Untested and Unfazed: Gators Moved Quickly Past Idaho To Eastern Michigan
Saturday, September 6, 2014 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a span of about six hours Saturday the Gators got revved up, got ready to play, got deflated, and by the end of a long night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, ultimately got disappointed.
Still, by Monday's practice it was business as usual as they quickly moved past the disappointment of their season opener against Idaho being suspended due to inclement weather. On Wednesday the game was declared a “no contest” when officials from both schools opted to move forward without rescheduling the game.
Florida head coach Will Muschamp said he had never experienced anything like it in his career. When offensive coordinator Kurt Roper got on the elevator to go to the locker room after the game was suspended, he and fellow assistants Brad Lawing and Brian White talked about the rarity of a game getting wiped out.
Some teams might have trouble refocusing after such an unusual occurrence. The Gators say they are not one of those teams.
They might be untested, but they are also unfazed.
“We do have a pretty mature group,” Muschamp said. “They have been through a lot and they've been hardened by some tough times and that sort of thing.”
The Gators rebooted and turned their attention to Eastern Michigan, which visits The Swamp on Saturday for a 4 p.m. kickoff. The Eagles opened the season with a 31-28 win over Morgan State to launch their season.
The Gators enter with the same goal as they did against Idaho: start the season with a victory, the mission every season, but one with a few added twists coming off a 4-8 season and riding a seven-game losing streak.
They used the same approach this week as they did the previous one while preparing for Idaho.
“You can't take any team lightly or you'll get upset,'' quarterback Jeff Driskel said. “That's the way this game works and we were taught that lesson last year.”
Most of the preseason talk centered on last year being over and this season offering a fresh start. The disappointment of Week 1 hasn't changed that mindset.
Senior linebacker Michael Taylor said whatever disruptions the Idaho game caused outside the locker room that inside the Gators were locked in. Their mindset hasn't changed since.
“No matter when we were going to play, we were going to be ready,'' Taylor said. “We weren't going to let it affect how we were feeling. The maturity is definitely there and the focus is definitely there because of the way we prepared during the fall and during the spring. We're a much closer group.
“When you have people are fighting for something together, it's a lot stronger for people who are just fighting for something individually.”
The prominent storyline for the Gators hasn't changed, either.
Fans want to get a look at Roper's up-tempo spread offense that he brought with him from Duke, where the Blue Devils won a school-record 10 games last season and averaged more than 32 points a game.
They also want to see Driskel direct the offense after he missed the final nine games last season due to a broken leg.
So does Roper. He said Driskel handled the uncommon situation against Idaho and preparations for Eastern Michigan the way he expected.
“He's a real even-keeled guy,'' Roper said. “He handles things really well. And that's what I like about him, he doesn't ride the wave of emotions like I like to talk to about quarterbacks doing. He's pretty steady.”
So, while the wait was longer than expected, Saturday afternoon the Gators will finally kick off the 2014 season.
If they deal with the Eagles the way they dealt with their season opener getting washed away, The Swamp could get loud.
Storm or no storm.
“These guys have been pretty mature in their approach to everything they do,” Muschamp said. “They don't complain, they work hard and they work well together. They enjoy being around each other and they enjoy playing with each other.
“We haven't played a game yet, so it's hard to sit there and talk in terms of facing some adverse situations, which we are going to face. Whether it is this Saturday, or on down the road, it's going to happen. All the signs are very positive for me, and I feel really good about where we are and the leadership that we have.”
