Rapid reaction: Florida overcomes lackluster performance, beats ECU
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Gators start the season 2-0. Here are a few thoughts on Florida’s 31-24 win over East Carolina:
What it means: Well, not much. Everyone had the Gators penciled to start 2-0 on the season, but tonight’s victory over East Carolina was sluggish. The turf was wet, Florida committed numerous penalties and the offense had red zone woes. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the game is that the quarterback battle will continue into Week 3. Although Will Grier had better numbers, Treon Harris finished the game.
What I liked: Florida’s offense, defense and special teams were all sluggish. Perhaps for the first time tonight, we saw an angry Jim McElwain. He’s known as more of a happy-go-lucky-coach, but tonight, he was fired up. It started when Florida’s first touchdown was called back due to an offensive pass interference, and it continued throughout the night. McElwain ripped Kelvin Taylor after his 15-yard throat slash penalty. Last week, we saw happy McElwain. This week, his team got a real taste of how angry their coach can get. It’s really the first time we’ve seen emotion from McElwain, and it was refreshing.
What I didn’t like: Florida had three red zone possessions in the first half, and the offense punched none of them in for a touchdown. Kicker Austin Hardin also missed two field goals in the first half. McElwain clearly needs one quarterback to emerge between Harris and Grier, and that hasn’t happened yet. After committing just one penalty during week one, the Gators committed 12 against ECU. With the margin of error so slim for this team, McElwain knows it has to get cleaned up before next Saturday’s SEC opener against Kentucky.
Who’s the man: Jalen Tabor (see below).
Key play: The play that changed the game was sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor. Tabor’s pick-six put Florida up 24-14 and for good.
What’s next: Florida faces its first road trip next Saturday against an up-and-coming Kentucky program that almost upset the Gators last season in The Swamp.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
