Florida football: First half observations from the Orange Bowl

It’s been a little more than Florida football expected as No. 24 Virginia seems to be keeping pace in the first half.

If the first drive was any indication, Florida football was going to run away with the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Literally.

But, it didn’t happen that way as No. 24 Virginia kept pace with No. 9 Florida in the first half as the Gators clung to a 24-14 lead at the break.

Here’s a look at our first half observations:

Perkins hurt more with his arm

Coming into the game, Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins was touted as a dual-threat quarterback — actually leading the Cavaliers with 745 yards on the ground.

However, in the first half, Perkins did more with his arm to hurt Florida football than his feet.

In fact, in the first quarter, Perkins was 9-for-11 for 83 yards and a touchdown. He tacked on another touchdown to start the second quarter when he connected with Hasise DuBois in the back of the end zone to tie the game.

On the ground, the Cavaliers were less-than-stellar, getting just 19 yards in the first quarter.

For the first half, Perkins was 12-for-16 with 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Perine keeping the Gators in it

As a way to send himself off, Florida football running back Lamical Perine was the bulk of the offense in the first half.

In the first quarter, Perine opened up the scoring with a 61-yard touchdown run. He ended the quarter with a 16-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Trask to help Florida football retake the lead, 14-7.

Perine had 97 yards of total offense in the half as the Gators amassed 149 yards of total offense.

He eclipsed the 100-yard mark midway through the second quarter and had 92 yards rushing with seven minutes left to play in the half. He got 102 yards total later in the quarter.

Oh, he added a third touchdown late in the second quarter to put Florida football up 24-14.

Trask is shaky

Florida football quarterback Kyle Trask has seemed a bit nervous on the field in the first half.

He threw a first-quarter interception and nearly lost the ball again in the second quarter, but was ruled down by contact — which was held upon review.

Trask did have instances where he showed prowess — especially with his check down reads.

There was an instance in the second quarter where he found Jacob Copeland for seven yards, but he took a big risk by throwing across his body to make the completion.

There were other questionable throws that could have been picked off but fortunately fell incomplete.

He did start to get more confidence as the first half progressed, so that could be a sign of better things to come in the second half.

What do to in the second half

Florida football has to get their heads back in the game and cut out mistakes.

They are better than Virginia, but poor judgment on offense coupled with silly mistakes on defense is keeping the Cavaliers in the game.

On defense, the Gators have to keep up pressure on Perkins and make sure receivers are being covered.

Offensively, Perine needs to have the ball more. It’s clear Virginia struggles against the run, so Dan Mullen needs to mix it up a bit. Platoon Trask and Emory Jones and give Perine the ball.

The second half will kick off shortly between No. 9 Florida football and No. 24 Virginia in the Capital One Orange Bowl.