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Still work to do Gators sharp for an opener, but still must improve
Updated: Monday September 03, 2001 12:47 AM
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- For a coach as picky as Steve Spurrier, this was the perfect kind of opener. Florida played well enough to win big, yet still made enough mistakes to give him something to complain about. Rex Grossman looked sharp, and the top-ranked Gators dominated early in defeating Marshall 49-14 on Saturday night, but after viewing the game tape Sunday, Spurrier found plenty of room for improvement. "It was a good win, but it wasn't anything special," Spurrier said. "But maybe it's good that we weren't as sharp as we hope to be late in the year. Because you always try to improve as the year progresses." Spurrier didn't like the way the offensive line played. He praised Grossman, who threw for a career-high 375 yards and three scores, but found fault in an ill-advised interception. He gave credit to Andra Davis and Alex Brown, who each had a pair of sacks, but made it clear they aren't playing their best. "Alex jumped offsides a couple times. He doesn't need to do that," Spurrier said. "Andra had a couple mistakes in coverage. It's hard to start bragging on guys until they play an excellent, perfect game." Nitpicking aside, this was a much better opening-night performance than those in the recent past. The last two seasons, the Gators allowed big chunks of yardage and let Ball State and Western Michigan hang around well into the third quarter. Playing against a tougher opponent had something to do with it. Defensive coordinator Jon Hoke scrapped the basic schemes he usually uses for openers and put in seven defensive backs, daring Marshall to run. The Thundering Herd finished with 66 yards on 26 carries. "Last year, we played pretty vanilla because, honestly, Ball State's not a great football team," Hoke said. "This game, that wasn't going to be the case. It was a big contrast." Also different was the way Spurrier felt about his quarterback after Week One. Sure, he had some criticisms of Grossman, but unlike early games of the last few seasons, there isn't any sense that a change is imminent. Grossman went 20-for-30 and looked more like a senior than a sophomore. When Brock Berlin relieved him in the fourth quarter, it was clearly for mop-up duty, not a tryout for next week's game. "Rex threw some beautiful passes, and he's the quarterback unless he goes bad or gets hurt," Spurrier said. "And I don't think he'll go bad. He's a lot smarter out there than he was last year." Things return to normal next week on Florida's schedule, with a game against Louisiana-Monroe, a 20-9 loser to Sam Houston State on Saturday. Spurrier will use it to prepare for the Sept. 15 game against Tennessee, when the nation will see if the Gators really are worthy of their top ranking. For now, Spurrier figures Florida is as good a choice as anyone. "I don't know if we deserve to be No. 1, but I've watched some of the other teams and I don't know who deserves to be No. 1," he said. "We all sputter around a bit. If you have to vote someone No. 1, we may look as pretty as anyone right now."
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