Florida's Aaron Philo Lights Up New QB Rankings With Exceptional Debut

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The debut of Aaron Philo went about as well as the Florida Gators could have hoped in Saturday's 66-21 Week 1 win over Florida Atlantic.

Philo went 16 of 21 passing for 275 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He added 20 yards and a score on six carries. Tramel Jones Jr., who battled Philo in training camp for the starting job, went 4 of 5 passing for 68 yards and one touchdown.

Philo was a wild card headed into the season, but his performance in Week 1 seems to have caught the eye of the national media. CBS Sports ranked the Georgia Tech transfer as the No. 42 quarterback before the season. They bumped him to No. 19 before Week 2.

"Aside from an interception on a well-thrown ball that should have been caught, Philo was almost perfect in his Florida debut as the Gators cruised to a 66-21 win over FAU," wrote Davis Cobb. 

"He completed 16 of 21 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns while also notching a score on the ground. He completed 2 of 3 passes traveling 20+ air yards as the Gators racked up 624 yards."

Philo was humble after the game, noting offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner had a good game plan against FAU. 

"I think the coaches put together a great game plan for me to get settled in and for the whole offense to get settled in," Philo said, via USA Today. 

"I think we came out playing fast, and ultimately we kept that up. There are corrections we have to make, but we’ll continue to get better and come out and play again next week."

Philo was certainly helped out by a strong rushing attack. Running back Jadan Baugh rushed 14 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns. He had a long of 61 yards.

Florida will next play Campbell on Saturday, giving Philo another opportunity to gain some momentum before things really heat up against Auburn on Sept. 19. 

Philo showed why he earned the job. Now, he'll have to improve to keep the Gators in contention to make the College Football Playoff.

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