“Another one bites the dust.”
Queen said it best as another opponent is in the books for the Florida Gators. After a very close game, the Gators made it out victorious. Starting 2-0 doesn’t look too bad, and the Gators look like a different team. There were many issues, and also positives, to talk about following the game though, on both sides of the ball.
In the times of Muschamp, it could be said that the late-second game ender would’ve turned into a Gator loss. However, under McElwain, the Gators came out on top due to a strong performance by their defense. For this game, the Gators were without one of their defensive superstars, Vernon Hargreaves III, due to an injury obtained during practice. Without his presence though, the Gators survived. The defense racked in two fumbles, one of which closed the game out for the win. With 20 seconds left in the game, and ECU at the Gator 20, it looked like we could be in for Overtime.
However, due to incredible pass defense, the Gators made Kemp (ECU QB) fumble as he looked for an open target. This wasn’t Kemp’s only mistake of the night though. Jalen Tabor, one of the Gator cornerbacks, was able to jump Kemp’s route and intercept it, taking the ball back for a touchdown. Gator fans thank you Kemp for the sloppy play.
On the flip side, the Gator offense looked unstable. We could not get into a rhythm and gave up two turnovers of our own: a fumble and an interception. To go along with that theme, the Gator kicker, Hardin, missed two field goals in the first half. This concerned many Gator fans because going into halftime we only led 10-7. Something had to give, and it did. The Gator offense turned around and was able to put some points on the board in the second half (along with Tabor’s interception return).
Coach McElwain will have a lot to think about, seeing as both his QBs came out strong. Grier performed in the first half, but Harris closed out the game with a strong performance after an initial rocky start with his fumbled handoff. The poise Treon Harris kept, following that fumble, gave McElwain something to consider; Harris turned around the next series with great passes, which resulted in a Kelvin Taylor run for a td.
Overall, it’s safe to say Gator fans have a lot to look forward to. I think the rocky start is only because of the relationships the players are still looking to build with each other. The Florida Gators are young, no question about that, so they will need some time to mesh. The first SEC matchup of ours is actually next week against Kentucky, so hopefully they’ll have all the pieces put together to perform well. I hope to see Harris starting, but only McElwain can decide that outcome. Here’s to a great season of Gator football and to a 2-0 start.
