10 Wins of Christmas: Ranking Florida’s 10 Victories, No. 9

Kyle to Kyle.

It was quarterback Kyle Trask’s second game as a starter, and it was tight end Kyle Pitts’s coming out party.

When Florida beat the Towson Tigers 38-0 on Sep. 28, Pitts was unguardable on his way to two touchdowns.

Unfortunately, barely anyone saw it live. This was perhaps the least attended game I’ve ever seen in the Swamp. Attendance was reported at 79,000, and that seems pretty stretched. At halftime people laid down on the bleachers and took naps.

Not only was it a cupcake opponent, but it was The fifth game of the season. UT Martin was also not a formidable opponent, but since it was a night game and a home game, people showed up.

So why did you rank this game ahead of UT Martin which came in at No. 10 on our 10 Wins of Christmas?

One reason: HBO.

That was the week of the HBO special done on the Gators. And it seems to be by most people’s opinion the best one out of all the colleges they did.

Coach Dan Mullen was fantastic on the documentary. He appeared charismatic and charming and I believe it’s having a lasting impact on recruiting as the Gators currently have the best class they’ve had since Will Muschamp.

So, I guess that Florida more so won the week than the actual game. Especially considering UF did not look all the impressive in that game, especially in the first half. It was only 17-0 at halftime and if you watched the HBO special, you’ll know that Mullen expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance before halftime.

But even still, the Florida defense recorded a shutout at home. Through the first three home games of the season, Todd Grantham’s defense allowed a total of three points.

And that was with Towson having Tom Flacco, brother of NFL quarterback Joe Flacco, running the show for the Tigers under center. Flacco showed some promise as well, he made a few nice throws and made some plays with his feet. One drive looked like they’d at least go down and get a field goal in the first half but a fumbled snap recovered by the Gators halted those hopes.

This game’s shaky offensive performance from UF outside of Trask and Pitts made fans and media alike feel uneasy about to looming Auburn game at the time. The running game was once again anemic, as nobody rushed for 100 yards and Lamical Perine only average two yards per carry.

People weren’t sure there was any chance that the Gators could win the next week with no running game. If Florida couldn’t run the ball successfully against Towson, how was it supposed to run the ball successfully against Derrick Brown and Auburn?

But most of you know the story to that game, and that’s for a different day in my 10 wins of Christmas countdown.

For now, like I will throughout this whole series, I will leave you with a Christmas comparison to this game.

The Towson game was the extended family member you see around the holidays that you love, but don’t really like. You want them to change quite a bit about them but they’re family and it’s Christmas so you’ll still talk to them and spend time with them.

You didn’t like the performance against Towson and you wanted the Gators to play better, you also wanted a more fun opponent. But if you’re a Gator fan, it was football season and a Gator win, so you’ll take it.