Florida Football: 3 takeaways from season-opening rivalry win over Miami
By Kyle Grondin
Florida football and Miami opened up the college football 150 year season in Week 0. What did we learn from the Gators’ win?
With it being the first game of the season, mistakes and sloppy play were to be expected. Both teams struggled to move the ball at times, and with Miami starting a freshman quarterback, opening the season against a strong Florida defense meant growing pains.
In the end, however, Florida came up victorious in a tightly contested matchup, keeping its playoff hopes alive. Here are three takeaways from the opening Week 0 matchup.
3. Mistakes nearly cost the Gators
The Gators came into the season with high expectations in Dan Mullen’s second season, and while Florida did hold on to win the game, mistakes nearly derailed its whole season before it began.
Let’s start with the turnovers. The two missed exchanges cost Florida points, as one was in the red zone and the other in Miami territory. If these exchanges were smooth, the game is very different story, as I thought Florida was the more talented team overall.
Then there were two interceptions from Florida’s Feleipe Franks. Miami is known for creating turnovers, the second interception was inexplicable, as he threw right into triple coverage. For my preview to the game, I said if Franks can take care of the ball like he did at the end of the year, that Florida could have a special season. He’ll have to do better in the future weeks.
Not only turnovers, but the awful penalties the Gators took nearly cost them the game. The first was at the beginning of the fourth, when Miami committed a holding penalty after converting on a fake field goal attempt, driving them out further back and forcing a longer kick.
Florida defender James Houston IV inexplicably hit the kicker late on the play, giving the Hurricanes an automatic first down. The second miscue was back-to-back pass interference plays, one on a 4th-and-34, giving the Hurricanes life late in the game. Better offenses will take advantage of these mistakes and Florida will have to stay more disciplined.