It was a busy weekend of football in the State of Florida, so let’s get to it.
Dolphins – The Florida football weekend kicked off on Friday night with FSU playing Louisville, but the game people will be talking about for a while is the Dolphins amazing comeback win vs. the Ravens. Down 35- 14 entering the 4 th quarter, the Fins exploded for 4 touchdowns leading to a 42-38 win. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s 6 th touchdown pass of the game to Jaylen Waddle with 14 seconds remaining capped the victory. The performance of Tua along with his 2 premier wideouts Tyreek Hill and Waddle brought back fond memories for Dolfans as it was reminiscent of the days of Dan Marino and the Mark’s Brothers. Tua went 36-50 for 469 yards and the aforementioned 6 touchdowns. Hill caught 11 passes for 190 yards and 2 TDs while Waddle also had 11 catches for 171 yards and 2 Tds. And it took that kind of effort to overcome the equally impressive performance by Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson went 21-29 for 319 yards and 3 touchdown passes. He also ran 9 times for 119 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown run. It was an exciting game littered with big plays starting with Devin Duvernay’s game opening 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. In addition to Jackson’s long TD run, he also had a 75-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman. Baltimore also had plays of 25, 26 and 34 yards. Miami had more than their fair share of big plays too, though. Hill’s 2 touchdowns went for 60 and 48 yards plus he also had a 21-yard catch. Waddle had receptions that went for 59 and 33 yards while Chase Edmonds had a key 27-yard run on Miami’s game winning drive. Head coach Mike McDaniels also got some other players involved this week after minimal use in week 1. Tight end Mike Gesicki caught 4 balls for 41 yards and a TD while RB Raheem Mostert had 51 yards rushing along with 3 catches for 28 yards. While Miami’s defense had far from a good game giving up 473 yards while not forcing any turnovers or having any sacks, it did tighten up in the second half holding the Ravens to 10 points. They will need to step up their performance in week 3 vs. the Josh Allen led Buffalo Bills if they hope to start the season 3-0.
Switching to the college world…
FSU – Florida St. defeated Louisville 35-31 on Friday. The Seminoles improved to 3-0 as backup QB Tate Rodemaker came off the bench to replace starter Jordan Travis and led the Noles on three 75-yard touchdown drives in the 2 nd half. Rodemaker, who replaced Travis in the 2 nd quarter after he injured his left leg, threw for 109 yards and 2 touchdown passes. QB Malik Cunningham was a 1 man wrecking crew for the Cardinals as he threw for 243 yards, rushed for 127 and accounted for 3 TDs. FSU hosts Boston College next Saturday.
Florida – The Gators moved to 2-1 with a 31-28 victory over South Florida. Despite being heavily favored, Florida was outgained by the Bulls (402 yards vs. 328 yards for the Gators). But it was turnovers that did in USF. Jalen Kimber had a 39-yard pick-six in the 2 nd quarter while Tre’Vez Johnson’s 4 th quarter interception gave the Gators the ball on the Bulls 28-yard line which led to Trevor Etienne’s 3-yard touchdown run to win the game.
South Florida almost tied the game but missed a 49-yard field goal with 23 seconds to go. The 20 th ranked Gators go on the road next week vs. 11 th ranked Tennessee in a key SEC matchup.
Miami – I’m not sure who first said it, but whoever said “Stats are for losers” was on point in this game, which Texas A & M won 17-9. The Hurricanes outgained Texas A & M 392 yards to 264 and had 27 first downs versus only 15 for the Aggies. Despite those impressive stats, Miami was unable to punch it into the endzone as they settled for field goals 5 times, 2 of which they missed. “Death by field goals” is another applicable quotation for this game. Perhaps the biggest play in the game was a muffed punt by Miami which gave Texas A & M the ball on the Canes 25-yard line, which led to an Aggies touchdown. Canes QB Tyler Van Dyke had an off game going 21-41 for 217 yards with zero TDs. Miami hosts Middle Tennessee St. on Saturday.
UCF vs. FAU – In a battle between 2 Florida teams, the Owls kept the game close in the first half, but got blown out 24-0 in the 2 nd half, as the Knights won 40-14. UCF out gained the Owls 653 yards to 296. FAU QB N’Kosi Perry was held to 108 yards passing with 1 touchdown. Next week UCF hosts Georgia Tech while FAU travels to Purdue.
In the 2 other NFL contests involving Florida teams …
Jacksonville – The Jaguars, coming off a tough week 1 loss, rebounded strongly with an emphatic 24-0 win over the Colts. Jags QB Trevor Lawrence had a big game going 25-30 for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns (both to WR Christian Kirk). James Robinson added a 37-yard touchdown run. Jacksonville’s defense came up big holding Jonathan Taylor to 54 yards rushing while also intercepting Colts QB Matt Ryan 3 times. The Jags dominated the time of possession, 38:15 minutes vs. 21:45 for Indy.
Tampa Bay – The game vs. the Saints was tied 3-3 through three quarters, but the Bucs rattled off 17 straight points in the 4 th quarter to lead them to a 20-10 victory. The Tampa defense dominated the game as they intercepted Saints QB Jameis Winston 3 times in the 4 th quarter, one of which was returned for a touchdown. They also recovered 2 fumbles and sacked the quarterback 6 times. The game was highlighted by a 4 th quarter brawl that was initiated by some trash talking between Bucs QB Tom Brady and Saints cornerback back Marshon Lattimore. Tampa WR Mike Evans ended up getting ejected along with Lattimore. Shortly thereafter Brady hit WR Breshad Perriman with a go ahead 28-yard touchdown pass. It was a good week for the State of Florida with all 3 NFL teams winning and 2 of the Big 3 college teams winning, with the Hurricanes being the only disappointment. Let’s hope for similar success next week!
