Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
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Florida opens the season for the first time in 30 years somewhere other than Gainesville.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas – They call the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth area the Metroplex.
However, the area has been christened Chompville for the next couple of days as the No. 17 Gators prepare to face No. 11 Michigan on Saturday in the season opener.
The University Athletic Association marketing initiative has added a fun wrinkle to the game for Florida fans, including the addition of former Gators running back and Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith as mayor of Chompville.
Florida head coach Jim McElwain has hyped up the unusual opener for the Gators all summer.
"The guys realize it's real right off the bat," McElwain said. "It's an opportunity for them to go on national television in a great environment and find out who they are. Two storied programs meeting at a neutral site, I think that's the way it should be."
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles north in Ann Arbor, Mich., Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked his thoughts on traveling to Big D for the season opener in an NFL stadium.
"It is where it is," he said. "The neutral-site game, I'd be lying if I told you I preferred it. I prefer playing in the college stadiums, Ann Arbor or [at] one of our opponents."
The head coaches' views on the matchup is just another example of the contrast in the programs. Florida is speed, Michigan is muscle. Gators live in swamps, Wolverines reside primarily in the cold.
Thankfully for everyone, after months of chatter about the game, it's time to play the game.
The Gators enter healthy but are not at full strength with 10 players out due to suspensions. When the Gators started preseason camp, McElwain stated the goal was to make it uncomfortable for the players in order to prepare for the adversity that is certain to visit during the season.
McElwain probably had a different kind of adversity in mind, but he maintained his sense of humor Wednesday in the wake of two more suspensions.
"Sometimes through adversity, it actually brings a group tighter together,'' he said. "You know what? We have a really tight group right now."
The program's first win over Michigan can make them tighter. The Gators get a shot on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 ET.
For now, here is a closer look at the Florida-Michigan matchup in the season's first edition of The Opening Kickoff:
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THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS WR JOSH HAMMOND
Q:Season openers are tone-setters, but does this one feel different given the magnitude?
A: I mean there's definitely going to be a target on us, and I think our team is ready for it. I mean, that's why we came to Florida, to play in these types of games. Just going forward with the right mindset should help our team moving forward. Josh Hammond Q:How critical is it to get off to a good start offensively?
A: Definitely. Once we get rolling, I think our offense will be great. Once we get it rolling, I think nobody will be able to stop us. If we get it going early against a great team, it's definitely boost a lot of confidence for us.
Q:How much do the older guys talk about the loss to Michigan in the bowl game?
A: Right, definitely devastating to them guys. They definitely want to get back and get revenge on them. I wasn't there for it, but you know I feel the same way. They feel like they need revenge, then I'm 100 percent with them.
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THREE STORYLINES
The Gators break away from tradition and for the first time since 1979, leave their home state for the season opener. This is also just the second time since 1990 the Gators have opened against a Power 5 conference opponent (Oklahoma State, 1990; Kentucky, 1992).
Both head coaches enter their third season, having already met once in the final game of the 2015 season, a 41-7 Michigan victory in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The Gators and Wolverines both have major question marks and hope to find some answers in what is being billed as the Advocare Classic.
Michigan hasn't named a starting quarterback. The Gators waited until Wednesday. There has been some mind games leading up to the game and we finally get to see how they play out on the field Saturday.
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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Quarterback Feleipe Franks, left, is set to get the first start of his career on Saturday, and Malik Zaire, right, is going to play too according to head coach Jim McElwain. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Most everyone in orange and blue will be focused on Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks in his first career start. Franks was named Florida's starter on Wednesday and the 6-foot-6, 220-pound product of Wakulla (Fla.) High finally gets an opportunity after red-shirting a season ago. Franks has a big arm and the Gators hope he makes some big plays with it on Saturday's big stage. McElwain said on his radio show Thursday night that fifth-year senior QB Malik Zaire, who transferred from Notre Dame, "will play, no doubt about it."
Gators senior running back Mark Thompson (6-2, 239) is a bruising runner who is hard to bring down. Thompson is likely to get extra reps with starting tailback Jordan Scarlett suspended. If Thompson can protect the ball and provide the Gators with consistent yards to sustain drives, that would be a huge lift for an offense that can't rely on Franks to make all the plays.
Michigan's revamped offensive line is inexperienced and provides an opportunity for Florida's defensive front to make plays, which is why I'll be keeping a close eye on defensive tackle Taven Bryan. Coaches and teammates have raved about the Wyoming Wildman during preseason and envision this being his breakout season.
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THREE DIGITS
27 – Consecutive season-opening wins for the Gators, the longest active streak in the nation. Ohio State is second with 18 following its win over Indiana on Thursday night.
25-14-1 – Florida's all-time record against current roster of Big 10 schools
3.5 – Rushes per game of 10-plus yards for Gators in 2016, which ranked 121st nationally
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THE QUOTE FILE
"Bring more excitement back, how it used to be." – Gators receiver/kick returner Dre Massey, who missed last season with a knee injury, on what he hopes to provide the offense
"We know we're going to have to buckle up. They're going to try to hit us straight in the mouth, and we're just going to have to be more physical than they are.'' UF sophomore linebacker David Reese on facing the Wolverines
"We still got a long way to go, just getting comfortable with each other and trusting each other. We've never all played in a game with each other yet. It's all a big test Saturday." – Michigan sophomore LB Devin Bush, who is from Pembroke Pines, Fla., on the Wolverines' young defense
"When you guys get their roster, let me know, so maybe I can figure out who we're playing." – Gators coach Jim McElwain on Monday, two days before Harbaugh released Michigan's roster via his Twitter account
"The whole roster thing is an unofficial thing. I don't even keep the roster. The roster has been kept through administration, or MLive, somebody else. The roster wasn't finished. We didn't have the complete roster, in my mind, until Aug. 30." – Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Thursday morning on Detroit's 97.1 The Ticket.
The Gators are ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Michigan is No. 11. While Florida has opened the season numerous times in the national polls, this is just the eighth time it has opened against a ranked opponent.
A glance at those previous games:
OPPONENT/DATE
RESULT
NOTABLE
@No. 10 Miami (Sept. 5, 1987)
Gators L 31-4
Last time UF faced Miami to open a season
No. 10 Miami (Sept. 1, 1984)*
Gators L 32-20
QB Bernie Kosar rallied Canes to victory
No. 15 Miami (Sept. 4, 1982)
Gators W 17-14
Wayne Peace to James Jones for the win
@No. 13 Houston (Sept. 15, 1979)
Gators L 14-10
Charley Pell's debut on way to 0-10-1 year
No. 7 Houston (Sept. 20, 1969)
Gators W 59-34
John Reaves, Carlos Alvarez & Super Sophs
@No. 16 Rice (Sept. 18, 1954)
Gators L 34-14
Gators lose five fumbles in disjointed effort
@No. 12 Rice (Sept. 19, 1953)
Gators L 20-16
Rice RB Dicky Moegle runs for three TDs
*At Tampa Stadium
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10 QUICK HITTERS
The UF men's basketball team has played three games at AT&T Stadium in the 2013 and '14 NCAA Tournaments, but this is the Florida football team's first game inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Michigan is 0-1 all-time at the venue, losing 41-14 to eventual national champion Alabama in 2012.
While Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hasn't revealed his starting quarterback, Wilton Speight is considered the favorite over John O'Korn. Speight won a battle between the two last season and started all but one game.
This is the first time the schools have met in the regular season. Michigan leads the all-time series 3-0, defeating the Gators in the 2003 Outback Bowl, 2008 Capital One Bowl and 2016 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
Gators coach Jim McElwain is 19-8 in his first two seasons; Harbaugh is 20-6 in his first two seasons at Michigan.
Florida's defense returns 12 players who started at least one game last season, topped by DB Duke Dawson and DE Jordan Sherit'sseven starts.
UF quarterback Feleipe Franks is the first redshirt freshman to start at quarterback in a season opener since Kyle Morris in 1988, a 69-0 win over Montana State.
McElwain and Michigan offensive coordinator Tim Drevno worked together at Montana State from 1995-97.
AT&T Stadium is the largest stadium in the NFL and has hosted the NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XLV, the Final Four, WrestleMania 32 and numerous concerts.
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown enters his second season. When the Gators and Wolverines met in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in 2016, Brown had just joined Michigan's staff from Boston College and did not coach in the game. He sat in the press box next to FloridaGators.com senior writer Chris Harry. (Brown gave away no secrets).
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THE OTHER SIDE
Jim Harbaugh likes to stir the pot. He toys with the media. He takes shots at other coaches. He takes his team to Rome and hands the pope a Michigan helmet.
He's different and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable in the traditional arena of college football. But he is never boring, which keeps the Wolverines in the news and draws the attention of recruits.
Love him or hate him – or maybe you're just tired of him – Harbaugh is definitely quirky. He is unique. He is the kind of guy that some people want to punch. If you've read too many stories about Harbaugh's roster of his choice of pants, join the crowd.
However, I'm a sucker for this type of story, a little slice of Harbaugh's past you might find more interesting than his thoughts on neutral-site games:
Seth Galina of TheAthletic.com takes a deep dive (includes video study) into how the Gators might be able to run at Michigan LB Devin Bush on Saturday.
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BOTTOM LINE
After writing everything above and researching the matchup, this game is still a coin flip in a lot of ways. The perception outside Florida seems to be the Gators have no shot because of the suspensions and quarterback concerns, etc. I don't see it that way. On paper, this Florida team is equally if not more talented than the Wolverines. Sure, the Gators would rather have Jordan Scarlett and Antonio Callaway available, but Michigan isn't exactly an offensive juggernaut either. If Feleipe Franks can make some big plays with the help of young receivers like Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain and Co., and he takes care of the ball and the running game, perhaps with help from quarterback Malik Zaire, helps him out, Florida wins. If Franks turns the ball over and the Gators' defense has to stay on the field too long, Michigan wins. This is a Florida team that needs the offense to win some games and this is a showcase event to see if the unit is capable of taking charge.
