Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If the churning of the hype machine all summer did not cement the uniqueness of the Florida-Miami season opener in Week 0, then perhaps tuning into ESPN's "GameDay" the morning of the matchup served as your wakeup call.

Not only was college football back, but Mickey and Goofy had starring roles as the show originated from Disney World.

"To be in that type of game was actually wild,'' said Gators offensive lineman Christopher Bleich.

In a game that had the aura of a major bowl or conference championship event, the Gators held on for a sloppy 24-20 win over the Hurricanes in front of a sellout crowd at Camping World Stadium in Orlando and the largest TV audience to watch a game on ESPN since 2016.

After eight months of waiting to face an opponent, the Gators had their fifth consecutive win dating to last season and the program's first in 11 years over the Hurricanes. But in a schedule oddity they knew was coming for months, instead of riding the momentum from the Miami win into "The Swamp" a few days later, the Gators broke camp.

As the rest of college football opened the season last week, the Gators took a four-day hiatus. Oh, and to add to the quirkiness, Hurricane Dorian threatened the state as it whipped around in the Atlantic off Florida's east coast.
 
The Gators practiced through last Wednesday before head coach Dan Mullen gave the players and his staff four days to get away and reset for the grind of the regular season. The No. 11-ranked Gators (1-0) host UT Martin (1-0) on Saturday in the 2019 home opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Mullen preferred not to label the matchup with Miami as a "preseason game" prior to the rare meeting with the Hurricanes, but in mapping out plans for the remainder of the season, that is an apt description as the Gators launch into a stretch of seven games in seven weeks. They then have two bye weeks over their final four regular-season games.

"Week 0 was the first big game,'' senior receiver Van Jefferson said. "That was kind of like our final scrimmage of fall camp. Now we're just rolling into the season, getting comfortable and starting our routine."

Knowing what lies ahead and to take advantage of a rare four-day break in-season, Jefferson got in his car Friday morning and made the nine-hour drive to Tennessee to visit his family for the weekend. He returned Sunday evening and was back on the field Monday night when the Gators returned to practice.

"It was all worth it,'' he said.

Teammate Kyree Campbell is from Woodbridge, Va. Like Jefferson, he used the break to visit family he doesn't get to see often. Part of his trip home included a shopping trip to buy a LEGO Avengers set for his younger brother Karter, whose birthday was over the weekend.

Campbell watched a lot of football, too, making sure to tune into Vanderbilt's game against Georgia to watch his former high school teammate Dashaun Jerkins against the Bulldogs.

When the Gators returned to the field Monday, Campbell didn't sense the team had been away from the field for long.

"I think we had a good practice just getting back into the flow. I don't think anybody went out there lazy. There was a lot of effort,'' he said. "I feel like this time off has given us the time to correct our mistakes. This week is just big on tackling, assignments, getting all those little nooks out."

Bleich stayed in Gainesville and hung out with teammates. They lounged by the pool and watched football with other students as everyone wondered if Dorian was going to impact the area.

Mostly, Bleich took time to recuperate from an intense five-week period that started with the opening of preseason camp the final week of July.

"It definitely kind of helped us out to get a break this early before our stretch,'' he said. "It was nice to just be able to relax with friends on the team and watch games. We were kind of shocked by a few of them, wondering what's going on in the college football world."

Senior receiver Freddie Swain took advantage of the time away from football by focusing on his body. Rest and relaxation were his top priorities following a grueling camp.

"We had a good break to get our legs right, our minds right and watch other teams play,'' Swain said. "I went and got my feet done."

Whether Swain was referring to football treatment or a pedicure is uncertain.

"When it's time to play, we'll be ready to play,'' Swain said.