The Opening Kickoff: Gators vs. Eastern Washington

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Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications

The Opening Kickoff: Gators vs. Eastern Washington

Saturday, October 1, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

Florida Notes | Eastern Washington Notes | Florida-EWU Game Day | How to Watch

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Napier had three press conferences leading up to Florida's home game against Eastern Washington.

He spoke to the media on Monday at the Heavener Football Center like he usually does on game weeks. Next, he addressed reporters Wednesday morning on the SEC media teleconference, and finally, on Wednesday evening, Napier held a video conference call with reporters from his new office instead of doing it in person due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian.

While the state braced for Ian's landfall, the 43-year-old Napier took a business-as-usual approach. Napier hasn't been around UF for long, but by now, those who track his daily routine are conditioned to Napier's calm demeanor.

We want to extend our heartfelt sympathies to #GatorNation & to all those affected by Hurricane Ian.

You can help through ⤵️
🔸@RedCross
🔸The Florida Disaster Fund (@VolunteerFla)
🔸Aid-a-Gator@PresidentFuchs remarks & more links to help ➡️ https://t.co/bjOb4JCuuo pic.twitter.com/OtfTdDKvGo
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) September 30, 2022

Hurricane Ian was out of Napier's control, so the coach focused on what he knows: preparing his team to play a game.

"What's unique about our time at Louisiana, is we played every number-of-day turnaround you can imagine,'' Napier said. "Five days, six days, eight, 10, 17, heck, we've had unbelievable schedules relative to the mid-week TV games. So, I think this is normal to come up with a unique schedule. I don't necessarily think there's going to be any issues here.

"There will be some advantages, in my opinion."

The Gators (2-2) host Eastern Washington (1-2) on Sunday at noon, the game pushed back a day due to Ian's impact. Coming off a 38-33 loss at Tennessee last week, the tweak in the schedule provided the Gators an additional day of recovery. That is one of the benefits Napier alluded to.

The Gators are heavy favorites over the FCS-classified Eagles, who lost 70-14 at Oregon three weeks ago. This is not a game most figure the Gators needed an extra day to come away with a victory. Still, they had no choice.

"I think kids are sometimes more resilient than adults are, just to be quite honest," Napier said. "I think this group, they enjoy practice, they're competitors. I don't know that it's not a little bit healthy to some degree, to have something to do to stay on task."

For more on Sunday's game between the Gators and Eagles, here is The Opening Kickoff:

THREE STORYLINES

Get a win tops the list for Florida after last week's loss at Tennessee dropped the Gators to 0-2 in the SEC for the first time since the Reagan administration. The Gators enter the heart of the conference schedule after facing the Eagles, and while an SEC East title seems a remote possibility at this point, they still have an opportunity to show improvement and make head coach Billy Napier's inaugural season a winning one.
Napier announced this week that fifth-year senior DB Trey Dean is injured and will not play on Sunday. Dean faced heavy criticism from fans after a pair of gaffes in the Tennessee loss that left Vols receivers wide open for big gains. Dean leads the team in tackles but has been spotty in coverage. True freshman Kamari Wilson, Florida's top-rated recruit in the 2022 class, is expected to get more playing time Sunday in a glimpse at Florida's future.
The game was moved from Saturday to Sunday due to Hurricane Ian's impact on the state. The last time the Gators played on a Sunday was in the Sun Bowl to cap the 1976 season. Florida lost to Texas A&M 37-13 in El Paso, Texas. That has nothing to do with this game other than to serve as a historical nugget in what has been an abnormal week. Napier voiced confidence in his team's ability to adjust to the tweaked schedule and unusual game day.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

This is the type of game Gators QB Anthony Richardson should be able to impact in a huge way with his dynamic play-making ability. Richardson rebounded from back-to-back mediocre outings last week at Tennessee, throwing for a career-high 453 yards. The Eagles are ranked last in the Big Sky Conference in total defense (539.0 yards per game) and scoring defense (49.5 points per game). If this one goes well for the Gators, Richardson might take a seat in the second half.
Brenton Cox Jr. has been a steady presence in the pass rush but does not have a sack. Cox came oh-so-close to dropping Tennessee's Hendon Hooker a week ago. The Eagles will be challenged to keep Cox contained on Sunday. If Cox doesn't get a sack, look for his teammates to benefit from the Eagles' attempts to keep Cox locked down.
Cornerback Jaydon Hill was a projected starter entering the 2021 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in preseason camp. Hill is set to get his first start on Sunday since the 2020 season when he played in 12 games and started five. Hill's addition to the rotation comes at a good time with the UF secondary in need of tighter coverage. The Gators rank 11th in the SEC in pass defense (220.8 ypg).

FIVE DIGITS

16 – Consecutive starts for Gators S Trey Dean III, a streak that will end Sunday with Dean out due to injury.
1,057 – Career receiving yards for Justin Shorter at Florida, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in last week's game at Tennessee.
2,217 – Days from the date the Florida-Eastern Washington game was announced (Sept. 7, 2016) to actual kickoff (Oct. 2, 2022) due to multiple reschedules.
65,709 – Largest crowd Eastern Washington has played in front of in program history, a road game at Washington in 2019.
1 – Players on Florida's roster from the state of Washington. Gators freshman LB Andrew Savaiinaea is from Graham, Wash.

INJURY REPORT

GATORS — OUT: DB Trey Dean III (undisclosed), OL Michael Tarquin (lower body), LS Marco Ortiz (upper body); QUESTIONABLE — QB Jack Miller III (thumb). EASTERN WASHINGTON — None reported.

NOTES FILE

The Gators have won 14 consecutive regular-season nonconference games dating to 2018; this is the first matchup between Florida and Eastern Washington.
EWU is a member of the Big Sky Conference and is playing its first game against a team from the Southeastern Conference.
Florida is 67-17-4 all-time against FCS opponents, including 21-1 since 1981.
Gators QB Anthony Richardson has five rushing TDs, which is tops among SEC QBs.
UF receiver Justin Shorter has a team-high 239 receiving yards coming off his career-best 155-yard performance at Tennessee.
Gators WR Ricky Pearsall and Eagles DB Eli Doyle were teammates at Arizona State in 2019.
The Gators, after converting 5 of 6 fourth-down attempts at Tennessee, are 8-for-11 on the season (72.7 percent), tied for fifth in the country.
Eagles QB Gunner Talkington completed 16 of 26 passes for 201 yards and 3 TDs in last week's 38-35 home loss to Montana State.
EWU sophomore DT Joshua Jerome, a preseason All-Big Sky selection, has 11.5 career sacks, and senior LB Mitchell Johnson has 13.5 career sacks.
EWU is 67-1 since 2010 when it wins the turnover battle, its 63-game win streak snapped in that category last season against Montana State.

THEY SAID IT

"As the storm has moved, we have 15 or 16 guys on the team that have families that might get heavy exposure, some of which have already evacuated or whatever the case may be. So I think a lot of this will be post-storm. We'll see what kind of damage we have. I think that's where we really can assist the families as an organization." — UF head coach Billy Napier on helping players deal with the impact of Hurricane Ian
"This is a great gift from him. That was a kind thing to do for Eastern." — Eastern Washington athletic director Lynn Hickey on former Gators head coach Jim McElwain, an EWU alum, brokering the matchup in 2016
"Good to see Shorter and his hard work pay off. He not only had a great day, but he made some plays in some clutch moments. That's really big for him and his development." — Gators head coach Billy Napier on receiver Justin Shorter's performance at Tennessee
"Not a lot of FCS teams get an opportunity to play against these types of teams. Having [another] opportunity definitely does give us a slight edge, because we kind of know what's coming." — Eastern Washington receiver Freddie Roberson on having previous experience on the road against a Power 5 program
"We can clean a few things up as we go forward, but we don't have anything to hang our heads about. There are no moral victories as we always talk about when you're on the wrong side of the scoreboard, we just fell three points short. We played well, just not well enough.— Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best after last week's loss to Montana State

THEY WROTE IT

Analysis: Questions for Gators entering visit from Eastern Washington via Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
Eastern Washington overcomes challenges to keep game at Florida, $750,000 payout intact writes Dan Thompson of the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review.
Gators freshman Trey Smack expected to take over on kickoffs in this report from Graham Hall of 247Sports.com.
Justus Boone set to make first career start for Gators writes Zach Abolverdi of On3.com.
Billy Napier's gambling style will pay off eventually for Gators writes David Whitley of the Gainesville Sun.

BOTTOM LINE

The Gators better not lose this one according to my mom, not after hearing about last week's loss at Tennessee from relatives on Rocky Top. And according to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Gators have a 97.9 percent of victory when FCS-program Eastern Washington plays an SEC team for the first time. There you have it, mom. I don't think you have much to worry about. I agree with that power index thingy. The Gators should roll in this one unless something very, very strange happens on Sunday afternoon.