The Gators start fast and take advantage of the opportunity to beat UCF

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A funeral turned into a carnival. Slash came to jam at your kid's piano recital. The professor canceled your final exam and moved the class to Salty Dog.

None of that happened Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but given the atmosphere at the Gators' final home game, it felt like it.

What emerged delighted the UF fans (not UCF fans) among the announced crowd of 90,369.

The Gators took first offense and drove down the field with a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Graham Mertz And DJ Lagway delivered another one-two punch in Florida's two-quarterback attack. Florida's defensive line played like the New York Sack Exchange.

Oh, and the fans cheered for the UF coach Billy Napier as he entered the locker room after Florida's 24-13 win over the Knights.

“Today was the result of a lot of hard work over the last two weeks,” said Napier. “We’ve made great progress toward the opening date.”

Since opening the season with three straight home games, which included a win over FCS-ranked Samford sandwiched by high-profile losses to Miami and Texas A&M, the Gators have won at Mississippi State, had a bye week and took care of the Knights in a game that some wondered if it would be Napier's last.

After their win in Starkville restored some semblance of calm, the Gators increased the intensity at practice during the bye week. They then began preparing for UCF, focusing on turning their dynamic attitude and some minor changes to their training routine into back-to-back victories.

Fans who kicked them when they were on the ground cheered them on against the Knights, especially in the first half when the Gators dominated en route to a 24-3 halftime lead.

In the in-state duel against their little brother from Orlando, the Gators set the tone with their first drive, which was crowned by Mertz's 13-yard scoring pass Elijhah badger. Florida's start was in stark contrast to the other big home games this season. Miami and Texas A&M outscored the Gators 44-10 in the first half, a trend the Gators had to end for Napier to breathe a sigh of relief.

“As an offensive lineman, if you’re not able to get excited about it, there’s not much to get you going,” Center said Jake Slaughter said about the 7-minute and 2-second race. “We started really well. It was a good feeling.”

The good vibes continued as Mertz (19 of 23, 179 yards, 1 TD) and Lagway (4 of 4, 50 yards) directed the offense, with Lagway's 37-yard shot to Chime Dike being UCF's biggest gain of the game 1-yard line. Ja'Kobi Jackson scored on the next play to give Florida a 14-3 lead. The drive began when UCF coach Gus Malzahn decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Knights' 43rd line. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was stopped by defensive linemen Caleb Banks And Jack Pyburn for no gain, forcing a turnover on downs.

Meanwhile, the Gators extended the lead to 21-3 later in the second quarter Montreal Johnson Jr.'s 3-yard run and finally 24:3 Trey Smacks 28-yard field with four seconds left in the first half.

“We started quickly,” Napier said. “It ended up being a great (opening) drive.”Graham made a lot of plays on that first possession. We had some balance and a lot of conversions. DJ comes in (on our third trip) and plays twice (later), the double move went around the back there – the Sluggo seam. Great throw, great catch, great route.

“I think both guys are getting better and better and the leadership that they're showing and the way they're working all week is, again, a very healthy dynamic for our team.”

The offense slowed down in the second half, but the defense made sure it didn't matter. The Gators limited UCF's vaunted rushing attack (326.0 yards per game) to 108 yards, and the Gators recorded five sacks and held the Knights to 273 yards of total offense. Florida entered the game with just eight sacks in four games.

Jefferson, who totaled 347 yards of offense against the Gators a season ago in leading Arkansas to an overtime win at Florida Field, managed 147 (165 passing, minus-18 rushing) on ​​Saturday night.

“Oh man, it was great,” the defensive lineman said Tyreak Sappwho finished with five tackles and half a sack. “We studied them all week and looked at the weaknesses and everything we can exploit in the pass rush. It was just exciting. The way we played and how aggressive we were.”

Florida's defense took the field as the 113th ranked unit in the country, giving up 425.5 yards per game. The Gators played like they had a personality transplant during the bye week.

“I think it's obvious we've taken a step in the right direction defensively,” Napier said.

The normally calm Napier even showed an advantage late in the second quarter when the officials ejected him for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Napier was angry about a running-in-the-kicker penalty on Banks against UCF player Mitch McCarthy.

“It’s a very common play in our game,” Napier said. “They're protecting the guy. “As rugby players, we felt maybe he was outside the pocket.”

Napier's outburst sent Sapp into disarray.

“We fought for Coach Nape,” Sapp said. “I was right there. We understand that he was frustrated, and when he is frustrated, we are frustrated too. And we say, “Well, it's time to take it a step further, and we all need to move forward as a group.” I think we took that personally.

George Gumbs Jr. led the Gators with 1.5 sacks, along with his teammate Grayson Howard Adding a sack and five other players were credited with half a sack.

Napier and the players talked about several smaller improvements during the bye week, ranging from more physical drills to speeding up the process between defensive snaps. Gumbs saw a big difference on defense.

“We put a lot of emphasis on staying in the gap and just changing the line of attack,” he said. “What struck me was that no one was afraid of messing up.”

When it was over, Napier mingled with the players and coaches with a satisfied smile. The first month of the season was difficult. The second game started with a memorable victory.

Slaughter took his usual spot near the front while the Gators sang the alma mater in the corner of the north end zone. He also had a smile.

“Very fulfilling,” Slaughter said. “I think it's important whether you win or lose to embrace traditions like that.” It means something to me. I am a local. It's a lot more fun when you win a game.