Florida rebounded from a poor first half defensive performances to play what may have been their best second half defensive effort in several years. The Gator offense took too long to deliver a knockout punch, but mostly played well throughout the game. The combination resulted in a much-needed 41-24 away game SEC win.
In the first half, both teams moved the ball at will with each team scoring 4 times and punting only once. The difference was Florida was forced to settle for field goals twice to AM’s once. The Gators adhered to a disappointingly familiar end of first half script by failing to move the ball with 2:25 left and punting it back to AM just 21 seconds later. AM scored a touchdown a minute later to lead 24-20 at the half. Florida squandered the opportunity to extend their lead and went into the half behind instead.
For the second consecutive week, Florida came out of halftime having made better adjustments than the opposition and dominated the third-quarter. This week Gator’s generated 185 yards of total offense and scored 14 third-quarter points. The Florida defense allowed only 19 total yards and zero points.
In the 4th quarter, the Gator offense was pedestrian, but did manage a late short-field touchdown to, finally, ice the game after AM’s second turnover of the quarter. The Florida defense yielded 85 Yards to AM in the 4th quarter, but had two takeaways and forced a turnover on downs.
The game provided an array of noteworthy observations. Florida rushed for 291 yards and had zero turnovers. This combination will almost always result in wins. The very successful second half defensive adjustment was to use a variety of blitzes and stunts combined with tighter man-to-man pass coverage to create more pressure on AM quarterback, Haynes King. We saw an emergence of two younger Gator receivers as Ja’Quavion Fraziers caught 4 passes and Caleb Douglas caught 3. Both had touchdowns. Defensively, sophomores Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Princely Umanmeilen played well in expanded roles created by the dismissal of Brenton Cox.
Yesterday’s problem areas, beyond the first half defense, were penalties (a whopping ten) and another week of poor end of first half execution and game management. Special teams were good overall, but missed a 29 yard field goal in the 4th quarter. Finally, Anthony Richardson had 78 rushing yards on 7 attempts in the game, but his last rushing attempt (12 yard gain) was midway through the third quarter. Richardson really has to be a willing runner throughout the entire game for this offense to click.
Texas AM became Florida’s 6th opponent who spent time this season ranked in the Top Ten. Georgia (#1), Tennessee (#1), Utah (#7), LSU (#7), Texas AM (#6), and Kentucky (#7) all reached lofty rankings at some point this year. Life isn’t easy in the SEC.
This week’s win creates important momentum heading into the three remaining games. Florida now has the opportunity to become bowl eligible with a home win against an improved South Carolina team. The Gamecocks are 6-3 after this week’s 38-27 at Vandy.
