Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications
The Opening Kickoff: No. 13 Gators vs. FAU
Friday, September 3, 2021 | Football, Scott Carter
Florida Notes | FAU Notes | Gators Game Day
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gators head coach Dan Mullen discussed the annual transition a team must make going from preseason camp to game week at his Monday press conference.
The No. 13-ranked Gators have a much bigger transition to make in 2021.
They start that journey when they host Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in the season opener. They are starting the season as defending SEC East champions for the first time under Mullen. They have a new quarterback in Emory Jones. They have several newcomers on defense to tighten the bolts. They have a new punter and kicker. They have three new assistant coaches.
Still, despite so much newness, they enter the season with a couple of old standbys in place: Alabama is ranked No. 1 and Georgia is picked to win the SEC East.
Fortunately for the Gators, they have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the field in both cases: Sept. 18 at home against the Crimson Tide, and Oct. 30 in Jacksonville against the Bulldogs.
While last season ended with a three-game losing streak, the Gators took note how close they came to winning their first SEC title since 2008 in a back-and-forth 52-46 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. That memory drives the players who returned for another shot at the program's first trip to the College Football Playoff.
"It makes you hungry,'' junior linebacker Mohamoud Diabate said. "You wan to go back. That's all we want now. Get back to the SEC Championship."
The Gators enter their first two games on that quest as heavy favorites, starting against FAU and well-traveled head coach Willie Taggart. Florida is favored by 23.5 points and if it can come away clean against the Owls, Florida will be an overwhelming favorite in Tampa next week when it faces USF. The Bulls opened their season Thursday night with a 45-0 loss at N.C. State.
And after the USF game, the Crimson Tide come to town. But as they say, a lot of water must pass under the bridge before then.
First, it's the Gators vs. Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in 'The Swamp' with no reduced-capacity restrictions in place.
It feels a lot like old times. Maybe by season's end, the Gators say that on the field.
As you may have noticed, I've altered The Opening Kickoff this season to offer expanded items throughout the week. You can check out the other parts at the following links and the rest of this week's offering below:
Part I: Gators cornerback Avery Helm, 5 Questions
Part II: Taggart Finally Makes it to 'The Swamp'
Part III: Gators-FAU Storylines, Players to Watch & Numbers
Part IV: End Zone Party Boyz, They Said It, They Wrote It
NOTABLES
INJURY REPORT
FLORIDA— OUT: CB Jaydon Hill (knee, out for season) S Kamar Wilcoxson (knee); DOUBTFUL: OL Yousef Mugharbil (scooter accident); FAU— OUT: LB Chase Lasater (undisclosed).
BOTTOM LINE
This is what we've been waiting on, the start of football season without reduced-capacity restrictions in place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Well, some of us. The Gators are certainly among that group. They are favored by more than 20 points to dispatch of the Owls on Saturday night in the season opener. All eyes will be on Jones as he takes over for Kyle Trask, who had a record-setting season in 2020 and became a Heisman Trophy finalist. Trask is now in Tampa Bay, and Jones takes over with backup Anthony Richardson expected to get some snaps Saturday night, too. Taggart's Owls have 20 starters back from a 5-4 team, but the roster's talent level doesn't match up to the Gators'. Unless Jones breaks the school-record for interceptions -- he would need 10 to break the NCAA single-game record held by John Reaves and the guess here is Mullen would go in and take snaps before he'd let that happen — the Gators should roll in this one. Look for Jones to have a nice start, the running game to eat up yards, and some of the newcomers on defense to get their feet wet in Florida's 32nd consecutive win in a home opener.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gators head coach Dan Mullen discussed the annual transition a team must make going from preseason camp to game week at his Monday press conference.
The No. 13-ranked Gators have a much bigger transition to make in 2021.
They start that journey when they host Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in the season opener. They are starting the season as defending SEC East champions for the first time under Mullen. They have a new quarterback in Emory Jones. They have several newcomers on defense to tighten the bolts. They have a new punter and kicker. They have three new assistant coaches.
Still, despite so much newness, they enter the season with a couple of old standbys in place: Alabama is ranked No. 1 and Georgia is picked to win the SEC East.
Fortunately for the Gators, they have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the field in both cases: Sept. 18 at home against the Crimson Tide, and Oct. 30 in Jacksonville against the Bulldogs.
While last season ended with a three-game losing streak, the Gators took note how close they came to winning their first SEC title since 2008 in a back-and-forth 52-46 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. That memory drives the players who returned for another shot at the program's first trip to the College Football Playoff.
"It makes you hungry,'' junior linebacker Mohamoud Diabate said. "You wan to go back. That's all we want now. Get back to the SEC Championship."
Can't wait to be 90,000 strong in The Swamp on Saturday! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/KcZ6nPyGI0
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 2, 2021
The Gators enter their first two games on that quest as heavy favorites, starting against FAU and well-traveled head coach Willie Taggart. Florida is favored by 23.5 points and if it can come away clean against the Owls, Florida will be an overwhelming favorite in Tampa next week when it faces USF. The Bulls opened their season Thursday night with a 45-0 loss at N.C. State.
And after the USF game, the Crimson Tide come to town. But as they say, a lot of water must pass under the bridge before then.
First, it's the Gators vs. Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in 'The Swamp' with no reduced-capacity restrictions in place.
It feels a lot like old times. Maybe by season's end, the Gators say that on the field.
As you may have noticed, I've altered The Opening Kickoff this season to offer expanded items throughout the week. You can check out the other parts at the following links and the rest of this week's offering below:
Part I: Gators cornerback Avery Helm, 5 Questions
Part II: Taggart Finally Makes it to 'The Swamp'
Part III: Gators-FAU Storylines, Players to Watch & Numbers
Part IV: End Zone Party Boyz, They Said It, They Wrote It
NOTABLES
- The Gators open the season at home for the first time since 2018, a 53-6 victory over Charleston Southern in UF's first game under Mullen.
- In three seasons under Mullen, the Gators have scored 40 or more points 13 times. Florida topped 40 points just 12 times in the eight seasons prior to Mullen's return to UF.
- Mullen is 29-9 in his first three seasons. How does that compare with Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer? Spurrier was 28-8 and Meyer was 31-8.
- The Owls' roster is dotted with players with famous fathers, including Andrew Boselli, Peter Warrick Jr., Willie Taggart Jr. and Warren Sapp III.
- First-year FAU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops -- yes, the brother of former Gators defensive coordinator and Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops -- takes over a unit that returns nine starters from a season ago.
- Former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro receiver Hines Ward is with FAU as special assistant to the head coach.
- The Gators have a talented backfield that features Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis, Nay'Quan Wright, Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman. Davis is the only member of the quintuplet with a 100-yard game, rushing for a career-high 124 on Sept. 30, 2017, against Vanderbilt.
- Departed receivers Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes accounted for 51.6 percent of Florida's receiving yardage a season ago.
- The Gators are 7-0 all-time against in-state FBS schools not named Miami or Florida State. They are 3-0 against FAU, 2-0 against UCF, 1-0 against FIU and 1-0 against USF.
- Gators quarterback Emory Jones will become the 13th different starting quarterback for the Gators since Tim Tebow's final season 12 years ago.
INJURY REPORT
FLORIDA— OUT: CB Jaydon Hill (knee, out for season) S Kamar Wilcoxson (knee); DOUBTFUL: OL Yousef Mugharbil (scooter accident); FAU— OUT: LB Chase Lasater (undisclosed).
BOTTOM LINE
This is what we've been waiting on, the start of football season without reduced-capacity restrictions in place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Well, some of us. The Gators are certainly among that group. They are favored by more than 20 points to dispatch of the Owls on Saturday night in the season opener. All eyes will be on Jones as he takes over for Kyle Trask, who had a record-setting season in 2020 and became a Heisman Trophy finalist. Trask is now in Tampa Bay, and Jones takes over with backup Anthony Richardson expected to get some snaps Saturday night, too. Taggart's Owls have 20 starters back from a 5-4 team, but the roster's talent level doesn't match up to the Gators'. Unless Jones breaks the school-record for interceptions -- he would need 10 to break the NCAA single-game record held by John Reaves and the guess here is Mullen would go in and take snaps before he'd let that happen — the Gators should roll in this one. Look for Jones to have a nice start, the running game to eat up yards, and some of the newcomers on defense to get their feet wet in Florida's 32nd consecutive win in a home opener.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
CB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
S
/ Football
RB
/ FootballMichai Boireau Postgame Press Conference 10-18-25
Saturday, October 18
Jadan Baugh Postgame Press Conference 10-18-25
Saturday, October 18
DJ Lagway Postgame Press Conference 10-18-25
Saturday, October 18
Miss. State vs. Florida Highlights 10-18-25
Saturday, October 18
