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September 7, 2026 — 5 Comments

From Where I Sit- Florida Atlantic University at Florida- September 5, 2026

The Swamp was sold-out and over 90,000 fans were rocking for the Gators 2026 season opener against the Florida Atlantic Owls. Special stadium lighting effects and a really cool halftime drone show punctuated the highly anticipated kickoff for the Jon Sumrall era. The atmosphere and the game outcome both met the characteristically high expectations of Florida’s fanbase. Things are good in the Gator Nation.

I’m rarely as high in the good times or as low in the bad times as others and today is no exception. There is certainly legitimate cause for optimism and enthusiasm but realists like me will maintain perspective by remembering that Billy Napier’s debut at Florida was a 29-26 upset of #7 ranked Utah and Jim McElwain’s tenure began with a 61-13 win. Anyone except those with short memories or revisionist history inclinations, will acknowledge the Florida fanbase was similarly “all in” then, too. Perhaps this is different? Sumrall’s attitude and approach are certainly different, but this is still SEC football where the stakes, the challenges, and the pressure are off the scale. Next Saturday is another tune up and then things get real. By the end of September (after the Auburn and Ole Miss games), we’ll have the sample we need to draw better conclusions and set realistic expectations. Right now, for me, a 7-5 season is still the realistic tipping point.

Turning back to this week’s outcome, I was pleased with the Gator’s overall effort, focus, and poise. There were many things to like. The quarterbacks looked comfortable and ran the offense well. Jadon Baugh reminded us why he’s an NFL caliber running back. On top of his immense talent, he plays every play with great effort. Florida’s receivers are good and committed downfield blockers. They don’t take running plays off and this contributed to the Gators having ten running plays that went for double digit yardage. Offensive line play was physical and coordinated. Florida had over 300 rushing yards and 7.5 yards per carry (excluding the 20-yard loss on the bad snap). To succeed in the SEC, Florida has to be able to run the ball.

The Florida defense was adequate this week. FAU isn’t easy to defend. They play fast and use multiple sets. In this type arrangement, defenses can get confused and/or fatigued and give up big plays. The Owls gained plenty of yards (396), but it took them 90 offensive snaps. The Gator’s defensive plan was to play relatively safe on the backend and contain FAU’s offense. The Owls were able to move the ball, but had only two plays for greater than 14 yards. FAU’s 12 possessions resulted in three turnovers, three punts, one failed 4th down attempt, and the end of each half. Just three scoring drives of the 12 possessions.

There wasn’t much to assess in terms of special teams play. Placekicking was excellent with all (9) extra points and (53 yard) field goal attempts made. Florida didn’t punt at all and only one of the Gator’s ten kickoffs was returned (to the 22-yard line).

There are always things that need improvement. The most noticeable, this week, was the lack of consistent defensive pressure on the quarterback. This comes, though, with an important caveat. FAU gets the ball out to the perimeter very quickly and the defensive line has to get out there and help close off inside cut backs quickly. Florida also didn’t blitz linebackers and defensive backs at all. The game plan was disciplined assignment football and not a “hair on fire” approach. A second area for attention was the number of bad center snaps. Harrison Moore had a handful of bad snaps (one completely unreachable). Moore is a quality center on the Rimington Trophy watch list. I don’t expect this to be a continuing concern.

This type game doesn’t typically expose coaching confusion and/or clock management issues and it didn’t. The staff looked to have created and executed a good game plan for addressing the challenges FAU creates. The Gators had no delay of game penalties, only three live action penalties, and no confusion on substitutions. Off to a good start here.

The Campbell game won’t test the Gators in big ways, but will provide the opportunity to become more and more solid on executing both offensively and defensively. The Camels have averaged 38.5 points in their first two games and feature an experienced dual threat quarterback who leads the team in rushing.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: College football, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gators, Football, Gators, SEC, Sumrall

October 3, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at Kentucky- September 30, 2023

An ugly day by any measure. Poor tackling, too many penalties, and a multitude of other problems. Florida wasn't ready. No real debate there.

Unfortunately, inconsistency is usually part of the rebuilding process. It happens almost everywhere. Good days and bad days with very small margins for error (especially in the SEC). There is ample evidence, of course, to support a "stay the course" approach. FSU provides a nearby example. There are plenty of others.

The temptation to panic and implode in the face of adversity is great for fans. Yes, games like the Kentucky game are frustrating. Too much euphoria with the Tennessee win and too much depression with the Kentucky loss. Rebuilding is a roller coaster ride of emotions. It’s not for everyone. Starting over every two years is not the answer. The social media and call in radio voices who want Billy Napier replaced should be ignored. They create “noise in the system” that interferes with progress.

Before the season began, Florida was expected to be 2-3 at this point. The Gators are one win BETTER than expected. They’ve lost twice as underdogs on the road. They’ve won three games, including one as an underdog. And still, we have some “noise in the system”.

No question, the mental errors contributing to the failures at Utah and at Kentucky were baffling at times. The fact these two opponents are nationally ranked, have a combined 9-1 record, and have head coaches with double digit tenures isn’t enough, alone, to excuse how badly the Gator’s were exposed. But still, each week creates another opportunity and Florida will get there with incremental steps.

The encouraging news is the Florida players, coaches, staff, and administration continue to trust the process. Recruits continue, thus far, to ignore the criticism in favor of understanding the potential at Florida. Players from the Spurrier and Meyer eras, almost without exception, espouse confidence in the process and progress being made at Florida. They understand it will take some time.

The next two weeks will be critical for reestablishing momentum for the Gators. Home as a favorite against Vandy and away as an underdog against South Carolina. An opportunity to continue the home field success this week AND an opportunity to flip the script to get an away SEC game win the following week.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: 2023, College football, Florida, Football, Gators, Kentucky, SEC, wildcats

September 26, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- UNC Charlotte at Florida- September 23, 2023

The Gators left sixteen points on the field by settling for field goals in 4 of their 6 trips in the red zone, but there was still plenty to like in Florida’s 22-7 win over the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Offensively, the Gators had 16 plays that gained ten or more yards, seven of them went for more than twenty yards. On defense, Florida continues to be among the stingiest with a national ranking of 5th in total defense. The Gators have allowed just 13.5 points per game despite playing 2 of their 4 games against nationally ranked opponents. For the first time this season, the Florida special teams played winning football. All six place kicks, five of them field goals , were made. The Gator punt team averaged 49 yards per kick with zero yard’s allowed. Florida had 53 yards on their own punt returns.

Individually, a number of Gators had good days. Graham Mertz continues to be among the nation’s most efficient passers. This week he completed 20 of 23 passes. Ricky Pearsall caught 6 balls for 104 yards (17.4 per catch) and Trevor Etienne averaged 6 yards per carry. Scooby Williams had 7 tackles to lead a swarming Gator defense.

For the third consecutive week, the Gators had less penalties, won the time of possession battle, and had significantly more rushing yards than their opponent. This is a formula for success.

There were, however, two major problem areas this week. The first was struggles with red zone offense. Florida gained only 35 yards on 13 plays inside the Charlotte red zone. They failed to convert on 4 red zone third down plays. Two of them were very short yardage opportunities. The other noteworthy problem was the minus two turnover ratio. The Gators lost two fumbles and had no takeaways. To have a chance to win against SEC opponents, these issues will have to be fixed.

The Gators will take their three game win streak to Lexington to face the 4-0 Kentucky Wildcats as a 2.5 point underdog. While Kentucky hasn’t faced a tough schedule or looked especially sharp so far this year, they HAVE beaten Florida the last two years. This game provides a nice opportunity for the Gators to take a next step in the growth process by winning an away SEC game as an underdog.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: 49ers, Charlotte, College football, College Sports, Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, UNCC, University of Florida

September 18, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- USF at Florida- September 17, 2022

For Florida, the USF game was more of what we'd seen in the Gators first two games. I’m not sure we learned a great deal more this week. The first fifty nine minutes this week looked a lot like the Kentucky game and the last one minute was similar to the finish of the Utah game. Florida caught a couple of breaks to take a double digit lead in the second quarter both last week against Kentucky and this week against USF. In both games, they squandered the opportunity to take full control of the game by giving up late points in the first half and struggling offensively in the second half. A defensive stop in the waning minutes to end the half and points on offense on their offensive possession to open the second half would have given Florida a three score lead and created a very tough path for the visitors. Instead, the Gators allowed both teams back into the game and suffered the consequences.

The good news this week, against USF, was that Florida was able to regain footing late to score last and win 31 - 28. The finish wasn’t without tense moments, though. USF, like Utah in game one, moved the ball down the field in their last possession to be in position for an easy tying field goal. Again, like Utah, USF made a critical error to blow their opportunity. This week, with 50 seconds remaining and a first down at Florida’s 19 yard line, USF sandwiched a 14 yard loss between two short runs and had to settle for 49 yard field goal attempt instead of a chip shot. USF mishandled the placement and the kick was awkward and wide right.

There were certainly positive things to highlight from this week’s game, but clearly a great deal of work needs to be done before Florida is ready to contend for titles. When the Gators have the ball, the offensive line continues to do well and the running backs have been a bright spot. Defensively, Florida has been gritty and has battled hard despite tough circumstances created, in large part, by the Gators’ offensive struggles. Earning three turnovers from USF was a critical component in this week’s win.

The Gators offensive struggles surround Anthony Richardson’s challenges in running Billy Napier’s system. In each of the last two weeks, opponents have committed to taking away Richardson’s running productivity and forced him to complete passes. Both weeks, he made mistakes, lost confidence, became tentative, and failed. Once a defense has made an offense one dimensional, it becomes very difficult for that offense to be productive.

In second half possessions, Florida ran ten first down plays. Of these plays, five gained three yards or less, two were incompletions, and one resulted in an interception. Only two of Florida’s second half first down plays were productive.

The Gator staff may want to consider altering the passing part of the offense to emphasize more timing type routes where there are less variables to be read and decisions to be made. Perhaps also some designed QB runs, with blocking, that are not the read option.

The Florida defense hung tight throughout the game and avoided many gaffes resulting in big plays. The 4th and one misdirection play that went for 51 yards is a notable exception. USF, however, was able to move the chains relatively successfully by converting on a high percentage of third down plays (8 for 13) and 4th down plays (2 for 2). Disappointingly, 5 of these conversions gained more than 7 yards. Not surprisingly, Ventrell Miller was missed in the middle. His experience and leadership are critical. Interior defensive line depth is also a challenge that will continue to impact the team until the younger players gain much needed experience and new recruits arrive.

Gator fans should be content with this team’s 2 - 1 start with a new coaching staff and a schedule that includes two top twenty teams and no patsies. The schedule doesn’t get any easier this next week with an away SEC game against another Top Ten team. Playing away in the SEC is always an adventure and Knoxville is among the tougher venues.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Bulls, College football, Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, University of Florida, University of south florida