Florida Football: Report card for thrilling Week 0 win over Miami

With Lamical Perine returning at running back, many expected the Gators to have a great running game to complement Franks as a dual threat. They might still have this skill, but it did not show in this game. Perine only had 42 rushing yards, and the longest individual carry was for 16.

The running backs did contribute some in the passing game. The best play was when Perine caught a pass for a touchdown. These plays helped a little, but this running back group has a lot of work to do. If Florida wants to win bigger games down the road, they have to be more balanced on offense. They can’t rely on Franks to win every game. He’s simply not the type of quarterback that can carry the team on his shoulders. He needs some help from the players around him.

I’d also like to see a little more blocking from the running backs. Franks had to scramble a ton in this game, and that’s not all on the offensive line. All in all, the backs need to just live up to the hype.

Part of the problem is the depth behind Perine. This offense will ideally be a tandem at running back once the season progresses, but I’m not sure who the next guy behind Perine is at the moment. No running back had more than three carries past him, and all options had bad games.

In a perfect world, we see two backs lighten the load as Florida gets ready for games against SEC opponents.