The Opening Kickoff: East Carolina at Florida -- #ECUvsUF
Thursday, September 10, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
The Opening Kickoff
East Carolina at Florida
#ECUvsUF
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Broadcast Info | Game Notes
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – You never know what a team under a new head coach is going to look like until the first game.
Until that much-anticipated debut, everything is speculation.
Well, Florida fans liked what they saw as the Gators opened the 2015 season with a convincing 61-13 victory over New Mexico State before an announced crowd of more than 90,000 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Afterward, a relaxed Jim McElwain said he pretty much liked most of what he saw.
And then, before his press conference was finished, he began to talk about turning his focus to East Carolina, Florida's opponent on Saturday night.
While the buzz around Gator Nation in the wake of McElwain's debut extended deep into the week, McElwain and the players returned to practice Monday with one goal in mind.
“I expect improvement every day,'' McElwain said. “That's the expectation. In our case it's about continually taking a path and understanding the details that help you be successful.”
The Gators host the Pirates in search of their second victory over East Carolina in eight months. More importantly, they seek to maintain the confidence they built in a runaway victory as the curtain was raised on a new era of Florida football.
Here is a look at Saturday's game to get you ready:
THREE STORYLINES
- The Gators look to build on a promising performance in a 48-point win over New Mexico State in the season opener. The Gators rolled up 606 yards, committed only one penalty and received solid quarterback play from Treon Harris and Will Grier. East Carolina figures to be a tougher matchup as the Gators try to open the Jim McElwain era 2-0.
- In a script flip from last week, Grier will start and Harris will come off the bench. This is the first career start for Grier, a redshirt freshman who starred at Davidson Day High in North Carolina. Coincidentally, Grier's first career start comes against the school where his father, Chad Grier, played quarterback in 1989-90.
- The Florida defense made some halftime adjustments and limited New Mexico State to just 200 yards and eight first downs. The Gators did so without three of their regular starters, defensive lineman Alex McCalister and safeties Marcus Maye and Keanu Neal. McCalister and Maye served one-game suspensions and Neal was out due to a leg injury. McCalister and Maye will return Saturday while receiver Latroy Pittman remains unavailable according to McElwain. Meanwhile, Neal is questionable but did return to practice this week.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Florida freshman receiver Antonio Callaway played like a veteran in his first career game. He caught three passes for 26 yards, rushed once for eight yards, and returned a kickoff for 19 yards. Callaway received positive reviews throughout preseason camp and it's easy to see why. He plays the game with above-average instincts and appears a valuable addition to a receiving corps in need of playmakers.
- East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden tested the Gators with 66 passes and 427 yards in the Birmingham Bowl running an up-tempo offense. Carden is no longer around, and his replacement, Kurt Benkert, is out for the season because of a knee injury. That vaulted left-hander Blake Kemp into the starter's role. Kemp was 29 of 37 for 230 yards in his debut. The Gators will likely see a lot of quick, short passes as Kemp works at a fast pace.
- Junior receiver Demarcus Robinson led the Gators with six receptions in the opener. However, he started the week behind C.J. Worton and Ahmad Fulwood on the depth chart. While McElwain is quick to warn observers not to make too much of the depth chart, it will be interesting to see how Robinson responds on Saturday.
THE QUOTE FILE
- “I want them to go out and do great. Really, I want them to be successful. They deserve that. So what gets frustrating is when you see them maybe sometimes allow themselves to be average and say, 'That's OK. My bad.' " – Gators coach Jim McElwain on pushing Harris and Grier to improve
- “Since day one, the first install. Our first install was probably like eight pages more than last year's entire playbook. I definitely recognized that right off the bat.” – Gators receiver Valdez Showers on UF's more versatile offense this season
- “That's my guy. My favorite college football player. I've looked up to him since I've been here. He was my host.” – Gators cornerback Jalen Tabor on teammate and fellow cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III
- “That's a guy that does things the right way. You reap what you sow. The things that he puts in off the field is going to show up on Saturdays when he's out there.” – Gators defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan on safety Keanu Neal
- “We know what The Swamp is about, but that's an uncontrollable. I can't tell them not to sell tickets or cut down from 90,000 and only let 30,000 show up.'' – ECU coach Ruffin McNeill on impact of crowd
SHARP-DRESSED MEN
Did you notice the Gators were dressed alike as they made their way into The Swamp via the Gator Walk?
Of course, that was no accident.
First-year head coach Jim McElwain has made several changes in the culture of the program in his time on campus, and a dress code on game day is just one of them.
One that was hard to miss as the Gators exited the bus for their walk into the stadium Saturday.
“I'm not a fashion guru by any stretch of the imagination, and yet at the same time, I want our guys to look uniform,'' McElwain said. “I want them to look as a team. I want them to look good. And I think they did and they represented this university the way this university should be represented, with class, with dignity, and with a little bit of honor.
“It's just a belief I have.”
GATORS TO HONOR SLIVE
Former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive retired in June following a successful 13-year run leading the conference.
Slive stepped down a few weeks early to begin the next phase of his life and to continue his fight against prostate cancer. Slive has spoken publicly about his health challenges to help raise awareness about prostate cancer prevention.
At the SEC spring meetings, the conference's athletic directors voted to honor Slive this season with a Prostate Cancer Awareness Game. The Gators-East Carolina game is Florida's designated game.
The Gators will wear stickers on their helmets to help raise awareness. Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in men behind skin cancer.
HISTORY LESSON
The Gators and East Carolina have met once before at Florida Field, on Oct. 22, 1983. Here is a look at the game program from that matchup nearly 32 years ago:
A photo posted by Florida Gators (@floridagators) onSep 10, 2015 at 8:49am PDT
10 QUICK HITTERS
- There will be a moment of silence in honor of former Gators walk-on kicker Danny Krysalka prior to the game. The 20-year-old Krysalka, a standout at Ocala Forest High, died from an accidental shooting in March.
- Gators quarterback Will Grier passed for 166 yards in his college debut, the most passing yards by a Florida quarterback in his first career appearance since Kyle Morris threw for 213 yards in a 69-0 win over Montana State on Sept. 3, 1988.
- A freshman quarterback (true or redshirt) has started 69 games for the Gators. Florida is 43-25-1 in those games.
- The Gators seek to defeat the same opponent twice in the same calendar year for the first time since they beat Auburn twice in 2000.
- Gators cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, whose father was an assistant at East Carolina when Hargreaves was in middle school, has an interception in two consecutive games. His interception in the Birmingham Bowl sealed Florida's win and he had a 43-yard interception return in last week's opener.
- Gators head coach Jim McElwain became the 19th head coach in school history to win his Florida debut. Florida head coaches improved to 19-6 all-time in their first game (interim coaches included).
- The Gators had 14 players catch a pass in the victory over New Mexico State, and 10 players had multiple catches, marking the first time that has happened according to game-by-game records dating to 1946.
- ECU running back Chris Hairston rushed for four touchdowns in the season opener, the most rushing scores for a Pirates running back in a game since Chris Johnson had four against Memphis in 2007.
- Pirates receiver Isaiah Jones has caught a pass in 24 consecutive games, which ranks 16th among all active FBS receivers.
- East Carolina has lost 14 consecutive games when scoring 20 or less points, including a 28-20 loss to the Gators in the Birmingham Bowl in January.
- According to East Carolina's film review, the Pirates picked up 95 of their 224 yards rushing in the season opener after contact, placing an emphasis on tackling for the Gators.
THE OTHER SIDE
If you have heard Florida head coach Jim McElwain talk about East Carolina this week, you know McElwain has a tremendous amount of respect for Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeill. McElwain watched from a private box at Legion Field in January when the Gators defeated the Pirates in the Birmingham Bowl. He'll be across the field from McNeill on Saturday night when the teams meet. For the latest on the Pirates, here is McNeill's weekly television show after last week's win over Towson:
WHAT THEY'RE WRITING
- Gators head coach Jim McElwain challenges the quarterbacks to be better than they were at Wednesday's practice writes Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel.
- UF secondary playing different schemes writes Zach Abolverdi of The Gainesville Sun.
- Florida vs. New Mexico State: Grading the play of Will Grier and Treon Harris – An in-depth analysis of Florida's QB play in opener from Andy Hutchins of AlligatorArmy.com.
- Gators' stockpile of South Florida players already making big impact writes Jesse Simonton of The Miami Herald.
- He is not scheduled to be at Saturday's Florida-East Carolina game, but former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow to return to SEC Network writes Anthony Chiang of The Palm Beach Post.
- Jim McElwain's playbook reviving the Florida offense writes Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports.com.
- Gators defensive lineman Alex McCalister eager to get back to work via ESPN.com.
BOTTOM LINE
Can the Gators play as crisply as they did in the season opener? That might be difficult against a higher quality opponent in East Carolina. After all, Florida committed only one penalty in a game for the first time 38 years. Still, it was obvious that McElwain and his staff have made an immediate impact in their short tenure. The Gators looked like an improved team, especially on offense where the passing game was in rhythm and a wide array of players contributed. The defense played well, too, which fairly or unfairly, is sometimes lost considering what the unit has done in recent years. The key Saturday is for the Gators to once again play well, avoid any signs of regress, and do it with discipline and energy. Oh, and come away with a victory as they turn their attention on Sunday to the start of conference play.
