Week 0 didn’t include Florida on the field, but it still handed Gator fans a few things to chew on. Between Florida State’s messy opener, Marcus Stokes turning heads at Memphis and USC’s empty-looking stadium, there was no shortage of material for people wearing orange and blue.
The biggest dose of satisfaction for Florida fans came from watching Florida State labor through its game with New Mexico State. The Seminoles were a 30.5-point favorite, but the margin never looked like that on the field.
It was still 17-10 late in the third quarter, and the game was only a 10-point spread with less than five minutes left. FSU didn’t even get past 30 points until a touchdown with 3:55 remaining.
Ashton Daniels finished 17-of-27 for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Against a New Mexico State team that went 4-8 last season, that kind of performance doesn’t exactly scream “easy year ahead” for Mike Norvell and company. For Florida fans, it was the kind of opening-week stumble that is hard not to enjoy from a distance.
Marcus Stokes also gave Gator fans a reason to stop and look. The former Florida commit, whose scholarship offer was pulled after a controversial video, won the starting job at Memphis over Air Norland before the opener against UNLV.
In his first FBS start, he delivered a strong line: 15-for-26 passing for 223 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 45 rushing yards on seven carries, including a 16-yard run.
Memphis was a 4.5-point underdog, but the Tigers pulled off the 27-21 upset. Stokes outplayed Jackson Arnold in a result that would have sounded outrageous not long ago, but that’s where the story stands now.
Then there was USC, which beat San Jose State 42-26 but somehow still became a talking point for all the wrong reasons. The Trojans built such a comfortable lead that they were able to empty the bench in the fourth quarter.
Still, the crowd shot drew plenty of attention. The announced attendance was 51,144, though it looked like far fewer actually made it into the seats.
Some defenders pointed to the heat, with temperatures north of 90 degrees, and others leaned on the old Los Angeles excuse that there are plenty of other things to do. But that didn’t sit well with Florida fans watching from afar. The comparison to what gets packed into The Swamp, even in heat that pushes past 90, was obvious.
For Florida fans, Week 0 offered a little bit of schadenfreude, a little bit of nostalgia and a fresh chance to roll their eyes at excuses.
In Other News...
Micah Handlogten Could Soon Become A New Problem For Florida
Micah Handlogtens next step has already taken shape, with the former Florida big man committed to Ole Miss after three seasons in Gainesville. The move gives him a new SEC home, but his path back onto a college court is still tied to a different question, one that has nothing to do with rebounding or rim protection and everything to do with eligibility paperwork.
Handlogtens return to college basketball depends on whether he is granted another year, and that status may hinge on reports surrounding a possible Exhibit 10 contract with the Utah Jazz. For Florida, the twist is less about a roster departure than the possibility of seeing a player from its 2025 national championship team re-enter the leagues orbit in a way that could change the conference picture again. [Read more 🡒]
Gators Fans Will Be Watching Gervon Dexters Next NFL Chance
Gervon Dexter Sr. is getting another fresh start in the NFL after the Bears dealt the former Florida defensive tackle to the Falcons for a fifth-round draft pick and cornerback Clark Phillips III. The move ends a short but eventful run in Chicago for the 2023 second-round pick, who carved out a role across 49 games and showed flashes as part of the Bears' defensive front.
For Gators fans, the trade keeps Dexter on the radar at a new stop where his next opportunity will be shaped by a different roster and a different set of expectations. Chicago's willingness to move him also speaks to how much the depth chart had changed, with other defensive linemen pushing their way up during camp and the preseason, leaving Dexter headed to Atlanta for the next chapter. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas New Offensive Look Is Putting Camp Decisions Under A Microscope
Floridas offense is starting to take shape in fall camp, and the early projections point to a group that could look quite different from the one Gators fans imagined a few months ago. Aaron Philo is penciled in as the quarterback, Jadan Baugh is expected to anchor the backfield and the receiver mix has Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson and Eric Singleton Jr. at the front of the line, giving this unit a young but intriguing core as camp decisions come into sharper focus.
Luke Harping is projected to lead the tight end room, with Amir Jackson and Lacota Dippre also in the rotation, adding another layer to an offense still being sorted by the coaching staffs evaluations. The bigger question now is how the rest of the depth chart settles around those main pieces, because Floridas new offensive look suggests there are still a few important spots left to be claimed before the season opener arrives. [Read more 🡒]