Un-ranked UF 29 - 16 #11 Tennis-sea (over-rated coming into the SWAMP yet again) 😂
That was the best first half of all around football so far for Billy, so congrats, 26 Pt's.
Only getting a 4th quarter FG in the 2nd half is a bit worrisome though...
Defense only gave up 7 in the 1st half, and 9 in the second half. Props to Austin & the D.
At 8-8, Billy still doesn't have a winning record, but at least it's no longer a losing record.
And the same way that the Utah loss was only one game, the Tennis-sea win was also just one game.
Finally getting a win against a traditional Gator football rival (UT-UGly-LSU-FSU) is certainly a good first step. It was very good to see the Austin defense hold the rubber dollies to just 16 Pts, with the help of 90,000 screaming fans, was IMO the major factor in the win.
I won't fail to mention that the OL/RB's also made a huge contribution to the win, and the game manager QB also worked out well in this game, so some props go to Mertz.
"While there are still several questions regarding the product needing to be answered moving forward, the outcome and means in which it came is arguably the most significant victory to date for the current coaching staff. It silences the doubts surrounding Napier and his aforementioned struggles against rivals — at least for the meantime. The win alone isn’t enough to showcase maintained improvement, but it’s a baseline for the Gators to realize an upward trajectory throughout the 2023 season if they can take advantage. " SI's writer Brandon Carroll (the iG agrees)
Also I appreciated Billy finally benching his 50/50 X-Pt/FG kicker in favor of Trey Smack for 2 X-Pt's and a 27 Yd FG in the 4th quarter. I've been asking for that change since last season's missed kicks. The 4 Pt's that the other guy cost them is lucky to not have been crucial in the game win. --- And WTF's wrong with Crawshap's punting/shanks??? He's normally an excellent punter, so whatever's wrong needs to be addressed immediately.
They still need a dedicated ST's coach imoho, because they won in spite of their ST's play, not because their so-called 'Game Changers' mademush of a positive contribution..... 🤓
And JUS-DAMN 😢 on Wilson's injury. As I've said before, I believe that he's the best slot WR currently on the team. In the 1st Qtr, his five receptions for 45 yards proved prominent as Florida moved the ball into striking distance. (Tre Wilson's x-rays came back negative(bruised collarbone) and wanted to come back in the game but BN said he'll rest him this week.) WHEW!!!! (he's certainly not needed for Charlotte)
I'm also very happy to see that with the win, that us Gator fans didn't end up being rubber gators on a string for the tourist kids to play with.... 😁