Week 1 Reactions: Florida loses to Utah 11-24

[DRU2012]

Last year we had 7 penalties for 38 yards to Utah’s 3 for 15. Today we have 9 penalties for 46 yards with 2 minutes to go.

Yep--we are more penalty-ridden than EVER.
Just one of many areas where we have appeared to regressed, WORSENED rather than improved.
Billy and his staff have some SERIOUSLY INTENSE coaching ahead to get things righted for Tennessee--and only a bit of pounding on an over-matched McNeese St back at home to practice it on. My guess is they work on fundamentals of technique and elimination of penalties against that opponent' shoeing a vanilla run/pass attack in that game while in truth planning and practicing SOMETHING ELSE for the Volunteers...At least I HOPE that is their approach. We did little but stink UP the place tonight.

 

[Leakfan12]

Scooter's reaction

 

[DRU2012]

Ouch. The Gators outgained the Utes and still lost, largely due to undisciplined play and creative stupidity. View attachment 814

That is one sadly frustrating game-Stat line.
It doesn't really show how poorly we played in almost every area, only that we were able to move the ball and keep it for long stretches but still fail to score.
The sloppy play, breakdowns in fundamentals, poor game management and return of penalty problems all returned with a vengeance to start the season. As you put it at one point, "We waited 220 days fo.r THIS??!"
Yeah, that about sums it UP.
I too am NOT with the "Fire Billy!" stupidity; it does us no good, none at ALL, in any way on any level!
But he must take responsibility here, and clearly needs to SHAKE THINGS UP somewhat in certain ways.
I think bringing in an aggressive OC to at least HELP with play-calling, brainstorming and in-game clock and times-out management would help him sit ABOVE some of the crazy pressures and cross-currents flying around unasked for over on the sidelines and coming down from the pressbox.
The flaws revealed AND the potential for continued deterioration both must be somehow limited in their ongoing growth and effect on thew development of the squad and its ongoing development this season from here.
We have to somehow retrieve our pride and enthusiasm--the mutual trust and positive excitement of a TEAM on its way UP.
I won't presume to even begin to tell him how.
For the moment, it is barely my place to bitch about the obvious flaws.

 

[DRU2012]

Well, we DO have Scooter, anyway.
He's a piece of WORK--doesn't just FEEL our pain, but SAYS it, LIVES it.

 

[Leakfan12]

Honestly, I don't have hope for this season. If this is how they're going to play against Utah, how are they going to be against Tennessee? Georgia? FSU? They would they luck if they won six games this season. Mertz did have a good game minus the interception but that's was partly on Pearsall. However, the running game needs to be much much better and the pass blocking otherwise Mertz is screwed.

 

[DRU2012]

We don't get this fully turned around, and QUICK, we are in for a long season.

 

[DRU2012]

Honestly, I don't have hope for this season. If this is how they're going to play against Utah, how are they going to be against Tennessee? Georgia? FSU? They would they luck if they won six games this season. Mertz did have a good game minus the interception but that's was partly on Pearsall. However, the running game needs to be much much better and the pass blocking otherwise Mertz is screwed.

Well summed.

 

[DRU2012]

I finally got around to venturing online elsewhere to face (and painfully absorb) the inevitable public reactions to last night's debacle...
And "debacle" it was, no matter WHAT explanations, recriminations and/or rationalizations had to be anticipated (and indeed were realized).
I'm not going to go into or over them all here:
Y'all have either already suffered through them yourselves OR continue to intentionally AVOID them to START with.
I even inflicted Billy's postgame presser upon myself (a certain portion of it, anyway; even having stealed myself for what in fact ensued therein, there was only just so much I could patiently endure)...suffice it to say I got the POINT.
He was gracious in defeat, took personal responsibility, and focused on both negatives and positives.
It was pretty well what I expected, to some extent even dreaded, in some respects--which is why I waited this long to watch it and quietly turned it off before it was done. Again: I caught the gist.
I then turned to skimming some of the "usual suspects", dropping in on the Gator sites I find reliably fair, honest and supportive.
Most took their own cues, attitudes and outlook from that of Napier himself...and though somewhat predictably upbeat and hopeful, the Coach's arguments were neither off-point nor unrealistic:
There WERE some (hopefully) positive signs of improvement and future potential. At the same time, in acknowledging them he made sure that the undeniable return of many previous flaws, bad habits and unfortunate tendencies were not going to be ignored. So these are NOT being glossed over nor swept under the rug.
But it's not enough. I had a pretty good idea that all the above was coming--and its calm reasonability was the very thing I was "dreading".
At some point, it either gets FIXED or you get ANGRY--and when that "some point" comes, well, MAYBE IT'S A GOOD THING!!!
I'm not saying NOW was that time, but if a large part of this isn't fixed SOON maybe it WILL be, ya know? If we hadn't had enough of all that by the end of LAST season we sure as HELL will likely reach that point quite early in this one, don't you think?
Both Coach and supportive commentators talked a lot about the rise of team leaders and the overall assumption of personal responsibility and mutual support--team chemistry's role in a general determination to learn and GROW in the aftermath of game one.
"It's just one game--How the team reacts to it and how that manifests over coming weeks in practice, in the lockerroom, and the next few games is REALLY what will show who and what we are and will BE!"
I have read and heard a LOT of the above this evening, from Coaches, players, commentators and fans as I was finally able to check for reaction, and folks themselves finally were ready to talk about it.
Me, I am still reserving judgement.
We let one get away from us last night, in clumsy and embarrassing fashion--and it happened because we were just not READY...
That manifested in a complete reversion to all our worst old failures and flaws:
Penalties, confusion, missed blocks and missed tackles. I could go on IN DETAIL, but I won't.
There's plenty of that out there already if you need an explicit review. I saw more than enough for myself in stark, unavoidable detail in last night's actual game action.
We were hoping to move beyond a good deal of that with the start of THIS season. Now it'll somehow have to be between last night and two weeks from now against Tennessee. We have 2 weeks of practice, a vanilla-packaged glorified-scrimmage against McNeese, and all that supposed "redoubled efforts and deep soul-searching" between now and then for this staff and team to somehow at least BEGIN to truly, PROPERLY turn things around after ALL.

 

[DRU2012]

But one more thing:
"To HELL with Finebaum, his recent guests, and everyone ELSE out there who are howling happily for Billy Napier's firing--and now all the blind fools among GATOR fans who are jumping ON that rickety wagon...THAT thing isn't heading for "The Promised Land" anytime soon, I assure you!"

 

[Leakfan12]

Speaking of delay reactions, how come we didn't talk about that 70-yard touchdown catch and run on the Utah Thread? That was bad especially with the DB tackling his own teammate.

 

[Leakfan12]

Also, they need to special teams coach.

 

[Escambia94]

My three takeaways:
Good

1. Passing Game. Graham Mertz proved he is a serviceable QB. His 137.0 passer rating is right on par with his historical average. If you remove the interception from the ball bouncing off Ricky Pearsall, his rating is 141.5--a rating we have not seen since Kyle Trask, later Feleipe Franks, and Will Grier. This was the most yardage Mertz has thrown for in his career. His rating of 137 would be his second-best against ranked opponents and fifth-best against Power-5 opponents.
2. Rushing Defense. The Gator defense settled down after giving up the big passing play in the first quarter. That was one of two explosive plays that the Gators gave up all day, and the Gators were also able to limit the normally explosive or grinding Utah rushing attack.
3. Receiver Depth. Rick Pearsall had 8 receptions for 92 yards (11.5 YPC. 40-yard long), Marcus Burke had 2 for 61 (30.5 YPC, 37-yard long), and TE Jonathan Odom had 4 for 46 (11.5 YPC, 23-yard long). Caleb Douglas had an amazing catch in the end zone and finished with 4 catches for 42 yards (10.5 YPC, 19-yard long). Speedster Eugene Wilson had 2 catches for 24 yards (12.0 YPC, 13-yard long). Montrrell Johnson may not have done well rushing, but he did have 41 yards on 3 catches for 13.7 YPC and a long of 17.

Bad

1. Special Teams. The Gator "game changers" once again lived up to their moniker by changing the game negatively for the Gators. The Gators gave a first down to Utah by sending in two special teams players with the same jersey number. They could never get lined up for field goals, including one play where only 8 players were in position out of the 10 on the field. Reminder that there are supposed to be 11 on the field, all in position.
2. Penalties. False starts in scoring position killed the momentum. Dameieon George committed a false start at 1Q/13:30 on 3rd & 1, just moments after Mertz completed two great passes to Kaleil Jackson (8 yards) and Ricky Pearsall (1 yard) getting them to the FLA 23. Dameieon George committed another false start at 1Q/13:53 that may have pushed the Gators just outside of Adam Mihalek's comfort zone in terns of kicking distance.
3. Field Position. Speaking of kicking, Adam Mihalek missed a 31-yard field goal to give Utah the ball on their own 20 leading to the Utes going 80 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown, and Jeremy Crawshaw shanked a punt putting the ball on the FLA 46 and helping Utah with a short field for a 7 play, 14-yard drive leading to a 51-yard field goal.

Outlook

1. The Gators get a reprieve next week against McNeese, which is coming off back-to-back 4-7 seasons. The last SEC team that McNeese played was LSU in 2021, a game that ended in a 7-34 defeat. Trivia: the QB for the McNeese game was Cody Orgeron, son of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.
2. The Gators probably will not face another run-stuffing defense until the end of the month against Kentucky, so this could give Etienne and Johnson some time to get the rushing attack back on track, regardless of the offensive line situation.
3. The Gator defense showed signs of improvement compared to last year.

 

[Escambia94]

Look for the professional breakdowns on Varnadore Films, Gators Breakdown, and Read & React. Some of their breakdowns agree with me:
- The defense performed well giving up only 2 explosive plays (70 yard pass & 27 yard run, 48.5 YPP). They limited the Utes to 175 yards on the other 51 plays (3.43 YPP). Overall the 5.11 YPP defense is still above average.
- Mertz made the correct read on 40 of 44 attempts, completed 31, and only made 2 bad throws. Last year Richardson correctly read maybe 15 of 24 and completed 17—meaning his sheer athleticism overshadowed his sheer stupidity with reading defenses. With Mertz the Gators cannot depend on sheer athleticism to overcome stupidity, and this game was full of creative stupidity thanks to the coaching and undisciplined offensive linemen and tight ends (3 false starts).
- Each of the penalties changed the flow of the game taking away options to throw over the top.

 

[DRU2012]

Speaking of delay reactions, how come we didn't talk about that 70-yard touchdown catch and run on the Utah Thread? That was bad especially with the DB tackling his own teammate.

In my case, it was complete disgust...I saw everything YOU saw and agree completely.
I just was shocked and disappointed to the point of frozen silence.

 

[DRU2012]

Also, they need to special teams coach.

Yikes--do they ever...maybe an OC, a play-caller/QB specialist in particular.

 

[DRU2012]

@Escambia94, @Leakfan12,
Check out Ali Peeks' latest on YouTube:
She sees it clearly and hits all the main points.
She is a Napier fan, so we DIDN'T get any kind of hatchet job--just inescapable FACTS.
She calls it straight, doesn't pull her punches in reaming Napier and his staff on a number of key issues. Things we all saw, and that I have for the most part already covered myself in various places here at GE.
Frankly, SHE is more optimistic in her concluding summation than I feel at this point.
What ABOUT all those crucial penalties, mismanagement of players, plays, clock and game prep? Maybe the biggest point she makes is one that has grown to dominate MY views and resulting concern: "Is it not time and right for Billy to show some FIRE, some emotion?"
Time to get ANGRY! Not for MY sake, but as Ali points out, "For the PLAYERS to see!" They will take their cues from their Coach.
As I too have said in turning the page, "We damn well BETTER get this solved and show a WHOLE lot of change-for-the-better by the Tennessee game in a coupla weeks!"
But what if we DON'T?
THAT question holds a flood of deeper, more worrisomely challenging ones lurking behind it.
I'm not going to give further voice to my fears and frustration, NOT gonna start down that road.
Should this season now get away from us from here there will be plenty of time, far too MUCH, to get lost in the darkness out there--to eventually stumble into whatever hell we create for ourselves. Because it will likely be many YEARS before we find our way OUT of it, whatever it's true nature.
We are now teetering on the edge of total disaster. I don't believe I am overstating it to say that things could go either WAY from here.
At this point, I remain in total support of Billy Napier--because I HAVE to be:
For the sake of our program's present AND future he MUST succeed. If things fall the other way, it will likely be a FULL GENERATION before Florida Football will be able to fully rebuild and RE-RISE!
Either he's the guy we thought he was, the man he says he IS in every WAY, or this whole program is screwed. I cannot possibly put it in starker, more inescapable terms...and I do not believe I am exaggerating.
We are STILL at least a year away from being truly "relevant" again (on a national level) regardless, even if he manages to quickly right-the-ship.
So check out Ali Peeks' latest "A Peek Inside Florida Gators Football" site on YouTube (the latest, first streamed just 3 hours ago) guys, and see if you don't find us all pretty well on the same page with respect to "Where we're at and where we're GOING".

 

[Escambia94]

Speaking of delay reactions, how come we didn't talk about that 70-yard touchdown catch and run on the Utah Thread? That was bad especially with the DB tackling his own teammate.

To be honest, I had just logged onto the computer when that play happened. I have been traveling for work. I think I jumped onto the forum after that score.

 

[Escambia94]

Watch Ali Peeks' latest on YouTube:
She sees it clearly and hits all the main points.
She is a Napier fan, so we DIDN'T get any kind of hatchet job--just inescapable FACTS.
She calls it straight, doesn't pull her punches in reaming Napier and his staff on a number of key issues. Things we all saw and I have for the most part already covered myself in various places here on GE.
Frankly, SHE is more optimistic in her concluding summation than I feel at this point.
What ABOUT all those crucial penalties, mismanagement of players, plays, clock and game prep? Maybe the biggest point she makes is one that has grown to dominate MY views and resulting concern: "Is it not time and right for Billy to show some FIRE, some emotion?"
Time to get ANGRY! Not fir MY sake, but as Ali points out, "For the PLAYERS to see!" They will take their cues from their Coach.
As I too have said in turning the page, "We damn well BETTER get these solved and show a WHOLE lot of change-for-the-better by the Tennessee game in a coupla weeks!"
But what if we DON'T?
THAT question holds a flood of deeper, more worrisomely challenging ones behind it.
I'm not going to give further voice to my fears and frustration, NOT gonna start down that road.
Should this season now get away from us from here there will be plenty of time, far too MUCH, to get lost in the darkness out there, to eventually stumble into whatever hell we create for ourselves. Because it will likely be many YEARS before we find our way OUT of it, whatever it's true nature.
We are now teetering on the edge of total disaster. I don't believe I am overstating it to say that things could go either WAY from here.
At this point, I remain in total support of Billy Napier because I HAVE to be:
For the sake of our program's present AND future he MUST succeed. If things fall the other way, it will likely be a FULL GENERATION before Florida Football will be able to fully rebuild and RE-RISE!
Either he's the guy we thought he was, the man he says he IS in every WAY, or this whole program is screwed. I cannot possibly put it in starker, more inescapable terms...and I do not believe I am exaggerating.
We are STILL at least a year away from being truly "relevant" again (on a national level) even if he manages to quickly right-the-ship.
So check out Ali Peeks' latest "A Peek Inside Florida Gators Football" site on YouTube (the latest, first streamed just 3 hours ago) guys, and see if you don't find us all pretty well on the same page with respect to "Where we're at and where we're GOING".

I am okay with Napier not showing emotion. That is who he is. The last few coaches we had got too emotional on the field and it clouded their judgement.

My complaints against Napier are constrained to clock management really. After looking at each play and the flow of the game I understand that it was penalties that affected play calls; however, I would argue that having a dedicated OC could alleviate those issues.

 

[DRU2012]

I am okay with Napier not showing emotion. That is who he is. The last few coaches we had got too emotional on the field and it clouded their judgement.

My complaints against Napier are constrained to clock management really. After looking at each play and the flow of the game I understand that it was penalties that affected play calls; however, I would argue that having a dedicated OC could alleviate those issues.

Agree with your assessment--especially re the need for a (sympatico) OC.
As to the "show emotion" point, I agree with Ali:
It had already occurred to me that it wasn't so much that somehow it was ME that needed to see some fire from the Coach; It simply began more and more to feel as if SOMETHING was lacking: That it was the PLAYERS, ALL JUST KIDS, after all, who might need to see/feel a sense of urgency now--and that THAT was a cue they'd best get from their COACH.
The most extreme was Muschamp. I TOO quickly tired of his angry over-reactive tirades on the sidelines, as if he wanted everyone there to know "this wasn't MY fault!"
...EVERYONE would know that wasn't THIS Coach's message; he wouldn't have to overDO it: A glare and a short, strongly worded dressing down would be MORE than enough.
Amid all the question marks and missing info, I'm just starting to feel that his endlessly calm demeanor sets Coach up with an opportunity in particular to impress his charges with a change-in-tone that IS waiting there to be exploited.
I don't say this cavalierly; if there is an important POINT to be made, though, there's an opening--a way to strike an impression deep and strong.

 

[Escambia94]

Here is a quick look at the depth chart and the reported injuries. Utah is rather coy with its injury report, and they stated 8 players would be held out for injury for the game against Florida, but I looked through three sources, counted participation statistics, and third party injury reports and only found 4 injuries before the game plus 1 injury in the game. This means that if there really were 8 injuries that 4 of them were not active players.

Offense	#	First Team	#	Second Team	#	Rotational	#	Injured Reserve
WR-X	10	Parks, Money JR	18	Simmons, Emery SR/TR
WR-Z	17	Vele, Devaughn RS JR	4	McClain, Munir RS SR/TR
WR-R	5	Pittman, Mycah RS SR/TR	00	Matthews, Mikey FR
LT	55	Fano, Spencer FR	73	Togiai, Tanoa RS SO
LG	51	Bills, Keaton RS JR	79	Harrison, Alex RS JR
OC	53	Maea, Johnny SR	61	Faaiu, Kolinu'u RS SO
RG	52	Mokofisi, Michael RS SO	68	Kump, Jaren JR
RT	78	Laumea, Sataoa RS JR	59	Kaumatule, Falcon RS JR
TE-Y	87	Yassmin, Thomas RS SR	47	Suguturaga, Miki RS JR
TE-U	14	King, Landen RS SO/TR				80	Kuithe, Brant SR
QB	16	Barnes, Bryson RS JR	13	Johnson, Nate RS FR			7 8	Rising, Cameron RS SR/TR Rose, Brandon Fr
RB	3	Jackson, Ja'Quinden RS SO/TR	2	Bernard, Micah RS JR	1	Jaylon Glover
Defense
LDE	81	O'Toole, Connor JR	00	Fano, Logan RS FR/TR
LDT	58	Tafuna, Junior JR	77	Pepa, Simote RS SO
RDT	57	Tanuvasa, Keanu RS FR	99	Fotu, Tevita RS SO/TR
RDE	7	Fillinger, Van RS JR	83	Elliss, Jonah JR
ROVER	21	Reid, Karene JR	6	Medlock, Justin RS FR
MAC	3	Damuni, Levani RS JR/TR	12	Fotu, Sione SO
STUD	20	Barton, Lander SO	14	Calvert, Josh RS JR/TR
LCB	4	Broughton, JaTravis SR	1	Battle, Miles RS SR/TR
SS	28	Vaki, Sione SO	10	Hall, Johnathan FR
FS	8	Bishop, Cole JR	31	Ritchie, Nate SO			26	Allen, Briton Jr
RCB	5	Vaughn, Zemaiah JR	9	Davis, Elijah RS FR
NB	15	Johnson, Tao RS FR	17	Snowden, Smith FR