GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida must have used up all its offensive fireworks in Week 1 against New Mexico State, because the Gators offense looked much more stunted in a too-close-for-comfort 31-24 win over East Carolina on Saturday night. While the Pirates are a better team than the Aggies, many of the mistakes Florida made were their own doing. Will Grier and Treon Harris both played, but one did not stand above the other. The Gators have plenty to iron out before playing at Kentucky next week.
The game turned when: With 21 seconds remaining and East Carolina at the Florida 13 with a chance to tie, the Gators blitzed quarterback Blake Kemp. Feeling the heat, Kemp had the ball slip out of his hand. Joey Ivie gets credit for the sack, while Alex McCalister recovered the fumble to preserve the nailbiting win.
Stat of the game: 12-105. Florida was flagged for 12 penalties, including several for celebration, that resulted in 105 yards lost. That is simply unacceptable for a team that ranked No. 96 in penalties a year ago. The Gators aren't going to have much margin for error during SEC play, so they are going to have to find a way to play more disciplined.
What the win means for Florida: The Gators do not seem to be any closer to finding an answer at quarterback. Grier led three scoring drives, Harris one, but it is the missed opportunities that stand out. The Gators missed two field goals. They were inefficient on third down. They had protection problems. They had way too many penalties. And they could never truly find any rhythm on offense. Grier showed promise at times. At others, his passes were wildly off. Harris, meanwhile, took the Gators into the red zone twice in the first half and came away with zero points. Their final stat lines: Grier was 10-of-17 for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Harris was 5-of-8 for 54 yards, with 32 yards rushing.
Defensively, Florida had several lapses that cost them, and had to go down to the wire after imploding late in the fourth quarter -- giving up 19 plays, 106 yards and a touchdown on the final two ECU drives. They definitely missed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who sat out with a leg injury. This is very clearly a work in progress.
What the loss means for East Carolina: The Pirates hung in there through three quarters, thanks in part to their ability to convert turnovers into points. They turned a Grier interception into a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kemp to Isaiah Jones early in the third quarter that gave them a 14-0 lead and temporarily put the Gators on upset alert. Coming close to pulling the upset has to be tough, but there is plenty for the Pirates to build on once they hit conference play.