Saturday, September 4, 2021 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
THE QUICK SLANT
No. 13 FLORIDA 35, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 14
WHAT HAPPENED: The first packed house at Spurrier/Florida Field in more than 21 months probably left the fans wanting more from the home team's new-look offense, but they settled for a 35-14 victory over Florida Atlantic and a long-awaited night of college-football atmosphere with a crowd of 86,840 celebrating the return of the "Swamp." Quarterback Emory Jones, in his first career start (and tasked with replacing 2020 Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask), accounted for 187 yards of offense and passed for a touchdown. Senior tailback Malik Davis rushed for 102 yards and a score, while classmate Dameon Pierce ran for a couple TDs, as the 13th-ranked Gators took care of the Owls on a pretty September football night. Jones, the fourth-year junior from LaGrange, Ga., completed 17 of 27 passes for 113 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions (one coming in the end zone), while rushing 10 times for 74 yards. Redshirt freshman backup Anthony Richardson figures to be a topic of conversation this week, after relieving Jones and leading the Gators on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, the second coming on his electrifying 73-yard run. Richardson, who ducked in for two series in the first half, completed all three of his seven passes for 40 yards and rushed seven times for 160 yards (all but 28 in the second half). He looked really good, but this was Jones' game all the way, though, and he'll come away from it knowing he and the Florida passing game have a lot of work to do after leading the nation in throwing the ball last season at 378.6 yards per game. Defensively, Florida gave up 351 yards and 23 first downs, but forced a pair of turnovers on the way to flirting with the unit's first shutout since 2019 -- and a year after finishing 89th nationally and allowing 30.8 points per game. UF scored on its first possession, with Jones leading an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Pierce scoring on a 2-yard run. A 9-yard Jones-to-Rick Wells scoring toss gave the Gators a two-touchdown cushion in the first period. Pierce added a 3-yard score in the fourth period and Davis dove over for a 1-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter. The Owls staved off a shutout with an eight-play, 67-yard drive ended with a 2-yard scoring run by Johnny Ford. Florida Atlantic quarterback N'Kosi Perry completed 19 of his 33 passes for 261 yards, with his lone TD passing coming with 1:37 left in the game.
Senior tailback Dameon Pierce scores the first UF touchdown of the 2021 season on a 2-yard run to cap the game's opening drive Saturday night against Florida Atlantic. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
WHAT IT MEANS: Florida had a school-record string of 27 consecutive season-opening victories snapped in 2017 when the Gators fell to Michigan 33-17 in Arlington, Texas. They've now won four straight openers, all under Coach Dan Mullen, with the victory over the Owls the first season-opening home win since 2018. UF kicked off the last two seasons away from home, beating Miami 24-20 at Orlando in 2019 and Ole Miss on the road in 2020. The Gators have won 32 straight home openers, dating to 1990.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The easy and obvious pick would be Jones vs. Richardson, but Davis had a nice game running the football. Good for him. Davis took a lot of heat (too much, actually) last year for his late fumble at Texas A&M, so to start his fifth-year senior season and answer the call (with runs of 31, 17 and 21 yards in the first half). Davis, with the second 100-yard game of his career, became the first UF back to hit triple-digit rushing in a season opener since Matt Jones had 114 in 2014. On defense, linebacker Jeremiah Moon became the first player in school history to play in six different seasons (2017-22). Moon, who has struggled to stay healthy over his career, was a pass-rushing presence in finishing with six tackles (five in the first half) and a QB hurry.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The communications staff will be sifting through the records this week to find the last time a Florida offense had nearly three time as many rushing yards (400) as passing yards (153) in a game.
UP NEXT: The Gators (1-0) will play a rare nonconference road game (against an opponent other than Florida State) when they travel to Tampa to face South Florida (0-1) at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls, out of the American Athletic Conference, opened the 2021 season Thursday by getting drilled 45-0 at North Carolina State. The game will mark UF's first regular-season game in Tampa since beating Mississippi State 21 there on Sept. 30, 1989, although the Gators have played in Tampa five times since in the Outback Bowl.
