pick. The fade to Hendo was shear beauty. He's learning. Jalen Kitna. Wow. The best you hope for when the backup steps on the field is don't do anything stupid and hand it off. Not how it works with Napier. He took over the same gameplan and went 8 of 12 for 152 and a TD. Looked poised. We may have found a solid QB2. Lingard going 5/45 and a score with the rock didnt surprise me. He took the most of his opportunity. Johnson/Etienne are combo 1/2 but maybe this performance can earn him some situational/change of pace reps. Oline looked very good. Yes it was EWU but still. Recruits taking notice? Diwun Black. Personal fav of mine. I was honestly hoping he would get more PT. 3 tackles, 1 for loss. And he was playing dinged. Pulling for him. So gifted. Pearsall is a beast. Glad he is a Gator. Continues to impress. The young kids made some plays. Defense is still not in sync but its coming. Recruit, develop, repeat. Tackling and penalties are getting a bit better. Not going to be an in season fix here. Torrence impressed. Led the team with 10 tackles. Miller as always was the rock. I will miss him when he leaves. Solid run defender. Quick props to Talkington. They dont know how lucky they are to have him. If he was taller he would be a good FBS QB or backup. 24 of 37 for 250 and a score. They had no run game but they passed well. Gave our secondary fits collecting 258 yds passing. Baby steps people. Napier knows what he is doing and he is doing it right. Go Gators!!!!
It was a fun game where it was never in doubt. Been a while. Lol. EWU didn’t waste time on O getting the ball out quickly, lots of misdirection and our Dline wasn’t making any plays in the backfield for how outmatched they were. It was a little shocking because in warms ups I was saying their Oline looked like a pick up squad after high school.
If it makes you feel better the actual mark of the beast is 616 and it got mistranslated to 666 much later. It might also make you feel better than either number is completely meaningless
Reality: it was a game played on the rest area lawn and not the interstate. MUCH different and it means little except for some "live fire" coaching. O-line and WR groups did the best. A safety or two...maybe. IMO, what was alarming was the lack of stopping their running game when it was sort of a game. Once we got a healthy lead then everything changes. No different than any other game. We are probably TWO years away from being relevant in the SEC. And I said relevant and not competing for a SEC championship. Thanks Dumbo. What an absolute idiot.
Tennessee is doing it year 2, and they were starting from a much lower point than us. It is possible we're relevant next season...But we'll need a strong portal season to fill some gaps, and of course the younger guys need to develop.
You are getting "relevant" mixed up with "second place". It is like having the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West (or in this example, AFC to getting to the SB). Who the heck cares that you are second in the division. Tennessee gets to get a place (or two) higher than us this year. And so, they go to the Outback instead of the Weedwacker. Big whoop.
Only that Samford is in the south and Eastern Washington is in the land of silly-colored playing fields. I would at least consider it the difference between 4-star talent in the northeast compared to the 4-star talent in the deep south. It matters who you compete against on a regular basis.
Still..the only lead eastern Washington had was 3-0...Samford scored what over 50 points..and I was at both games..yesterday while the defense was rough..at least they didn't allow TDs till late and after we were way aheaad..Samford game was nerve wracking
No confusion here, I am just defining it differently than you. Either way, we agree, we're far away from really competing at a meaningful level.
What concerns me is that this D is not progressing. UT no punts. EW barely had a 3 and out and ran up and down the field on us. Their qb had a field day. Past 2 games we're giving up an average of 500 yards. I know BN says we got things to work on, I know he sees the issues but results aren't there. Yes, I know we have a talent issue but we were so much more talented than EW and they went through us like a knife in soft butter. Which leads to this question, is our scheme not fitting the talent? I don't know.
Really enjoyed being at the game Sunday. Nice to see the offense clicking and to see scores of new players getting reps. My only frustration was watching the defense playing so passively. Waiting for running backs to come to them, rather than bringing the heat to the back. Same in the secondary. Waiting for receivers to catch the ball before tackling, rather than challenging for the ball, or better yet, timing the hit as the ball arrives. Passive was my impression, not aggressive. Noticed a lot of tackling up around the shoulder pads leading to missed tackles. That needs to be pointed out in the film room and cleaned up on the practice field. I am left wondering is this the philosophy of our defensive coordinator or the type of players recruited over the past several years. I am hoping for a return to Gator defense that always made the other team nervous, no matter where they were ranked. I am talking nasty, going to make you pay kind of defense. All and all, it was a wonderful afternoon with a lot to be excited about. I am looking forward to see how this plays out.