The Florida Gators scored on their first drive against Charleston Southern in Dan Mullen’s first game as the Gators’ head coach on Saturday night. They scored on their second drive, too. And the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth. At halftime, it was 38-0. At game’s end, it was 53-6. And it was fun. Feleipe Franks threw for 219 yards and five touchdowns — all in the first half, making him the first Florida QB with five passing touchdowns in a game since Chris Leak and the first Gator with five scoring tosses in a half since Rex Grossman — and paced Florida to a lopsided win over a clearly outmatched Buccaneers outfit. But this was about more than Florida being better than its foe. The five Franks TD throws? They came on five different plays, including a jump pass at the goal line clearly meant as tribute to Tim Tebow, and went to four different receivers. Florida’s defense? Almost perfect in the first half, with a 70-yard run just before halftime due to a missed tackle resulting in zero points after the subsequent field goal was blocked, and impregnable through the air, allowing just two passing yards on three completions. The Gators’ running game? In good hands, from Franks on down to freshman Dameon Pierce, with five runners tallying at least 24 yards each and Pierce leading them all with 75 yards earned on eight carries, most of them vicious. Florida’s long-beleaguered special teams? Responsible for blocking that field goal, getting several good punt returns, one enormous tackle on kick coverage — by Pierce, naturally — and making sure the Buccaneers could not get seven points via another block that turned into a two-point return by walk-on Austin Perry. It didn’t matter that Florida was missing seven players — six on scholarship — due to suspensions, and another six due to injury. It didn’t matter that Franks started somewhat slowly, with receivers dropping two passes on his first drive. It didn’t matter — much, anyway — that Florida struggled to get interior push and Mullen kept the Gators’ offense rather vanilla. Nothing mattered much on this night, which is how it should be in games like these, in which Florida pays a football program nowhere near its own talent level to be vivisected before tens of thousands of fans in The Swamp. A year after a 4-7 campaign, two years after a 24-7 win over UMass in a season opener, three years after needing overtime to survive a challenge from Florida Atlantic, and five years removed from a 4-8 slog, it felt good to take this win and this dominance for granted. It might not last. But tonight was fun.<doc-sep>GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida will begin its 2018 season on Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff against Charleston Southern on the SEC Network. The Swamp247 crew is on hand at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to provide you with live updates throughout the evening, from recruits spotted on campus and in the stadium, to pre-game warmup notes and injury observations, to in-depth game analysis as the game progresses. We'll also have extensive post-game updates from players and coaches. During the game, you can also bookmark this page. It will be updated throughout the game with key scoring drives, turnovers and relevant stats and information. Join the discussion on our message boards at the link below. __________ __________ Scoring & Drive Highlights 1st Quarter 12:30... Gators 7 CSU 0 (8 plays, 75-yard drive) The Gators scored on their opening drive with help from the Buccaneers. E. King was ejected from the game for targeting (15-yard penalty) and an offsides penalty kept things going. On 4th and 1 and Jordan Scarlett gets 2 yards to keep the drive alive. Finally redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks completed a screen pass to sophomore Trevon Grimes on the right sideline. A great block by R.J. Raymond who dropped a pass the play before allowed Grimes to run the distance for a 34-yard touchdown. 8:10… Gators 10, CSU 0 (8 plays, 64 yards) Florida scored again on their second drive. The big play was a 48-yard bomb from Franks to Freddie Swain on the right sideline who tuned up field to finish off the play. The drive stalled at the 4-yard line and Evan McPherson kicked a 21-yard field goal for the score. 2nd Quarter 13:19… Gators 17, CSU 0 (6 plays, 57 yards) Hitting three different receivers on the drive and redshirt junior Van Jefferson twice, Franks hit Jefferson on the left hash in the end zone on a slant pass for a touchdown. 9:51… Gators 24, CSU 0 (4 plays, 29 yards) After getting the ball on the CSU 29-line, junior running back Lamical Perine wove his way for 23 yards to start the drive. A penalty set them back, but Franks hit Josh Hammond for Hammond’s first touchdown reception of his career on a 6-yard out route to the left in the back of the end zone. 5:49… Gators 31, CSU 0 (7 plays, 70 yards) The passing game was at it again with Franks hitting five different receivers including tight end Lucas Krull who caught a 30-yard pass on the right sideline. One play later, junior receiver Tyrie Cleveland would catch a jump pass from Franks that amounted to three yards but in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. 1:38 Gators 38, CSU 0 (5 plays, 65 yards) Malik Davis started things off with a 16-yard run and then another 15-yard run. Franks drove the rest of the way with his arm hitting Jefferson twice, including a 3-yard pass to Jefferson for his second touchdown of the night and the fifth for Franks. 0:00 Gators 38, CSU 0 Florida preserved a shutout after allowing a 70-yard pass play to get the ball t the Florida 8-yard line. Three plays later a field goal attempt was blocked by redshirt freshman Zachary Carter and time ran out on the half. HALFTIME 3rd Quarter 12:50… Defense starts the second half strong with a forced fumble by Jachai Polite and fumble return of 22 yards by Tedarrell Slaton to the CSU 14-yard line. 10:58… Gators 41, CSU 0 (4 plays, 0 yards) With Kyle Trask at the helm a snap mishap slowed the Gators roll and in three plays they manage a 31-yard field goal by Evan McPherson. 7:28… Gators 48, CSU 0 (5 plays, 57 yards) The Gators did it by ground on this drive. Freshman Dameon Pierce carried the ball three times for 39 yards including a 27-yard scamper. Trask punched it in with a designed quarterback run to the right side for a 12-yard touchdown, the first score of his career. Defense earned another turnover with a fumble recovery by redshirt junior transfer Adam Shuler giving the offense the ball at the CSU 22=yard line. 4:48... Gators 51, CSU 0 After stalling on the drive, redshirt senior place kicker Jorde Powell is called upon to make a 39-yard field goal and he does. 13:40… Gators 51, CSU 6 (9 plays 75 yards) CSU methodically ran down field with runs of 13 and 10 and capped off with a 15 yard touchdown run through the meat of the Gator defense. 13:40… Gators 53, CSU 6 (1 play) Florida junior linebacker Jeremiah Moon snuck through the middle of the field goal protection unit of CSU and blocked the extra point, the ball was returned by Austin Perry for 2-points. Final: Gators 53, CSU 6 Freshman John Huggins ended any threat of CSU scoring again with an interception with just a few seconds to play. __________ How To Watch Florida vs. Charleston Southern Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium TV: SEC Network Live Stream: WatchESPN.Com Radio: Gators IMG Network (Station List) Listen Online: HERE Live Stats Update Online: HERE __________ Game Notes FLORIDA RETURNING DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS • Florida had a pair of three-interception games last season (Tennessee, at South Carolina), marking the first time the Gators accomplished that since 2014. • The Gators returned three of those interceptions for touchdowns, a feat only 18 other teams (all of whom played at least 13 games to UF’s 11) accomplished. Since 1999, Florida’s 43 interception return touchdowns lead all FBS programs by three.• Florida’s 14 interceptions last season were tied for second among SEC teams, and its 1.27 interceptions per game ranked 19th nationally. The Gators’ 166 interceptions since 2008 rank fourth among FBS programs, trailing Boise State (175), Ohio State (172), and Alabama (168). • The Gators (four), Alabama (five) and South Carolina (five) were the only SEC teams with more than three multi-interception games in 2017. • Sophomore cornerback CJ Henderson had four of those interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. Henderson was one of five true freshmen in the country with four interceptions, and he was one of two true freshmen in the nation with two interception return touchdowns last year. • Henderson’s four picks were the second-highest total by a true freshman in school history, with John Clifford’s seven in 1970 being the UF true freshman record. • Sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson--brother of current Indianapolis Colts and former Gators cornerback Quincy Wilson-- led Florida with 10 pass breakups last season. Wilson’s 10 PBUs were the most by a Florida true freshman since Vernon Hargreaves III’s 11 in 2013. • Junior linebacker David Reese was one of eight SEC players to log a 100-tackle season last year. Reese finished with 102 tackles, led the Gators in tackles 10 out of 11 games, and had a career-high 14 against Florida State. • Florida finished 31st nationally in total defense last season (349.3 yards allowed per game), marking the first time since 2014 it finished outside the top 10, and outside the top 15 for the first time since 2007. • Since 2005, only the Gators and Alabama have ended the season in the top 10 nationally in total defense more than seven times FLORIDA RETURNING OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS • Junior Lamical Perine’s nine total touchdowns in 2017 were the fifth-most by a UF running back since 1996, behind Kelvin Taylor (13 - 2015), Ciatrick Fason (12 - 2004), Mike Gillislee (11 - 2012), Earnest Graham (11 - 2002). • Despite missing the final four games of the season due to a knee injury, sophomore running back Malik Davis posted the fourth-most net rushing yards (526) by a Florida true freshman since 1996: Earnest Graham (654 - 1999), Jeff Demps (605 - 2008), DeShawn Wynn (540 - 2003). • Even amid UF’s offensive woes last season, it managed to rush for at least 165 yards in six consecutive games (Tennessee-Georgia) for the first time since 2009. UF also averaged 170.9 rushing yards over its final 10 games. • Aiding Florida’s ground game is the return of all five starters along the offensive line. The Gators are one of 18 programs returning all five starting offensive linemen for 2018. Tackles Martez Ivey (senior) and Jawaan Taylor (junior) return a combined 53 starts, and they were the only offensive linemen to start all 11 games a year ago. • One thing the Gators did do well offensively last season was convert opportunities in the red zone. Florida went 30-for-31 (96.77%) on red zone chances last year, ranking third nationally.<doc-sep>
GAINESVILLE — Florida opened the Dan Mullen era Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium by doing exactly what it was supposed to do. Destroy a completely overmatched Division I-AA team. So ignore the final score against Charleston Southern (53-6). Here are five worthwhile things we learned that will matter when the schedule starts getting tougher, beginning next week against Kentucky: #Gators HC Dan Mullen waving his arms to pump up the crowd on his first Gator Walk pic.twitter.com/GNd99VzRN3 — Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) September 1, 2018 This offense could be entertaining. As promised, Mullen used Feleipe Franks' mobility through designed runs and impromptu scrambles. The redshirt sophomore rushed five times for 34 yards in the first half; he rushed for more yards only once last season, and almost all of that was from his 79-yard scramble against Texas A&M. Franks' arm fit the system, too, with some downfield shots mixed with quick hits to his playmakers in a 16-of-24, 219-yard performance. Franks became the first UF quarterback since Rex Grossman in 2000 to throw five touchdowns in the first half. The Gators went the entire Jim McElwain era without recording five passing touchdowns in a game. "We put up that many points tonight," Franks said. "What's to not like about it?" Mullen probably left a lot of plays uncalled, but the announced crowd of 81,164 still saw some ingenuity. Franks dumped a shovel pass to tight end Kemore Gamble out of an option play. At the end of the first half, Franks hit Tyrie Cleveland on a jump pass – an obvious wink from Mullen to his history with Tim Tebow (even though Franks said he has never seen that clip). If this is a Mullen offense in a blowout, how will it look when he needs to get creative against Mississippi State or LSU? Two transfers are going to be among the Gators’ top players. This isn't a surprise, given how Trevon Grimes (Ohio State) and Van Jefferson (Ole Miss) looked in spring practice and fall camp. But they made immediate impacts. Grimes, a former four-star recruit from Fort Lauderdale, took a screen pass from Franks and raced 34 yards untouched for the Gators' first touchdown (and the first of his college career), less than three minutes into the game. Jefferson scored twice in the second quarter, both on short passes in the red zone where he could use his 6-foot-2, 197-pound frame. Expect more big plays from both once the schedule heats up. Tight ends will be involved. After catching only 26 passes last season, tight ends had four receptions in the first half Saturday and couldn't reel in two other catchable balls in Franks' first three throws. R.J. Raymond had one of those misses but atoned for it on the next play with a key block that helped spring Grimes' score. "They're going to be a big part of our offense moving forward," Mullen said. Discipline remains a point of emphasis. Seven players were suspended, including defensive lineman Cece Jefferson (academics) and receiver Kadarius Toney (who was involved in several off-field incidents, including being stopped by police with a loaded AR-15 in his backseat). Running back Adarius Lemons (a Clearwater native) was out, too, and three other starters were benched for the first series. Then again, McElwain preached discipline, too. He infamously erupted at running back Kelvin Taylor in Week 2 of his first season and talked a lot about how freedom of choice didn't mean freedom from consequence. We'll see whether Mullen's message resonates. Special teams matter more. After blocking only three kicks or punts under McElwain, the Gators blocked two Saturday night — the first time they've done so since the Sugar Bowl in January 2013. Hillsborough High alumnus Zachary Carter swatted a field goal to end the first half, and Jeremiah Moon blocked an extra point in the fourth quarter (which Austin Perry returned for two points). UF also narrowly missed blocking a punt in the first half. It's too early to know whether those moments were because of UF's improvement or an overwhelmed opponent, but Mullen's emphasis on the third phase of the game is undeniable. "This year, Coach Mullen made it really prominent that special teams is very important," Carter said. "So the guys take a lot of pride on special teams. Any big plays we make on special teams are just as important as we make on offense or defense." Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.