Florida played a rare Sunday game against Eastern Washington, and the Gators rolled to a solid victory.

Eastern Washington put up a fight in the beginning, including a conversion of a third down and a fourth down on the first drive, but that netted only a field goal. On the ensuing drive, Anthony Richardson hit a big play to Justin Shorter that went for 75 yards through the air and a touchdown.

The game, which came with a $750,000 payout to Eastern Washington, ended with Florida on top, 52-17.

While the Gators return to action this week against Missouri in Gainesville, this was a solid tuneup to get above .500 on the season.

By halftime, the rout was on. Florida led 35-3 and was 8-for-9 passing for 221 yards. However, the Eagles moved the ball effectively at times and collected 15 first downs.

For Florida, there were plenty of big plays in the first half alone. Ricky Pearsall turned in an impressive play as he ran a wide receiver sweep for a 75-yard touchdown roughly midway through the second quarter when Florida dipped into the trick play portion of the playbook.

Richardson was 6-for-7 for 185 yards with 2 touchdowns, and a 45-yard run. Along with Shorter’s big play, Ricky Pearsall went for a 76-yard touchdown run. Keon Zipperer made 2 catches for 47 yards, and Xzavier Henderson went for 2 catches for 40 yds and a score. The Gators by halftime had 370 yards on 21 plays.

Richardson finished with 302 yards on 9 of 11 passing as it was his second straight 300-yard game.

It was a rare Sunday game for Florida, only the second in program history after the 1977 Sun Bowl. The Gators moved the game to Sunday because of the pending path of Hurricane Ian. Eastern Washington was originally scheduled to play Florida in 2020 before the pandemic shifted the SEC to a conference-only schedule.

EWU registered notable drives to open the game, initially for 13 plays, and then for 9 plays.

On the Gators’ third drive, Richardson exited the game with what appeared to be a right knee or ankle injury.

Richardson was briefly in the injury tent after a low wrap-up tackle by an Eastern Washington defender. He jogged to the sideline with slight hobble. Jalen Kitna, the son of Jon Kitna, made his debut for the Gators early in second quarter. And Kitna contributed to the flurry of big plays for the Gators, including a 62-yard touchdown to Caleb Douglas.