The Opening Kickoff: Florida Atlantic at Florida -- #FAUvsUF
Friday, November 20, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
The Opening Kickoff
Florida Atlantic at Florida
#FAUvsUF
Saturday, 12 p.m.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Broadcast Info | Game Notes
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Gators coach Jim McElwain stirred up the emotions of Florida Atlantic supporters as soon as Florida's win at South Carolina was in the books.
In his postgame press conference, a pleased McElwain served up a good quip the way another Gators ball coach used to.
"We've got a team coming in that's full of a bunch of Florida guys that wishes they were Gators,'' McElwain said.
The Owls hooted loudly on social media. Meanwhile, the No. 8-ranked Gators (9-1) returned home to begin preparation for Saturday's noon matchup with FAU (2-8) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
McElwain was asked again about his remark during Thursday night's radio show.
"I kind of try to tell the truth,'' McElwain said. "There isn't anyone that plays football in the state of Florida that doesn't want to be a Gator. That's just kind of the way it is. It was not meant to demean or anything like that. If they took it that way, what the heck? That's the way it goes."
Florida fans undoubtely approve of McElwain's message. The players, too.
"I love Coach Mac's swag. I guess you can say he's my type of guy,'' sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor said. "I love the way he goes and does what he does. I like the way he goes for it on fourth down and stuff like that, so I like his swag."
The Gators closed the Southeastern Conference portion of their schedule with a 24-14 road win over the Gamecocks and now host FAU and Florida State the next two games to finish the regular season.
Afterward, they will head to Atlanta for their first appearance in the SEC Championship Game in six years, which matches the program's longest drought since the league split into divisions in 1992.
But first, the Owls come to town and the Gators must keep winning to stay in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth.
"Every time we have an opportunity -- because we only have so many -- go out and make the best of it and never look past an opportunity," McElwain said. "And they've done that."
Here is a closer look at Saturday's FAU-Florida game:
THREE STORYLINES
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The Gators have clinched a berth in the SEC Championship Game, they have Florida State visiting The Swamp in a week, and they have to roll out of bed Saturday morning for the noon kickoff against FAU. It's easy to imagine Florida showing up flat for this one. Head coach Jim McElwain and his staff spent the week trying to make sure the Gators avoid any letdown.
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Florida has been fortunate to avoid major injuries, but the loss of defensive end Alex McCalister to a foot injury in last week's victory at South Carolina hurts. McCalister leads the team with 6.5 sacks and the timetable for his return remains uncertain. He won't play Saturday, which likely means more playing time for freshmen Cece Jefferson and Justus Reed.
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In what has been a quicker turnaround than anyone expected under McElwain, the Gators can notch win No. 10 in his first season by defeating the Owls. How meaningful is that? Well, no coach in the program's history has won 10 games in his inaugural season.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
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Gators sophomore quarterback Treon Harris makes his fifth consecutive start, which is how many starts Will Grier made prior to his one-year suspension. The Gators relied more on Harris' arm at South Carolina than his legs. He attempted a career-high 33 passes and completed a career-high 19 for 256 yards. The play of Harris continues to be scrutinized by a fan base hoping he can lead Florida to bigger things down the road.
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Florida's defense must keep a close watch on FAU quarterback Jaquez Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound threat who has rushed for more than 1,500 yards in his career. The Gators remember how Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs gave them trouble in the running game and want to keep Johnson from doing damage.
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Junior running back Kelvin Taylor has racked up a team-high 736 yards rushing and with at least four games remaining, is on pace to join father Fred Taylor as the only father-son combo in school history to each have a 1,000-yard in a season. Based on preliminary research, the only father-son combo believed to reach that milestone in NCAA history is Terry Metcalf (Long Beach State) and Eric Metcalf (Texas).
THE QUOTE FILE
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“The thing that strikes you when you watch the film is the overall team speed that this team has. Obviously you would think that based on a lot of their guys being down from South Florida and obviously the state of Florida. They've done a really good job of assembling really good team speed." -- Gators coach Jim McElwain on FAU
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“I think we've got the best defense. Whatever the best defense is, I think we're the standard. I think we're pretty high." -- Gators cornerback Jalen Tabor on UF's defense, ranked fourth nationally (280.0 yards per game)
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“He's definitely earned the possibility to get more time this week. It's definitely not about the Jeff Driskel story line. It's more about the fact that he's earned the chance to play a little more.” -- FAU coach Charlie Partridge on Owls reserve quarterback Jason Driskel, younger brother of former UF quarterback Jeff Driskel
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"When we were leaving from South Carolina and we were heading into the plane at the airport, he said, 'Next time you may just could finish that and score for me … I have no problem with you scoring the ball next time.' " -- Gators running back Kelvin Taylor on what McElwain said to him after his 53-yard run against South Carolina finished at the 1-yard line
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“You can take a team and say, 'OK, this team is not really at our standard.' But every team that you play now in college football has a different standard. That's the one thing you cannot do as a player and as a coach, take anybody lightly." -- Gators associate head coach/linebackers coach Randy Shannon on facing FAU
INJURY REPORT
Out: DE Alex McCalister (foot), DT Joey Ivie (knee), DL Jordan Sherit (hamstring); DB Chris Williamson (back); Questionable: OL David Sharpe (foot), WR C.J. Worton (unspecified), WR Raphael Andrades (unspecified).
FAU FLASHBACK
The Gators have faced FAU twice before, the first time in 2007 during Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy-winning season. Tebow sparkled in a 59-20 victory at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, throwing for a career-high 338 yards. Check out Tebow's performance in this video:
10 QUICK HITTERS
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The Florida defense is forcing opponents to go three-and-out on 32 percent of their possessions, the highest rate among FBS programs.
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Sophomore running back Kelvin Taylor has rushed for 12 touchdowns, the most by a Gator since Tim Tebow had 14 rushing scores in 2009.
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Florida's offense has scored 26 touchdowns in 41 trips inside the red-zone, which is the Gators' highest percentage (63.4) since 2008 (75 percent).
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In last week's win at South Carolina Jordan Cronkrite became the first Gators freshman running back to have a touchdown run and touchdown reception in the same game since DeShawn Wynn in 2003.
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Senior linebacker Antonio Morrison now has 265 career tackles, surpassing Earl Everett (264 from 2003-06) for the second-most by a Gators since 2005.
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Gators punter Johnny Townsend has 16 kicks of 50 or more yards in 53 attempts.
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FAU coach Charlie Partridge was an Iowa State assistant under former Gators assistant Dan McCarney from 1998-2001.
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Owls redshirt freshman quarterback Jason Driskel has thrown for 854 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.
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Florida's Jake McGee and DeAndre Goolsby form one of only three FBS tight end duos to each have 260 yards receiving and at least one touchdown catch.
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The Gators are now 13 of 21 on fourth-down conversions (62 percent) after starting the season 10 for 10.
THE OTHER SIDE
FAU receiver Jenson Stoshak leads the Owls with 46 catches, 680 yards and two touchdowns. He also leads FAU in trick catches. Check out the video below for more:
WHAT THEY'RE WRITING
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Surging Gators eager to chase playoff bid writes Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel.
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Gators know they can't trip over lowly Owls writes Anthony Chiang of The Palm Beach Post.
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Florida is College Football Playoff contender no one is talking about writes Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com.
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Expect only a cameo from Jason Driskel, the prodigal son's brother writes Andy Hutchins of AlligatorArmy.com.
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Gators close to breaking long runs writes Zach Abolverdi of The Gainesville Sun.
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Brash UF cornerback Jalen Tabor upstaging heralded teammate writes Jesse Simonton of The Miami Herald.
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Gators coach Jim McElwain sees improvement in quarterback Treon Harris writes Thomas Goldkamp of GatorBait.net.
BOTTOM LINE
The Gators enter this one as heavy favorites and should have a chance to showcase some of their skill players such as receivers Antonio Callaway and Demarcus Robinson. FAU's pass defense is ranked No. 87 nationally. Still, Florida must protect from going through the motions or it could face a similar situation as three years ago when the Gators needed a blocked kick and two scores in the final 1:42 to avoid an upset loss at home to heavy underdog Louisiana. This team has shown the ability to focus when the time arrives and expect a similar result Saturday.
