COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — The Florida Gators appeared rocked by Texas
A&M’s initial burst of energy, caught between the Aggies’ intent to
prove they belonged in the Southeastern Conference and their own
struggles to discover their identity.
Trailing by 10 points and having been mauled statistically in the first
half, No. 23 Florida awoke in time to welcome Texas A&M to its new
league, grinding to a 20-17 victory and spoiling the Aggies’ season
opener before a crowd of 87,114 at Kyle Field.
Quarterback Jeff Driskel completed 13 of 16 passes for 162 yards while
being sacked eight times. Mike Gillislee scored on runs of 4 and 12
yards and Caleb Sturgis kicked field goals of 51 and 25 yards as the
Gators improved to 2-0.
But it was Florida’s defense, run ragged by Texas A&M’s new spread
offense and the freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, that flipped
momentum. The Aggies totaled 269 yards in the first half but were held
to 65 in the second as Florida controlled field position and stymied
their running game.
“That’s a close game,” Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “You look
at it, it’s something we’ve been addressing. It’s the elephant in the
room. But when you have a game that’s that close, we’ve got to fix
ourselves from an execution standpoint and penalty standpoint.”
Sturgis’s 25-yard field goal on the Gators’ opening possession of the
first half pulled them to 17-13. Gillislee’s 12-yard run with 13 minutes
5 seconds left in the fourth quarter was the game’s final points.
Manziel finished 23 of 30 for 173 yards and led the Aggies with 60 yards
rushing. Texas A&M also hurt itself with nine penalties for 78
yards.
“Our execution was lacking,” Sumlin said. “The real tale was Florida’s
defense did a great job in the second half and didn’t quit playing.”
Anticipation was tinged with apprehension for Texas A&M’s debut as
an SEC member: the game had become its season opener after Hurricane
Isaac led to the postponement of an Aug. 30 game at Louisiana Tech. So
the Aggies were coming in cold as they unveiled a glossy new spread
offense under their new coach, Sumlin, and his redshirt freshman
quarterback Manziel, who had yet to take a snap in college.
“It’s a historic day,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said before kickoff.
“The preliminaries are over, and now we’re going to play football and
watch how they can compete.”
The Aggies showed no signs of stage fright in taking a 17-10 halftime
lead and leaving the Gators to wonder what they might have gleaned from a
Texas A&M game film had there been one.
Manziel kept the Gators guessing on nearly every snap and completed 16
of 20 passes for 141 yards. He rushed for 41 yards, and his 11-yard
touchdown run put the Aggies ahead by 10-7 early in the second quarter.
Texas A&M scored on its next possession, baffling the Gators with a
reverse pass from wide receiver Kenric McNeal to Mike Evans for a
27-yard gain to Florida’s 12. Tailback Christine Michael finished the
drive with a 1-yard run after taking a direct snap following a shift in
which Manziel moved to the slot position.
The Aggies’ speedy no-huddle tempo accounted for 20 more plays than
Florida in the first half (46 to 26), but they could not translate that
into points. Texas A&M also totaled 269 yards to 101 for the Gators,
who seemed intent on keeping things simple for Driskel. He attempted
only six passes but completed each one, totaling 82 yards.
Not that Driskel could have thrown more; the Aggies sacked him five
times in the second quarter after not being able to reach him in the
first quarter.
But the Gators’ defense made the game-changing adjustments. Florida’s
defense might not have been able to slow the Aggies down, but it kept
them out of the end zone in the second half.
