Most of Florida's troubles on Saturday came up front as Michigan dominated in the trenches. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
A Season Opener Gators Want to Flush and Forget
Saturday, September 2, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
The Gators led 17-10 before Michigan scored the final 23 points to run away with a victory in the AdvoCare Classic.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Gators discarded a three-decade tradition Saturday, opening the season away from home for the first time since Tom Landry and his fedora roamed the sidelines in Big D.
The Advocare Classic against Michigan here at Jerry World, named for the man who ran Landry off, provided a unique and applauded experience for Florida fans eager for the start of Jim McElwain's third season at UF. They got a season opener against another tradition-rich program on national television and at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones and the mastermind for drawing events like Saturday's to magnificent AT&T Stadium.
The stage was set for the Gators to prove that their 34-point loss to the Wolverines in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl to conclude McElwain's first season 20 months ago was an anomaly, that they are much closer to the top since then.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for the Gators and their fans in the program's first loss in a season opener since 1989.
Little played out like Florida wanted, leaving everyone in orange and blue with something that has become too familiar this decade: a sputtering offense that did little to help the defense before the defense finally ran out of gas.
"It's going to hurt and if it doesn't something is wrong," McElwain said. "It's disappointing. And yet I can see where we're at and I can see the pieces."
The most disheartening part about Florida's 33-17 loss was not that it lost, but the way the Gators lost. It was very much like the bowl loss to Michigan when the Wolverines overpowered the Gators in the trenches.
When the Gators pushed, the Wolverines pushed back stronger.
"I think there's a lot of things that we could have done better in the defensive line, and being the oldest guy in the room, I'm very -- I'm very hard on guys. I'm hard on myself,'' said fifth-year senior Jordan Sherit, who returned from a season-ending knee injury last season with a pair of sacks. "There's a number of plays in my head that I could have done a lot better. So that's just an approach we have to look forward. And if you're not chasing perfection, you're not going to get any better."
Beyond the miscues in performance to chew over, the Gators carried real momentum into the matchup.
Florida capped last season with an Outback Bowl win over Iowa, parlayed that into a strong recruiting class in February, and over the summer, gained additional footing on the recruiting trail for the 2018 class.
In addition, while redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks was making his first career start Saturday, Florida fans dreamed the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Franks might be the one to finally stabilize the Gators' quarterback position after earning the start following a battle with Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire in preseason camp.
But 192 total yards, 11 rushing yards and nine first downs were not what those Florida faithful in the announced crowd of 75,802 expected to see from the 17th-ranked Gators against the No 11-ranked Wolverines.
Neither did the players.
"You want to come out with a win in these types of games,'' Gators receiver Josh Hammond said. "We'll get it cleaned up and we'll play better."
Michigan had six sacks on the day and despite a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by Gators Duke Dawson and C.J. Henderson to put Florida up 17-10 in the second quarter, the Wolverines regrouped and showed their poise to score the game's final 23 points.
McElwain's message afterward focused on his team getting outmuscled on the offensive line and defensive line.
"I take that personal,'' defensive lineman Khairi Clark said. "On that line, you have to get down and dirty."
McElwain spoke highly of the offensive line's improvement throughout the summer and into preseason camp. The unit failed to live up to his standard against Michigan.
"They beat us every which way they could up front,'' McElwain said.
By the end of the third quarter with Michigan in control and no signs the Gators would light up the offense, the usual echo chamber of frustration started to bloom on social media. This was a game many analysts called "a mystery," in part because of questions at quarterback for both teams and the absence of 10 suspended players for Florida.
How would the Gators respond? Was this Michigan team as good as the one that beat the Gators on New Year's Day 2016? Is Franks the answer at quarterback?
The Gators didn't lose because of the 10 players suspended, Michigan played like the 11th-ranked team in the country and was clearly the better team, and it's too early for a serious debate about Franks after he completed 5 of 9 passes for 75 yards and lost a fumble.
The answers McElwain will seek are rooted deep in the fabric of the program, starting with a look at the approach in the weight room and navigating through what has been a difficult week due to suspensions and now a 0-1 start.
The Gators return to The Swamp this week for their home opener against Northern Colorado. It's the kind of opener the Gators and their fans are accustomed to, much different than what transpired in Texas.
"We fully came into this game expecting to win,'' junior defensive end CeCe Jefferson said.
They had a chance but it faded quickly. In the immediate aftermath, the Gators vowed to improve and quickly move on.
It's their only choice.
The Advocare Classic against Michigan here at Jerry World, named for the man who ran Landry off, provided a unique and applauded experience for Florida fans eager for the start of Jim McElwain's third season at UF. They got a season opener against another tradition-rich program on national television and at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones and the mastermind for drawing events like Saturday's to magnificent AT&T Stadium.
The stage was set for the Gators to prove that their 34-point loss to the Wolverines in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl to conclude McElwain's first season 20 months ago was an anomaly, that they are much closer to the top since then.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for the Gators and their fans in the program's first loss in a season opener since 1989.
Little played out like Florida wanted, leaving everyone in orange and blue with something that has become too familiar this decade: a sputtering offense that did little to help the defense before the defense finally ran out of gas.
"It's going to hurt and if it doesn't something is wrong," McElwain said. "It's disappointing. And yet I can see where we're at and I can see the pieces."
The most disheartening part about Florida's 33-17 loss was not that it lost, but the way the Gators lost. It was very much like the bowl loss to Michigan when the Wolverines overpowered the Gators in the trenches.
When the Gators pushed, the Wolverines pushed back stronger.
"I think there's a lot of things that we could have done better in the defensive line, and being the oldest guy in the room, I'm very -- I'm very hard on guys. I'm hard on myself,'' said fifth-year senior Jordan Sherit, who returned from a season-ending knee injury last season with a pair of sacks. "There's a number of plays in my head that I could have done a lot better. So that's just an approach we have to look forward. And if you're not chasing perfection, you're not going to get any better."
Beyond the miscues in performance to chew over, the Gators carried real momentum into the matchup.
Florida capped last season with an Outback Bowl win over Iowa, parlayed that into a strong recruiting class in February, and over the summer, gained additional footing on the recruiting trail for the 2018 class.
In addition, while redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks was making his first career start Saturday, Florida fans dreamed the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Franks might be the one to finally stabilize the Gators' quarterback position after earning the start following a battle with Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire in preseason camp.
But 192 total yards, 11 rushing yards and nine first downs were not what those Florida faithful in the announced crowd of 75,802 expected to see from the 17th-ranked Gators against the No 11-ranked Wolverines.
Neither did the players.
"You want to come out with a win in these types of games,'' Gators receiver Josh Hammond said. "We'll get it cleaned up and we'll play better."
Michigan had six sacks on the day and despite a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by Gators Duke Dawson and C.J. Henderson to put Florida up 17-10 in the second quarter, the Wolverines regrouped and showed their poise to score the game's final 23 points.
McElwain's message afterward focused on his team getting outmuscled on the offensive line and defensive line.
"I take that personal,'' defensive lineman Khairi Clark said. "On that line, you have to get down and dirty."
McElwain spoke highly of the offensive line's improvement throughout the summer and into preseason camp. The unit failed to live up to his standard against Michigan.
"They beat us every which way they could up front,'' McElwain said.
By the end of the third quarter with Michigan in control and no signs the Gators would light up the offense, the usual echo chamber of frustration started to bloom on social media. This was a game many analysts called "a mystery," in part because of questions at quarterback for both teams and the absence of 10 suspended players for Florida.
How would the Gators respond? Was this Michigan team as good as the one that beat the Gators on New Year's Day 2016? Is Franks the answer at quarterback?
The Gators didn't lose because of the 10 players suspended, Michigan played like the 11th-ranked team in the country and was clearly the better team, and it's too early for a serious debate about Franks after he completed 5 of 9 passes for 75 yards and lost a fumble.
The answers McElwain will seek are rooted deep in the fabric of the program, starting with a look at the approach in the weight room and navigating through what has been a difficult week due to suspensions and now a 0-1 start.
The Gators return to The Swamp this week for their home opener against Northern Colorado. It's the kind of opener the Gators and their fans are accustomed to, much different than what transpired in Texas.
"We fully came into this game expecting to win,'' junior defensive end CeCe Jefferson said.
They had a chance but it faded quickly. In the immediate aftermath, the Gators vowed to improve and quickly move on.
It's their only choice.
Players Mentioned
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