The convergence of a rival opponent, overly high social media fueled fan expectations, and an unquestionably poor performance, made for a very disappointing opening season game for the Gators.
Teams like Florida often launch the season with a soft first game opponent. This hasn’t been a luxury Billy Napier has enjoyed. In all three of his years at Florida, the Gators have begun with a ranked opponent in week one. This dynamic is especially tough in the transfer portal era as there is often great uncertainty around teams, like Miami, with revamped rosters. Whatever Florida prepared to see must not have been what they saw on Saturday.
The most critical issue was Florida’s inability to get any real pressure on Cam Ward. The Gators were only able to pressure him on 9 of 36 pass attempts. Ward typically had as many as four seconds in a clean pocket to wait for receivers to clear coverages. This is a fatal flaw against a team with an experienced QB and talented receivers. I presume the Florida game plan was to have 7 or 8 in coverage rather than bringing blitzes. Clearly, it didn't work.
Mario Cristobal was an all-conference offensive tackle as a collegian and his coaching path came through a career as an offensive line coach prior to becoming a head coach. His Canes controlled their offensive line of scrimmage all day with a solid run game and superlative pass protection.
Of their 69 offensive plays, Miami only faced 10 third downs (converting 5). They punted just once in each half. Conversely, Florida ran only 56 offensive plays and converted just one of their 9 third downs. Florida’s average third down play had a need of 8.7 yards to convert. Their only successful third down conversion was a DJ Lagway 16 yard scramble on a third and 12.
The most critical juncture in this game was the last three minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half. Miami turned a 7 point lead into a 21 point lead with quick scores to both end and begin the halves.
It was certainly a frustrating and disappointing day for Gator nation. A disgruntled friend asked me if I saw anything for Gator fans to be happy about. Here are a few. Florida’s special teams were good. They converted all kicks, netted +47 average on punts, and averaged 14 on punt returns. The Gators had only two penalties all day. Both extended scoring drives for Miami, but limiting the overall number of penalties to 2 is progress. Montrell Johnson’s 71 yard touchdown run in the first half was an explosive scoring play. Florida didn’t have many long plays last year and none that went for that distance.
Samford next week is a chance to regain composure and balance.