travisduncan
Gator Fan
Florida Gators running back Mike Gillislee (23) runs with the ball as Bowling Green Falcons defensive back Jerry Gates (24) defends during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Bowling Green Falcons 27-14. Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
By Travis Duncan
Gator Envy writer
The Gators looked tentative and under excited to open the 2012 season.
Despite winning 27-14 over Bowling Green Saturday at the Swamp, the Gators were penalized 14 times for 106 yards. Some of those were defensive holding penalties, and are a natural product of the physical style of defense the Gators want to employ. But offensively it revealed a bigger lack of focus and direction for the Gators program.
The uncertainty regarding the quarterback position did not seem to help either Jacoby Brissett or Jeff Driskel. It's clear now Driskel will be the guy going forward, however he looked tentative as did Brissett. Muschamp would not confirm Driskel as the starter for next Saturday's game in College Station.
Muschamp said, "I haven’t made that decision and we felt like Jacoby did a good job. I felt like the rhythm of the game dictated that we were going to need some movement in the pocket. Jeff gave us that opportunity. We just felt like we needed pocket movement as the game moved along for us.”
Driskel finished with 114 yards passing with 1 TD on 10 of 16 completions .Brissett finished 3 of 5 for 31 yards without a TD or INT.
The surprise of the day for some was Mike Gillislee. Gillislee's running style in 2011 showed glimpses of the great SEC running backs in history, but Saturday he looked like a bona fide SEC running back, one which the Gators will now rely heavily on.
Gillislee ran the ball 24 times for 148 yards with 2 TDs. It was his first 100-yard rushing day as a Gator.
Muschamp was less than talkative at the game, and it was obvious he was not pleased with the way the Gators played, despite the W though he commented, “I like this football team and I like the way we are.
"We are 1-0 after today and regardless of the outcome of the game there are things we will work on and tie up and things to improve on from game one to game two. I certainly feel a lot better than I did a year ago, I can tell you that.”
Other Notes
-The attendance of 84,704 fans was roughly 4,000 fewer than last season's home opener.
-Florida improved to 79-27 (.745) on opening day, including a 64-6 (.914) mark in Gainesville
-The game captains were senior DB Josh Evans, senior RB Mike Gillislee, senior DL Omar Hunter and junior OL Jon Halapio.
-Eight true freshman saw action against Bowling Green:Antonio Morrison, Dante Fowler,
Latroy Pittman, Kent Taylor, Matt Jones, Mark Herndon, D.J. Humphries and Jonathan Bullard.
-ESPN's College GameDay will originate from College Station, Texas outside of Kyle Field next Saturday for the Gators game against the Aggies. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m .ET. The outdoor studio show airs at 10 a.m. ET
