“They beat us every which way they could up front and we never had an answer.”
That was Head Coach Jim McElwain’s explanation for the No. 17 Florida Gators 33-17 loss to the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines in the 2017 season opening Advocare Classic.
The entire game was a roller coaster that struck with questions at every turn.
Could the Gators capitalize off big plays? Could they bounce back from deficits? Could they stay calm under intense pressure? Could they simply hold on to the ball?
The first swing of the pendulum came on the very first drive. Redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks making his first career start connected with sophomore receiver Josh Hammond for a 34-yard beauty that had fans excited. The next play he fumbled (but granted recovered as well).
The second drive Jordan Sherit tallied a sack in his first game back from injury then had to watch as his line let Ty Isaac bust free on the next play for 36 yards.
In the second quarter senior Duke Dawson returned his 3rd career Pick-Six to tie the ball game. The next pass from Michigan quarterback Wilson Speight landed in the hands of freshman corner CJ Henderson for another Pick-Six to give the Gators a 17-10 lead. It seemed like all of the momentum was in Florida’s favor and going to stay there.
“[The energy] was through the roof man as you could see. We thought we were gonna bury them from there,” said Dawson.
The ensuing Michigan drive saw a punt blocked to give the Gators excellent field position. Yet they were never able to capitalize and even saw their trustworthy fail-safe, kicker Eddy Pineiro miss wide left. That, said McElwain, was a major turning point.
“I think it wore on us a little bit, and yet we still had some opportunities. If I were to point at one that you know coming up empty after the blocked punt, you know I think that was a huge momentum swing for them.”
------
* Video: McElwain, Hammond and Sherit
* Five Fast Thoughts: Ugly affair to open season
* Impact Analysis: Florida drops season opener
* Alley: Florida-Michigan Game Thread
* Post game press-conference updates
* GET TWO MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS TO INSIDE THE GATORS
------
From that point on, the only answer McElwain could give for his team was one that doesn’t bode well for the pending SEC season.
“First and foremost, they physically took it to us. Give them their due. They beat us every which way they could up front…Disappointed in the lack of being able to run the football…it was awful disappointing, I’ll tell you that. And they took it to us, you know I mean, it was pretty obvious…Plain and simple, take your whooping. I'm taking it.”
An opener is always a good litmus test for your team. Florida had won 27 openers, but was picked to lose by most pundits, yet it was deemed ahead of time understandable. A young quarterback and no Antonio Callaway was a pass for the Gators…as long as Florida showed enough promise to build off of for the rest of the season. Yet as the game wore on there were fewer and fewer moments of promise and in the post game press conference, when it would be expected to hear some sort of plan for moving forward, there was none, save for a few sentences about quarterback and offensive line play.
“The end result didn't come out the way we wanted it to, so like I said, we've just gotta watch this film, put it to rest and get ready for next week,” said junior defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson.
From Hammond, “Definitely frustrating but we’ll bounce back. We got a lot of things to work on and we’ll get it cleaned up and we’ll be better next week.”
And McElwain summed it up saying, ““You know what, we got to look at a lot of things. And yet it’s not time to hit the panic button. We’ve got a good football team. We’ll come back and do the right thing and be OK.”
There were never any real answers; only empty platitudes that Gators fans must hope and pray won’t turn into empty promises.
There weren’t many answers in the game and there weren’t any answers in the press conference, which means there will absolutely have to be answers in the following week or else the answers that begin to trickle out of the Florida athletic program won’t be ones anyone there wants to hear.
The only real answer Florida had all game for Jim Harbaugh’s crew was in the secondary where a group of young guys answered the bell to be the unit Gator fans expect. CJ Henderson’s pick-six will get the deserved highlight, yet sophomore’s Chauncey Gardner and Jachai Polite both tallied six total tackles. Fellow sophomore Vosean Joseph and freshman Marco Wilson were able to stay on receivers all game and will be a huge part of rebuilding the vaulted Florida defensive back unit.
Jefferson praised the young ones behind him, saying “For those young guys to come out and, you know, CJ (Henderson) to perform the way that he did, I think this guy had an interception every day in camp. So it really wasn't a surprise when he came out and did what he did. And the rest of those guys, man, hats off to them. They came out and stepped up and rose the occasion. That just lets me know that later in the season, you know, we're gonna be in good hands with them."
“I’m really proud of the way the young guys stepped up. We’ve got a lot of young guys contributing to our defense and the way they were able to go out there and get points was great,” said Sherit.
Added Dawson, “I feel like those guys did a great job. Coming out against a team like that you have to be on point. As a freshman you’re going to make mistakes; you have to find a way to fix them.”
Collectively, they’ll be able to put a few more pieces together back at home next Saturday.
Week-two versus Northern Colorado will be an opportunity for this team to regroup, figure out what it will take to move forward and test out some other options, because when it comes to the rest of the season there’s at least one answer Dawson is sure of; when asked if this is the same Florida team we’ll see the rest of the season, his response was quick.
“No, no, definitely not. I can’t look at it like that. The only thing I see is progress from here.”
------
Thank you for reading this Inside the Gators article. To discuss it, please visit the Alligator Alley Forum.
