September 27, 2021 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Tennessee at Florida- 9/25/2021

Emory Jones’ performance the last two weeks validates Dan Mullen’s confidence in him and serves as reminders both that Jones has what it takes to succeed as Florida’s quarterback and that Mullen knows what he’s doing. Anthony Richardson will make important contributions, as Tim Tebow did in 2006, but this year’s offense is Emory’s.

While quarterback play and rushing yardage are today’s obvious marquee messages the more interesting discussion surrounds the steadily improving Gator defense. Sure, Florida surrendered over 400 yards of total offense. Yes, there were some missed tackles and a couple busted coverages (one resulting in a 75 yard touchdown). Continuing challenges ahead, of course, but It’s also important to notice the good things occurring and the strides Todd Grantham’s defense is making from week to week.

This week, Florida gave up 14 points to a Tennessee team that was averaging over 42 points per game and hadn’t scored less than 34 in their first three games. The Gators accomplished this without two of their three best defensive players (Elam and Miller). Freshmen started at both cornerback spots and were backed up by transfers who have been with the program for just two months. Gresham is substituting liberally to cross train and to keep players fresh. Very notably, the Florida defense has been better than last year on third downs, allowing conversions on just 35%. Only one defensive penalty this week. No guarantees moving ahead, but the defense is moving in the right direction.

Recent success in the Gator running game is attributable, in large part, to better offensive line play, but the Florida’s running backs have played a huge role, as well. The current three + rotation of backs has kept them all fresh, healthy, and able to earn additional yards after first contact. Each has a different running style, but all have been effective. At 6.34 yards per carry, the six Florida backs are among the nations best as a group. This week, the Vols’ defense came in allowing just 1.7 yards per carry and 54.3 yards per game, so Florida’s 7.1 yards per carry and 283 rushing total are impressive. Additionally, the backs have all been good with ball security (zero fumbles on the season) and in pass protection. Through four games, Gator running backs have 17 pass receptions. Really, a position of strength this year.

An away SEC game against the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats will serve as the Gators next opportunity for continuing progress.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, Tennessee, University of Florida, Volunteers

December 31, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida/Oklahoma Cotton Bowl- 12/30/20

In the 2018 Citrus Bowl, every Gator wanted to play. Michigan, on the other hand, had significant opt outs and struggled to compete. In tonight’s Cotton Bowl, the shoe was on the other foot. Florida’s challenge wasn’t only about the numbers with only 59 of 85 scholarship players available. It was more about who was missing. The Gators’ MIA list included the team’s top four pass catchers, the team’s leading tackler, three of the four experienced defensive tackles, and two starting defensive backs. The bright side is the number of freshmen and sophomore‘s who played significant numbers of snaps. The obvious downside was how disjointed Florida looked with only three bowl game practices to integrate so many new players.

In many ways, for the Gators, the game felt like the spring Orange and Blue game. There were plenty of dropped passes, many missed tackles, and lots of busted assignments. You also needed a printed roster to know who was on the field for Florida.

Despite the challenges, the Gators were in decent position with 6:10 remaining in the first half. Down only 17 - 10 with the ball on Oklahoma’s 17 yard line, Florida had an opportunity to tie the score. Instead, they failed to convert on third down, settled for a short field goal, and still trailed 17 - 13. Oklahoma scored twice in the remaining six minutes, sandwiching another Florida failed third down conversion (dropped pass), to lead 31 - 13 at the half. Most times this season, with a full roster, Florida scored last in the first half and first in the second half.

A number of the Gator absences, especially on defense, were due to injuries and/or COVID protocols, but others simply chose to opt out. For some, the risk of injury outweighed any benefit to playing. Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney are great examples. A few others might have improved their draft potential by playing. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson used that 2018 Citrus Bowl to improve his draft position. More than any disappointment with the players who opted out, I was impressed by the seniors who chose to play. Principally among them, Kyle Trask, Stone Forsythe, and Brett Heggie. At every step of his Florida career, Trask has subrogated personal goals for team goals. This is Leadership 101.

The Cotton Bowl provided an mini-showcase for the athletic capabilities of Gator quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson. Florida’s running backs and quarterbacks ran the ball for 250 yards against an excellent Oklahoma run defense. Clearly, the personality of the Gator offense will be different next year. On defense, Florida’s success will depend on the maturation of young defensive backs and how depth issues at defensive tackle are addressed.

Next up for the Gators is to close out the 2021 recruiting class with three more quality recruits and then address any remaining needs via the transfer portal. The next game is September 4th against Florida Atlantic University.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Big 12, Cotton Bowl, Florida, Football, Gators, Oklahoma, SEC, Sooners

December 20, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida vs Alabama- SEC Championship Game- 12/19/20

Florida fans woke up today with mixed emotions about the SEC championship game and the 2020-21 season overall. Both ended in disappointment, but there was much to like along the way. In last night’s game, the Gators stood toe-to-toe and traded punches with the nation’s top team and program. Alabama sets the bar for the SEC and for the nation. When the season began, Florida would’ve been happy to beat Georgia, win the SEC east, and face Alabama in the SEC championship game. Even with these goals accomplished, the Gators know they left opportunity on the table in both the game and the season.

Florida’s offense lived up to expectations by refusing to crumble under a 28 - 10 second quarter deficit and then rebounding from a last minute strip sack that resulted in a 35 - 17 halftime hole. The Gators owned the third quarter (14 - 0) and won the second half (29 - 17). Kyle Trask, Kadarius Toney, and Kyle Pitts were especially impressive. Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, commented, “These guys have too much talent on their team on offense, with their quarterback who does a fabulous job. They have a really good receiving corps. 84 and 1 are really serious mismatch players. Both guys had phenomenal games tonight.”

On the defensive side, Florida had their characteristic struggles getting off the field in the first half. The Alabama success was fueled by 8 of 10 third down conversions, three enabled by Florida penalties. One third down stop was a Trey Dean interception that he fumbled back to Alabama on the return. On the other stop, Alabama converted a very short 4th down. The bottom line was the Crimson Tide never punted in the first half. The Gators were much better on defense in the second half, but yielded a critical long touchdown drive after Florida had pulled to within 7 points (38 - 45) with 6:33 remaining in the game.

From the big picture perspective, the Gators leave 2020 with the satisfaction they are relevant again in the SEC discussion. The loss to (#5 ranked) Texas A&M was away, early and a very winnable game. The LSU loss, on the other hand, was a painful reminder the Gators are still a step behind the elite level teams. The ability to win eight games, all against SEC caliber opponents, is special. Every week in the SEC is a battle. For many Gator fans, the biggest disappointment will be the missed opportunity with a truly special offensive unit. Had this group been paired with a typically strong Florida defense, this season may have ended with a championship.

A “New Year’s Six” bowl game (Cotton Bowl) against Oklahoma will provide additional exposure for the Gators. The game will also be a nice opportunity for the younger Florida players to gain valuable experience. Florida’s offense will lose some very special playmakers, but will return other playmakers with experience in Dan Mullen’s proven system. It’s important to understand the kind of job Mullen has historically done developing players. Kyle Trask and Kadarius Toney are prime examples. The Gators defense will add an excellent recruiting class to a number of talented, returning players. If Florida is able to add/develop quality depth at defensive tackle and improve play in the secondary, the defense will be improved in 2021.

The immediate next steps are to maintain momentum through the bowl game and to close out the 2021 recruiting class with three more quality additions in February.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Alabama, championship, Florida, Football, Gators, SEC

December 13, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- LSU at Florida- 12/12/20

Anytime you lose to a 23 point underdog at home, there will be plenty of blame to go around. Many fans will focus on the inconsistencies on defense that have plagued the Gators all season long. Others, will agree with Dan Mullen who said “This one was on the offense”. Most games this season, a 51 yard field goal for Florida is automatic. Just not last night.

Every mistake and inadequacy is illuminated in last-second losses. The early season loss at Texas A&M was similar. Would have, could have, and should have permeates the post game analysis. Perhaps the biggest from last night's game was the Marco Wilson unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (for throwing an LSU player’s shoe) when Florida was in excellent position to win the game. Like the Malik Davis fumble at Texas A&M it occurred at the most inopportune time possible. Unlike the Davis fumble, Wilson’s action wasn’t easy to understand. I’ve written often about the challenge today’s athletes face with subrogating personal goals and impulses to the broader goal of team success. Older guys like me, struggle to understand the need for posing, dancing, and yakking after any minor on-field success. We hold our breath and look for penalty flags after every touchdown, interception, first down conversion, or defensive stop. Some officiating crews are picky and others aren’t. Last night’s crew chose to ignore LSU defensive back, Eli Ricks, when he backpedaled into the end zone to taunt Kyle Trask on the early game pick six. They couldn’t ignore Marco Wilson gaffe because the game clock was running and LSU may have wanted to run a play.

The reality, of course, is the Gators wouldn’t have been in position to lose this game if the offense had played with their usual level of precision. Three turnovers, one of them the aforementioned pick six, enabled and energized LSU. On their first possession of the game, Florida was stuffed on fourth down and goal from the LSU 2 yard line. They settled for a field goal, on another possession, after having a first and goal from the LSU 5 yard line. The Gators had 5 red zone possessions in the first half and came away with only 17 points. In the second half, after scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, Florida managed only a field goal the rest of the way. Their last five possessions were punt, punt, punt, field goal, missed field goal. The Gators had plenty of opportunities to seize control of the game.

Defensively, Florida was their typical feast or famine outfit. In seven LSU series they didn’t allow even one first down. Four other series, however, they allowed long sustained drives for points. All year, when teams can string together a couple of first downs, they end up with a sustained drive and points scored. Against LSU, the most disappointing sequence occurred after Florida scored to take a 17 -14 lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half and then allowed LSU to retake the lead with a nine play, 75 yard drive. Similarly, the defense gave up an 84 yard scoring drive immediately after the offense had taken a 31-27 lead late in the third quarter.

This loss was especially stunning in light of the fact Florida has taken several steps in the right direction this season. The victory over Georgia was important. Reaching the SEC championship game, next week, against Alabama is significant. The LSU loss will take some of the shine off of this season. While most people understand this Gator team is still a step or two away from elite, this loss to a depleted LSU team is a painful reminder of that reality.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, LSU, SEC, Tigers

December 5, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at Tennessee- 12/5/20

Florida used the same script Gator fans have become accustomed to in their 31 - 19 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers today. After trading early scores and trailing midway through the second quarter, Florida scored 28 unanswered points, bridging halftime, to take control of the game and then stumbled home. The Gators ability to score late in the first half and carry that momentum into the third-quarter has been an important asset this entire season. The Texas AM game is the only game Florida didn’t score the last points of the first half. The Arkansas game is the only game Florida didn’t score first in the second half. The Razorbacks’ early third quarter field goal was sandwiched among an otherwise uninterrupted 35 point flurry by Florida.

While each of these characteristics are evident in some way in all four quarters of every game, I attribute success by quarter in this way; the first quarter is preparation, the second quarter is talent, the third quarter is adjustments, and the fourth quarter is conditioning/depth. Clearly, this model ignores the impact of early-game strategic positioning and late-game prevent defense type circumstances. It’s clear, in any case, that Florida’s halftime adjustments throughout the season have been a major component of team success.

Of the goals Florida likely set after the Georgia win, some have been met, others, not so much. For the most part, the Gators have maintained good momentum on offense. They have learned how to attack defenses who drop eight players into coverage. Multiple players have contributed in each and every game. Turnovers have been kept to a relative minimum. Kyle Trask has managed the offense efficiently and with a minimum of penalties. Unfortunately, Florida has yet to develop the ability to run the ball with much consistency. Third down and three is still a passing down for the Gators. Most of the red zone offense are passing plays. Fortunately, Florida has proven they can pass successfully in almost any circumstance.

On defense, the Gators have made strides in a number of areas. It’s difficult to interpret the progress fully because fourth quarters have been played mostly by combinations including reserves and with safe leads. At points where the outcome is still in question, Florida’s defense has been, at many times, stout. They have also allowed intermittent sustained drives for scores in each game. The busts and missed tackles resulting in big plays that plagued the Gators earlier in the season have decreased. Still, the consistency problems make it difficult to believe Florida’s defense is ready for a team like Alabama.

The Gators have also accomplished, thus far, the goals of avoiding serious injuries and providing significant opportunities for game experience for the younger players. This will provide dividends moving forward.

Despite having some uncharacteristic dropped passes and selfish penalties, today’s Gator win accomplishes the important goal of winning the SEC east division and advancing to the SEC championship game on December 19th. Florida deserves to be proud of this accomplishment. It was 2016 when they last reached this milestone.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: 2020, Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, Tennessee, Volunteers

November 28, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Kentucky at Florida- 1/28/20

The pregame questions for the Florida Gators might have surrounded whether the prolific offense could sustain momentum or whether the inconsistent defense could achieve some level of consistent play. As it turns out, the impact plays in first half were made by the Florida special-teams. The combination of an early, gutsy, fake punt, a beautiful Jacob Finn coffin corner punt, and the subsequent Kadarius Toney punt return for a touchdown allowed Florida to weather the precision of Kentucky’s well-played first half to regroup at half-time.

The Wildcats played solid ball control offense the entire first half. They owned time of possession by a wide margin (23:23 to 6:37), committed zero penalties, and had zero turnovers. By keeping Kyle Trask and the Florida offense watching from the bench, Kentucky gave themselves their best chance to beat the heavily favored Gators. The Wildcats weren’t great on offense, but they did take advantage of a short-field to turn the one Florida turnover into 7 points and held a 10 - 7 lead with less than one minute left in the first half. Without the Gators successful, early game fake punt conversion that ultimately led to Florida’s only offensive points of the half, the deficit would have been larger.

Florida's first touchdown was the result of Dan Mullen's gutsy fourth down and two call at his OWN 25 yard line. From punt formation, Dameon Pierce took the direct snap from the upback position and skirted around left end for 15 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Kyle Trask connected with Kyle Pitts for a 56 yard touchdown pass. The Gators failed to build on the 7 - 0 lead and lost momentum by following the score with fumble, punt, and punt on their next three possessions.

The sequence that flipped the momentum back to Florida began with a Kentucky timeout taken with Florida facing 4th down and 11 at their own 41 yard line and 1:20 remaining in the first half. Jacob Finn launched a 49 yard punt that pinned Kentucky at their own one yard line with 1:13 remaining. Florida made three consecutive run stops, the biggest on 3rd down with just one yard needed for a Kentucky first down. By using their timeouts after each play, Florida forced a Kentucky punt with 57 seconds left in the half. The Gators punt return team, using a trick play, returned the Wildcat punt for a touchdown. The net result of the last 1:20 of the half was that Kentucky, despite executing an excellent first-half game plan, went into the locker room trailing 14 to 10.

Florida, with the lead, momentum, and the ball to begin the second half, made good halftime adjustments. The Gators scored 17 points and held Kentucky to 18 yards of total offense to put the game away in the third quarter. Florida was content to run clock in the fourth quarter and Kentucky threw two interceptions and never reestablished any level of offensive flow.

For the record, the Florida offense, despite two turnovers and some general sloppiness, did maintain momentum. Trask’s passing statistics were good, but he wasn’t as consistently sharp as in many other games. Pitts returned from his two week absence with an exclamation point (5 catches, 3 touchdowns, and 99 receiving yards). Pierce averaged 8.4 yards per carry, caught 4 passes, and was the ball carrier on the fake punt.

The Florida defense also showed signs of improvement. Kentucky was held to 221 yards (only 62 passing) of total offense. The Gators had three interceptions and two sacks. Importantly, Kentucky’s longest play from scrimmage was for just 20 yards. James Houston's return was important as he led the Gators with 8 tackles, 3 of them for negative yards in critical situations. Admittedly, the Wildcat offense isn’t good, but Florida took an important step forward on defense.

The Gators travel to Knoxville next week to play the University of Tennessee. The Volunteers are in the midst of a disappointing season, but were open this week and will have had two weeks to prepare for Florida.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, Kentucky, SEC, wildcats

November 21, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at Vanderbilt- 11/21/20

With four minutes left in the Florida/Vanderbilt game, Kaiir Elam intercepted a Ken Seals pass in the Florida end zone to effectively close out the Commodores. After the play, Elam displayed a symptom of the Gators’ defensive struggles this season. He lost big-picture focus and chose to dance. Chester Kimbrough followed Elam’s lead and danced, too. This type of behavior will draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty every single time. Both players have been around long enough to know better and Elam should be a leader. For some people the thought is “who cares?” with a 21 point lead late in a game. Honestly, that’s the point. Does an interception in a game against a 35 point underdog warrant excessive celebration? Is this defense so good it doesn’t need to maintain focus? Of course not, to both questions. The Vandy game was an opportunity for the Florida defense to take steps in the right direction. Instead, the Gators struggled to get lined up right, struggled to limit yards after contact (YAC), and somehow felt finger wagging and dancing were warranted after the occasional good defensive play.

The point is this Florida defense doesn’t execute the fundamentals well enough to lose focus and waste time on “swagger”. Offenses in college football today are complex. Being physically gifted on defense isn’t nearly enough. To compete, defenses must line up correctly and have all eleven guys playing “assignment football” as a unit. It’s necessary for players to understand down and distance, setting the edge, gap control, and where they have help and where they don’t. Getting to that point should be the full time job of this defense.

The Gator offense wasn’t especially crisp today, but played well enough deserve the win. Yet again, Kyle Trask was effective, spread the ball around and managed the offense well. Gator fans have grown accustomed to this luxury. Florida would’ve liked to have run the ball better, especially early in the game, but did enough to provide an adequate cushion for the defense. Kadarius Toney continues to be a feast or famine type player. Every time he touches the ball something overtly good or bad happens.

There are some likely contributing factors for the inconsistent play today. Florida used a completely different pregame ritual that included dressing at the team hotel and staying out on the field during halftime. The Gators also used a lot of different and younger players throughout the game on defense. On offense, true freshman, Josh Braun started at guard and sophomore Ethan White played important snaps.

Next week, the Kentucky Wildcats will provide greater challenges for the Florida defense than those created by Vandy. This will be especially true depending on the extent of Ventrell Miller’s injury and the availability of Jeremiah Moon. Playing in the Swamp and Kyle Pitt’s return should both help a great deal.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: commodores, Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, vanderbilt, Vandy

November 15, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Arkansas at Florida- 11/14/20

We’ll get to the game specific thoughts shortly, but last night’s Arkansas/Florida football game attracted me to thoughts about the sociology of sports. The impetus for these thoughts was the contrasting relationships Kyle Trask and Feleipe Franks have with the Florida Gator fan base. Clearly, Florida’s current success and Franks’ departure at the end of last season are factors, but it goes much deeper than that. It’s also tied to emotional maturity and personality. At the end of last night’s game, the media tried to engage Trask in Heisman Trophy conversation. They also asked him if Florida had the best offense in college football. In both instances, he refused to take the bait. He deflected the Heisman discussion and reminded people that his larger goals were associated with team successes and championships. In response to the “best offense” question, he simply commented about his happiness with his own offense. He ignored completely the opportunity to compare/provoke others by claiming to be better than anyone else.

Franks’ rougher relationship with the Gator fan base extends back a couple seasons. The road became rocky when Florida fans booed Felipe in 2017 while he was Florida’s starting quarterback. In response, after scoring touchdowns, Frank’s shushed the home Florida crowd on at least two occasions. Given the opportunity to mend fences, Franks was unrepentant. The circumstances improved, but the fan base remembered. After a season ending injury and Trask’s emergence in 2019, Feleipe transferred to Arkansas. He left on good terms and with the blessing of Gator nation. Somewhat surprisingly (and disappointingly), Florida fans booed Franks the first time he took the field in last night’s game. In response, after a first quarter 47 yard touchdown pass, Felipe stared to the Florida sidelines and held up his index finger. As far as fans were concerned, it might as well have been his second finger. The feud was still on and Gator fans enjoyed every moment of the 63 - 35 beat down.

My point isn’t to vilify Felipe Franks in any way. He’s part of the Gator family, faced tough circumstances, and played an important role in the Gator’s return to relevance. My point is to illuminate the difference between athletes who motivate themselves internally and those who need to provoke external conflict to energize themselves. Franks, in fact, isn’t unusual in this regard. Many athletes these days choose to focus on criticism and perceived slights. Their goal becomes to succeed so they can prove others wrong. In my own long history around sports, I’ve learned that most of the true superstars have a much higher internal locus of control. They succeed by challenging themselves and raising their own bar.

Speaking of raising the bar, the Florida Gator offense took their 2020 success to yet another level against Arkansas. You can find the gaudy statistics online, but the salient point is continued improvement, week by week, for an offense that had already proven itself as prolific. Each week the Gators find yet another tool in the toolbox to feature. Missing perhaps their most gifted offensive threat, Kyle Pitts, Florida didn’t miss a beat. Ten different receivers caught balls. Five different guys caught touchdown passes. All this against an Arkansas secondary that has been one of the SEC’s best this season. Some people, myself included, expected the Florida running game would have to be the difference maker this week. In a testament to their confidence, the Gators just did what they do best and threw the ball. In a similar display of confidence at the end of the first half, Florida didn’t settle for a safer, chip-shot field goal to extend their lead. They ran the regular offense, threw the ball in the end zone, and went into the halftime with an even larger lead. There’s a difference between teams that play to win and those who play not to lose.

To be a national championship contender, the Florida defense must improve. Period. The Arkansas game provided continuing evidence the defense still has a ways to go to get where they need to be. The defensive approach is different with a lead of more than 14 points, but playing “prevent defense” wasn’t the problem. Quite the contrary. Last night’s problem, again, was giving up big plays. Arkansas scored on plays of 47, 83, 12, 12, and 82 yards. Their longest scoring drive took three minutes. Four of these drives were 75 yards or longer. Giving up big scoring plays and yards in large chunks is often a reflection on missed assignments/breakdowns or on being individually overly aggressive. Physicality and aggression are important parts of the game. Unfortunately, an over abundance of aggression at the expense of playing “assignment football” creates vulnerability. This is especially true if it occurs on the edges or in the back end of the defense. Florida is playing a large number of younger players, including several true freshmen. The mistakes, however, haven’t been limited to the young guys. There’s little question Florida possesses the talent to play dominating defense. The question, more than anything, is whether Florida can take advantage of the softer schedule over the next four weeks to make corrections and grow as a defense. To have any chance against Alabama, if Florida can get to the SEC championship game, the Gator defense must step up.

One week at a time. Steady improvement each week. Next week is at Vandy.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Arkansas, Feleipe Franks, Florida, Football, Gators, Kyle Trask, Razorbacks, SEC

November 9, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida vs. Georgia- 11/7/20

In light of the outcomes of recent Florida/Georgia games and the SEC East championship implications each year, Saturday's Gator victory was just what the doctor ordered for Florida fans. The annual matchup serves as a thermometer for measuring the "health" of both programs. Since 2016, the Gators have been working towards a cure for the Bulldog blues. Each time it seemed Florida was on the road to recovery, Georgia delivered bad news. In this year's game, a more poised (and offensively potent) Florida team survived a very ugly first five minutes of football to overwhelm the Bulldogs with a barrage of 38 first half points. Teams with less poise might have relapsed and thought, "here we go again" when Georgia jumped out to a 14 - 0 lead just 3:16 into the game. As has been the case since he became the starting quarterback, Kyle Trask was unflappable. From that 3:16 point in the first quarter through 3:12 into the third quarter, Trask completed 23 of 27 passes for 389 yards and put 41 points on the scoreboard. The 4 incompletions during this span of roughly one half included a dropped pass and a "pick six" for Georgia caused by a poor Gator route.

Florida's defense, like in last week's game against Missouri was solid, but not great. Georgia scored only 21 offensive points, but overthrew wide open receivers behind the Gator secondary twice. The Bulldogs also dropped several catchable balls that killed drives for them. Still, Florida's defense allowed only 141 yards of total offense and only 7 points after the catastrophic first 3:12 (136 yards and 14 points) of the game. In light of the early season defensive struggles and the more recent lineup challenges associated with COVID, the Gators are much improved. It appears Todd Grantham has the players back into their more natural positions. The defense is playing better and with, in most cases, more discipline (controlled aggression).

This year's game was brutal in terms of physicality and player injuries. At least three players for each team didn't finish the game and both teams had several others miss portions of the game. Georgia, in particular, was impacted by the absence of key players in their defensive secondary.

The depth and versatility of the Florida offense was showcased by the production of players NOT named Kyle Pitts and Kadraris Toney. Pitts was knocked out of the game early and Toney had only one productive play on ten touches. Instead, Florida went to wheel routes that featured the Gator running backs. As a unit, the backs had 10 catches for 212 yards. The running game was just productive enough to keep the Bulldog linebackers close enough to scrimmage to create space behind them for Florida's receivers to work. Trevon Grimes, Kenmore Gamble, and Kyle Pitts (of course) all made nice catches on tough balls to help Trask. The talented younger Gator receivers weren't as good on Saturday, accounting for two two dropped passes and a bad route that caused a "pick six". Georgia dropped another "pick six" opportunity also caused by bad Florida route running.

As Florida prepares for Feliepe Franks and the Arkansas Razorbacks this week, the news regarding the health of Gator players will be a factor. Kyle Pitts left the Georgia game with what looked like a concussion. Three Florida offensive linemen missed parts of the Georgia game. Stewart Reese and Jeremiah Moon each left the game with injuries and didn't return. Safety Brad Stewart was also banged up with what looked like a shoulder injury.

The Gator win on Saturday was critical not only for clearing a good path into the SEC championship game, but also to make the point Florida is relevant again. Recruiting gets easier when teams win marquee games and the Gators and Bulldogs very often recruit the same players.

With a one game cushion and all 5 remaining games against teams in the lower half of the league standings, the media has all but awarded the SEC East to the Gators. The reality, however, is every SEC team has talent and is well coached. That's what makes the SEC the best conference in college football. The mantra at Florida has to be "one game at a time" each and every week.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Bulldogs, Florida, Football, Gators, Georgia, SEC

October 10, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit – Florida at Texas A&M- 10/10/20

In a game where very little defense was played by either team, Florida made the last mistake and was beaten 41 - 38 with a last second field goal by Texas A&M.  Three weeks into the season and Gator fans are still waiting for the defense to arrive.  Most knowledgeable football people realized there would be some early defensive struggles. Few, however, expected Florida to be allowing nearly 500 yards of offense and over 33 points per game.  Unlike the Ole Miss and South Carolina games, the Gator offense made a single huge late game mistake against A&M. 

The biggest of Florida’s defensive problems has been the inability to play well on third (and fourth) down. Against the Aggies, the Gators surrendered first downs on 12 of 15 (80%) third down opportunities. Of these, almost all exceeded 6 yard gains. Frequently, Florida allowed running backs to break contain, slip tackles, and bounce outside. On critical passing plays, the quick slant was successful repeatedly for A&M.  Interior D-line depth is a problem. Freshmen are playing too many snaps. Kyree Campbell’s unexplained absence has hurt.  Perhaps the biggest surprise has been poor play by experienced defensive backs. Marco Wilson, especially, hasn’t lived up to reputation and expectations as a shut down cover guy. 

Today’s bright spots included continued strong play by the offense in general and Kyle Trask in particular.  The entire team is playing with poise and great effort. Just way too many mistakes by the defense. Evan McPherson remains perfect and continues to prove he’s the best place kicker in the nation. Today’s field goal was a clutch 52 yarder, his second of over 50 this year. 

The Gators just can’t seem to put teams away when they have opportunities. Finally today, this cost them the game. Florida will need to regroup quickly and rebound with a home win next week against defending national champion, LSU. Like the Gators, LSU has struggled on defense this year. They were upset 45 - 41 today by previously winless Missouri. Expect next week’s game to end with both teams scoring over 40 points. 

Published by Dug Jones in Sports
Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, Texas AM
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