Fire up the coffee, Gators looking for a fast start in Nashville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Quarterback Anthony Richardson spoke for all Floridians when he said, if he has to put socks on, it’s cold. If it ain’t flip-flop weather, it ain’t for us.
The forecast in Nashville for Saturday is predicting highs in the mid-40s and lows of 25 degrees. Billy Napier wasn’t keen on talking about the weather, and the Gators can’t control what Mother Nature will do.
They need to focus on what they can control, like getting off to a better start for an 11 a.m local kickoff. Two weeks ago, Florida got a taste of that kind of morning kickoff. In College Station, it wasn’t pretty early for the defense.
The Gators’ defensive unit gave up scores on three of the first five drives, including three touchdowns. A Texas A&M team that had more than 20 players missing due to injury, suspensions, and a flu bug that ravaged the locker room was looking like the 2007 New England Patriots.
The Aggies rolled up 307 yards in the first half and 24 points. It was not a good morning in Texas. The Gators made adjustments, perhaps took some espresso shots and it was a different game in the second half. This week Napier and his staff are looking to start fast and not a halftime intervention to get going.
“We quality controlled that trip,” Napier said. “We are going to do a few things differently, from a time allocation standpoint. What we do — I think it’s important in the beginning of the week. I think the sleep habits of the players and staff throughout the week will be important.”
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Gators’ recent history of slow morning starts in Nashville
There, of course, is the 13-6 morning kickoff in 2016 that most Gators fans would prefer to forget. An uninspiring 11 a.m. start lingered and Florida was fortunate to leave Nashville with a win. The following trip was Dan Mullen’s first in 2018. The Gators were shut out in the first quarter, while Vanderbilt found the end zone. The ‘Dores carried 21-13 lead into the locker room at halftime before the Gators were able to pull off a comeback win.
Needless to say, the environment at FirstBank Stadium isn’t electric. The smallest stadium in the SEC is hardly ever filled and typically has more opposing than hometown fans.
“I think, as you approach Thursday night, Friday night, kind of making sure that we make adjustments there. Parts of our team started fast, but the other parts didn’t,” Napier said of the A&M trip. “So I think consistency as a whole trying to keep some of this momentum. The things that we learned worked Saturday. Hopefully, we can apply those.”
You have to bring your own energy and, at 11 a.m. with a rivalry game against Florida State on the horizon, the Gators will need to be focused and ready for their final SEC game.
