Gators-FAU post-game notes

[travisduncan]

Here's a selection of post game notes from the Gators impressive victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

-With Will Muschamp’s inaugural victory as a head coach, UF is now 17-6 in 23 occasions when a head coach makes his UF debut.

-Chris Rainey scored each of his three touchdowns three different ways – 14-yard rushing TD, 14-yard receiving TD and a 22-yard blocked punt return for a TD – becoming the first Florida player since at least 1988 to score three touchdowns in a single game three different ways.

-Florida racked up a total of 30 first downs on opening night, compared to FAU’s 11. The Gators additionally totaled 468 yards of offense, while Florida’s defense held the Owls to 137 yards total, including limiting FAU to 2-for-13 on third downs.

- For the second time since 2005, Florida wore the color combination of orange jerseys and white pants. The Gators are now 1-1 wearing the combination since ’05. The last time Florida donned Orange on White was a 33-29 loss to LSU Oct. 9, 2010.

-Florida forced FAU to three-and-out situations on four of its five possessions in the first half. Florida did not surrender a first down in until 3:18 in the second quarter.

-Freshmen De’Ante (Pop) Saunders (S) and Marcus Roberson (CB) both started in the secondary on defense Saturday, becoming the first true freshmen duo to start in the secondary in a season opener. The last time two true freshmen started in the season opener on defense was 2007 when both Brandon Hicks and Jerimy Finch started at linebacker.

Via UF Communications.

 

[Escambia94]

Here are some of the notes I took from my own blog. First, discussion on each Florida drive:

• 3-0 at 8:28 of 1Q. Scoring drive 12 plays, 47 yards, 6:32. 0:32 per play, 3.92 YPP. First points of the Muschamp Era scored by PK Caleb Sturgis. Impressive opening drive. Lot of swing passes into the flats and the orange jerseys remind me of the old Wayne Peace days.
• 10-0, good guys at 6:10 of 1Q. 12 plays, 67 YDS, 3:29. I just don't buy the "FAU gave us a soft zone so we played short-ball" excuse. I am beginning to think that Brantley just cannot read the defense and exploit this soft zone. LSU and FSU will both give the same look. If Florida cannot beat FAU's soft zone, they will not be able to beat LSU or FSU soft zone.
• 17-0, Florida at 14:52 of 2Q. 3 plays, 63 yards, 1:01. Demps and Rainey are studs. Great blocking support.
• 23-0 at 8:34 of 2Q. 9 plays, 91 yards, 4:35. Great things happen when you use Deonte Thompson correctly, and feed the ball to Rainey.
• 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:38, interception. That was a difficult pass to thrust onto a young QB, but the Gator Nation expected him to make some magic happen.
• 1 play, interception. Dammit, Brantley!
• Punt block recovered and returned for TD. 31-3 Florida. 10:13 of 3Q. Rainey = stud. 'Nuff said.
• 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:09, intercepted in the end zone. 0:24 per play, 8 YPP. Dammit, Brantley!
• 37-3 Florida at 11:18 of 4Q. 8 plays, 78 YDS, 3:23. Demps is a stud.
• 10 plays, 52 yards, 6:15 for a field goal. Caleb Sturgis closes the day's scoring with a nice field goal.

- Brantley 21/30 (70%), 229 YDS, 7.6 YPA, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3.33% TD%, 6.66 INT%, 131.8 RAT
- Driskel 4/6 (67%), 42 YDS, 7.0 YPA, 0 TD, 1 INT, 16.66% INT%, 92.13 RAT, 2 RUSH/ 8 YDS, 4 YPC.
- Rainey 11/79 7.2 YPC 1 TD, 16 LG
- Demps 12/105 8.8 YPC, 2 TD, 35 LG
- Rainey 6 REC, 67 YDS, 11.2 YPC, 1 TD, 19 LG
- Thompson 3 REC, 34 YDS, 11.3 YPC, 17 LG
Florida
- 30 1st downs
- 70% 1st Down efficiency
- 468 YDS TOT
- 271 YDS passing, 25/36 (58.3%), 1 TD, 3 INT, 7.52 YPA, 2.77% TD%, 8.33% INT%, 114 RAT
- 197 YDS RUSH, 33 ATT, 6.0 YPR
- +3 TO ratio
- 31:21 TOP, 0:27 per play, 6.78 YPP, 36/33 pass/run
DISCUSSION
1. Quarterbacks – B+. Last year, Brantley started year of the Post-Tebow Era by going 17/25 (68%) for 113 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT, 132.37 RAT. That did little to erase the memory of the first Tim Tebow start, which was 13/17 (76.4%) for 300 YDS, 17.65 YPA, 3 TD, 0 INT, 282.9 RAT. If it were not for the two interceptions from Brantley, his output today would have been a respectable 156.12. This could be a reality check that Brantley is good, but he will never live up to the high standards set by Mr. Tebow. Jeff Driskel was expected to be the next coming of Tim Tebow, but even without that interception his rating would only be 125.47. All this was against a rather weak defense, so be careful with the “Florida is back” commentary. Whomever is under center at Florida needs to throw the ball downfield more and not throw so many interceptions. The QB will need to pick apart defenses, rather than simply taking what a weak defense dictates.
2. Running backs – A+. Wow! Shake and Bake really like the I-formation. Demps likes to go north-south, like Hershel Walker, and Rainey likes to be shifty, like Percy Harvin. Put those two in the same backfield, and I see great things happening. Both average over 7 yards per carry. Rainey has shown that he can run between the tackles and bounce off a few defenders. Demps is so fast that he runs right past the defenders. Both have great vision in the I-formation being 7 yards behind the center, versus 5 yards back in the spread.
3. Wide receiver – B. This is looking to be a run-oriented offense. None of the receivers will reach 100 yards per game like this, but they block very well. Then again, it is possible that Charlie Weis was holding back his offensive playbook so he can unleash it later. We will find out soon enough.
4. Offensive line – A. Wow! These guys have come together nicely. They really create some good holes for the scatbacks to run through. These guys need to stay healthy, for we have little depth here.
5. Defensive line – A+. ****! These guys are good! Not only do they manhandle the opposing OL, they also disrupt the middle of the trenches and seal the edges. My only concern is how they transition to pass coverage.
6. Secondary – C. I am a little concerned that the secondary did not shut anybody down, even a weak opponent. Lack of depth and experience are killing us here. On several plays, the corners and safeties were trying to hit hard instead of make the tackle.
7. Special teams – B-. The punter is the MVP here. Why? We never had to use him! Just kidding. Welcome back, Caleb Sturgis! We missed you! Caleb was 2/2 on FGs, 5/5 on XPs for 11 points with a long of 51 YDS. I am not very happy with the punt and kick coverage. On kickoff and punt returns, it looks like the plan is to let Rainey return it, or down it there. When kicking and punting, it appears that we do not care if the other team makes 30-yard returns. No rush on the kicker/punter, and a lackadaisical coverage scheme. Maybe this is to prevent injuries to our playmakers???
8. Overall – B. Yes, the Gators won. They played like the #22 team in America against a vastly overmatched FAU team. Compared to last year, this is an A+. The team shows flashes of brilliance, but enough weaknesses to make me believe they will finish the season around the #20 position. This team looks better than last year, so there is a possibility of finishing around #15. There is a lot of football to be played before anyone can proclaim that the Gators are back to their former glory, but they appear to be well on their way. Go Gators!