[W1: Post-Game] Gator Grit

[Weeze]

"That Gator Grit"
Florida Earns Week One Win With Physical Play.

 

Jr RB Ryan Bowman, 18 Attempts for 148 yards, 1 Touchdown, 1 reception for 9 yards.

 

          Week 1 is here! The long off season is finally over, and the 2023 season finally opens up for the Gators. The Gators open the season in Clemson South Carolina against the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers have a new man at the helm in Spoof who wanted to see his team earn him his first career win, while the more seasoned Gator coach, Weeze, wanted to see his team get off to the right start and find some momentum before the open SEC play. 

"Last year was my first year at Florida, and the season got off to a rough start. We were lucky to beat Kent State, then dropped a close one to Maryland, and it took us a few games to really find our groove. We can't afford that this year. Everyone on the coaching staff, and the players know these first few games are vital. The season won't be getting easier and we have to take advantage of some early season success."

That was coach Weeze in his pregame press conference talking about how vital it is for his team to come out early and win this tough one on the road. Last season, The Gators beat Kent State 14-9, before going on a 5 game losing streak. During those 5 games, they had a two week span where they scored a total of 3 points. Clemson is a young, hungry team full of potential and youth who wanted to take advantage of a rebuilding Florida unit who lost a lot of big time play makers. Unfortunately for Clemson, the most important playmaker didn't leave and gave Florida the spark they needed. 

 

2nd Year Gator Headcoach, Weeze.

          That Florida offense had ALOT of questions coming into this season. Its safe to say fans and coaches alike were a little nervous how the offense was going to look when the lights went on for real. The offense heard all of the criticisms. The most critical has probably been their own coach who has publicly demanded more from his players as well as his staff. "If we wanna change the culture we have to put in the work to do it". The offense answered the call with some big time plays.

          Florida Exploded with offense at pivotal moments and kept the game close. They totaled 437 yards of total offense with 313 yards of that being on the ground. Lead by Junior Runningback Ryan Bowman, the Gators physically beat the Clemson defense all game long, patiently waiting for holes to open up and quick strikes to keep them on their heels. Bowman(18 attmpts for 148yds) is without argument they offensive player of the game, but he wasn't alone in his career day. Mason Matthews ran for 72 yards on 10 carries. Big Tommy Murton had 45 yards on 8 carries and QB Shareece Kelly also had a solid game with 50 yards on 16 carries. All four players had career games today. More importantly however, they kept drives alive. They found ways to score. They kept the ball out of the dangerous Tony Palardy hands, who was having a game of his own. The Runningback room was very active on the ground as well as in the passing game, with the group totaling 8 targets between 3 different players. 

          An interesting fun fact since we are celebrating the play of the runningbacks, Florida last season were 4-1 when they rushed for more than a hundred yards. The one game they lost, was the forementioned 28-23 lost to Maryland. Maryland forced a very timely pick six that made the difference. 

 

Sr QB Tony Palardy, 28 completions on 54 attempts for 311 yards, 2 Touchdowns, 2 INT

 

          While the Offense came out in great fashion, we would be remiss if we didn't praise the defense for their stellar play. While the defense didn't have as much turnover as the offense did, they did lose some important players. Two major corners graduated with 2 starting safeties gone as well. That is a lot of shake up for a group that was easily the best on the field for Florida. That being said, there was still plenty of starting experience in the secondary. Chris Nieves who spent the majority of time last season playing at corner and special teams, returned to his original position with Gerald Jefferson gone. Moxey and Capela both saw plenty of playing time last season on rotation before Nieves won the 3rd CB role. The two spent the final stretch of the season playing relief and Sharing 4th CB duties. They would all play a major role today as they found themselves challenged early and often by the Clemson stud, Tony Palardy.

          Palardy threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns against the Gator defense. But was also sacked twice, and picked off twice as well. He gave the Gators staff fits all day however as he would complete a 53 yard pass for a touchdown early on that put Clemson up. He continued to make the Gators sweat all game long with great passes that helped keep Clemson in the game. Unfortunately for him and the Clemson faithful, the defense came away with two interceptions, one of those came late in the game which help seal the win for Florida.  

          The D-Line also played a role today in keeping Clemson off the board. The Defensiveline manage to keep Palardy from getting too comfortable and were able to bring him down twice behind the line. They also manage to hold the runningbacks to 33 yards of offense. Admittedly 12 runs isnt a huge sample size to see how well they've truly grown from last season(where they were one of the worst units in the country against the run), but in those 12 attempts, they only allowed 2.75 yards a carry and that speaks volume. Some might argue their Runningback group isn't that great, but all the more reason that stat is impressive. Good units don't let bad groups have good games. If the defense can continue to tighten up, and continue to grow, this potentially could be an unexpected "dangerous" team to play in the SEC. They have a tough test against Brandon Savage and his Tennessee Volunteers in a couple weeks, but this is College football. Always expect the unexpected. 

 

Florida 23, Clemson 20.

 

          The Headcoach of the Florida Gators were all smiles following the game. In his press conference, he continued to beam and give praises to his team.
"How about that Gator Grit?" Love these guys and proud of the way they put it all together. There were plenty of moments out there today that these guys could have lost it, but they continued to play hard and continue to support each other. When the defense gave one up, the offense came in and got it back. We had those fumbles which easily could have been the game...and the defense held up strong. Lets not forget the special teams getting those 3 field goals, and punting the ball deep when we needed them to." Florida did indeed play a team game, and got a team win. Clemson was a tough test but the road does not get any easier. Tennessee, FSU, UGA and Kentucky are all very nasty opponents they have on their schedule. #21 Kentucky was surprised in the swamp last season, so you know they are waiting to even the score when the Gators come into town. UGA is a big rival game in Jacksonville that is always going to be ugly, but the bulldogs seem to have figure themselves out and could be the Division champ when the season is done. 

          So what does all this mean? The rest of the conference just started paying a little closer attention. Florida just walked into a very dangerous stadium against a good team and came away as the winners. They are not a team to overlook despite what some early season pundits believed. They showed they have that Grit and can get bogged down in a dog fight. furthermore they showed they can walk away as winners. This could be a very exciting season, and we have a lot to look forward to. Last year, the season opener was a win. But you walked away with a lump in your throat nervous about the season to come. This win..is an entirely different feeling. You start to believe that Florida could really surprise some people and earn a bowl bid. They have a long way to go, and Recruiting is a must this season. They have to pull in a class just as good as they did last season to get to a place you can start feeling comfortable about the direction of the team. 

          The Gators are off next week, but return week 3 to open the season at home against FIU. The Gators are hoping they can use FIU as a tune up game as they get ready for SEC play the following Week where they will host the Volunteers. But for now, the team will celebrate their big win and enjoy the feeling before getting back to work on Monday for the season to come.