SEC – Page 5 – Dug Jones

November 2, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit: UF vs. Georgia

This was a great SEC battle with high stakes. This type of situation really defines why the SEC “just means more”. To make it to the SEC championship game, Florida needed to run a four-game gauntlet that included three top-ten opponents and three consecutive games away from Gainesville. The task was too tall for this year’s Gators, but the team handled itself well and earned respect. Mullen and his Gators won’t be satisfied with the respectable showing and that’s exactly why even better days are ahead.
High notes for the day included poise and confidence through adversity. Another strong fourth quarter offensively. Zero turnovers. Trask also has another solid day passing the ball. The Gator run defense was good, for the most part, against one of the best running teams and backs (Swift) in the country.

The biggest struggles included third-down defense, especially in the first half. Anemic run offense. The defense failed to get any consistent pressure on Fromm in passing situations. Trey Dean struggled again in coverage. Stone Forsyth struggled again to protect Trask. Not a good day for Mullen and the coaching staff. Wasted timeouts, some struggles having the right guys on the field, and an inability to figure a way to get pressure on Fromm. Georgia was a half step ahead all day.

Florida is still in a position to have a very good season. It will be nice being home next week against what should be a softer opponent. If Florida wins out, a 10 - 2 record and a New Years Day bowl game are nice accomplishments for year two of the Dan Mullen era.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: 2019, Bulldogs, College Sports, Football, Georgia, Rival, SEC, UF, University of Florida

October 19, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at South Carolina

Florida slogged thru the rain and persevered to beat a solid South Carolina team, 38 - 27, on a wet Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. The difference was in the “big” plays. The Gators capitalized with a (Pierce) 75 yard touchdown run, a 37 yard touchdown pass (Copeland), and with a fourth quarter strip sack (Carter) fumble recovery (Campbell) on the Gamecock’s 29 yard line. For the day, SC out gained (387 to 354)and out possessed (32:03 to 27:53) Florida, but gave up too many big plays.

First the good. Florida’s defense survived despite the absence of their two top pass rushers and several in-game injuries that forced the Gators to play freshmen in key situations. At different points, at least 5 Florida defenders were helped off the field. David Reese rallied the troops and stabilized a wobbly run defense in critical moments. Kyle Trask wasn’t sharp early, but gained momentum (and accuracy) as the game progressed. The O-line pass blocked pretty well. Kinlaw (SC DT) is a beast. Four TD passes to four different receivers is a nice accomplishment against a tough (Muschamp) defense. The Gators extended drives with two fourth down conversions and a couple long third down conversions. Special teams were good, making a long field goal and averaging nearly 45 yards per punt.

Now the bad. The run game for Florida is still unreliable. Without the 75 yard touchdown run, the Gators netted less than 100 yards on 29 carries. The receivers had several dropped passes and blocked poorly on the perimeter today. Without Greenard and Zuniga, the Florida defense failed to get consistent pressure on Hilinski.

With the exception of last week at LSU, the Gators have made good in game adjustments and finished games strong. Florida leverages it’s superior conditioning and depth to dominate late in most games. The open date comes at a great time. The Gators are a banged up team with a physical Georgia team looming in two weeks. It was great having Pierce back today. By the Georgia game, Florida could be close to full strength (barring injury reports from today).

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Florida, Football, Gamecocks, Gators, SEC, South Carolina

October 12, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at LSU

The bottom line in Florida’s 42 -28 loss to LSU was that Joe Burrow took Florida’s vaunted defense apart like a precision mechanic. The LSU run game controlled the line of scrimmage and Burrow had ample time to find open receivers on the occasional LSU passing plays. The few times Florida got pressure on Burrow, he escaped to scramble for double digit yardage. LSU had zero turnovers, two punts, and a missed field goal. The remaining possessions all resulted in touchdowns.

Highlights included Kyle Trask’s poise in one of the toughest away venues in college football. The receivers as a unit were more than solid again. Overall Florida competed all the way to the end and gave themselves a chance to win. Absent a couple late, bad breaks, this game might have come down to who had the ball last.

The disappointing pieces were mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Injuries to Greenard and Zuniga impacted Florida’s ability to get any consistent pressure on Burrow. The run defense struggled to get guys in the correct gaps and, consequently, allowed LSU to avoid third and long situations. The few opportunities the Gators had to force punts escaped with Joe Burrow on third down scrambles.

Trask’s single turnover (interception) came when Florida took an end zone shot in a third and short situation, down one score late in the game. Unfortunately, Trask’s primary read (Cleveland) was drug off his route forcing Trask to try a back shoulder throw to a well covered receiver.

Huge game at USC this upcoming week. The Gamecocks, fresh off an upset of Georgia in Athens, will have home field in Columbia. A Gator win returns Florida to a strong position in the SEC east. A loss ends any SEC title hopes. Injuries on both sides will be a factor. Noon kickoff.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, LSU, SEC, Tigers

September 28, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit: UF vs Towson

Don’t be misled by the score or the stat lines. Florida was solid, but by no means dominant. The Gators were the beneficiaries of three turnovers, a missed short field goal and a blocked field goal. Florida will have to be much sharper to win next week against Auburn.

First the good news. This win creates the opportunity to Florida to face Auburn with an unblemished record. There were no new injuries and Florida will have back several key defenders for the game next week. Track managed the game well and distributed the ball to eight different receivers. He completed 18 (mostly short) passes with only two incompletions. Kyle Pitts has arrived as a marquee target and Pierce ran hard all night. The defense was good in the red zone. Florida stepped up the D in the second half and corrected a number of first half problems. Special teams had a winning night. The blocked FG attempt was the first this season for Gators.

Now the areas for improvement. Trask was sacked three times on the night and all three were because he held the ball too long. He’s looked good overall, but still needs to learn it’s okay to throw it away occasionally. The OL gained momentum in the second half again, but still has frequent assignment issues. Copeland had another drop on a long ball. The defense had a few missed tackles. Admittedly, Tony Flaco is an excellent athlete. Early in the game, the Gator D couldn’t keep him contained. Towson’s first punt was with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.

At the end of the day, it’s a win and a date with undefeated Auburn.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, SEC, Towson

September 21, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit: UF vs Tennessee

Another SEC win, so there is certainly a reason for the Gators to feel good about themselves. For perspective, however, let’s not forget Tennessee is a train wreck. Much of the Florida success was enabled by Volunteer’s miscues. 75 yards in penalties, four turnovers, and an overthrown wide-open receiver or two. Florida deserves credit for overcoming their own mistakes (three turnovers). They won’t beat Auburn, LSU, Georgia, or Missouri if they have three turnovers in those games, though.

First the good news. Kyle Trask passed his first test with a solid performance. He was sharp in the first half and made good decisions (minus the sack fumble). He is patient and seems to go thru the progressions better than Feleipe. He throws a very catchable ball. The receivers shined again. Ten different guys caught balls. Pitts was especially impressive. He gets open and has great hands. Jefferson is an NFL talent. The Gator defense was aggressive and effective despite missing Henderson, Zuniga, and Stiner (for a half). A few missed tackles, but mostly swarmed. It was nice seeing the DBs come up with three interceptions. Seven tackles for loss (four of them sacks). Special teams we great. Florida made all their placekicks, netted 43 yards on the one punt, and allowed zero return yards.

The areas for improvement include the short yardage run game (again) and ball security. The three giveaways could have been even more if the recovery on Davis’ fumble hadn’t been reviewed and overturned. Two of Florida’s giveaways occurred on FIRST down.

Stray thoughts. None of Florida’s five penalties were due to composure issues. No unsportsmanlikes and no targetings. Jefferson could have been flagged for taunting, but...somehow got away with one. If Copeland didn’t have his one drop, the passing yardage would have been at least 50 more yards. The Gators played several freshmen significant snaps (Elam, Kimbrough, Hill, Bogle, and Zipperer). Florida was 5 for 5 in the red zone.

Towson, next week, is a tune up opportunity. They lost today (in overtime) to Villanova. The Tigers feature a dual threat QB. Tom Flacco is Joe Flacco’s brother and is also a baseball talent. Flacco is nearly 25 years old and attended both Western Michigan and Rutgers before transferring to Towson as a grad transfer.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Florida, Football, Gator, SEC, Tennessee, Trask

September 14, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida at Kentucky

Being at the game was fun, but my perspective from the upper concourse in the corner wasn’t great. I haven’t seen the replay yet, but here goes.

Good things. Again, we found a way to win. On defense, David Reese and Shawn Davis were very good. A few others were solid LATE. On offense, Kyle Trask did exactly what you hope your backup QB can do. He was up to the task! The receivers were good. Good routes. No drops. Special teams were good, excepting the one missed short FG.

Bad things. Another week where the OL can’t create enough movement to generate an adequate running game. Our DBs lost most (if not all) of the 50/50 balls. Marco Wilson hasn’t returned to where he was before the injury last year. We didn’t shut down the Kentucky running game well enough. We didn’t get consistent pressure on the QB. We were terrible on third down defense for the first three quarters.

Stray thoughts. Feliepe’s numbers were good and he had two touchdowns called back due to penalties. Other than the early interception, he was actually solid. The QB usually gets the blame, but the offensive woes weren’t his fault. Still, getting in the endzone is the bottom line and Trask got it done better than Feliepe. The late jet sweep was a great call. The game officials were very picky on targeting calls. Trask has three consecutive home games, the first two against teams we should beat, to get comfortable. Noon kickoff next week!

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Florida, Football, Gators, Kentucky, SEC, wildcats