The Florida Gators will officially put the stamp on everything about the Will Muschamp era when they square off against East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl. Since the dismissal of the former head coach at the end of the regular season, the Gators have faced a whirlwind of emotion and an influx of change.
BIRMINGHAM BOWL PREVIEW
Jim McElwain was named the new head football coach earlier this month after three successful seasons as the head man at Colorado State and prior success as offensive coordinator of the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. It was announced that he would NOT coach the team in the bowl game, instead immediately hitting the recruiting trail to try and make up valuable ground on the hole dug by Muschamp’s staff before the
month long dead period began.
The Gators have spent the past few weeks being led by defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. Durkin is a Muschamp disciple and shares many of the same philosophies on the game of football. What makes things even more awkward is that McElwain announced that neither Durkin nor offensive coordinator Kurt Roper would be retained. In fact, he’s already named a new defensive coordinator, hiring Geoff Collins from Mississippi State. Since then we have learned that Durkin is on his way to Michigan to work on Jim Harbaugh’s new staff as defensive coordinator after this game.
It seems like everyone coaching in this game is being pulled in a different direction and may have different priorities than needed to successfully get the job done. Thus the Gators are forced to prepare for this game undoubtedly feeling like they are stuck in mud. They are preparing the old way, when they know change is coming in a matter of days. It’s like playing with your old broken toys on Chrismas Eve knowing that your shiny new ones are wrapped under the tree waiting to be enjoyed in the morning and these old ones will just be a distant
memory.
The transition has to be awkward but the players must remain focused and put their best effort forward in preparation for the game. It’s already been proven that nobody in the country is unbeatable and this game is an audition at almost every position going into next season. Coach McElwain is going to use the practices as well as the performances in the Birmingham Bowl itself to grade his players going into spring
practice and to give himself an idea of what he’s got to work with.
No position battle going into next spring will be bigger than at quarterback. Former starter Jeff Driskel is expected to announce he is transferring for his senior season shortly after this game. Current starter Treon Harris is just a freshman with little experience under his belt. He has played adequately, but will need to show improvement in this game.
On the other side of the field the Gators need to be ready to defend one of the nation’s most underrated quarterbacks in Shane Carden. The senior has thrown for over 4300 yards (his 2nd straight 4,000+ passing yard season), is completing 65% of his passes, and has a 28 to 8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. ECU’s 367 passing yards per game was good for 3rd in the nation during the regular season. Harris has fellow freshmen and highly touted Will Grier who redshirted this year, ready to go and push him for the starting job heading into 2015 but he will have an even stiffer test trying to out duel Carden in this matchup.
Carden has thrown for 11,564 passing yards and 84 touchdowns in his career. Carden is a very capable of lighting up the scoreboard with weapons like Justin Hardy and Cam Worley on the outside. The duo has gone for 2,220 receiving yards and accounted for 12 touchdowns. It should be a tremendous match-up with the Gator secondary and a fun duel of two quarterbacks at very different portions of their careers.
One Florida Gator running back in particular will also be looking to showcase his explosiveness, ability to read the defense, and production carrying the ball as the teams leading rusher Matt Jones plays his final game for Florida. The junior announced he will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft. This will also give backups Kelvin Taylor and Brandon Powell plenty of motivation to use all of their opportunities to breakout and prove they can carry the load for the rushing attack heading into next season. Powell has been a dangerous pass catcher out of the backfield while Taylor has shown home run ability in limited carries this season.
The Pirates also have a formidable rushing attack averaging 165 yards per game on the ground. Breon Allen carries most of the load with Chris Hairston spelling him with a good deal of success. The Gator front seven will be the most talented unit East Carolina has seen all season. The offensive line will have their hands full trying to open up holes for the backs and holding their pass blocks long enough for Carden to try and attack a very stingy Gator secondary.
At the wide receiver position, the Gators will be saying an emotional goodbye to sixth year senior Quinton Dunbar. It was announced Dunbar would not play in the game, but it has been his most productive season of his career in 2014 and will be a big loss for an already struggling offense. The receiving core will be playing for Dunbar and trying to send their teammate out a winner. Demarcus Robinson proved himself to
be one of the best receivers in the country as he hauled in seven touchdowns and raked up more than 775 receiving yards. He will be the number one man not only in this game, but heading into 2015 as well.
The team will be looking for a second and third option to step up in this game and catch the eye of coach McElwain. Expect Ahmad Fullwood, C.J. Worton, Latroy Pittman, Valdez Showers, and Chris Thompson to all
be in the mix. The tight end position has been held down by Burton and Westbrook this season but has been a problem ever since Virginia transfer Jake McGee went down in the opener. Expect the return of McGee as well as the addition of newly announced three-star tight end commit Daniel Imatorbhebhe to help.
The matchup of the day will be how the Gator secondary matches up with East Carolina’s star wide receiver Justin Hardy. Hardy has 110 catches on the season for just over 1300 yards and nine touchdowns. He will likely draw Vernon Hargreaves III for most of the day and it should be a great battle of two guys among the very best at their position in the country.
The Florida offensive line will remain largely intact. D.J. Humphries may declare for the NFL Draft if he has a good Birmingham Bowl and grades out well. However, he struggled for much of this season and won’t be a huge loss. McElwain will start to build this offensive line into a bigger, tougher, and badder line build in his vision. East Carolina’s offensive line has been one of their strengths, giving Carden plenty of time to carve up opposing defenses. This will be the toughest test for the unit and a chance for them to really shine.
The Gator defensive line will get a huge loss with Dante Fowler Jr. bolting for the NFL Draft. He will be the one to keep an eye on while Florida is on defense in this game. He is a treat to watch and will likely spend a good portion of the afternoon in the ECU backfield. He could provide a highlight reel moment. Bryan Cox Jr. and Darius Cummings also often times jump off the screen with their penetration into the backfield. They will be the anchors for the Gators next season and could start that transition in this one with a big game.
East Carolina will need to get pressure with their front seven on Harris. If the Pirates are able to hit the freshmen early and get him looking around for pressure instead of going through his reads, they have the ability to keep the Gator offense in check. The ECU offense may need a few series to solve the Gator defense and will need their own defense to keep a struggling Gator offense off the scoreboard. Getting pressure on the quarterback will be imperative for their success.
The Gators will also need to create pressure. They will try to do so with their front four and allow their linebackers to help in coverage. The linebackers have played well all season led by Antonio Morrison, Neron Ball, and Michael Taylor. These guys are athletic and smart. They fly around the field and compliment a very strong secondary well.
The secondary is anchored by All-American Hargreaves III. He will blanket ECU’s top receiver and will be the captain of this defense in 2015. The future also looks bright for this Gator secondary with Duke
Dawson, Jalen Tabor, Marcus Maye, and a slew of other freshmen defensive backs all hungry to hit the field.
East Carolina will also be coming into this game with a lot to prove. The Pirates had an early season victory over Virginia Tech the week after the Hokies beat Ohio State by 14 in the Horesehoe. That victory put the Pirates into the AP Top 25 and suddenly had them being talked about as contenders in the American Athletic Conference. It turned out that the Hokies weren’t that good and East Carolina would drop a couple
close games shortly after, including a heart breaker to South Carolina.
The Pirates want to prove that their wins over Virginia Tech and North Carolina are good wins. They want to come out and play like that team and not the one that lost 20-10 at Temple. East Carolina has been lobbying for more games against the Power Five teams in the Carolinas. It may not be a team from their home state, but they certainly have a showcase game they were looking for. Though not the Gators of old, a win over Florida would be huge for ECU. It would also be huge heading into the week two rematch of these two teams next season. Yes,
you read that right. These two teams are also scheduled to play in week two in 2015 at the Swamp.
The game gives the Gators a chance to finish the season with a winning record as they should be equally as motivated to perform. At 6-5, the Gators need a win against the Pirates to finish with a winning season and finally finish wiping away the nightmare that was the 4-8 season of 2013. They also want to all perform their best to make a good first impression on their incoming head coach. Coach McElwain has all the game tapes, but this will be his first chance to see these players live.
The SEC has had a tough bowl season thus far with just a 6-5 record. A win by the Gators would lock up a winning record for the conference and give the SEC East a perfect 5-0 bowl season.
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Bowl logo image courtesy of Birmingham Bowl.
