Tick...Tick...Tick: Gators Eagerly Await "Second" Season Opener
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The anticipation is similar to when he couldn't wait to shout “down, set, hut!” in the backyard after being cooped up in the house all day because of the weather.
For a moment Saturday night it appeared that Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel was about to take his first snap in a game in almost a year. Then officials huddled after another lightning strike, and the Florida-Idaho game was eventually suspended due to unsafe playing conditions.
It was a long night for Driskel and his teammates as they endured more than three hours of weather delays that included more than 1,100 lightning strikes around The Swamp and more than two inches of rain.
“It was tough in there,'' Driskel said of the waiting inside the locker room. “We were all wet and we were cold. Obviously we wanted to play, but it was the right decision not to go out there. Somebody would have gotten hurt.”
When the game did start after the first delay of 2 hours, 48 minutes, Valdez Showers returned the opening kickoff 64 yards to Idaho's 14-yard line.
The Florida offense briefly lined up for its first play under new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper. The play was going to be a handoff to running back Matt Jones.
Instead, another delay ensued and Driskel never took the snap.
Over the next half hour as the Gators waited to hear if the game would resume, the Gators tried to make the best use of their time as they could.
“We lined up, so we talked about what we thought they were going to do,'' Driskel said. “Kind of a lot of speculation. You don't like to waste time, but three hours, there is only so much you can do. There was a lot of sitting around. Guys got hungry.”
What did they eat?
“Whatever we could get our hands on,'' Driskel said. “About 100 guys in the locker room, food goes quick. We were just tearing it up.”
While the Gators conquered their hunger, they have to wait until Saturday to try and conquer their first opponent of the season. UF hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon and the clock can't tick down to 4 p.m. Saturday fast enough for the Gators.
While the suspended Idaho game was an inconvenience for everyone, Florida coach Will Muschamp doesn't see it as more than that.
“I wouldn't classify this as an adversity,'' Muschamp said.
The Gators returned to work Monday at practice to begin preparation for their second season opener of the season.
The unique experience of Saturday was a first for the players and coaches.
“I'm 42 years old and been around college football my whole career … since I was born,'' said offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, whose father was a college coach. “And that's the first one I've ever been around that wasn't played. I've been around some games that were delayed.”
It was obvious the Gators were fired up on Saturday. While the stadium was only half-full by the time they ran out of the tunnel for the 9:50 p.m. kickoff, they charged onto the field as if playing for a national title.
They are hungry for a win, too, after finishing last season on a seven-game losing streak.
“It's one of the weirdest feelings I think I've ever had with football,” tight end Jake McGee said. “You put a whole week of game prep in, do the whole pre-game, do really everything and then the game doesn't happen. It sort of an empty feeling.”
Driskel recalled a delay in high school when his Hagerty High team waited in the cafeteria for the game to resume. They eventually played.
The disappointment of not playing Idaho was palpable in the locker room when the team was told the game was suspended.
“When we got the news that we weren't going to play, there were some guys that were bummed,” Driskel said. “But we're playing on Saturday. It's not like we're not going to be able to play at all this season. I think it's good that guys were let down. We have a bunch of competitors on the team that just want to get out and start the year off right.”
The players were disappointed. The coaches were disappointed. And the fans were disappointed.
And Roper's 6-year-old daughter Reese was disappointed. After all, she spent a lot of time painting her fingernails and toenails orange and blue for her first Gators game.
When Roper's wife, Britt, told their daughter it was time to go home, she may have summed it up best for everyone involved.
“I got all dressed up for this,'' Roper said his daughter told Britt. “I'm just so disappointed.”
Gators everywhere know how she felt.
“Oh, I wish tomorrow was Saturday,'' defensive back Jabari Gorman said. “That's all we can think of, is Saturday.”
