Florida football ran out to a 24-point lead in the first half of its season opener against the FAU Owls on Saturday night, with an explosive effort on offense to start the Jon Sumrall era.
The Gators entered the locker room at halftime with a 38-14 score up on the board thanks to a 10-for-15 effort for 193 yards through the air from Aaron Philo — along with two tossing touchdowns and a rushing score, plus an interception. On the ground, Jadan Baugh bullied the Owls with 93 yards rushing on 11 attempts, resulting in a pair of his own scores.
So far, things are looking good under new offensive coordinator Buster Faulker, whose squad put up a total of 321 yards and 17 first downs in the first half. The offense averaged 8.9 yards per play (19.3 per completion,
6.1 yards per rush) and was 2-for-2 on fourth-down attempts.
On defense, Florida allowed 245 total yards with 156 coming through the air and 89 on the ground for an average of 4.3 yards per play.
SEC Network sideline reporter Taylor Davis spoke with Sumrall after the conclusion of the second quarter. Here is what was said between the two.
The offense found some rhythm in the second quarter. What has worked on that side of the ball?
I think we've run the ball well. Our perimeter blocking — I've been really impressed with our wideouts getting sticky, getting at DBs and creating leverage for our running backs.
You're always big on effort. What will you tell the defense at the half?
We've got to play all night. We haven't strained up front. We're not challenging enough in the secondary. We're playing really, really soft on defense and we're getting exposed.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Jon Sumrall talks about Florida's first-half performance vs FAU
