Rapid Reaction: Kyle Trask, Gators roll past Towson. Now, the real challenge begins
Safe. Smart. Successful.
More than anything, that’s Florida football under Kyle Trask.
Trask was his efficient self Saturday, leading the No. 9 Gators to a routine 38-0 victory over FCS Towson. He improved to 2-0 as a starter and has been the driving force behind the Gators’ past 3 victories.
Saturday’s outcome was as predictable as the short passes Trask completed all afternoon.
Trask started 13-for-13 in the opening half for 139 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts, who made a nifty move at the line to escape double coverage. He opened the 2nd half with another TD pass to Pitts, this one a 7-yard dart on a fade route that extended Florida’s cushion to 24-0. Trask exited at the start of the 4th quarter after an 18-for-20 day for 188 yards. Emory Jones came on and added a 2-yard TD pass to Keon Zipperer for the final margin.
At the risk of overstating things, Trask looked a bit like Jake Fromm, right down to the jersey number.
One big difference: The Gators’ rushing game isn’t exactly reminding folks of Georgia, and while that hardly mattered against Towson, it most certainly will next week against Auburn and in 2 weeks at LSU.
Florida entered the game ranked just 12th in the SEC in rushing. It was only slightly better against Towson.
Lamical Perine had 16 yards on 6 carries in the opening half, continuing a stretch in which he just can’t seem to get going. Part of it has been workload. Perine hasn’t had more than 14 carries in a game, but he’s averaging fewer than 4 yards per attempt.
Nobody else has really picked up the slack, either. Dameon Pierce had a career-day Saturday, but he entered the game with just 74 yards on the season. Pierce exceeded that Saturday. He finished with 84 yards against Towson, including a 37-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter to make it 31-0.
As long as Florida’s defense keeps doing its thing, it won’t matter. For the 3rd time in 5 games, Florida held an opponent to a field goal or nothing.
Again, it’s about to get tougher, a lot tougher. Auburn has a dynamic dual-threat QB in Bo Nix and weapons on the outside. LSU leads the country in scoring.
Florida has had 5 games to get ready.
The next 2 games will determine the arc of the Gators’ season.
Trask and the defense are playing well enough to give them a chance.