The Gators will wear orange jerseys in Saturday's home game against Towson at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Nati Rodriguez/UAA Communications)
Game Day: Towson at Florida, 4 pm (SEC Network)
Saturday, September 28, 2019 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The start of the Kyle Trask era, so to speak, has been pretty good.
Since summoned into emergency duty at Kentucky two weeks ago, the fourth-year junior with zero starts since his ninth grade of high school in Texas has completed 29 of 41 passes for 419 yards, with a couple touchdowns and interceptions. Trask has led the Florida offense on seven TD drives and helped his team outscore its two opponents, Southeastern Conference foes UK and Tennessee, by an aggregate count of 53-3. UF quarterback Kyle Trask
Yeah, that'll work.
For now.
The No. 8 Gators (4-0) have been good not great to date, so Saturday's non-league home game against Towson (3-1), the No. 10-ranked team in FCS, will be about fine-tuning and/or sharpening all areas, running their record to 5-0 for the first time since 2015 and building momentum toward a four-game October run that might be the toughest of any team in the country. The Tigers, out of the Colonial Athletic Conference, figure to give the home team a chance to put up some points and yards, while rotating plenty of guys on the field.
[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" setup here]
Through four games, UF sits in the middle of the SEC statistical pack in total offense (431.5 yards per game/8th) and in the upper third on defense (285.2/4th) in total defense. Towson, meanwhile, ranks sixth in the CAA in total offense (423.8 ypg) and 10th in total defense (420.0).
Let's crunch that former stat a little more.
Towson is led by quarterback Tom Flacco, the younger brother of Denver Broncos QB Joe Flacco, who has passed for 1,092 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception, and leads the Tigers in rushing with 227 yards and two scores.
The Tigers won their first three games of the season, then fell in overtime last week to conference rival Villanova in a wild 52-45 shootout. In that one, the Towson defense surrendered 574 yards, including 295 on the ground, plus 31 first downs.
Memo to the Florida offense: Time to get the running game going a little bit.
The Gators are averaging 136.8 yards rushing per game. That's 12th in the SEC. Senior tailback Lamical Perine is UF's top ground-gainer with 182 yards on 48 attempts. That's just 3.8 per carry. The next most productive Florida rusher has 76 yards. That would be Josh Hammond, the wide receiver, who got all those yards on end-around inside one minute left to ice the win at Kentucky.
After facing Towson, the Florida schedule looks like this:
No. 7 Auburn (4-0) at home
at No. 4 LSU (4-0)
at South Carolina (1-3)
No. 3 Georgia (4-0) at Jacksonville
As Trask figures things out on the fly, he will need some help around him, starting with a reliance on the ground game, as the competition gets tougher and the games become more meaningful deeper int the SEC season. That doesn't render a date with Towson meaningless, but rather makes it all the more meaningful as a means to Coach Dan Mullen's goal of improving his football every week.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., on SEC Network, with Taylor Zarzour on play-by-play, Matt Stinchcomb providing analysis and Alyssa Lang working the sidelines. Replays will air Sunday on SEC Network at 12:30 a.m., and again at noon on ESPNU.
Also, check out the "First & 10 Pre-Game Show," hosted by GatorVision's Shelby Granath, coming from the field via Facebook Live on the Florida Gators page at 3 p.m. This week's lineup includes chats with Mullen, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin, Gator Radio Network sideline reporter and former UF tight end Tate Casey, as well as Austin Barton, winner of the celebrity student "Mr. Two Bits" contest.
Finally, follow senior staff writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry on Twitter (@GatorsScott and @GatorsChris) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, as well.
