Florida ends five-game skid with big win over UAB
GAINESVILLE — In the stands, chants for Chip Kelly came from the UF student section.
On the field, the Gators were busy settling for too many field goals.
While most of the attention Saturday in the Swamp was focused on the team’s future coach, whoever he might be, the Gators were finishing out a forgettable season in an all-too-familiar fashion.
But this time there was an unfamiliar twist: the Gators actually won.
Behind a career-high five field goals by Eddy Piñeiro and a suffocating defense, UF snapped a five-game losing streak with a 36-7 win against overmatched UAB.
“It was a good win for our team,” Piñeiro said. “Our locker room’s happy, we’ve been down a lot. This whole trouble with Coach Mac (Jim McElwain) getting fired and all this stuff going on in our lives, I think this win was needed.”
Entering Saturday, the Gators had not tasted victory since Sept. 30 against Vanderbilt.
Since UF’s last win, the school ousted McElwain and two starting quarterbacks, the team’s leading rusher and defensive leader were lost to injury and seven of nine suspended players officially were charged with felony credit card fraud.
UF began the day with just 53 scholarship players available and soon watched top playmakers Kadarius Toney and Tyrie Cleveland leave the game due to injuries. Cleveland would return.
But the Gators (4-6) did not need a full complement of players to beat the Blazers, a Conference USA member that did not even field a team the past two seasons.
Unlike UF, UAB (7-4) is bowl eligible but could not match the Gators’ physical defensive front or overall team speed.
The Blazers finished the game minus-8 rushing yards and did not even have 50 yards of total offense until three straight complete passes by quarterback A.J. Erdely during the final stages of the third quarter. But an 18-yard hook-up with Andre Wilson ended with a savage tackle by UF linebacker Rayshad Jackson to force a fumble recovered by UF on its 22-yard line.
The Gators entered the game as the SEC’s only team without a defensive fumble recovery this season, but had two against the Blazers and forced four turnovers overall leading to 17 points.
“It was big,” interim coach Randy Shannon said. “Because we work, believe it or not, every week we work on turnovers more than any place I’ve ever been.”
With UF leading 3-0, linebacker Vosean Joseph slipped into the backfield and knocked loose the ball from tailback Spencer Brown to give it to the Gators on the UAB 13. But three straight runs by Mark Thompson yielded just four yards, forcing UF to settle for a 26-yard kick by Piñeiro.
Sophomore safety Chauncey Gardner gave the Gators another short field when he intercepted UAB’s Kylen Binn — in the game for Erdely. Gardner returned his second interception in two weeks 42 yards to the Blazers 13.
This time, the Gators turned to an unlikely source to cash in. On second-and-8, quarterback Feleipe Franks connected on a short throw to wide-open tight end C’yontai Lewis, who sprinted to the end zone untouched for an 11-yard score.
Lewis’ touchdown was the first by a UF tight end all season. Franks found tight end DeAndre Goolsby across the middle for a 13-yard touchdown during the third quarter to push the Gators’ lead to 26-0.
“We started off three points and then three points,” Shannon said. “We nickel and dimed, and finally the second half we started scoring touchdowns.”
Franks has struggled to throw to the middle of the field this season. Against UAB, the redshirt freshman hung in the pocket better and also received better protection from his offensive line. Franks finished 15-of-30 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, but for the second straight week fell victim to dropped passes, including three against UAB.
“He did a nice job,” Shannon said. “Our receivers dropped a lot of footballs. Those footballs can be demoralizing to the quarterback. But he stayed poised and he made some other throws.”
Following Franks’ second touchdown pass, Gator fans starved for a win actually began to do the Wave.
But seconds into the fourth quarter, the Gators said goodbye to a chance for their first shutout in the span of 19 games. Following a rendition of “I Won’t Back Down” by the late Tom Petty after the third quarter, the reeling Blazers did not.
Trailing 33-0, Erdely hit receiver Xavier Ubosi behind the defense for a 74-yard score — the Blazers’ longest touchdown play of the season.
By then, however, UF was well on the way to a long-awaited win. With Florida State up next, the Gators look to end a difficult season the right way.
“Some guys have a tendency — it’s human nature — to check out if your goal’s not at the end,” guard Tyler Jordan said. “We’ve got two games up ahead that we can finish on a strong note and a high note. That’s what we’re going to do.”
egthompson@orland osentinel.com