Feleipe Franks Inspired No Confidence in Win Over Miami But Emory Jones is Not the Answer

If you just looked at the box score, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks played pretty well against Miami's tough Manny Diaz-led defense Saturday. Franks was 17-27 with 254 yards passing while throwing for 2 touchdowns and running for another as the Gators pulled out a 24-20 win in Orlando.

The stats belie his subpar performance, however, as he missed several open receivers downfield, lacked his usual zip on the ball, lost a fumble, and threw 2 of the ugliest picks you'll probably see all year.

While every poor performance from the QB will lead to Gator Nation calling for speedy underclassman Emory Jones to take over behind center, Dan Mullen needs to ride it out with Franks.

There is no substitute for experience, and benching a player of Franks' caliber for a virtual unknown this early into the season would be the most reactionary move of the year. Yes, it worked for Notre Dame last year; they are also an extreme outlier.

Even with that generally rough game, Franks showed off why the Gators' offense under Mullen is perfect for a big, mobile, strong-armed quarterback like him, as his ability to extend plays and go over the top to receivers like Josh Hammond make him the clear-cut starter.

Yes, Jones played well against Idaho last year. That doesn't mean that Dan Mullen should bench Franks after one up-and-down performance against a solid defense in an admittedly way-too-early season opener.