Thanks to Hurricane Ian, this week in Gainesville has been pretty much normal. The University of Florida was closed from Wednesdaymaking for an unusually quiet week on campus.
But that was not the case when the Gators football team (3-2. 0-2 SEC) hosted the Eastern Washington Eagles (1-2, 0-1 Big Sky) in a non-standard game Sunday afternoon (noon, SEC Network Plus). The schedule change was announced Tuesday as Hurricane Ian continued to approach the state.
Despite the oddities, the Gators had an opportunity to bounce back against the Eagles after dropping SEC East play against the ninth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers last week.
Eastern Washington’s visit to The Swamp has been a long time in the making. The Eagles and Gators agreed to play each other back in September 2016 and had planned to play each other in 2020. But thanks to Covid-19, that didn’t happen.
While it may have taken a while to get the game going, the Eagles showed up. And the Gators were happy to have them, given that so much was uncertain earlier in the week.
Sunday Special:Five takeaways from the Gators’ big win over Eastern Washington
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What to watch for:Five storylines to watch in the Florida Gators vs. Eastern Washington Eagles matchup
15:09 | Alligator kick from Eagles
The Florida Gators improved to 4-2 on the season with a convincing 52-17 win over Eastern Washington (1-3).
15:03 | The Eagles strike again
Eastern Washington added a score with 3:17 to play on a 25-yard touchdown run by Kekoa Visperas. Florida leads 52-17.
14:42| Eastern Washington finds the end zone
The Eagles weren’t going to leave Gainesville without finding some orange grass in the Gators’ end zone. A 28-yard pass from Gunner Talkington to Jacoby James made it 52-10 with 8:35 to play.
14:33 | Lorenzo Lingard extends Florida’s lead
The Gators’ offense continues with Lorenzo Lingard’s 11-yard touchdown run, the first of his Florida career. The Gators lead the Eagles 52-3 with 11:53 to play.
14:13 | Jalen Kitna checks into the game for the Gators and immediately scores a touchdown
With a comfortable lead, Billy Napier and the Gators changed their starting quarterback and called on Jalen Kitna to take snaps. On the second play of the drive, Kitna threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Douglas. It was Kitna’s first passing touchdown and Douglas’ first receiving touchdown. Florida leads 45-3 with 4:25 to play in the third quarter.
14:05 | Florida builds lead with Michalek’s field goal
The Gators extended their lead to 38-3 on a 36-yard field goal by Adam Michalek.
13:47 | Second half in Gainesville
The Gators start the second half with possession, but Anthony Richardson throws an interception on the first play from scrimmage. Eastern Washington takes over at its own 26-yard line.
13:25 | The Gators took a comfortable halftime lead
Florida leads Eastern Washington 35-3 after halftime.
13:14 | Florida’s offense continues to hum
So far, Florida’s offense has looked like a well-oiled machine. After the Gators’ defense forced the first turnover of the game, Anthony Richardson and the offense added another touchdown with Richardson’s 21-yard connection to Xavier Henderson. Florida leads Eastern Washington 35-3 with 3:02 to play in the first half.
13:05 | Ricky Pearsall dusts off the Eagles defense.
Florida extends its lead to 28-3 with a 76-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Ricky Pearsall on a reverse pass.
12:51 | The Gators make a different score
Ny’Quan Wrights takes a pass from Richardson and rushes for a four-yard field goal to give the Gators a 21-3 lead with 9:22 to play in the second quarter.
12:47 | Anthony Richardson returns to the sideline
After a few brief minutes in the injury tent, Richardson returns to the sideline to rest before getting his right ankle taped. Richardson appears ready to return to playing with the ball.
12:42 | Anthony Richardson looks knocked down
Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson slowly gets up, but leaves on his own. Richardson heads to the sideline and into the dugout while Jalen Kitna comes on in relief.
12:31 | Florida’s offense scores on another quick drive
The Gators take a 14-3 lead over the Eagles with 1:13 to play in the first quarter after an 82-yard drive that ended with Montrell Johnson’s 3-yard touchdown run.
12:25 | Gators defense stops on 4th and 1
Florida could have allowed Eastern Washington to drive into the red zone for its second straight possession, but the Gators stalled on fourth down. Florida’s offense will take over on its own 18-yard line
12:15 | Anthony Richardson and the Gators do it in one play
After falling behind 3-0 to Eastern Washington, Anthony Richardson and the Gators’ offense fired back with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Richardson to Justin Shorter on the very first offensive drive of the game for Florida.
12:10 | Eagles up early, 3-0
Missed tackles by the Gators’ defense allow the Eagles to drive down the field before Florida forces Eastern Washington to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Seth Harrison.
12:02 | EWU in Florida continues
Sunday’s game at The Swamp begins. The Eagles will start with football.
11:35 am | Who plays for the Alligators?
Inactive for Florida: OL Michael Tarquin, LS Marco Ortiz, QB Jack Miller, S Trey Dean III
10:30 am | Key questions for today’s Sunday Morning vs. EWU
The game day started with an early, abbreviated Alligator Walk. Check out this breakdown before the game starts: Gators Gameday:Three big questions surrounding Florida vs. Eastern Washington
