Instant Analysis: Florida 24, UMass 7
In a surprisingly ugly affair Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with 88,121 fans in attendance, No. 25 Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC) kicked off the second year of the Jim McElwain era with a 24-7 victory over UMass (0-1).
UMass, a five-score underdog who reportedly received $1.25 million from UF to participate in this game, hung with the Gators until the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Minutemen 14-0. On a night where the Gators unveiled "Steve Spurrier-Florida Field" to honor the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and longtime Gators head coach, Florida managed to keep its national-best streak of season-opening victories alive with a 27th consecutive win.
Instant Analysis now examines the Gators' season-opening home win.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: UMass hung tight with Florida until the fourth quarter, where the Gators eventually pulled away. Two consecutive 20-yard throws by Luke Del Rio propelled a scoring drive where Eddy Pineiro drilled a 49-yard field goal to increase Florida's lead to 13-7. Then, Brandon Powell scored on a 26-yard touchdown catch on the next drive to make it 21-7 following a Freddie Swain two-point conversion. Following Eddy Pineiro's 48-yard field goal, the game was out of reach for Massachusetts.
Although the Florida secondary gave up some plays in the first half - without Jalen Tabor (suspension) and Duke Dawson (left during the second quarter with an injury) - overall the defense as a whole played less frenetic and more controlled in the second half.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: One of Florida's most dynamic defensive standouts Saturday was redshirt junior linebacker Alex Anzalone. After missing the majority of the 2015 season with a shoulder injury, Anzalone played at the same elite level we saw from him through the first five quarters of 2015. Anzalone finished with six tackles (three solo), a sack for a loss of 6 yards and a J.J. Watt-esque pass breakup.
Three of Florida's standouts on the offensive side of the ball included Antonio Callaway (eight catches, 72 yards, TD), Brandon Powell (seven catches, 73 yards, touchdown) and Jordan Scarlett (13 carries, 70 yards).
DEL RIO'S FLORIDA DEBUT: As the first Florida transfer quarterback to start a game at UF since Noah Brindise in 1997, Del Rio finished with 256 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-44 passing in his first career game as a Gator.
PINEIRO PERFECT: Kicker Eddy Pineiro's first college game was an overall success. He hit on three field goals from 40 yards (to close out the first half) and then from 49 and 48 yards in the second half to help Florida maintain a lead over UMass. Pineiro also booted his lone PAT. He converted on a 28-yard field goal in the first half, but it was nullified as Florida decided to go for it on 4th and 1 following a UMass offsides penalty.
THIS STAT DOESN'T LIE: The Gators finished Saturday night with eight penalties for 80 yards. A number of the penalties on the defensive side of the ball proved the most costly. During a first quarter UMass scoring drive that resulted in a touchdown run by quarterback Ross Comis, the Florida defense committed three penalties for 35 yards: An offsides call on Caleb Brantley for 5 yards, roughing the passer on Jarrad Davis for 15 yards and a personal foul for hands to the face on Taven Bryan for 15 yards.
Brantley committed another offsides penalty later in the game, while Joey Ivie tacked on a roughing the passer penalty for 15 yards. Two offensive penalties for illegal touching by Brandon Powell and a holding call on right tackle Fred Johnson stalled Florida drives.
WHAT A PLAY: On a 2nd and 3 call with Florida at the UMass 26, Del Rio connected with Powell on a screen pass, and the junior wideout slipped out of a tackle from UMass corner James Allen. Powell then raced down the left sideline and took it to the house for the 26-yard touchdown to give Florida a 21-7 lead, as fans in The Swamp roared.
A play from the Florida defense that elicited one of the biggest cheers of the evening was a shared sack by junior linebacker Jarrad Davis and sophomore defensive end Keivonnis Davis on Comis for a loss of 17 yards on 3rd and 8 in the second quarter. The big-time stop was followed by a nine-play, 30-yard drive by Florida that ended with a 40-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal.
THIS MATCH-UP PROVED KEY: Florida's offensive line still looked like a work in progress against the UMass defensive line. The unit struggled to consistently open up lanes for Florida's running backs, as the Gators finished Saturday with just 107 rushing yards on 29 carries. Pass protection was also an area of concern, as Del Rio took a number of hits on multiple plays and didn't have much time to get the ball off on plenty of occasions. Although the offense found a jolt of life late in the game, Florida never truly established the deep ball - largely due to the offensive line's struggles.
UP NEXT: Florida will gear up for a key SEC East matchup against Kentucky next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in The Swamp for a contest that will be televised on CBS.
Stay tuned with InsidetheGators.com as we'll be posting more postgame content from the Florida-UMass game throughout the night.
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