The Gators left sixteen points on the field by settling for field goals in 4 of their 6 trips in the red zone, but there was still plenty to like in Florida’s 22-7 win over the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Offensively, the Gators had 16 plays that gained ten or more yards, seven of them went for more than twenty yards. On defense, Florida continues to be among the stingiest with a national ranking of 5th in total defense. The Gators have allowed just 13.5 points per game despite playing 2 of their 4 games against nationally ranked opponents. For the first time this season, the Florida special teams played winning football. All six place kicks, five of them field goals , were made. The Gator punt team averaged 49 yards per kick with zero yard’s allowed. Florida had 53 yards on their own punt returns.

Individually, a number of Gators had good days. Graham Mertz continues to be among the nation’s most efficient passers. This week he completed 20 of 23 passes. Ricky Pearsall caught 6 balls for 104 yards (17.4 per catch) and Trevor Etienne averaged 6 yards per carry. Scooby Williams had 7 tackles to lead a swarming Gator defense.

For the third consecutive week, the Gators had less penalties, won the time of possession battle, and had significantly more rushing yards than their opponent. This is a formula for success.

There were, however, two major problem areas this week. The first was struggles with red zone offense. Florida gained only 35 yards on 13 plays inside the Charlotte red zone. They failed to convert on 4 red zone third down plays. Two of them were very short yardage opportunities. The other noteworthy problem was the minus two turnover ratio. The Gators lost two fumbles and had no takeaways. To have a chance to win against SEC opponents, these issues will have to be fixed.

The Gators will take their three game win streak to Lexington to face the 4-0 Kentucky Wildcats as a 2.5 point underdog. While Kentucky hasn’t faced a tough schedule or looked especially sharp so far this year, they HAVE beaten Florida the last two years. This game provides a nice opportunity for the Gators to take a next step in the growth process by winning an away SEC game as an underdog.