8/24/19 Florida vs Miami Week 0
Florida and Miami just played the first FBS game of the year, and oh my goodness it was ugly.
Like millions of other people around the country, I was absolutely ecstatic that college football was starting tonight. Patiently waiting all summer for this “Week Zero” blockbuster primetime game between the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes. Seriously though, props to the NCAA and the two schools for doing something good for once and scheduling a rivalry-esque game to kick off the 2019 season. I rushed home from work this evening to get a chance to watch the kickoff of the best sport in the country.
So only one problem, and I should have seen this coming. The game was absolutely atrocious. It might have been one of the ugliest games that I have watched between two high-end football programs. The number of penalties between the two teams almost made it unwatchable. Florida’s secondary committing a pass interference penalty on a 4th & 30+ late in the 4th quarter was the tip of the iceberg for me. This happened multiple times on Miami’s final drive, and made me ponder if Florida was trying to lose this game on purpose or not! The penalties, along with the lack of tackling leading to big plays for both teams, and the number of times each team committed fumbles leading to turnovers was absurd.
Feleipe Franks played extremely average. He had several costly turnovers, but still accounted for three touchdowns for the Gators. I honestly expected him to have a bigger game, but I am also certain he will look better the next few games, especially going into SEC play early on. Although nothing about his performance tonight screamed “starting quarterback for the number 8 team in the country”. Several debacles on both ends of the ball really overshadowed any sort of QB performance in this game.
One more thing I loved from this game was Florida’s pass rush. It felt like their defensive line was constantly suffocating Miami’s offensive line and getting right to Miami’s QB Jarren Williams. I do believe Williams and the Hurricanes offense will be able to adjust going into ACC play and show the talent that they certainly do have.
All in all, I hope I can erase this game from my memory. The ridiculous mistakes by both teams so frequently made it certainly dramatic. It seems like things for both Miami and Florida can only go up from here. Here’s to the 2019 college football season!
Brandon Zapotoski (@bzapthrone)
Founder of Sports Throne
