GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With six SEC teams having dropped their opening game, the Gators were plenty happy to have come out with a 24-7 win over UMass in the season opener Saturday night. The coaches and players know, however, that both sides of the ball will have to get better with conference play starting next week.

5 TAKEAWAYS

  • Of all the nights to have offensive struggles: The team should be embarrassed that with Steve Spurrier in the house they had only scored 10 points through three quarters.
  • The Gators really do have a kicker: Eddy Pineiro is still a kicking newbie, but playing against a real opposing rush didn’t give him any issues Saturday. The kid’s got a big leg, and that could make a difference this fall for the Gators.
  • Jordan Scarlett is clearly the top running back: In camp, we heard that five running backs would split carries. Scarlett got half of the running back carries (13 rushes, 70 yards), and there’s no reason he shouldn’t get even more in the future.
  • A finally healthy Alex Anzalone could be special: With so many injuries in his career, it would be easy for Gators fans to forget about linebacker Alex Anzalone. If they did forget about him, Anzalone certainly re-introduced himself with highlight plays like a sack and batted ball behind the line of scrimmage.
  • A wakeup call for Teez Tabor: A lack of depth in the secondary was exposed as a problem Saturday. When Duke Dawson went down with an arm injury, the Minutemen figured out which defensive back they could be pick on. It would have been a much different game had Teez Tabor not been suspended for his camp fight with TE C’yontai Lewis.

REPORT CARD

Offense: D – The Gators did just enough to beat an opponent that was significantly overmatched. The lack of big plays Saturday is cause for concern moving forward.
Defense: B – This was far from the defense’s best outing of recent years, but in the end it managed to keep points off the board. The pass rush lacked and secondary depth proved to be an issue.
Special Teams: A – Eddy Pineiro’s three field goals from 40-plus yards out played a bigger part in the win than one might guess just from looking at the final score. Punter Johnny Townsend consistently helped flip the field.
Coaching: C- – The playcalling was predictable and lacked balance. McElwain’s decision to take points off the board early also allowed UMass to hang around into the fourth quarter.
Overall: D – One thing stands out the most: The game never should have been 10-7 UF in the fourth quarter.

GAME PLAN

Whether it was planned or the coaches adapted to the UMass defense, the Gators threw the ball 44 times, more than in any game last year. The passes were almost always short and this led to a few stall outs, particularly after facing third-and-long situations.

The Gators got by without a real deep passing game this week, but that will have to change against future opponents.

GAME BALLS

  • QB Luke Del Rio: It took transferring twice, and sitting out a season, but Del Rio finally got his first college start at quarterback. While it wasn’t a highlight bonanza, this is a game for the journeyman signal-caller to remember.
  • K Eddy Pineiro: While Del Rio’s first start is a leading storyline, it’s arguably an even bigger deal that Pineiro was playing in his first game of organized football that counts on record. And his 3-of-3 debut is certainly worthy of a game ball.

INJURY UPDATE

  • WR Dre Massey was sidelined early in the game. McElwain did not offer details on his injury at the postgame press conference.
  • DB Duke Dawson left the game due to an arm injury. He tweeted Sunday that he’ll be back for the Kentucky game next week.