Oregon WBB recap: Duck defense too much for EWU to handle

Oregon locked down on the defensive side of the floor and crushed Eastern Washington 88-38.

It was clear early on the game plan for the contest against Eastern Washington was defense and then some more defense

The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team held the Eagles to just 10 points in second and third quarters combined and the No. 16 team in the country came away with an 88-38 win.

Now at 8-1, the Ducks have just four more non-conference game left before the Pac-12 schedule ramps up. With this defensive effort, coach Kelly Graves should be able to sleep a little better knowing his team is up to the task.

It was a big-time team effort offensively as Oregon had six players in double figures and three of those had double-doubles for the night. Grace VanSlooten’s 26 points and 10 rebounds led the way.

Billy Napier impressed with backup QB Jalen Kitna’s performance against EWU

We finally got to see Jalen Kitna in action and the results were pretty impressive. Here’s what Billy Napier had to say about his second-string quarterback.

Plenty of Florida’s backups and second-teamers got noticed after Sunday’s win over Eastern Washington, but head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] took time to praise quarterback [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag], specifically.

Kitna has been listed as the team’s backup since [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] went down with a thumb injury, but this was his first time actually seeing the field. He impressed with a pair of deep passes and ended up with 152 yards and a touchdown on 8 of 12 passing. While that kind of performance may surprise some fans, Napier has seen Kitna develop into a decent quarterback.

I’m going to tell you, the last probably two weeks, he’s really grown up a lot. You go back to training camp, probably the fourth or fifth day of training camp, he got injured, so he missed significant time. But since Jack’s injury and he started getting those twos, you’ve seen some growth there.

“All the guy does is throw completions in practice and that’s what he did today. Two Thursdays ago he was 100% completion percentage in practice. I don’t know if that’s ever been done. The guy’s a pretty smart player. He’s learned our system. For the most part, the ball went where it was supposed to go today.”

Kitna played most of the second half for the Gators, but he was called into action early when [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] went down in the first half. Richardson returned after that series, but Kitna made the most of his time on the field and found [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] for a 22-yard gain.

“We were still in the meat of the game and I know we are trying to put the drive together and are not going to change up the game plan for any of that,” Kitna said. “I know Coach has a specific way he calls things and I know my job is to come in there and to operate the system. All the quarterbacks in the room are taught to operate that system the same way. Whoever came in, we were calling the best play for that situation. Obviously, I got that play call and ran it how we were taught.”

When Kitna returned to the game, it was smooth sailing on offense. Kitna found true freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] for a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but the offense eventually let off the gas after going up by nearly 50 points. Kitna didn’t mind and enjoyed leading the team to a win.

“Man, it felt good,” he said. “Obviously, being there, being prepared for my team, I got a job to do and going out there, it just kind of feels a bit like practice, it’s not too hard. We got our plays, we got our game plan, it was exactly what we saw. We were preparing for it all week. Just going out there and doing my job.”

As well as Kitna performed, Napier was cautious to label him as an elite backup. Sure, Kitna did well against an FCS program, but can Napier trust him in the fourth quarter of the Georgia game if Richardson goes down? Probably not. At least, not yet.

“Let’s be careful here,” Napier said. “We’ve been through this once before, I think. The guy completed some balls today, he also made a few mistakes today, too. The beautiful thing about today is he got to play, so he’s going to have more confidence. He’s going to be able to learn from this experience. He’s going to realize that the work he’s been doing paid off.”

Kitna might not be a stud SEC backup on the brink of transfer, but that’s not what he’s expected to be. Napier is clearly satisfied with his progress and now the kid has some reps under his belt in case an emergency does come up.

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Monday Brunch: Pat Dooley’s tastiest morsels from Florida’s Week 5 win

Pat Dooley’s kitchen is open and dishing out the hottest takes from Florida’s lopsided win on Sunday.

Because the normal Saturday game was moved to the first ever Sunday game in the Swamp, instead of bringing you Sunday Hash we bring you the Monday Brunch.

Maybe a little avocado toast, a fruit parfait, spicy sausage and orange juice (this is obviously a homage to the late and great Tom McEwen) as you get back to work after a week we will never forget. Prayers go out to all of the people affected by Hurricane Ian.

In some ways, Sunday’s game was the perfect game for Florida (except for a couple of injuries which we will know more about later). It was 75 degrees at kickoff, it was a decent crowd despite all of the stuff people were dealing with, and Florida was able to play a bunch of dudes.

And after the first UF play after Eastern Washington started with a field goal, nobody ever thought UF could lose.

Here we go with Monday Brunch.

Good, Bad and Ugly: Gators Wire’s staff reactions to Florida’s big win over EWU

Here’s what the Gators Wire staff thinks about Florida’s encouraging win over an inferior opponent.

Following a frustrating month that saw Florida football split its two games, the Gators finally got a chance to beat up on a weaker team while getting some playing time for those who have been buried deep on the bench.

The game did not start out all that encouragingly, with the visiting FCS Eastern Washington Eagles marching down the field for an early score that could have been much worse if not for some clutch defense that held them to a field goal. After that, Florida’s star quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] took over and turned the dial up to 11.

EWU pushed back after a big heave put the Gators on top after just one play on offense, once again bullying Florida’s defense back into its own territory before sputtering out on fourth down. It was pretty much all Orange and Blue from that point on.

Now that the dust has settled from Florida’s Week 5 tuneup game against the Eagles, the Gators Wire staff assembled to give their immediate takes in the aftermath of the most encouraging performance seen this season. Take a look below at how each respective contributor felt about the outcome in our weekly good, bad and ugly format.

5 major takeaways from Florida’s blowout win over Eastern Washington

Florida got out to an early lead against Eastern Washington and never looked back. Here’s what we learned about the Gators from the victory.

The Florida Gators dominated the Eastern Washington Eagles on Sunday,  52-17.

A blowout win is expected whenever Florida gets the chance to host an FCS squad, but last year’s debacle against Samford proved that these games can’t always be taken for granted. The defense didn’t look hot through the first few drives of this game, but the offense seized the momentum early and the rest of the team fell in line.

Eastern Washington managed to score a pair of touchdowns once the second team came in, but this was a Florida win all the way. It’s hard to learn anything from a contest with a skill gap as big as this one, but the second team coming helps us assess Florida’s depth at certain positions. With that in mind, this week’s takeaways will focus on the freshmen, backups and reserves that impressed the most.

Florida needed a big win after facing three top-20 opponents through the first four weeks of the season, and this should help boost the team’s confidence heading into another conference matchup.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida’s home win vs. Eastern Washington Eagles

Here is a plethora of photos from Florida’s authoritative win over the Eastern Washington Eagles on Sunday.

The Florida Gators had one of the hardest opening months in all of college football to open the 2022 campaign, facing a pair of top-25 teams as well as a pesky in-state sibling. After emerging from that rough stretch with a 2-2 record, there is a lot for UF fans to feel good about but also plenty of points of concern as well.

The program’s early October matchup with the FCS Eastern Washington Eagles was just what the doctor ordered for [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s squad. After being postponed twice — once due to COVID and the other due to Hurricane Ian — it turns out that the third time was the charm for the Orange and Blue, as the gridiron gang ground out a tidy 52-17 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Below is a look at plenty of photographic highlights from the David and Goliath matchup that resulted in a victory for the bigger boys this time around.

 

 

Pat Dooley’s Six Pack: Quick takes from Florida’s authoritative win over Eastern Washington

Here are Pat Dooley’s rapid reactions to Florida’s much-needed win against an FCS foe.

It was a perfect day in Gainesville for the first Sunday game in the history of the stadium.

And Florida took care of business the way you should against an FCS team.

The Gators went to 3-2 with a 52-17 win over Eastern Washington and was able to give a lot of playing time to a bunch of young players as UF continues to work on its depth issue. Midway through the fourth quarter, Florida had played more than 70 players and had seven players appear in their first game.

Eastern received $750,000 to play the McElwain Bowl and actually held the lead early in the game. But it lasted only one play.

This means it’s time for the Dooley Six Pack from Florida’s win Sunday. Take a look below for my quick response to Florida’s much-needed win.

Social media’s reactions to Florida’s dominant victory over Eastern Washington

Social media reacts to the Florida Gators’ 52-17 victory over Eastern Washington on Sunday afternoon.

The Florida Gators beat Eastern Washington 52-17 in a rare college football game played on a Sunday afternoon. The game was scheduled to take place Saturday at noon but was moved to Sunday due to Hurricane Ian’s impact on the state of Florida.

The Gators’ defense had a shaky start to the game, with Eastern Kentucky driving down the field with little challenge from the Florida defense. The Eagles kicked a field goal on the drive. After that, the defense tightened up. The remainder of Eastern Washington’s points came in garbage time when the Gators’ young players were getting valuable game experience.

The Florida offense came out swinging, with Anthony Richardson throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass to Justin Shorter on the Gators’ first offensive play of the game. They would keep their foot on the gas and head into halftime having scored more points in one half (35) than they had scored in a full game all season.

Backup quarterback Jalen Kitna made the most of his opportunity with some nice throws, highlighted by a touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter. He replaced Richardson briefly in the first half while the trainers checked Richardson’s ankle and in the second half when Billy Napier decided to rest his starters.

Here’s how social media reacted to Florida’s home win over Eastern Washington.

Halftime Hash Marks: Recapping Florida football’s dominant 1st half vs. EWU

There were certainly a few concerns, but overall the Gators looked pretty sharp so far against EWU. Here’s a recap of the first half.

The first half of football from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has wrapped up as the Florida Gators head to the locker room with a 35-3 lead over the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles. While the home team did not exactly look particularly spectacular in all aspects of the game, there was enough left on the field to have the UF faithful feeling good in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Despite some early stumbles on defense — which resulted in only three points but could have been much more — the Orange and Blue finally settled in and showed the talent difference between an FCS and Power Five school. Still, it was not quite the complete domination one would hope to see.

Take a look below at a breakdown of the first half of football between Florida and Eastern Washington, told in chronological fashion as the Gators Nation follows along with its beloved gridiron gang.

Social media moments leading up to Florida’s Week 5 matchup vs. EWU

Hurricane Ian as thrown the schedule off by a day, but fans are still buzzing ahead of Florida’s matchup with Eastern Washington on Sunday.

After a 2-2 start to the season, the Florida Gators will host the Eastern Washington Eagles on this Sunday edition of college football forced by Hurricane Ian.

Although it’s not on the usual day, and some fans will be torn between the NFL and watching UF (hopefully) pummel an FCS squad, the Gators are ready to play some football. [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has already led the team through an abbreviated Gator Walk and players are taking the field for a fairly late warmup before a noon EDT kickoff.

As usual, Gator Nation has taken to Twitter to express their excitement over the game, and, yes, fans were drinking beer at 7:30 a.m. to appropriately prepare for this game. There’s something special about college football in the South, that’s for sure. Those folks should go home happy as long as Florida doesn’t give up 50 points as it did to Samford last year,

Here’s a look at all the best moments leading up to the game, as told through social media.