GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the eight months since the Gators stood on the field as confetti dropped from the roof inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the word "momentum" has been tied at the hip to Florida's football program.
Can the Gators maintain the momentum they built during their four-game winning streak to end last season?
How close is Florida to rejoining the game's elite programs with the momentum developed by the hiring of Dan Mullen?
Does Feleipe Franks' momentum make him the best quarterback at Florida since Tim Tebow?
On and on the story went, all through the offseason and into preseason camp.
Starting Saturday night at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, the eighth-ranked Gators have the opportunity to answer those questions and more when they face Miami.
"Our guys are ready to go attack and win,'' tight end Lucas Krull said this week. "I think we're ready to go and we're going to dominate."
Ready or not, kickoff is almost here for a game that feels every bit as big – if not bigger considering the preseason hype and promotion from ESPN – as Florida's victory over Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in December.
The Gators took the field in Atlanta on a roll coming off their first victory over rival Florida State since 2012. They don't play the Hurricanes every season like they do the Seminoles, but they haven't had much success against Miami in recent years.
In six games since 2000, Florida is 1-5. The only win was a 26-3 thumping of the Hurricanes at The Swamp in 2008 when Mullen was Florida's offensive coordinator and Tebow the quarterback.
Mullen is now head coach. Tebow will be at Camping World Stadium in his role with the SEC Network. And Franks will be at quarterback, an opportunity to elevate his status in front of a national audience like never before.
"We have a lot of confidence in him,'' Gators safety Donovan Stiner said. "He shows confidence in himself, which in turn makes us have a lot of confidence in him."
Time to see if the Gators and momentum continue to get along.
In the season premiere of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Miami matchup: THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TODD GRANTHAM
Q:What does it mean for these teams to have the national stage like they do on Saturday? Todd Grantham A: It's exciting because most people will probably have their scrimmage on Thursday or Friday and everybody will be off on Saturday and everybody's wanting to watch football on Saturday, so you've got a lot of viewers and you've got a chance to showcase their talents. I think that makes it exciting for everybody.
Q:What stands out about Miami's offense from studying video?
A: First of all, they've got some skill guys outside that can make some plays. They're dangerous in space and can vertically stretch you. Their tight ends are athletic, they can create mismatches athletically with what they can do. Runners run hard. Will run through guys. You've got to make sure you're wrapping up and guys are running to the ball so a 3-yard gain stays a 3-yard gain. And then their offensive line looks to be physical. When you look at that, we understand that we've got to play well.
Q:How far ahead is your defense than a year ago?
A: A couple of things: I think we're further ahead as far as understanding the structure, understanding what we anticipate. Even [Monday's] practice relative to the first game last year was much better. We've just got to continue to work and develop and play to our ability. If we do that, we'll be fine.
THREE STORYLINES
Florida and Miami, once upon a time one of college football's most intense rivalries, meet for the first time since 2013. These two programs are national brands with eight national championships between them since the Hurricanes – after losing 28-3 to Florida in the first game of the season – didn't lose again to win the program's first national title in 1983. The Gators and Hurricanes have the national spotlight all to themselves in the opening game of the 2019 season.
Head coaches Dan Mullen and Manny Diaz are former colleagues at Mississippi State who know plenty about each other's tendencies. Mullen is one of the game's top play-callers and Diaz a well-respected defensive mind. If you enjoy dissecting the gamesmanship behind the final score, this one is for you.
Two years ago, Feleipe Franks was the untested redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start in the season opener. It didn't go well as Franks struggled in Florida's loss to Michigan. On Saturday night, Miami redshirt freshman Jarren Williams is the rookie quarterback and Franks the veteran. All eyes will be on Franks to see if he picks up where he left off following a breakout 2018 season, and on Williams and how he handles the pressure.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcomer Jonathan Greenard transferred to Florida as a fifth-year graduate transfer from Louisville. Greenard missed all of last season with a hand injury suffered at Camping World Stadium in a season-opening loss to Alabama. Greenard had a strong preseason camp and is expected to pick up slack at the "buck" rush position vacated by Jachai Polite. Greenard had 7.5 sacks two seasons ago for the Cardinals and would be thrilled to rattle Williams early in the game.
Florida's roster is stocked with skill players on offense and junior receiver/running back Kadarius Toney is the most dynamic player of them all when he has the ball. Toney averaged 3.9 touches per game a season ago and is primed for a bigger role in the offense in 2019 if he can stay healthy.
Tate Martell transferred from Ohio State and was expected to be the Hurricanes' starting quarterback. Instead, Williams beat him out for the job and Martell started to get reps at receiver in practice. What happens should Williams struggle mightily Saturday? Would Martell get a shot at quarterback or would Diaz turn to former starter N'Kosi Perry?
THREE DIGITS
6.2 – Yards per rush for Gators senior running back Lamical Perine in 2018. 3.5 – Yards per rush allowed by Miami's defense under then-defensive coordinator Manny Diaz in 2018. 8-2 – Dan Mullen's career record in season openers as a head coach.
Former Hurricanes receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, a teammate of Gators Great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith with the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, will be at Saturday's game between Florida and Miami.
In fact, Irvin is hosting a party on Friday night for Hurricanes fans in Orlando and promoted the event on social media from the Roman Colosseum.
Yes, that one. The one in Italy.
For a game that is being hailed as the celebratory kickoff to the 150th anniversary of college football, Irvin took Twitter promotion to another level.
The Gators open the season in the top 10 for the first time in six years and seek to prove they belong there against the Hurricanes, who are unranked. This matchup reminds me a lot of the Florida-Michigan game two years ago in the Advocare Classic in Arlington, Texas. In that game, Michigan had an edge in experience but Florida had a lot of young talent and a chance to win according to some. Instead, in his first career start Franks struggled and UF's offense had no answers against the Wolverines' formidable defense. Now Miami is the young team with talent but lacking in experience – and with a starting quarterback about to be tested against a high-quality defense. If the Gators play to their ability, they should have no trouble in leaving Camping World Stadium with a victory to make the drive back from Orlando a celebratory one.
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