The Florida Gators finally got their 2014 season kicked off this past Saturday and did so in electrifying fashion. The Gators dominated on both sides of the ball en route to a 65-0 blowout of Eastern Michigan.
Their season opener against Idaho a week ago was canceled due to lightning and tercentennial downpours so the Gator fans had to wait an extra seven long days to see Kurt Roper’s new offense. It was well worth the wait.
The Gators piled up 655 total yards, 396 through the air, and another 259 with the ground game. They possessed the ball for 36 minutes, moved the chains 27 times, and were an impressive 10-for-20 on 3rd down. They averaged 8.4 yards per pass and 6.6 yards per rush.
It was the most points Florida has ever scored under Will Muschamp, which must be a welcome sight for a coach on the hot seat. It was only the second time they have gone over 50 under Muschamp, and had a 30 point for the first half for the second time under the fourth year head coach as well.
It was the most points the Gators have scored since November 22nd 2008 when they defeated the Citadel 70-19. It was the first time they have gone over 60 since September 5th 2009 vs. Charleston Southern.
The highest point total the team was able to achieve in 2013 was 31 against Tennessee. They averaged 18.8 points a game and desperately needed to improve this offense to have this team be in contention.
After reading all of those stats, it appears that no matter how you slice it, it was a very impressive performance for the offense.
But was it really?
Let’s consider the competition for a moment. They were going against the Eastern Michigan Eagles from the MAC for what became their season opener. The Gators were 10-1 all-time against MAC opponents and have won their home opener for the past 25 years.
Eastern Michigan was 2-10 in 2013 and had one of the worst defenses in the country. They gave up an average of 45.2 points per game and over 500 yards of total offense a contest. They were almost equally torched through the air (258.3 yards/game) and the ground (252.6 yards/game) and returned less than half of their defensive starters.
That could be an improvement for them in the long run, but was a hindrance in their second game of the season. The defense is still adjusting to their new defensive coordinator, breaking in new guys, and had to deal with the sweltering Florida heat.
Eastern Michigan was without three starters who were suspended for an off the field incident. They were breaking in a brand new starter at QB, much of the offensive line, and the wide receiver position. They were not able to get anything going against the Gators defense. This put even more strain on their defense, having very little time to rest and forced to protect a short field.
In addition to their huge athletic advantage, the Gators seemed to have everything else tipping in their favor, it was almost a perfect storm that allowed them to put up 65 points.
It may have been the most points I’ve seen from this team in five years, but it still didn’t prove ANYTHING in my eyes.
It was nice to see them reach the endzone and celebrate success for a change. That was something we didn’t see much last year, buexcuse me if I am still a little bit skeptical. Eastern Michigan was 118th in the country in total defense last year and don’t seem to have improved all that much.
Jeff Driskel still didn’t show me a true presence and command of the huddle you would hope to see out of your leader at QB. The wide receivers dropped a couple easy catches. The offense didn’t quite move as quickly as advertised. Perhaps most alarming, the injury bug struck the offense already with left tackle DJ Humphries and tight end Jake McGee both leaving the game. Humphries is expected to miss 2-3 weeks while McGee is already lost for the season.
It’s a long season and they will have to do this against better competition in order to turn me into a believer. They will have that opportunity since Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State are all on the schedule and will be much more difficult to move the ball against.
This is a work in progress and the next step is this week against Kentucky. They are another team that struggled on defense last season, but will still be a step up in competition.
The Gators will have to prove it again this week, then the next, and again the next. It’s nice to get excited about a little offense but let’s all pump the brakes a little bit.
Until they light up the scoreboard against SEC defenses, they haven’t proved ANYTHING to me.
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