The Good, Better and Best from the Florida Gators' rout of Eastern Washington

Photo: Caleb Douglas; Credit: Alex Shepherd

I know this is usually a story for the day after the Gators game, but they pushed the game back a day, so I did the same.

The Florida Gators dominated in nearly every aspect of the contest on Sunday afternoon against Eastern Washington en route to a convincing 52-17 rout of the Eagles. The performance hinged on the offensive explosion catalyzed by quarterback Anthony Richardson — and supported by backup Jalen Kitna at various points through the contest — as well as the beginning of the depth-building or youth movement per se in Gainesville.

As a result, in its usual form, the "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" series felt unbefitting of the much-needed get-right victory for the Gators.

To commemorate the rightful handling of a one-win FCS squad, All Gators channels our inner St. Jerome (and former Creekside High School (St. Johns, Fla.) Principal Randy Johnson) by analyzing the good, better and best of the performance.

"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."

Good: The blowout win itself

Florida's victory over Eastern Washington was the exact performance you would expect as they convincingly steamrolled the west coast opponents.

I proceeded with cautious optimism surrounding the contest in the All Gators weekly picks due to the lasting effects of the four close contests to open the year.

However, expecting a blowout and seeing Florida deliver one have become rare occurrences for Florida over most of the last decade.

Squandering their last attempt to produce at a high level against a get-right opponent, Florida allowed USF to hang around and even lead for a major portion of the fourth quarter in The Swamp before the Bulls' own self-inflicted wounds gave the Gators the opening needed to pull away with a 31-28 win.

The unit had a similar opportunity on Sunday — albeit against a squad of even lower status. This time, the Gators delivered.

The dominance of a lesser opponent for the first time under Billy Napier was a sorely needed tune-up as Florida enters a difficult stretch of conference opponents.

This win provided breathing room to work out some of the kinks on both sides of the ball. We saw a continuation of the offensive explosion from Tennessee, and the defense began to figure out its lapses following two promising Eagles drives to start the game.

As a result, Florida heads into Missouri week and beyond with momentum rolling in their favor.

Better: Offensive creativity

The playbook is starting to open.

A celebrated aspect of the offense on Saturday was its propensity to get the playmakers involved.

Starting with Richardson, who built off a career-high performance against Tennessee, the free play

Outside of an arm punt interception, as he threw into quadruple to begin the second half, Richardson recorded an efficient and productive outing with just one true incompletion on 10 attempts. He posted 240 yards and two touchdowns in the passer-friendly play-action offense with a number of designed rollouts and cross-field throwbacks.

Pass catchers Justin Shorter, Xzavier Henderson and Keon Zipperer reaped the benefits as Richardson found each, with scores for Shorter and Henderson deep down the field.

However, although the connections through the air created significant buzz regarding the unit's cohesion, Ricky Pearsall's inclusion in the rushing game was a sight for sore eyes as he took an end around 76 yards to the house.

That comes after calls for more touches for the Arizona State transfer around the line of scrimmage with the likes of quick hitters or screen passes to utilize his speed.

His 76-yard score could foreshadow more opportunities in that regard for him.

The offense continued to tick at a heightened level even with the employment of the reserves in the second half as Kitna commanded the offense to add an extra 14 points to the scoreboard.

It may have come against a lackluster team from the FCS ranks, but seeing the added trust in the unit to execute at a high rate in an expanded playbook is a promising sign for the game plans that could come in the next four contests specifically.

Best: Emergence of youth

The biggest luxury of the Gators' rout of Eastern Washington was their ability to employ pieces of the future.

Looking to build valuable depth with in-game action for a bevy of underclassmen, Florida made it a focus to rotate redshirt-and-true freshmen with the usual veteran pieces at a high frequency.

Namely, the defensive side of the ball underwent a welcomed facelift in the secondary with a bevy of new faces assuming crucial roles.

Due to the absence of safety Trey Dean, who played nearly all of Florida's defensive snaps to this point in the season prior, due to a lower-body injury, the prized possession of the Florida transition recruiting class Kamari Wilson saw time in the secondary.

He picked up where he left off when he performed at IMG Academy, asserting his presence with sideline-to-sideline speed and hard-hitting blow to opposing wideouts down the field. He rotated with sophomore Donovan McMillon — a usual special teams ace — in the backend.

He and McMillon both tallied five tackles on the day.

Former 2022 prospect Miguel Mitchell was the biggest winner from the inclusion of freshmen with his contributions in the secondary. Unlike Wilson and McMillon, the Alabama native operated in multiple roles as a versatile defensive back in the Gators' defense. As the game went on, he saw time as a traditional safety, but his first snaps came at STAR to combat the 12 personnel Eastern Washington was operating.

Standing at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds, Mitchell pairs size and athletic fluidity to be a constant presence against the run as well as in coverage against both tight ends and quicker slot receivers. 

He totaled four total tackles, a tackle for loss and forced a fumble — recovered by defensive lineman Chris McCllenan, another young piece who is emerging for Florida — to set up the Gators' final scoring drive of the first half.

His play warrants an increased role for the rest of the season in rotation with Tre'Vez Johnson and Jadarrius Perkins at STAR.

The youth takeover of sorts provided the refreshment the staff intended for it when they announced their intent to explore the usage of inexperienced talent during the week leading up.

In the final 20-plus minutes of the contest, the bench emptied in full capacity as Napier and Co. moved forward with the second and third team units receiving snaps to effectively end most of the key contributors' day. 

On offense, specifically, freshman wideout Caleb Douglas shined as a deep-ball target for Kitna. He reeled in a 62-yard reception down the right sideline to extend Florida's already sizable lead to 42 with under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Showcasing his talents as a route runner to create separation and long speed to burn his man, Douglas provided considerable promise as a future weapon for the Florida offense on the outside. Despite that being his only reception in the contest, Douglas was targeted on multiple occasions with Kitna behind center.

Napier has been critical of the team's depth since he took over as the Gators' head coach, stating the lack of a true second team to compete at a high level in practice and provide adequate rotations at key positions.

However, on Sunday, the process of developing the nonstarters on the unit took another step forward with multiple players flashing high upside for the future.

Now, the Gators will head into their week six contest against Missouri relatively unscathed with added depth and confidence in search of the first SEC victory of Napier's tenure.

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