Room to improve despite win
Gators’ weaknesses displayed while holding off resurgent Hurricanes
Florida coach Dan Mullen sat down in front of television lights moments after the Gators’ 24-20 win over Miami at Camping World Stadium. He wiped the sweat off his forehead before releasing a big sigh.
“That was exhausting,” Mullen said, kicking off his postgame news conference.
For 60 minutes Saturday night, No. 8 Florida (1-0) battled the Hurricanes and their own mistakes during a back-and-forth game that left many of the announced crowd of 66,543 like Mullen — breathless. The Gators dealt with five lead changes, ran 54 plays on offense, were 2-of-10 on third-down conversions and were victims of their own untimely penalties.
“We were very fortunate,” Mullen after watching his team survive its season opener against the rival ‘Canes.
It was the first regular-season neutral-site meeting between the two schools in more than 30 years. The schools aren’t scheduled to meet again until 2024.
Florida entered their Week 0 matchup riding a four-game win streak dating to last season, including a New Year’s Six bowl win over Michigan in the Peach Bowl. The momentum of a 10-win season carried to the Gators to their first top-10 preseason ranking since 2010.
Yet UF was 12 seconds away from a crushing season-opening loss to Miami if not for a suffocating defensive effort that sealed the Gators’ win.
“I love the way our guys battled, competed and tried to win the game,” Mullen said.
Mullen admits there is plenty of room for improvement for the Gators, who have a bye week before hosting UT-Martin in the Swamp on Sept. 7.
“I think our guys understand how to win football games, maybe not the right way, but they understand how to compete to win,” Mullen said. “… We take a lot of pride in our plan to win and we didn’t follow that tonight. Usually we can put that up and say this is why we won or this is why we lost. I’m going to put that plan up to win and it’s going to say, ‘Look, we probably shouldn’t have won that game, but we had the heart to find ways to make plays to win that game.’”
It was an emotional night for first-year Miami coach Manny Diaz, who saw a win slip away.
It was a disappointing finish after the ‘Canes jumped out to a 13-7 halftime lead before surrendering 10 third-quarter points.
“I thought our guys played with a lot of courage,” Diaz said following the loss. “I think they played with a lot of effort. But it doesn’t matter because we lost the game. We did not come here to play with courage and effort. We came here to win the game and it’s not OK at the University of Miami ever to lose to the University of Florida.”
Diaz has sparked a renewed enthusiasm in a program that was coming off a disappointing 7-6 season. After serving as the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator last season, Diaz briefly took the Temple head coaching job before returning to Coral Gables to take over the Miami program following former coach Mark Richt’s surprise retirement.
His “The New Miami” mantra struck a chord with Miami fans who have been eager to see the program return to the glory days of the 1980s and ’90s. Many of those clad in orange, green and white in the stands rode an emotional roller coaster Saturday.
A win over No. 8 Florida would have been a nice springboard for the program heading into 2019, but instead Miami is forced take to accept the positive aspects of a moral victory ahead of the Hurricanes’ next game at North Carolina on Sept. 7.
Diaz preached to his players that they needed to develop a backbone if they’re going to become an elite program again. He was impressed with how his team fought back against UF throughout much of the night.
“That’s what a big-time program should do. You don’t pat yourself on the back for not quitting, but it is something,” Diaz said. “And that was a big point of our offseason.”