This ain’t UMass. This ain’t Bowling Green. This ain’t Charleston Southern or Western Kentucky or any of the other punching bags Florida has opened the season against in the past decade. This is Michigan, the Big Blue, from the Big Ten, which historically has produced some of football’s biggest and best players.
On Saturday, the Gators will face this storied program on national television at 3:30 p.m. from Arlington, Texas, trying to extend a national-best streak of 27 consecutive season-opening wins to 28. And boy, are there stories to follow ahead of the game.
First, the big one: Prominence. Michigan is the winningest program in the history of college football, and under coach Jim Harbaugh, the No. 11 Wolverines have returned to their former glory as playoff contenders that have gone 10-3 in each of his first two seasons.
The No. 17 Gators are trying to return to that conversation for the first time since the late 2000s, and a win over Michigan could help them get there.
There’s also revenge. Florida was humiliated by Michigan 41-7 in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, and the players who were there haven’t forgotten. Even some of the ones who weren’t feel their anger.
“They definitely want to get back and get revenge on them,” sophomore wideout Josh Hammond said. “I wasn’t there for it, but I feel the same way.”
Coach Jim McElwain, who took over at Florida around the same time Harbaugh took over Michigan, also hasn’t forgotten what happened in that game, though he’d like to.
“I’m not sure we still have it in the system,” he said of recordings from that game. “I think I threw up all over it.”
There are also the suspensions. Ten UF players won’t make the trip to Texas for either misuse of school funds or marijuana citations. Or, in the case of freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller, both.
The losses hit three places especially hard. First is running back, where Florida will be without last season’s leading rusher Jordan Scarlett. Next is at receiver, where it will miss last season’s leading wideout Antonio Callaway. And then there’s linebacker, where the absence of Miller and fellow freshman James Houston creates a severe lack of depth behind starters Vosean Joseph, David Reese and Jeremiah Moon.
Then there’s the quarterback position, where McElwain said Wednesday Florida will start redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks. He’s the least-experienced of the three quarterbacks vying for time, having not played a single snap in a college game. McElwain said he’ll be fine because he’s played on the “big stage” of a high school state championship game, but McElwain failed to mention that Franks’ Wakulla War Eagles lost that game. Plus, playing for some high school fans in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl doesn’t compare to the thousands who will pack the 80,000-person capacity AT&T Stadium. Nevertheless, McElwain has confidence in the youngster.
“He deserves it,” he said. “He’s done a really good job.”
But not good enough to be the only option, or so it seems. McElwain said there could be more to his “plan” than just Franks, with veterans Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire also possibly seeing time.
“Obviously,” McElwain said, “with the packages and plan that we have in place, the others will be ready to go.”
Michigan, meanwhile, released a roster for the first time in over a year on Wednesday and hasn’t revealed whether Wilton Speight or John O’Korn will start at quarterback.
The Wolverines enter as a five-point favorite. The Gators enter as a depleted underdog. And regardless of what happens on the field and the outcome, ABC’s announcers will have plenty to chat about.
You can follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri, and contact him at ebauer@alligator.org.
Florida hasn't lost its season opener in 27 years, the longest current streak in the FBS.
