Gainesville, Fla. -- He slept soundly. Breakfast tasted better. His body wasn't as achy as usual after a game.
For Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel, it truly was easy like Sunday morning as he broke up with the Eastern Michigan win and turned his focus to Kentucky, which visits The Swamp on Saturday night.
"It's easy to go in on Sunday after a good game and watch the film," Driskel said. "It was special to just get us back out on the field together - and play well. We haven't done that in a while. That's something we need to continue to do."
The Gators' offensive explosion was a smash hit according to critics and fans alike.
In the first game since Gators head coach Will Muschamp hired Kurt Roper to revamp a stagnant offense, the Gators romped and rolled over Eastern Michigan to the tune of 65 points and 655 yards.
"That's not easy to do,'' Roper said.
Driskel returned after missing the final nine games a year ago and completed 31-of-45 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. The Gators rushed for 259 yards and passed for 396. They didn't commit a turnover and had 11 different players catch a pass.
There was a little bit of everything for those offense-starved Florida fans who heard all offseason how Roper's no-huddle, up-tempo attack would help recharge the Gators. They finally got to see it in action.
The Gators had nine explosive plays against Eastern Michigan (runs of 10+ yards, passes of 20+ yards), including a 70- and 78-yard touchdown passes from backup quarterback Treon Harris. A season ago the Gators managed 68 explosives, an average of only 5.7 per game.
And the three primary tailbacks - Kelvin Taylor, Matt Jones and Mack Brown - each ran for at least 58 yards and had one carry of 30 yards or more â Taylor had a 31-yard touchdown run, Jones a 40-yard touchdown run, and Brown a 47-yard scamper in the second half.
So, what's next for Florida's new-and-improved offense? A 75-point game. A 700-yard output. A 500-yard passing game from Driskel?
Roper has more realistic goals.
As he reviewed game film, he noticed a common theme. More ticks on the play clock expired prior to each snap than he prefers.
Roper's goal is for the ball to be snapped on each play with 18 seconds or more left on the play clock. He said the average Saturday was 14 seconds remaining when the ball was snapped. The Gators ran 86 plays - 20 more than they averaged last season - but only 21 of those plays started when the play clock was outside 18 seconds.
The Gators' offense was good against Eastern Michigan. Roper wants it to be good - and faster - against Kentucky.
"I think it gets down to our guys understanding giving the ball back to the official, getting lined up in a hurry," Roper said. "Too many times we left the ball on the ground at the end of a play where an official has to go get it, to spot it, and those type things. I think we can play obviously faster just looking at those numbers, but it's all about making plays."
As the Gators put their season-opening win in the rearview mirror to prepare for the Wildcats, Roper's message was to "win the day," a maxim popularized by former Oregon coach Chip Kelly.
In his fourth year in the program, Driskel had never been a part of an offensive performance like last week's. He said if that happened during his freshman season, he would probably still be on cloud nine.
Not now. He knows better with the SEC schedule about to kick off.
"I think we played really fast," Driskel said. "But you still have to realize there are mistakes made and you have to build on those mistakes and take the coaching.
"We didn't overcomplicate the game plan, but we executed really well. I think that's the key to it. When you're able to refine what you're doing and do it over and over again, you can be more comfortable."
The Gators will try to find a similar comfort zone against Kentucky, which is off to a 2-0 start after finishing 2-10 in head coach Mark Stoops' first season.
While watching game film was fun this week, they don't want the performance in the opener to be a season highlight.
"We put on a good show and that was something to applaud, but this is SEC ball now and we know the level of competition definitely steps up and takes another jump," Gators offensive lineman Chaz Green said. "We can't look at that as a way to feel too confident and not take this team lightly because they're a very good team."
