Florida Football: Benching Feleipe Franks is a colossal mistake

2. Franks single-handily kept McElwain off the hot seat

Speaking of Hail Marys, Feleipe Franks dominated SportsCenter in Week 3 with his heroic, last second touchdown to stun the Tennessee Volunteers. With the game tied and 0:00 showing on the clock, Franks chucked a 63-yard bomb to Tyrie Cleveland who caught the pass in stride in the endzone.

That touchdown prevented overtime and set Butch Jones’ hot seat ablaze. Has McElwain already forgotten the aftereffects of the loss in that rivalry game? Had Franks not lasered the ball the length of the field in the air, the Vols and Gators are headed to overtime. That would have favored Tennessee who had already ridden starting running back John Kelly to 141 yards and a touchdown that afternoon.

There are only a handful of quarterbacks in college football that could have made that throw. There isn’t another passer on the Gators’ roster that could replicate that feat. Franks has some rust, and hasn’t been particularly incredible in any off his starts this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not worth sticking with.

Florida’s offense is going to mediocre at best this season. They’re going to need a few more explosive plays like that to find the endzone. If you’re behind the eight ball you put in your home run hitter, not your utility guy.