The Gators entered the new year expecting to be better, faster and more disciplined, but in Saturday’s season opener they showed only more of the same struggles that led to a disappointing 2011.
A lackluster offense and disappointing defense were both bogged down by a slew of penalties. Only a monster game from Mike Gillislee and a big play from Frankie Hammond allowed No. 23 Florida to escape The Swamp with a 27-14 victory against Bowling Green.
The Gators entered as a nearly 30-point favorite but did not lead by more than a score until the fourth quarter. Florida didn’t break the game’s final tie until the clock read 6:03 in the third.
When Loucheiz Purifoy was asked if he expected to be tied with Bowling Green that late in the game, his response was honest.
“Not really.”
But UF ultimately came out with a win — and that’s what was most important to coach Will Muschamp.
“Pleased with the win,” Muschamp said, “but obviously looking at the game and studying the tape, there were some things we need to tie up.”
“We just need to go back and work at it. We’ve got a long season in front of us.”
Florida only narrowly outgained Bowling Green in total yards, 365 to 327. The Falcons picked up 22 first downs to only 14 for the Gators.
Mike Gillislee ran for 148 yards and two scores on 24 carries, but the Gators run offense was hardly dominant, failing to convert on all six rush attempts on third down with 3 or fewer yards to go.
Jeff Driskel threw a 50-yard touchdown to Frankie Hammond to extend UF’s lead to a safe 10 in the fourth quarter, but he was hardly stellar. But Driskel and Jacoby Brissett threw for just 95 other yards, and Hammond had two drops before coming through with the gamebreaker.
“I made a big play, but I’m pretty sure there’s a whole bunch of things I need to work on,” Hammond said. “I had some drops, so there’s still some progression that needs to be made.”
The same can be said for the Gators, who showed continued struggles with focus and discipline by amassing 14 penalties for 106 yards. Florida ranked No. 112 nationally with 7.7 penalties per game last season.
For all the talk about improvement and efforts to fix the problem, Florida’s issues with penalties — like many other aspects of their game — showed very little uptick from last season.
“Believe me, we’ve exhausted every measure and will continue to do so,” Muschamp said of trying to fix the penalty problem. “We had situations in the first half where we killed ourselves offensively. Some penalties put us behind the sticks a little bit.”
Muschamp said he addressed the issue with his team after the game, likely bringing up the same concerns about focus and discipline he mentioned frequently in 2011.
The Gators were flagged for 10 procedural penalties — three false starts, three offsides, three delay of games and a substitution infraction — prompting Muschamp to say that the team will review the film and “make some changes with guys that can’t stay onside.”
The Gators were also whistled for four personal fouls, including a roughing the passer against Lerentee McCray and a late hit by Andre Debose on Bowling Green punter Brian Schmiedebusch after Bowling Green successfully converted a fake.
“We’ve got to be more locked in and more focused,” defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. “For us to be where we want to go, we have to cut those penalties out.”
If the Gators really want to reach their lofty preseason goals, which include a trip to Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference championship game, penalties aren’t the only thing they’ll need to address.
Saturday’s effort may be enough to beat Bowling Green, but will a similar showing be enough to down Texas A&M when UF travels to College Station for its SEC opener next week? Muschamp hardly seemed concerned after the opener.
“I like this football team,” Muschamp said. “I like where we are. … There’s things we need to work on, yes, and regardless of the outcome of the game, we have things you need to work on, things you need to tie up and things that you can certainly improve from Game 1 to Game 2. That’s going to be every single year. Certainly, [I] feel a lot better than I did a year ago.”
Whether the Gators will actually be better than they were a year ago, however, remains to be seen.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Coach Will Muschamp walks off the field during Saturdays game against Bowling Green University at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
