5 major takeaways from Florida’s blowout win over Eastern Washington
The Florida Gators dominated the Eastern Washington Eagles on Sunday, 52-17.
A blowout win is expected whenever Florida gets the chance to host an FCS squad, but last year’s debacle against Samford proved that these games can’t always be taken for granted. The defense didn’t look hot through the first few drives of this game, but the offense seized the momentum early and the rest of the team fell in line.
Eastern Washington managed to score a pair of touchdowns once the second team came in, but this was a Florida win all the way. It’s hard to learn anything from a contest with a skill gap as big as this one, but the second team coming helps us assess Florida’s depth at certain positions. With that in mind, this week’s takeaways will focus on the freshmen, backups and reserves that impressed the most.
Florida needed a big win after facing three top-20 opponents through the first four weeks of the season, and this should help boost the team’s confidence heading into another conference matchup.
Kitna might be better than we thought
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
Many expected [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] to make his debut in this game, but Anthony Richardson’s minor injury in the first half forced the redshirt freshman onto the field early. Don’t worry, Richardson is fine and returned to the game to finish with 185 yards and two touchdowns and an interception on 6-for-9 passing, but it was Kitna who led the team with 208 yards and a touchdown.
Richardson is in no danger of losing his starting to job to Kitna, but No. 11 still impressed in his first time out. He found [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] for a 62-yard score and hit [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] in the second quarter for a 22-yard gain. A better defense might pick up on his tendency to dump it off to the running back, but Kitna was more than enough to carve up EWU.
Eventually, [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] will return to action and take that backup spot back from Kitna, but he’s approaching redshirt territory if he doesn’t rejoin the team within the next few weeks.
Napier's changes on defense seeing mixed results
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
After Eastern Washington drove down the field on its first drive of the game and settled for a field goal, the Eagles didn’t score again until the fourth quarter. Allowing a pair of garbage-time touchdowns with backups on the field for both teams isn’t too concerning, but Florida still gave up more yards to EWU than Montana State did.
The Gators started some young players and let plenty of freshmen play this week, but those excuses only hold up for so long. Let’s focus on the good, though.
[autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] looked good in place of the injured [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] at safety. He punished receivers for making catches downfield, finishing the day with three tackles. [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] was impressive during the fourth quarter until he went down with a minor injury. Black was the player who made the onside recovery to give Florida a shot at the end of the Tennessee game. Napier said that he had to earn more playing time during the week, and this might have done it. Let’s hope that the injury isn’t too serious.
Lorenzo Lingard should get a few more snaps
Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun
It was a weird day on the ground for Florida. Eight players got carries, but a receiver and quarterback ended up leading the team in yards despite each getting just one attempt. Pearsall’s sweep play went for 76 yards and a touchdown, and Richardson took off once for a 45-yard gain.
But when it comes to the running backs, it was [autotag]Lorenzo Lingard[/autotag] who led the way with 44 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Fans have been waiting for the former five-star recruit to get the ball all season, and this could be the start of an increased role for him. Despite being listed on the depth chart as the fourth option, Napier hasn’t given him touches in a competitive game. Hopefully, this performance changes Napier’s mind and Lingard will see the field a bit more often moving forward.
Florida has some talented young receivers
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Richardson and Kitna spread the ball around pretty evenly against Eastern Washington. [autotag]Justin Shorter [/autotag]had a 75-yard touchdown and [autotag]Xavier Henderson[/autotag] finished the night with a pair of catches for 39 yards, but it was the younger guys who did most of the damage.
[autotag]Daejon Reynolds[/autotag] had his best game of the year with two catches for 74 yards. He previously had just one reception for five yards. Douglas had the big 62-yard touchdown catch from Kitna and was targeted a team-high three times.
Shorter will leave after this year, and there are questions about the depth in the wide receiver room. Douglas and Reynolds looked like playmakers of the future this week.
Remember, it's Eastern Washington...
Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun
Before anyone claims that Florida is fixed and that brighter days are ahead, let’s remember that this is FCS Eastern Washington. The Gators are supposed to chew up and spit out teams like this every time they come through. Just because Samford made it a shootout last year, doesn’t mean the expectations have changed.
If Florida goes out and beats Missouri by two touchdowns or more, then we can talk about the Gators being back. Georgia struggled against Mizzou, and Florida’s defense still needs to prove itself against an SEC program. We’ll know a lot more about this team in a week than we do now.
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