The Florida Gators defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 52-17. The Gators now get into the meat of their SEC schedule, and this game was much needed for Florida to improve its depth. It might’ve been tough for the team to wake up on Sunday morning to play an FCS team, but the Gators responded well to the challenge. Here’s a quick recap of Florida’s win over Eastern Washington.
Florida’s Offense is Explosive, But Consistent?
Florida gave a good fight against Tennessee last weekend, scoring more than 30 points. The Gators’ style of play was very similar today as there were a couple of explosive plays that widened the margin. However, there is still doubt in regards to the consistency of the offense.
Since the beginning of the season, it’s clear that Anthony Richardson has made improvement. He threw for over 180 yards and two touchdowns today with another interception. If his primary targets in Justin Shorter, Xzavier Henderson, and Caleb Douglas continue to improve, Florida can have more balance on offense.
Gators’ Defense Held Up; Still Needs to Get Better
Holding an FCS playoff team like Eastern Washington to 17 points is definitely impressive. Regardless, Florida should not allow more than 400 total yards on its home field.
While the Gators did a decent job stopping the run, Gunner Talkington threw for more than 250 yards and a touchdown. Next week, Florida will face Missouri, and that will be a tough test given Brady Cook looked great against Georgia.
The Gators’ defensive front needs to be more controlling on the line of scrimmage throughout four quarters, especially to help out the secondary. For Florida to win the majority of its games in October, the defense will need to be the center stone of the team and perform at a high level.
Concluding Thoughts
All in all, Billy Napier should be proud of his squad for a 35-point win over the Eastern Washington Eagles. It will be interesting to see how the Gators will fare the rest of the way, and Florida is definitely capable of some upset wins. Home-field advantage is a big deal in Gainesville, so the Gators should have a good chance of defeating both Missouri and LSU.