- Oct 5, 2017
- 2,315
- 6,296
35-31 Gators. That was my prediction and that prediction was wrong. I mean, I got Alabama's score right and if we had one of those walk-off miracles I would have UF's score right too. Or maybe if we didn't kick a field goal on the first drive, scored a TD, and didn't miss any extra points. Alas, none of that happened and the Gators lost 31-29 to the Alabama Crimson Tide for the eighth straight time.
The crowd was for the most part loud all game. It was definitely not as loud when the Gators were down 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. There is a reason why we play four quarters. Bama fans were putting on Twitter after the game that The Swamp was the loudest place they had been and it definitely was louder than my 2019 trip to Death Valley. After both Gameday and SEC Nation hyped the still newish "I Won't Back Down" tradition during their broadcasts, it lived up to the hype as it rocked the stadium and brought extra energy into the atmosphere. My ears still have some ringing.
Offense
The offense started pretty well driving 75 yards for a field goal on the opening drive. If not for a poor play on 2nd and 2, perhaps Florida punches the ball in there and maybe it's a different game. However, I said at the time and still do that I would take the points because of the impact getting nothing from an opening drive could have on the mindset of both teams. The pedestrian rest of most of the first half is what hurt. We had a perfect opportunity to pull within one score going into the half with the Gators set to get the ball to start the second half, but squandered the opportunity in part because of a holding penalty.
If you include the last play of the game, we only had the ball 4 times. We scored touchdown on all three full second half drives. That's efficiency. I have to give massive credit to Hevesy and the O-Line. Those guys pushed Bama around. Emory had all day to throw multiple times and clearly 245 rushing yards showed that. Putting 440 yards on the #1 team in the country shows that the yards we put up in the first two games were not "fool's gold" who an aberration. This offense can move when it is in rhythm.
There is nothing bad I can say about our running backs. They ran hard, Wright had a breakout performance, Davis looked the best he has since 2017, and though Pierce had a low 3.1 ypc, he had one of the biggest runs of the day with that 17 yard TD run as UF was trying to make the comeback.
I expected more from the tight ends than blocking and we did see it. Gamble and Zip combined to catch 9 balls for 83 yards. Unfortunately, one of those was a -4 yard catch in the aforementioned last drive of the first half. They both blocked really well throughout the game too.
The receivers only caught 7 balls yesterday and I believe that is partially a QB issue. I would say that Whittemore caught 4 including two in a row on 3rd and 4th down to keep the hopes alive on the last TD drive and smartly stretched the ball out for the first down. Still wondering why someone called Russell after USF and said he doesn't deserve a scholarship. This kid plays well, blocks well and usually is sure handed.
I did not like the 2 point conversion play, but was surprised it wasn't Mullen's go to play of roll right with the QB and throw left (see UK 2018 for an example). We had run it on our first TD drive to Zip though for a big gain. I would have ran a levels with receivers to the right with Jones rolling out. This would give him an option to either find an open guy or to make a man miss and run into the endzone. Alternatively, I would run the speed option that has been run with mostly succes. That read option was a disaster and after the game, Lee McGriff was saying he thinks there was a crease for Davis to score, but EJ holding it too long stopped the play dead.
Let's discuss the QB situation. I have seen several comments by Gators media members that the QB controversy was quieted yesterday. My question is "how?". Our QB managed the game and threw what was a costly INT. On the 99-yard drive he was 2 of 5, but granted both those completions were big ones on big downs. I'm not sure he always threw the right pass, he missed some reads (which all QB's will do), but he did do enough to help UF go three TD's on three full drives in the second half. There's a reason why I've framed the "QB Controversary" in the light of Hurts/Tua and Bryant/Lawrence. I believe we can win with EJ, but I believe there a lower ceiling on this team with him than with AR15. That's the question that should be asked, not is EJ a bad QB or not. If you ask the first question about ceilings, no doubt it seems AR gives the higher ceiling, but if you base your QB on whether they are bad or not, than you aren't looking for what you can win, but only what you will or will not lose. With that said, I thought overall EJ played a good game. He did some right things, and I will salute him for it.
Defense
This performance highlighted how both good and bad this defense can be. Some people here were lamenting that Bama would never punt in the game. However, they punted four times. If you only want to count three because of the end of game scenario that is fine. The defense did get UF three three and outs. They also played a horrific first quarter where they failed to tackle and at times were out of position. Bad open field tackling, stumbles, and collisions lead to a 21-3 deficit. Also, a good game plan to start by Bama in calling quick, safe passes to neutralize the pass rush. As I said to one of the people with me, you can't bash the D-Line if the ball is out in under two seconds. The only way you get to the QB in that scenario is to be completely unblocked.
After the terrible start, the defense allowed Alabama only 10 points through three quarters. That is good. For the game, UF only allowed 91 yards rushing. That's impressive. In the final three quarters, UF allowed 143 yards. That is impressive. I'm not going to tell you this defense is elite, I'm not going to tell you they are great, and I sure am not going to tell you they won't make mistakes. What I will tell you is that this defense did make adjustments and played really well. They need to do it from the start. They showed the ability to do it all, now they have to bring what we saw the last three quarters for four quarters the rest of the way. Biggest play call issue I had late in the game was Bama's last TD. On 4th and 1 from that spot just blast the line from all angles. Instead we let them get outside for a walk in score. I'd rather them beat us on a play action than that.
There are a few defensive notes I believe need to be made regarding some plays and/or players. I felt after the beginning where everyone failed the linebackers did a great job, especially considering their leader is out for the year and it was the first full game without Miller. Two young DT's caught my eye. Dexter had a great game and big Dez was impressive. That goal line stand to force the FG by Bama in the second half was a lot of Dez pushing two guys. It happened right in front of me. I saw 21 come in and knew that this was an opportunity for him to show he will be a force and he did. I was disappointed we didn't utilize him more on Bama's last clock killing drive. Elam is a beast. Got a few bad calls against him, but he did well.
We can't talk about the defensive performance and not talk about some of the penalties. I am not at all going to say it is why we lost, but I think it is completely asinine to say that one that cost us a three and out and lead to a Bama TD didn't have an impact. Just like with the Swindle in the Swamp, where I have maintained for almost 20 years that the bad officiating doesn't matter if you just don't let Rix hit Sam for 52 yards on 4th and 14, if you stop Bama the rest of the drive the bad call against Elam doesn't matter. I don't know about the first DPI either. I was sitting in the south endzone, dead center and the ball landed 5-10 yards behind the play. Again, you have opportunities for stops after these, you need to do it. But, I can't act like there is zero impact from these calls.
Special Teams
If there is one unit that we could point to that let us down in this game it would be special teams. The biggest (and most obvious) is walk on kicker Chris Howard's missed PAT. Without that, the game is tied. I have a feeling that if the game goes to OT that Florida pulls it off. Another issue is the drop by Weston. Now, we scored on the 99 yard drive that followed, but I wouldn't bet we can do that all the time. Weston was not in on subsequent kickoff returns. One final one that I do not believe is done justice on the CBS broadcast view after watching it is on Bama's first punt. Wright very well could have blocked the punt, but instead of diving and outstretching his arms gets alligator arms. I believe that if he makes the effort he either blocks or gets a piece of the ball that gives UF better field position. UF would punt on the ensuing drive.
Extra Points
Go Gators!
The crowd was for the most part loud all game. It was definitely not as loud when the Gators were down 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. There is a reason why we play four quarters. Bama fans were putting on Twitter after the game that The Swamp was the loudest place they had been and it definitely was louder than my 2019 trip to Death Valley. After both Gameday and SEC Nation hyped the still newish "I Won't Back Down" tradition during their broadcasts, it lived up to the hype as it rocked the stadium and brought extra energy into the atmosphere. My ears still have some ringing.
Offense
The offense started pretty well driving 75 yards for a field goal on the opening drive. If not for a poor play on 2nd and 2, perhaps Florida punches the ball in there and maybe it's a different game. However, I said at the time and still do that I would take the points because of the impact getting nothing from an opening drive could have on the mindset of both teams. The pedestrian rest of most of the first half is what hurt. We had a perfect opportunity to pull within one score going into the half with the Gators set to get the ball to start the second half, but squandered the opportunity in part because of a holding penalty.
If you include the last play of the game, we only had the ball 4 times. We scored touchdown on all three full second half drives. That's efficiency. I have to give massive credit to Hevesy and the O-Line. Those guys pushed Bama around. Emory had all day to throw multiple times and clearly 245 rushing yards showed that. Putting 440 yards on the #1 team in the country shows that the yards we put up in the first two games were not "fool's gold" who an aberration. This offense can move when it is in rhythm.
There is nothing bad I can say about our running backs. They ran hard, Wright had a breakout performance, Davis looked the best he has since 2017, and though Pierce had a low 3.1 ypc, he had one of the biggest runs of the day with that 17 yard TD run as UF was trying to make the comeback.
I expected more from the tight ends than blocking and we did see it. Gamble and Zip combined to catch 9 balls for 83 yards. Unfortunately, one of those was a -4 yard catch in the aforementioned last drive of the first half. They both blocked really well throughout the game too.
The receivers only caught 7 balls yesterday and I believe that is partially a QB issue. I would say that Whittemore caught 4 including two in a row on 3rd and 4th down to keep the hopes alive on the last TD drive and smartly stretched the ball out for the first down. Still wondering why someone called Russell after USF and said he doesn't deserve a scholarship. This kid plays well, blocks well and usually is sure handed.
I did not like the 2 point conversion play, but was surprised it wasn't Mullen's go to play of roll right with the QB and throw left (see UK 2018 for an example). We had run it on our first TD drive to Zip though for a big gain. I would have ran a levels with receivers to the right with Jones rolling out. This would give him an option to either find an open guy or to make a man miss and run into the endzone. Alternatively, I would run the speed option that has been run with mostly succes. That read option was a disaster and after the game, Lee McGriff was saying he thinks there was a crease for Davis to score, but EJ holding it too long stopped the play dead.
Let's discuss the QB situation. I have seen several comments by Gators media members that the QB controversy was quieted yesterday. My question is "how?". Our QB managed the game and threw what was a costly INT. On the 99-yard drive he was 2 of 5, but granted both those completions were big ones on big downs. I'm not sure he always threw the right pass, he missed some reads (which all QB's will do), but he did do enough to help UF go three TD's on three full drives in the second half. There's a reason why I've framed the "QB Controversary" in the light of Hurts/Tua and Bryant/Lawrence. I believe we can win with EJ, but I believe there a lower ceiling on this team with him than with AR15. That's the question that should be asked, not is EJ a bad QB or not. If you ask the first question about ceilings, no doubt it seems AR gives the higher ceiling, but if you base your QB on whether they are bad or not, than you aren't looking for what you can win, but only what you will or will not lose. With that said, I thought overall EJ played a good game. He did some right things, and I will salute him for it.
Defense
This performance highlighted how both good and bad this defense can be. Some people here were lamenting that Bama would never punt in the game. However, they punted four times. If you only want to count three because of the end of game scenario that is fine. The defense did get UF three three and outs. They also played a horrific first quarter where they failed to tackle and at times were out of position. Bad open field tackling, stumbles, and collisions lead to a 21-3 deficit. Also, a good game plan to start by Bama in calling quick, safe passes to neutralize the pass rush. As I said to one of the people with me, you can't bash the D-Line if the ball is out in under two seconds. The only way you get to the QB in that scenario is to be completely unblocked.
After the terrible start, the defense allowed Alabama only 10 points through three quarters. That is good. For the game, UF only allowed 91 yards rushing. That's impressive. In the final three quarters, UF allowed 143 yards. That is impressive. I'm not going to tell you this defense is elite, I'm not going to tell you they are great, and I sure am not going to tell you they won't make mistakes. What I will tell you is that this defense did make adjustments and played really well. They need to do it from the start. They showed the ability to do it all, now they have to bring what we saw the last three quarters for four quarters the rest of the way. Biggest play call issue I had late in the game was Bama's last TD. On 4th and 1 from that spot just blast the line from all angles. Instead we let them get outside for a walk in score. I'd rather them beat us on a play action than that.
There are a few defensive notes I believe need to be made regarding some plays and/or players. I felt after the beginning where everyone failed the linebackers did a great job, especially considering their leader is out for the year and it was the first full game without Miller. Two young DT's caught my eye. Dexter had a great game and big Dez was impressive. That goal line stand to force the FG by Bama in the second half was a lot of Dez pushing two guys. It happened right in front of me. I saw 21 come in and knew that this was an opportunity for him to show he will be a force and he did. I was disappointed we didn't utilize him more on Bama's last clock killing drive. Elam is a beast. Got a few bad calls against him, but he did well.
We can't talk about the defensive performance and not talk about some of the penalties. I am not at all going to say it is why we lost, but I think it is completely asinine to say that one that cost us a three and out and lead to a Bama TD didn't have an impact. Just like with the Swindle in the Swamp, where I have maintained for almost 20 years that the bad officiating doesn't matter if you just don't let Rix hit Sam for 52 yards on 4th and 14, if you stop Bama the rest of the drive the bad call against Elam doesn't matter. I don't know about the first DPI either. I was sitting in the south endzone, dead center and the ball landed 5-10 yards behind the play. Again, you have opportunities for stops after these, you need to do it. But, I can't act like there is zero impact from these calls.
Special Teams
If there is one unit that we could point to that let us down in this game it would be special teams. The biggest (and most obvious) is walk on kicker Chris Howard's missed PAT. Without that, the game is tied. I have a feeling that if the game goes to OT that Florida pulls it off. Another issue is the drop by Weston. Now, we scored on the 99 yard drive that followed, but I wouldn't bet we can do that all the time. Weston was not in on subsequent kickoff returns. One final one that I do not believe is done justice on the CBS broadcast view after watching it is on Bama's first punt. Wright very well could have blocked the punt, but instead of diving and outstretching his arms gets alligator arms. I believe that if he makes the effort he either blocks or gets a piece of the ball that gives UF better field position. UF would punt on the ensuing drive.
Extra Points
- In short, this game came down to a pick, one bad quarter, and missing a PAT.
- A real scholarship kicker is non-negotiable at this point.
- There is no way recruits didn't come away impressed with the atmosphere
- Facilities seem to be coming along nicely, I park on the other side of campus so I usually don't go that way. No, I didn't take photos, but I thought about taking one from a bad angle as a joke to get some people going.
- Anyone think FSU gets to 4-8?
- So...is Clemson great?
- Early prediction, Ole Miss upsets Bama in two weeks.
- Way too early prediction, there will not be a rematch
- Good to see so many former players back in the Swamp including Spikes, Tebow, Fred and Kelvin Taylor, Major Wright and Toney.
Go Gators!
