Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No, it wasn't a game representative of the new name on the stadium's west wall. 

But, yes, it was a victory on a Saturday night that certainly had some home-fan folks squirming in the second half. 

Quarterback Luke Del Rio fired a couple touchdowns in his first career start and Eddy Pineiro kicked three field goals, including two in the fourth quarter, as No. 25 Florida did enough to defeat Massachusetts before 88,121 Saturday night at the "Swamp." 

Make that, at "Steve Spurrier-Florida Field."

OK, so it'll always be known as the "Swamp" and/or Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but the ball yard's name officially was changed to include the famous ball coach in a pregame ceremony to honor the iconic Spurrier, the winningest coach in school history and 50 years removed from winning the program's first Heisman Trophy. Spurrier, now 71, ignited the coronation with an honorary Mr. Two Bits routine (complete with some Usain Bolt-like arrow-shooting), then turned the game over to the Gators.

For UF, the most apropos response would have been a vintage Spurrier-like offensive eruption of, say, 60 points and 500-plus yards.

But nope.  

"Obviously, as you watch the game, we have a long way to go," Florida coach Jim McElwain said. 

Del Rio, the fourth-year junior making his first career start, completed 29 of 44 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Eight of his completions went to Antonio Callaway, good for 72 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. UF's top rusher was sophomore Jordan Scarlett, who was good for 70 yards on 13 carries, though UF managed 107 yards on the ground against a program entering only its fifth FBS season and now 8-41 in that time.  

"You want to do better on offense, but the win is the important thing," Del Rio said. 

UMass (0-1) finished with just 187 total yards, but actually hit a few big plays against the UF defense, which also was flagged with three personal-foul penalties. On the lone touchdown drive for the Minutemen, nearly half of the yards came on Florida penalties. 

"We started kind of slow," linebacker Alex Anzalone said. "There are a lot of things we have to clean up, but that's part of playing a first game."

The one area no one was complaining about was place-kicking, where Pineiro, the No. 1-rated kicking prospect in last year's recruiting class, already looks like a god-send. The former soccer player from Miami instantly upgraded an area crying for help when he decommitted from Alabama and flipped to UF in January and thus stepped into a spot where UF was just 7-for-17 in field-goal tries last season. 

It's early, but those numbers show 3-for-3 this season, each coming from 40 yards are longer. 

"The guy can really kick," McElwain said. "I'm glad he's here." 
 
In his collegiate debut, Pineiro made kicks of 40 late in the second quarter and 48 early in the fourth to turn a 7-7 tie into a precarious 13-7 lead. The Minutemen weren't going up and down the field, but they were playing with confidence because they were sticking around.

"I think we all believed we could win the game," UMass quarterback Ross Comis said.  

After the Florida defense forced a three-and-out, the UF offense drove 46 yards in just five plays, with Del Rio swinging a pass to Brandon Powell, his slot back, in the left flat. Powell used his speed to knife up the sidelines and into the end zone. Del Rio followed that play with a two-point conversion pass to freshman wideout Freddie Swain for 11 points in just over three minutes and a 21-7 lead. 

Pineiro added this third field goal of the night -- and second of the fourth quarter -- when he drilled a 48-yarder with 2:26 left, to the delight of a crowd chanting "ED-DY! ED-DY! ED-DY!" 

"I really don't care about the hype, I care about making my kicks," Pineiro said. "I'm just focused on making this team better and putting up points, something they didn't do last year in the kicking game." 

The Gators scored on their second possession of the game when Del Rio, the transfer from Oregon State by way of Alabama, marched UF 71 yards in 12 plays, then hit Callaway with a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead. The play marked Del Rio's first TD pass of his career. 

UMass, though, answered with a similar drive -- nine plays, 75 yards -- with Comis (9 of 17, 141 yards) dashing through the Florida defense for a 5-yard touchdown run early in the second period. UF was charged with two personal fouls on the drive surrendered a 24-yard reception on fourth-and-14 to keep it alive and set up the Comis TD. 

The Gators had a chance to take the lead midway through the period. Actually, they did take the lead, momentarily. Pineiro kicked a 28-yard field goal to push UF in front 10-7, but the Minutemen were called for offsides. UF coach McElwain opted to take the points off the board, accept the penalty and go for it on fourth-and-1 from the UMass 6.

Junior running back Mark Thompson was stopped for no gain, keeping the score knotted at 7-all.

Backed up, Comis dropped into his end zone and hit a 53-yard pass to Andy Isabella, who beat sophomore corner Chris Williamson up the sideline. The Gators, though, forced a punt. 

Two possessions later, Del Rio enginereed a nine-play, 30-yard drive, with Pineiro finally getting that first field goal with just eight seconds left in the half. 

In the third quarter, the Gators had the ball twice, but punted both times, unable to find any rhythm, especially with a running game that averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. 

In the fourth quarter, though, UF benefited from a short 26-yard punt and took possession at its 42. After a 23-yard pass from Del Rio to Powell and 19 more yards on a toss to tight end DeAndre Goolsby, the drive stalled and Pineiro was summoned for another long kick. 

Again, he was good to make it 13-7. 

Nine minutes later -- with Del Rio-to-Powell in between -- he was good again.

And all was good in Spurrier house.