Tag: Eastern Washington Eagles

PHOTOS: Florida football’s Gator Walk ahead of Eastern Washington game

Take a look at some of the best photos from Florida’s Gator Walk ahead of its noon matchup with EWU.

Kickoff between Florida football and Eastern Washington Eagles is less than an hour away and ahead of the delayed matchup — which was set back a day due to Hurricane Ian — the Gators nation took part in what has become a storied tradition over nearly two decades.

Starting under Urban Meyer in 2005, the players as well as members of the team’s staff arrive at the stadium with hordes of fans awaiting them with bated breath. The event allows the Gator Nation to wish the team well as it enters the stadium on the way to the locker room, helping to elevate the experience for both the audience as well as the athletes.

Take a look below at some highlights from Florida’s Gator Walk ahead of its matchup in the Swamp against the Eastern Washington Eagles, with head coach Billy Napier leading the way as his team gets set for a noon EDT kickoff.

Here’s CBS Sports’ outlook ahead of the Florida-EWU game

Here’s what CBS Sports’ staff thinks of Sunday’s noon affair in the Swamp.

It has been a harrowing week for the Sunshine State in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which caused billions of dollars of damage as it pummeled the peninsula with heavy rains, wind and flooding. As a precaution, college football games that had been slated at major schools were rescheduled, including the Florida Gators’ matchup with the FCS Eastern Washington Eagles in the Swamp, which was moved back a day to Sunday.

The visitors have never stepped foot on a football field in Florida while also never having faced a Southeastern Conference team in their history. Not only that, but Sunday’s game marks the third attempt at playing this game after being postponed due to COVID in 2020 and this year’s delay due to the storm.

While the matchup does not raise many eyebrows on paper, the CBS Sports college football staff broke down what they expect to see in the makeup game. Below is why they believe that Florida will cover the 29.5-point spread.

Florida will be looking to wash the taste of two early SEC losses out of their mouths but will take at least some solace in the play of starting quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson [/autotag]last week in the loss to Tennessee. After throwing four interceptions without a touchdown pass and failing to throw for more than 168 yards in his first three games, Richardson threw for 453 yards and two scores while adding 62 yards and two scores on the ground. He’s a premier athlete that an FCS opponent should be ill-equipped to handle and prepping for the 6-foot-4-inch, 236-pounder will be a problem for the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the Florida defense has forced seven turnovers in the first four games of the year and could have opportunities to steal possessions again on Sunday against an Eastern Washington offense that has turned the ball over five times. [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] has three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble already this year and could play a major role on Sunday.

On the other hand, here is a look at how they think EWU can cover the spread.

Eastern Washington is a proud program with a long history of success and Aaron Best will have his squad ready to compete. The Eagles have made the FCS playoffs in three of the last four seasons and have been to the semifinals or further in five of the last 12 seasons, including a national championship win in 2010 and a runner-up finish in 2018.

Quarterback Gunner Talkington has thrown for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions so far this year and he could tax a Florida defense that gave up 576 yards to Tennessee last week. Freddie Roberson (11-214-2) and Efton Chism III (16-145-3) are his two top receivers and if they can manage to have a big day, the Eagles could hang around in this one.

The game is set to kick off at noon EDT on Sunday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and can either be watched on the SEC Network+ or heard on the Gators Radio Network.

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Florida going with a new kickoff man against Eastern Washington

Among the many changes made to Florida’s depth chart this week, it looks like true freshman Trey Smack is Florida’s man for kickoffs against Eastern Washington.

Florida true freshman kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] will make his collegiate debut on Sunday when the Gators host the Eastern Washington Eagles, according to 247Sports.

Smack will take over for [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] on kickoffs this week, but the walk-on will still be the team’s primary leg on extra points and field goals. Mihalek has been solid through the first four weeks of the season, hitting three of four field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder against Kentucky. His only miss came from beyond 50 in the Tennessee game, so he’s really done no wrong this year.

Still, Smack was competing with Mihalek for the job until “a minor ailment” limited him in fall camp. Now that he’s healthy, Smack could pick up right where he left off.

It’ll be interesting to see how Napier manages Smack’s redshirt situation. After missing the first four games, he could appear in half of Florida’s remaining games and retain his eligibility for the year. If he’s only doing kickoffs for the team, that seems like a likely scenario.

Right now, the job is Mihalek’s to lose and he’s not showing signs of regression as the season carries on. He’s hit all 10 extra point attempts this season, and a miss from 50-plus yards isn’t going to hurt his reputation too much.

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Everything you need to know to follow Florida vs. Eastern Washington Eagles

Pushed back a day by Hurricane Ian, here’s how to follow Sunday’s early action from the Swamp.

Week 5 of college football action getting off to a delayed start for the Florida Gators after Hurricane Ian swept through the state causing catastrophic damage. Fortunately, Gainesville was spared a direct hit and the game is now scheduled to take place on Sunday, Oct. 2, against the visiting FCS Eastern Washington Eagles in the Swamp starting at noon EDT.

The matchup for ECU represents the first time the school from the Pacific Northwest has played a Southeastern Conference squad as well as its first appearance on the gridiron in the Sunshine State. It is also the second time they face a Power Five team this season, having already played against the Oregon Ducks.

Take a look below at everything you need to know to follow Sunday’s midday action in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

5 things to watch for in Florida’s Week 5 matchup with Eastern Washington

After starting the season 2-2, Florida could use a big win over FCS Eastern Washington. Here’s what to watch for on Sunday when the teams take the field.

The Florida Gators are back at home this week to host the Eastern Washington Eagles in a rare Sunday matchup that was pushed back 24 hours by Hurricane Ian.

At 2-2, Florida couldn’t ask for a better time for the annual FCS game to pop up on the schedule. It’s an all but guaranteed win for the home team and a chance to see what some of the reserves have once a healthy lead is established. At least, that’s what typically happens. The alternative is what happened to Florida last year against Samford — 52 points surrendered on over 500 total yards.

Assuming the Gators don’t flounder two years in a row, this will be a chance for Florida to test out a few things. Billy Napier has already made several notable changes to the depth chart, mostly on defense, and the passing game looked strong against Tennessee. Assuming the running backs return to form against lesser opponents, points should come easily for the Gators.

Here are five things to look for when Florida and Eastern Washington meet up on Saturday.

Florida getting a big piece of the secondary back against EWU

Florida cornerback Jaydon Hill hasn’t played in a game since 2020, but he’s finally ready to return and is getting the start for the Gators against Eastern Washington.

It’s been over a year since [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] has played in an actual football game, but that should change on Saturday when the Florida Gators take on the Eastern Washington Eagles.

Hill missed all of 2021 after tearing his ACL in preseason camp. After practicing with the team in a non-contact capacity during spring, Hill was shut down for most of all preseason camp. He hasn’t played through the Gators’ first four games of the 2022 season either, and now Gators fans know why.

According to Gators Online, Billy Napier confirmed that Hill suffered a setback over the summer, which explains his delayed return to the team. The wait will be worth it, though. Hill is listed as a starting cornerback for Saturday’s contest, moving [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag] to the second team. Napier’s been impressed with Hill, and EWU is a good opponent to test how game ready he is.

“I think Jaydon has been very much a work in progress as he’s kind of made his return to play,” Napier said speaking to the media Wednesday night. “He’s done everything that he’s been asked to do. He’s worked extremely hard. And, you know, I think Jaydon is a guy I’ve got a ton of respect for.

“You talk about what he’s been through from an injury perspective. He had a knee in high school, had a knee here, had kind of a minor knee issue in the summertime, and then he’s been on that path to recovery.”

Napier’s hopeful that Hill can pick up right where he left off. Before getting hurt, Hill was slated to be the No. 2 cornerback on the team behind [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag]. Now [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. is in front of him, but it’s still the same spot. It’s rare to go through a major injury and setback and get your spot back, but that speaks to the work Hill has put in.

“Jaydon was one of the better players that we had on our team in spring practice in my opinion,” Napier said. “I was very impressed with him as a player. It’s no surprise to me, you know. He showed pretty quickly here that he’s very capable. So, I’m excited to watch him play. I’m excited how he can impact our team.”

If Napier is excited to watch him play, then the fans should be too. Shuffling up the defense after a poor performance is good, and Hill’s return could help right the ship.

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Billy Napier makes big changes to Florida’s depth chart ahead of Week 5

Trey Dean won’t play against Eastern Washington after popping up on the Gators’ injury report this week. Here’s who will start in his place.

The Florida Gators will be without safety [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] this week, according to the Week 5 depth chart put out by the team Wednesday evening.

Dean is listed on the injury report as “out” with a lower-body injury, and freshman [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] is in his place with [autotag]Donovan McMillon[/autotag] listed as the “OR” option. Both are expected to play against Eastern Washington, and that’s far from the only change on the depth chart.

[autotag]Justus Boone[/autotag] is listed ahead of [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] at the defensive end spot alongside [autotag]Gervon Dexter Sr[/autotag]., and cornerback [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] is in the starting spot opposite of [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. The defense will certainly look different on Sunday, and the shakeup couldn’t come at a better time.

Many fans were critical of Dean’s performance against Tennessee. He blew a few coverages that proved costly, but the truth is that the Volunteers carved up the defense in its entirety.

The front seven already has seen some movement with [autotag]Desmond Watson[/autotag] moving ahead of [autotag]Jalen Lee[/autotag] on the depth chart, and [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] is now firmly back in the starting 11 after dealing with his own lower-body injury over the past few weeks.

[autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag], [autotag]Marco Ortiz[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Tarquin[/autotag] remain on the injury report, but Miller is now listed as “questionable,” which means he should return in the next few weeks. Offensive tackle [autotag]David Conner[/autotag] and tight end [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] are no longer on listed on the injury report, but they aren’t on the two-deep either.

Keep in mind that Florida’s opponent this week is an FCS school. If there’s a week to rest some guys, this is it. Expect Napier to try to get some game action out of his reserves if the Gators can run the score up early.

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Gators preparing indoors for EWU as Hurricane Ian makes landfall, staff offering support to affected families

The Gators have moved indoors for practice as they wait out Hurricane Ian. Billy Napier says the program is doing what it can to support the families of players that are affected.

Florida’s game against Eastern Washington University has already been pushed back from Saturday to Sunday at noon, but Billy Napier says that things are mostly business as usual as the bulk of the state prepares for Hurricane Ian to make landfall.

Gainesville is a good deal inland from where the storm is supposed to do its worst damage along the west coast of the Florida peninsula. While rain and wind may make practicing outdoors impossible, the Gators are able to keep their weekly schedule uninterrupted by making use of the Gary Condron Indoor Practice Facility.

“I think we’re fortunate that we’ve got the Gary Condron Indoor Facility,” Napier said during the SEC’s teleconference, according to 247Sports. “That’s going to enable us to continue working. We’ll just be inside, and, I think outside of that, you know, we’re status quo here.”

While the immediate members of the team are safe, Napier is aware that many families connected to the team will be affected. He estimated that over a dozen players have families in the path of Ian, and he said that the team will do what can to support them.

“I do think we have probably, you know, 15-plus players that have families that will probably be significantly affected more than others, right, so just kind of getting in position as an organization to where we can support their families and help them through what we hope won’t be a difficult thing,” Napier continued, “but we all know what comes with these storms and these hurricanes, so outside of that, we’re fortunate that we have the ability to continue to work.”

Once the storm makes its way north, the school will be able to assess the damage and make a final call for the game on Sunday. Assuming all goes to plan, Florida’s best-case scenario at this point is having a short week to prepare for Missouri. Napier wasn’t too concerned about what that’ll bring, noting that the team is focused on its upcoming opponent right now and will face the next challenge when the time comes.

Napier’s not sweating the crowd either. Right now, it’s about being safe and getting through whatever the hurricane brings.

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Dooley’s Dozen: 12 fascinating facts about the Eastern Washington Eagles

Pat Dooley dishes out a dozen important facts about Florida’s upcoming Sunday home game against the Eastern Washington Eagles.

With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida, we are going to see a real rarity at the Swamp – a Sunday game.

The Week 5 matchup has been rescheduled for noon Sunday, and is still only going to be offered on ESPN+ and SEC Network+ as well as the Gators Radio Network.

It was important for Florida to schedule the game a day later for a number of reasons like bowl eligibility, as well as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] just needing to get his team back on the field again in his first season.

So, it will be a Saturday for Gator fans to just sit back and watch football. It certainly will be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up for a Sunday game as well.

We’ll see what that looks like then, but for now, the Dooley’s Dozen looks at 12 things you need to know about the Eastern Washington Eagles.

Despite Hurricane Ian, UF-EWU game still scheduled as planned, per Florida AD

The Gators are still expected to host Eastern Washington this weekend, but Hurricane Ian may create some issues as the week continues.

Florida’s Week 5 matchup with Eastern Washington is still planned to take place on Saturday in Gainesville, but the university will be closely monitoring Hurricane Ian, which is expected to impact the west coast of the state over the week.

The university’s athletic director Scott Stricklin took to Twitter on Monday to announce the update. The last time Florida dealt with inclement weather was in 2017 when Hurricane Irma hit. That game was moved up to a noon start time initially, but both programs agreed to cancel the game after mid-week projections showed Irma moving up the middle of the state.

The hope is that UF won’t have to cancel once again, but hurricanes can take sudden turns that force a change of plans. The good news is that the university should know how the storm affected the community by Thursday afternoon or evening.

There’s also the question of EWU’s travel arrangements. If the team is set to arrive on Friday, there’s a good chance they deal with some flight issues. Right now, the situation is one big what-if scenario.

The thing is that Florida needs to play this game badly. This is a team that the Gators should be able to dispatch easily, and they need to prove themselves after two early losses and a near loss to USF. This isn’t the kind of game that’s likely to be made up, but it’s a tricky problem to solve with the money involved in these kinds of visits.

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