Florida football score, takeaways: No. 13 Gators whip Idaho with offensive explosion

By Adam Silverstein
November 17, 2018
Florida football score, takeaways: No. 13 Gators whip Idaho with offensive explosion
Football

Image Credit: UAA Communications

The No. 13 Florida Gators wasted no time — literally — jumping on top of the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, scoring on the first play from scrimmage on their way to a dominant 63-10 blowout on Senior Day at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The final home game in The Swamp may not have been highly-attended, but the Gators (8-3) surely put on a show for those that did decide to take in some football on a beautiful day.

Let’s take a look at what went down and what we can take from Florida’s 53-point domination of Idaho on Saturday afternoon.

1. Throw, throw and throw some more: Building on his improved play from last week, redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks led the way to the Gators’ best passing game in nine years. The 399 total passing yards were the most Florida has achieved in a game since the 2010 Sugar Bowl, when Tim Tebow passed for 482 of UF’s 490 total yards in his final game. (Florida had 600 total yards in the game.)

Franks completed 19-of-27 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns, adding a 17-yard rushing score to his total. He existed late in the second quarter for freshman QB Emory Jones, who hit on 12-of-16 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Jones did make a couple rookie mistakes in the game and fumbled the ball for the third time this season. With Jones having played, he only has one more opportunity to step on the field this year without burning his redshirt. Most expect that to occur in the Gators’ bowl game, but there’s always a chance head coach Dan Mullen uses him against Florida State next week.

2. Improvement on third down but not fourth: After struggling to contain opponents on the “money down” in two prior games, Florida’s defense found its mojo again against South Carolina. That continued on Saturday, though Idaho is not exactly an opponent against whom UF should struggle. The Gators held the Vandals to 3 off 17 on third down but actually allowed them to convert 2 of 3 fourth-down tries on the afternoon. Idaho did pick up 227 yards of offense on the day, though most of it was against Florida’s second- and third-stringers.

3. Defense got in on the fun, too: Defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who may well have played his last game in The Swamp as a draft-eligible junior, nabbed an interception just six seconds into the game for a 26-yard pick six to put the Gators up 7-0. Redshirt freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller followed suit in the fourth quarter with an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown for UF’s last score of the game. Florida has two sacks, seven tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries on the day with junior defensive lineman Jachai Polite — possibly in his last home game as well — registering one of those takedowns.

Odds and ends: Junior Joshua Hammond became the second UF wide receiver with two touchdowns in a game this season; he caught one and took a reverse 17 yards for a rushing score … junior WR Tyrie Cleveland, expected to play a starring role this season, caught his first touchdown since Sept. 22 and had a season-high three receptions … redshirt junior running back Jordan Scarlett started but did not register a single carry … freshman RB Dameon Pierce led the way with 13 carries for 77 yards, plus a 5-yard receiving touchdown … redshirt junior WR Van Jefferson and freshman tight end Kyle Pitts also scored … on Senior Day, fourth-year TE C’yontai Lewis caught three balls for 57 yards … seniors CeCe Jefferson and Martez Ivey served as captains … Florida and Idaho played for the first time with the Gators winning their 19th straight game against a first-time opponent … UF is 6-2 against unranked teams this season … Florida is 4-0 when scoring first, 6-0 when leading after the third quarter, 5-0 when allowing 20 points or fewer and 7-0 when outrushing an opponent … the Gators have scored in 383 consecutive games, an NCAA record

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