After nearly a full decade of short-lived quarterbacks and struggles to move the ball, Florida finally looked positioned to make some noise on offense entering fall camp. Former starter Luke Del Rio had recovered from a shoulder injury, redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks looked ready to compete, and then in June the SEC revised its graduate transfer rules in order to permit former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire to enroll in Gainesville. In short, it looked like an embarrassment of riches—relatively speaking—for a team that’s struggled under center in recent seasons.
On Saturday, though, the Gators appeared as if they might be a play away from their third-string quarterback entering the game after they cycled through their starter (Franks, who won the job last week) to Zaire, who entered the game in the third quarter with the Gators trailing by six.