Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some games are best written about in narrative form. Florida's 52-17 victory over Eastern Washington on Sunday afternoon was not one of them in this slice of internet real estate.

So many Gators played (81), so many yards gained (1,077), and so many would-be hurdlers denied (1), in this case Eagles kickoff returner Efton Chism III by Gators receiver Ja'Quavion Fraziars in the second quarter.

The Gators did what they had to do against the overmatched Eagles from Big Sky Country. They not only beat them, but they beat them badly. Convincingly. Definitively. Anything less would have caused at least a few onlookers to curse like a sailor right after leaving church on Sunday morning. Thank you, Gators, for saving them from poor manners and for not embarrassing themselves in front of their neighbors at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on a splendid afternoon.

Instead of the usual, we're going to use this space to rehash the most interesting developments from the first Sunday game the Gators have played since January 1977.

Kickoff time has arrived:
  1. Hard to believe in retrospect, but the Gators actually trailed 3-0. That changed as soon as Anthony Richardson dropped back for his first pass of the game, a 75-yard scoring strike to Justin Shorter. Richardson's throw on the Gators' first play from scrimmage traveled 56 yards in the air and Shorter caught it in perfect stride.

"That's a play we've carried for a couple [of] weeks now. It really looked good in practice, and the coverage variables fit this week,'' UF head coach Billy Napier said. "Anthony likes it, and we had two good receivers running routes there. Good protection and certainly a good route. It's great to see Shorter continue to perform at a high level. He's developing nicely."

The play showcased Richardson's powerful right arm.
  2. Since we're talking about quarterbacks, Gators fans got their first glimpse of redshirt freshman Jalen Kitna in action. Kitna entered the game on Florida's first drive of the second quarter when Richardson was tackled low on a pass to Xzavier Henderson and got up slow.

Kitna replaced Richardson for a few plays and completed a 22-yard pass to Ricky Pearsall on his first collegiate pass. Kitna handled Sunday's assignment like a veteran, completing 8 of 12 for 152 yards and a touchdown. The best part of Kitna's performance for the Gators is that with backup Jack Miller III still nursing a thumb injury, Kitna got some experience and didn't wilt.

Miller did not dress for Sunday's game but was listed as questionable after being ruled out the first four games. With Miller close to returning and Kitna showing significant improvement, Napier has more confidence should Richardson go down for a longer stretch.

"The beautiful thing about today is he got to play,'' Napier said. "He's going to have more confidence, and he's going to be able to learn from this experience. He's going to realize that the hard work he's being doing paid off. I'm proud of Jalen. He stepped up in a major way for our team."
  3. A glance at the final game book reveals a key development for the Gators other than the final score: they played a slew of young players in the 35-point win.

Besides Kitna showing up, receiver Daejon Reynolds caught two passes for 74 yards; former quarterback-turned-receiver Caleb Douglas caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Kitna on a beautifully thrown pass; Kahleil Jackson made a highlight-worthy diving catch; running back Lorenzo Lingard rushed for 45 yards and his first touchdown at Florida; freshman kick Trey Smack booted six kickoffs into the end zone in his collegiate debut; linebacker Shemar James collected eight tackles; safety Kamari Wilson made five tackles in his first career start; redshirt sophomore defensive back Jaydon Hill, after missing last season and the first four games, returned to action with four tackles, including a key stop on fourth-and-1 that turned the ball over on downs on EWU's second drive of the game.

In all, 81 of Florida's 112 players dressed Sunday got into the game, an important development with six consecutive SEC games coming up that will determine if Napier's first season is a success on the field.

"It's a big deal,'' Napier said. "These are opportunities that you need. I think 17 players touched the ball today on offense. A lot of young players out there and some veteran players that have been around here for a while that got opportunities and I think that's healthy in the locker room."
  4. When the Eagles marched down the field on their first two drives, you wondered what kind of day it was going to be. Florida fans did not want to see a repeat of last season's 70-52 win over FCS-classified Samford. Hill's stop of EWU running back Justice Jackson on fourth-and-1 from Florida's 18 provided the momentum shift the Gators needed. UF scored 52 consecutive points after EWU took a 3-0 lead.

Florida's defensive performance was far from dominant. The Eagles gained 411 yards, picked up 27 first downs and converted 8 of 18 third-down opportunities. In the end, the win far outweighed whatever the defense didn't do against the undermanned Eagles.

"We did what we needed to get them off the field,'' Napier said. "They got through that opening script and then after that we settled down and played pretty good, I thought. I think we're going to see we could have done some things better — better leverage, played with a little tighter coverage, a little better gap integrity at times. I think we're very much a work in progress there."
  5. In what was a difficult week for the state due to Hurricane Ian, the Gators managed the unusual circumstances with success. Napier altered the team's practice plans on Thursday as Ian cut across Florida, allowing the players time to check in with their families and the coaching staff to turn their attention to Missouri, this week's opponent.

Meanwhile, playing on a Sunday after having Saturday off due to the game being pushed back 24 hours didn't hamper the Gators.

"Think about what you're walking into here,'' Napier said. "It's Sunday, 12 noon, an FCS opponent on the other side of the country. Do you have enough maturity to show up and play? Do you play fast and physical early and executive at a high level? I thought we did that."

Florida (3-2, 0-2) hosts Missouri (2-3) on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in another noon start. The Tigers put a scare into No. 1-ranked Georgia on Saturday, losing 26-22 after entering the fourth quarter with a 19-12 lead.
  QUOTES OF NOTE

"It happened so fast it was like speed dating." — Gators receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman, a Minneapolis native, on his transfer to Florida from Independence (Kan.) Community College
 
"It was gonna be crazy. I don't think y'all ready. Y'all ain't ready. When it does come, y'all ain't ready. I'll tell you that now." — Gators defensive tackle Tyreak Sapp on the touchdown dance he envisioned trying to pick up a loose ball that EWU eventually recovered
 
"That was a different outfit on our end than we played in Eugene. There was more fight, more want-to, more plays made." — EWU head coach Aaron Best on his team's improvement since losing 70-14 at Oregon