Here are 10 takeaways as No. 8 Florida held on to beat Miami 24-20 Saturday night.
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1) Don't draw any hard-and-fast conclusions after one game. No matter if it is Florida or any other team in football - or any other sport for that matter - you want to write any opinion you may have formed in the season opener with a pencil rather than a pen because you will likely have to revisit those thoughts down the road. As Dan Mullen said after the game, Florida not only came away with the win, but there were plenty of teaching moments as well. What you saw out there tonight isn't what you will see when Kentucky comes to town in three weeks.
2) The first quarter fake punt was a thing of beauty. To fake a punt from your own 28 yard line on your first possession of the game after your opponent just drove 56 yards for a field goal is either ballsy or suicidal, or perhaps a combination of both. I don't know if Mullen felt he had to do something that drastic so early in the game because he thought there would be an element of surprise that was great enough to make it worth the risk, or if he was so concerned that handing the ball back to Miami there was going to be incredibly detrimental to his team's goal of winning the game. Calling that play then as well as Mullen's decision to go for it four times on fourth down (converting all four) is the reason why I wouldn't place any blame on calling a pass with the lead and four minutes remaining. He was putting his foot on Miami's throat. Had Franks not thrown a terrible pass, we would all be applauding Mullen's killer instinct.
3) Coulda, woulda, shoulda. When a game isn't decided until there's 12 seconds left on the clock you don't need me to tell you that the outcome could have gone either way. However, did it really have to come down to the end? To start the second quarter Florida is up 7-3 with a first and goal at the Miami 7 yard line when Feleipe Franks and Lamical Perine have a mishap on a handoff. That unforced error cheated the Gators out of 3 or 7 points. Then after the defense holds to give UF favorable field position at the UM 40, on the second play of the drive, after what looked like some confusion on the play, Malik Davis fumbles the ball without being touched. Had UF simply kicked a field goal on that possession, you are looking at a Florida lead of anywhere from 13-3 or 17-3 and all of the momentum. Does the defense settle in and play with more passion with a bigger lead? Who knows because of course it didn't happen that way.
4) Florida's offensive line is better than we thought. Coming into the game, the thought was that the only way the Gators can possibly lose the game is if UF were to bes manhandled up-front. Not only didn't that happen, the line more than held their own. Yes, there weren't many holes opened in the running game, but they performed much better than expected pass blocking against one of the top 2-3 defensive front sevens the Gators will face this season. This unit, if it stays healthy, is only going to get better, not worse, as the season progresses. John Hevesy to the rescue once again.
5) Florida’s quick strike ability is real. Where Florida found its most success was going down the field. With the offensive line giving him more time than expected, Franks was able to take advantage of it with a couple of vertical strikes. His pass to Josh Hammond was a thing of beauty as was Kadarius Toney taking a screen pass to the house. Those two second quarter turnovers deprived Florida of a few plays, but still Mullen got away from what should be the team strength, the big play ability of the wide outs. If it takes throwing the ball 30-40 times to win the game, then forget that run first mentality and do what you have to do.
6) Which brings us to the biggest issue Florida faces offensively. No, as is stated above, it isn't the offensive line. They played surprisingly well. The issue is Mullen still doesn't fully trust Franks - and for good reason. Franks is what he is. He has some talent and ability, but he makes too many poor decisions to be fully relied upon. That was never more obvious than when Mullen called for a quarterback keeper on a third and goal play from the 8 yard line. That was a signal as clear as can be that he didn't trust Franks not to put the team in a bad situation. And that kind of makes the decision to call the pass with four minutes to go and the lead a bit more peculiar. That terrible throw and decision from Franks is exactly what Mullen feared earlier when he called the keeper.
7) The sack happy defensive line saved the game. It is hard to imagine a scenario where you have sacked an opposing quarterback 10 times, while only giving up one sack yourself, and the game is still in doubt with under 30 seconds to go. However that is exactly what took place Saturday night. Make no mistake about it there was no padding of the stats, go back and rewatch the game, all 10 sacks were needed, and needed badly. Had Florida ended up with either eight or nine sacks, that would have meant one more positive play by UM, and UF likely loses the game. Jabari Zuniga and Jonathan Greenard were obvious terrors up front, but give Jeremiah Moon and Kyree Campbell their due as well.
8) One of the most overlooked aspects of Florida's success has been having their starting wide receivers as their special teams gunners. Look around football and you don't see that all that much, or if all. Remember back to the impact Tyrie Cleveland made last year and then what Van Jefferson did on special teams tonight. In the third quarter he basically had the 'fair catch' on the punt to down Miami at the five and then later, he scooped up the muffed punt by Jeff Thomas. Think about it, who on the team has the best hands and most speed? Wide outs and defensive backs. Does a player from another position make the recovery Jefferson with his hands while on the move? I doubt it. Another player probably tries to fall on the ball and we saw how those plays ended up last night. You don't really want the players in your secondary running full speed 50-60 yards to cover a punt and then going out and playing defense right away. However, receivers, they have probably the best hands and after they run down they are taking a seat on the bench. This idea really is one of the best Mullen and Company have had.
9) Miami wanted it more. On paper, from top to bottom, Florida is the better team. To me at least, that isn't even debatable. However, from missed tackle after missed tackle to bone-headed play after bone-headed play, to the inability to come up with fumbles, to the general overall approach, Miami brought the juice, while Florida was in a funk. Kirk Herbstreit said on the broadcast that Mullen attempted the fake punt when he did to energize his team. Why do you need to energize your team during the first quarter of a rivalry game? I don't know if Florida felt like they were so superior that they were going to walk over Miami and thus didn't have their edge, but for whatever reason it wasn't there tonight. Missed tackles can be because of bad technique, or angles, but in a lot of cases it comes down to the issue of who wants it more. Do you want to put the ball carrier on his ass more than he wants to stay on his feet? In many cases tonight the answer for Florida was no. Much like in basketball - the team with the big rebounding edge or the one that gets the most loose balls is the team that is willing to hustle, the team who wants it more. The same can be said about tackling. It is as much effort and heart as it is form. And Florida was lacking in it here in the opener.
10) That was hard to watch, but it will get better. Lets be truthful here, that was just terrible game play. I don't know if I have ever seen such horrible execution by two teams in all the years I have covered the Gators. It was as if they were both trying not to win. You are talking about 225-yards in accepted penalties and just atrocious play. The good news is, the most improvement you will see in a season is from game one to game two, Throw in a bye week to boot - combined with a weak second game opponent - and I’m betting those attending the home opener in two weeks will have plenty to smile about.
