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.