OGT 2023 Week 2: Florida Gators (0-1) 49, McNeese 7 (9/9/2023)

[Escambia94]

Florida Gators vs McNeese

How to watch or listen:
The Florida Gators head home with their tails tucked between their legs hoping for a rebound from their first of many losses this season, and their fourth straight loss going back to November of last year. McNeese is coming off a 34-52 loss to Tarlteton State. The first ever meeting between the Gators and the Cowboys will take place at the Swamp with a 6:30 PM kickoff on ESPNU. Sean Kelley, Shane Matthews, and Tate Casey will be available over Gator Sports Network from Learfield.

Overview:
Billy Napier is 46-20 (27-5 Sun Belt, 3-5 SEC) after 5 years of coaching, with this year being his second year in Hogtown. Gary Goff is 64-60 (4-7 at McNeese, 2-4 in Southland) entering his second year as head coach of the McNeese Cowboys. The Cowboys are coming off a disappointing 4-7 (2-4) season, which was their third straight losing season. McNeese is 0-2 vs SEC, both losses to LSU. Although McNeese is a rival to the Louisiana Cajuns, Billy Napier has never faced McNeese or Gary Goff.

Scouting the Cowboys:
Based on their poor outing at home against Tarleton State and a losing season season under Goff, it is safe to say this team needs some work. In their 34-52 loss last week they were thoroughly beaten down by Tarleton after being outgained 278 to 554 yards, committing 8 penalties for 80 yards, managing 18 first downs to their opponent's 30, and only gaining 89 yards on the ground. Not a single high point stands out from the stat sheet last week. Key players:
- Jr QB Nate Glantz completed 43% of his passes for 166 yards last week. Jr QB Tre Simmons completed 50% of his passes for 23 whole yards.
- Jr RB D'angelo Durham appears to be their workhorse RB with 14 carries for 45 yards last week--less than the QB's 18 carries for 34 yards.
- So WR Jihad Marks appears to be the preferred WR with 5 receptions for 52 yards, which is not much more than Jr WR Jalen Johnson's 6 receptions for 49 yards. TrSo RB Coleby Hamm (Air Force and Tyler JC) is a receiving threat out of the backfield.
- Jr RB/KR Cam Thomas is a return threat. Maybe. He did return a kick 91 yards but did not score.
- TrSo PK Garrison Smith (Ohio State) kicks footballs. Sure, he made one from 27 last week.
- Jr Callum Eddings is from Australia, so he is obviously their punter. He averages 44 yards with a long of 55.

Scouting the Gators:
Last week the Gators were caught looking ahead to this matchup at home so there are no interesting statistics to report. The highlight of last week was the QB that nobody believed in. The Wisconsin transfer was the only one doing his job on offense as he threw 44 times for 31 completions and achieving a 70.5% completion rate. This was teh first time a Gator QB completed 70% of his passes against a Power-5 team since Kyle Trask--and he was the first to do so since Tim Tebow. (I will pause here in case both viewers need to watch "Swamp Kings" and remember when the Gators were good.) Last week the Gator rushing game was nonexistent as the Gators racked up more sack yards (47) and penalty yards (46) than rushing yards (13).

Editor's Pick:
If the Gators do not crush McNeese 52-0 then we can assume this year's Gators are trash.

 

[DRU2012]

Florida Gators vs McNeese
View attachment 831

How to watch or listen:
The Florida Gators head home with their tails tucked between their legs hoping for a rebound from their first of many losses this season, and their fourth straight loss going back to November of last year. McNeese is coming off a 34-52 loss to Tarlteton State. The first ever meeting between the Gators and the Cowboys will take place at the Swamp with a 6:30 PM kickoff on ESPNU. Sean Kelley, Shane Matthews, and Tate Casey will be available over Gator Sports Network from Learfield.

Overview:
Billy Napier is 46-20 (27-5 Sun Belt, 3-5 SEC) after 5 years of coaching, with this year being his second year in Hogtown. Gary Goff is 64-60 (4-7 at McNeese, 2-4 in Southland) entering his second year as head coach of the McNeese Cowboys. The Cowboys are coming off a disappointing 4-7 (2-4) season, which was their third straight losing season. McNeese is 0-2 vs SEC, both losses to LSU. Although McNeese is a rival to the Louisiana Cajuns, Billy Napier has never faced McNeese or Gary Goff.

Scouting the Cowboys:
Based on their poor outing at home against Tarleton State and a losing season season under Goff, it is safe to say this team needs some work. In their 34-52 loss last week they were thoroughly beaten down by Tarleton after being outgained 278 to 554 yards, committing 8 penalties for 80 yards, managing 18 first downs to their opponent's 30, and only gaining 89 yards on the ground. Not a single high point stands out from the stat sheet last week. Key players:
- Jr QB Nate Glantz completed 43% of his passes for 166 yards last week. Jr QB Tre Simmons completed 50% of his passes for 23 whole yards.
- Jr RB D'angelo Durham appears to be their workhorse RB with 14 carries for 45 yards last week--less than the QB's 18 carries for 34 yards.
- So WR Jihad Marks appears to be the preferred WR with 5 receptions for 52 yards, which is not much more than Jr WR Jalen Johnson's 6 receptions for 49 yards. TrSo RB Coleby Hamm (Air Force and Tyler JC) is a receiving threat out of the backfield.
- Jr RB/KR Cam Thomas is a return threat. Maybe. He did return a kick 91 yards but did not score.
- TrSo PK Garrison Smith (Ohio State) kicks footballs. Sure, he made one from 27 last week.
- Jr Callum Eddings is from Australia, so he is obviously their punter. He averages 44 yards with a long of 55.

Scouting the Gators:
Last week the Gators were caught looking ahead to this matchup at home so there are no interesting statistics to report. The highlight of last week was the QB that nobody believed in. The Wisconsin transfer was the only one doing his job on offense as he threw 44 times for 31 completions and achieving a 70.5% completion rate. This was teh first time a Gator QB completed 70% of his passes against a Power-5 team since Kyle Trask--and he was the first to do so since Tim Tebow. (I will pause here in case both viewers need to watch "Swamp Kings" and remember when the Gators were good.) Last week the Gator rushing game was nonexistent as the Gators racked up more sack yards (47) and penalty yards (46) than rushing yards (13).

Editor's Pick:
If the Gators do not crush McNeese 52-0 then we can assume this year's Gators are trash.

We get NO positive traction (from ANYONE, fans OR "experts") for what damn well BETTER be a shellacking dealt to an inferior squad while revealing little beyond a vanilla version of our bread-and-butter, "this guy, then that guy, and now and then a little something through the air" offense against them.
If I were Napier, anything BEYOND that would be in the gameplan ONLY for the sake of somehow getting our guys some practice and experience in the proper execution of certain plays, formations or situational details they either WILL face or have bungled in similar such places in the past.
Obviously, everything ABOUT the rest of our season currently rests on how we handle ourselves and how we generally LOOK in 2 weeks against Tennessee.
This is NOT gonna be a real satisfying season, neither in terms of our at large reputation nor the eventual won/loss record, but we MUST SEE that "growth, progress and discipline" we were assured was coming along already, and it has to come steadily from this point now. That won't be good enough for the "Gator UNfaithful" taking their cues from Finebaum, Mandel and all the rest, who will point solely to the actual game results, the eventual win/loss record and say, "See? What did we tell you?".
But for the rest of us, disappointingly frustrating as that opener was, real and clear progress, steadily mounting improvement in the quality of play from here to Thanksgiving and the final game on the schedule against FSU will all have to do--even if it doesn't yield much better than the "five and a half wins" that was Vegas' over/under concerning our likely projected win total coming INTO this season.
Not particularly satisfying or impressive, but in the context of the moment and after what we just saw, I'm pretty certain Billy gets another season no matter how unpopular, how loud and insistent the screams from the mob for his head...and at that point, not seeing him fired (which would only set us back ANOTHER 5-plus years) amounts to a minimum goal achieved.
(I really HATE that I even have to note and consider that point here, but that's how things are as a Gator fan in this modern CFB world--so there it is.)

 

[Escambia94]

Additional Notes

• Last week Florida eclipsed 300 total yards for the 18th consecutive regular season, non-conference game dating back to November 25, 2017 vs FSU (280 yards).
• Last week Graham Mertz ecliplsed 200 passing yards for the first time in his 33-game career.
• Florida leads the NCAA in home opener wins with 33 straight, a record that goes back to 1989 (last home opener loss was 1989 vs Ole Miss).
• Florida is 68-17-4 vs FCS opponents all time, 22-1 since 1981.
• Florida's FCS matchups since 2019 have averaged 51.3 points per game: Florida 52, EWU 17 (2022) | Florida 70, Samford 52 (2021) | Florida 38, Towson -(2019) | Florida 45, UT Martin 0 (2019)
• Last year, Napier's Gators won 52-17 over Eastern Washington as 81 different Gators saw action and totaled 666 yards of offense (6th-most in Gator history).
• Florida has scored in 437-consecutive games dating back to 1988 - an NCAA record and 54 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport
  

 

[DRU2012]

Additional Notes

• Last week Florida eclipsed 300 total yards for the 18th consecutive regular season, non-conference game dating back to November 25, 2017 vs FSU (280 yards).
• Last week Graham Mertz ecliplsed 200 passing yards for the first time in his 33-game career.
• Florida leads the NCAA in home opener wins with 33 straight, a record that goes back to 1989 (last home opener loss was 1989 vs Ole Miss).
• Florida is 68-17-4 vs FCS opponents all time, 22-1 since 1981.
• Florida's FCS matchups since 2019 have averaged 51.3 points per game: Florida 52, EWU 17 (2022) | Florida 70, Samford 52 (2021) | Florida 38, Towson -(2019) | Florida 45, UT Martin 0 (2019)
• Last year, Napier's Gators won 52-17 over Eastern Washington as 81 different Gators saw action and totaled 666 yards of offense (6th-most in Gator history).
• Florida has scored in 437-consecutive games dating back to 1988 - an NCAA record and 54 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport

When you break it down and lay it out, one has to admit that in truth it took just an overall poor effort in the first half of the opener-on-the-road, albeit against a Top 10-to-15 opponent, to basically waste what was otherwise "an opportunity we let get away".
Even "sloppy" we had the tools and chances to WIN that one after everything, I think...but not like THAT; NOT with all that confusion, mistakes by Coach and player alike throughout the first half.
We tightened things up somewhat and played better after the break--but we still didn't do quite enough against a GOOD team to get back. Certainly not CLOSE to enough to climb out of the hole we dug for OURSELVES.
This team, each SQUAD has clearly GOT to play better, CLEANER football IN EVERY WAY to win almost ANY game, for the moment. We just are not yet quite talented teamwide to overcome that many mistakes, that much confusion on the field AND sidelines. We certainly have to look better THIS week.

 

[DRU2012]

(...Having said all of the above, no matter WHAT we see from our Reptiles today in the Swamp, we won't REALLY see what we've got so far in this, Coach's 2nd season here, until NEXT week's game against the Vols. Based on WEEK ONE'S performance I don't currently hold a whole lot of hope and optimism--but we shall SEE.)

 

[DRU2012]

Geez...Watching this Utah/Baylor game, where Utes came all the way back to tie late in the game, intercepted the ball deep in Baylor territory, then ran the ball in for a TD only to be flagged for a BAD STUPID holding call (completely unnecessary) to negate the whole deal...Wish to HELL they had made these kinds of mistakes against us...but now they get the first foundation inside the 10 ANYWAY, so may well win now for sure. Yep. So at least our loss to them isn't immediately rendered even MORE damaging the following week.
I know I know...grasping at brittle straws now, BUT IF we somehow pick ourselves up and look better and better the rest of the season, well, how this one finishes up will have an impact on where WE stand. Utah gives up the hail Mary to the Utah 10 with a 1/2 SECOND LEFT! ANOTHER error by Utah.
No matter what happens, either Utah had a let down today, or we really DO suck: Last play=throw to the endzone, which falls to the turf--no flags (though lots of contact), so Utah pulls it out. But I STILL say that more than EVER I believe we should have BEATEN this Utah team: I think we have the talent NOW.
As for Baylor, well, they looked better than they did in losing to Texas State (a Bobcats squad who ARE "much improved" from the squad I have witnessed over the years, having had a girlfriend who went there and still attends games in San Marcos), but things being the way they are nowadays in college football, their fans will no doubt be hollering all the louder for the Coach's head after this one. I have no idea whether they are right, having not followed their program nor personel closely, but these days, given what WE are going through I tend to at least CAUTION fans to temper their emotional response with consideration for how much you may really gain or lose, in every way, before simply firing the current guy and starting over again...Not just any "buy out clause", but the time lost along with coaches and players, then building it all back in the image envisaged by a new Coach and HIS staff, THEIR kind of players.
A lot of (if you go by the so-called experts' pregame analysis) apparently unexpectedly close games so far today...but I think the above is enough of a focus on all that--at least until later when we have the final scores, at any rate.

 

[DRU2012]

Center Kingsley STILL out??! WTF?

 

[DRU2012]

I thought he was supposed to be back in...

 

[DRU2012]

At least so far the line is making holes.

 

[DRU2012]

Nice drive...Touchdown!

 

[DRU2012]

THAT was how we THOUGHT this offense might look.
And then they blow the extra point snap.
So our special teams STILL look like shit.
Billy: YOU MUST TAKE THIS MORE SERIOUSLY!
All these Coaches...no OC...Do we not have a Special Teams Coach either??!

 

[Escambia94]

Sigh. 6-0. 10:59 to go. Point after fails because we do not have special teams—we have GAME CHANGERS!

 

[DRU2012]

OMG. We have that NICE drive right down the field to open the game...THEN we go out and blow the point-after, looking like dopes AGAIN!

 

[DRU2012]

Sigh. 6-0. 10:59 to go. Point after fails because we do not have special teams—we have GAME CHANGERS!

Cannot win for losing!

 

[DRU2012]

ALMOST began to bury last week's loss--then immediately are reminded of all the bad stuff.

 

[DRU2012]

AND we give up a big run to these guys.
Sigh. Are we really bad after ALL?

 

[DRU2012]

Time to shut them DOWN, drive again.

 

[DRU2012]

Damn. ANOTHER 3rd down penalty gives them another try or two (close enough now to try it on 4th down if 3rd down doesn't make it).
Already too many of last week's "bad signs" resurfacing. Starting to develop into a possibke PATTERN of "coaching weaknesses", sorry to say.

 

[DRU2012]

Couldn't stop them on 4th down--because WE WEREN'T READY! MORE poor readiness!

 

[DRU2012]

The COACHING is again letting us down.
GOTTA have a turnover. OH! ALMOST!