Keeping Up With Florida’s Opponents:, ”Heeerrrerre They Come!”
The competition for the Gators gets tougher around here. (UAA Photo)
When you look at the results, Coach Sumrall is justified in saying that the Gators had been tested more than some in the media thought. The two teams the Gators have played are off to a good start in their respective seasons.
By Eddie Gilley
We don’t really know how good an opponent is when we play them early in the season. My goal will be to keep us aware of how our opponents fare after they play the Gators.
Knowing how those schools compete the rest of the year will make our wins look better, our losses more acceptable, and help temper our evaluations of our own team.
FAU followed up the loss in Gainesville with a win over Navy at home by a score of 38-30. This past Saturday they defeated the FIU Panthers at home by a score of 16-10. They now sit at 2-1. Quarterback Caden Velkamp is 85-120 passing with 864 yards, 6 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. They continue to struggle to run the ball with a total of only 218 yards but that includes 132 yards lost, much of that from sacks.
Campbell entered the Swamp 2-0 with wins over East Tennessee State and Western Carolina.
ETSU was receiving votes at the start of the season, and they lost 49-37 to the Fighting Camels. They then upset Kerwin Bell’s team who was ranked #24 at home in Buies Creek by a score of 28-19.
This past week they beat NCA&T 42-14 to sit at 3-1 on the season. QB Camden Sixkiller is 97-141 with 8 TDs and 4 Ints. He has accumulated 1141 yards through the air. They rushed for 660 net yards.
When you look at the results, Coach Sumrall is justified in saying that the Gators had been tested more than some in the media thought. The two teams the Gators have played are off to a good start in their respective seasons. Including Auburn, our opponents are undefeated against everyone not named the Gators. They won’t be that way for the rest of the season, but they probably won’t finish last in their conferences either.
The competition for the Gators gets tougher here as well. Games with currently #1 ranked Texas, #2 Georgia, #4 Ole Miss this week, and #19 Missouri all loom down the road. Only this week is at home.
We will take a look back at the opponents throughout the season, but moving forward we will have a better idea of the quality of the teams we play because the body of work coming into the games will be greater.
For now, looking back gives us a better understanding of just how good those wins were in the Swamp.
Thanks for keeping tabs and reporting on these opponents, Eddie. It’s a feature I don’t recall any other publication ever offering, though the name of some guy known as Franz Beard rattles around in my head. He’s a comprehensively focused fella, too. I appreciate your articles.