- Jun 12, 2014
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Amid the 15,000 live fans allowed to attend, along with the cut-outs that featured pets, celebrities, and past Gator greats, the 2020 edition of Gator football bested the Cocks of USCe in the home opener at BHG 38-24. In doing so, they run their early season record to 2-0 led by the two Kyles, Trask and Pitts, who enjoyed another good offensive outing. Trask kept up his hot start with 21 / 29 passing for 268 yds, 4 TDs and an INT. Pitts had 4 receptions for 54 yds and 2 TDs. As a team, the Gators rolled up 348 yds in only 53 plays for a 6.6 yds / play average.
Even so, the Cocks didn’t go down easily ;) as they rushed for 117 yds and passed for 212 on a whopping 30 more offensive plays than Florida! They also turned two Gator turnovers, both by Trask, into scores and dominated time of possession 36:23 to 23:37, nearly 13 more minutes (keep this stat in mind for a little later). The Cocks young QB, whose hairdo (and not his physique) were reminiscent of former USCe signal caller Stephen Garcia (I see you @Durty South Swamp), made some nice throws and kept their offense potent and the outcome uncertain until the fourth quarter when they turned the ball over on downs after penetrating deep in the red zone.
Considering how our D has started the season, which carried over somewhat, and that their D was some better than the Rebs’ last week, it’s not hard to understand why the game was closer than hoped. Our group was arguably a little better this week than last, though the Cocks ran through us on their first possession with little resistance and our offense gave them the ball twice in good field position. Also, as hated and maligned as Muschamp is, and deservedly so, he can usually put together a good defensive effort, especially against us.
So even though we beat the Cocks :) by two scores, I can’t helped but feel a little uneasy with TAMU on the road looming ahead next week. But let’s not mistake uneasy with not confident. Our small sample size still makes me feel our O can move it on anybody, particularly with the OL and backs providing pretty decent pass pro and another good crop of receivers taking shape. And the D...they’ve got to catch up sooner or later, don’t they? Chew on that a bit while we look at a few specifics...
*Remember those stats I mentioned? Allowing your opponents 30 more snaps than you will usually get your @ss beat! It speaks poorly of your D’s ability to consistently stop the opposing O and we gave up 11 combined third and fourth down conversions! I guess we’ll now have “4th and Grantham,” too? We were able to get just enough stops, but thank the O for scoring as much as they did.
*The other stat, Time of Possession, a Muschamp hallmark, should be seen as mostly meaningless in these days of high octane, fast scoring offenses. It is also referenced in the book of Modern Football Statistics as “this statistic is for losers.” Teams nowadays that ascribe to this practice are rarely champions of any description.
*It was easy for all of us to scream at our televisions “WTF are you doing, Dan?!” when Trask fumbles on a keeper, that led to a quick USCe score. You likely thought why risk an injury to the guy making our offense really click? And then he keeps on a speed option and picks up a first down on a nice gain of 10+. I’d rather him not run, but it’s going to happen. It’s football and if it’s not called, which I don’t think we’ll see often at all, he’ll get flushed occasionally. No way to protect him from that.
*Big Head Todd and the Monsters aren’t really scaring anybody thus far this season. We really struggle at times in coverage even though we looked sporadically better at times today. Sean Davis has come on and shows some needed toughness and reliability (e.g. the jump ball break up in the end zone) and Elam can play, but we still allow too much separation at times, get lost, or flat out blow coverages. Safety play overall is scary. Our LBs aren’t good in coverage and seem to get pinned frequently on off tackle plays (especially bad when our Ends fail to set the edge, which happens too frequently). We got to the ball today, but struggled a bit getting the ball carriers on the ground. But my biggest worry is that we are not as strong on the LOS as the OLs we’ve met. This might be a season-long issue that will require a lot of improvement in the other defensive areas lest we get bit.
*Take away Trask’s two turnovers and we likely hang half a hundred on them. When our D is struggling, we can’t help the other team no matter how good our O is.
*Pierce looks like the #1 RB. 51 yds on 9 carries with a score was tops for us. I’d love to see him get a few more touches. One of the best things about our backs is the aforementioned role they are playing in pass pro. Sooner or later, they’ll have to be involved as receivers in the throw game a little more.
*Don’t want to praise too much too soon, but I believe we are trending upward with the OL. Not sure of the depth, but hope it will be ready when called and that’ll happen sooner or later.
*Still not sure exactly who’s responsible for the O clicking and our efficiency, but keep it up. Any way you cut it, Brian Johnson, by effort or presence, is a part of it.
So College Station and Jimbo are set for next Saturday. That can be a tough place to play. Kellen Monds, depending on which one shows up, can give our inconsistent D fits. We’ve got a lot of work to do defensively to prepare and get better. One thing we’ve got going for us is the vaunted “Twelfth Man” is made partly of cardboard this year. Shouldn’t make much difference either way if the D steps it up a bit and the O cleans up and performs like opening day. Jimbo’s tears are long overdue. Go Gators!
*Forgot to give Toney a shout. His TD reception showed his strength, balance, and speed as he pulled away from several defenders to take an intermediate throw to the house. Just a reminder, though, for him not to run backwards even if he does have more moves than a young @crosscreekcooter at a tent revival.
* I really think Grantham’s gotta commit to pressure on every conversion down. He’ll have to be creative, disguise it, and bring it from a lot of different places. Contain the QB and make him throw it before he’s ready is the best chance we’ve got right now imo.
Even so, the Cocks didn’t go down easily ;) as they rushed for 117 yds and passed for 212 on a whopping 30 more offensive plays than Florida! They also turned two Gator turnovers, both by Trask, into scores and dominated time of possession 36:23 to 23:37, nearly 13 more minutes (keep this stat in mind for a little later). The Cocks young QB, whose hairdo (and not his physique) were reminiscent of former USCe signal caller Stephen Garcia (I see you @Durty South Swamp), made some nice throws and kept their offense potent and the outcome uncertain until the fourth quarter when they turned the ball over on downs after penetrating deep in the red zone.
Considering how our D has started the season, which carried over somewhat, and that their D was some better than the Rebs’ last week, it’s not hard to understand why the game was closer than hoped. Our group was arguably a little better this week than last, though the Cocks ran through us on their first possession with little resistance and our offense gave them the ball twice in good field position. Also, as hated and maligned as Muschamp is, and deservedly so, he can usually put together a good defensive effort, especially against us.
So even though we beat the Cocks :) by two scores, I can’t helped but feel a little uneasy with TAMU on the road looming ahead next week. But let’s not mistake uneasy with not confident. Our small sample size still makes me feel our O can move it on anybody, particularly with the OL and backs providing pretty decent pass pro and another good crop of receivers taking shape. And the D...they’ve got to catch up sooner or later, don’t they? Chew on that a bit while we look at a few specifics...
*Remember those stats I mentioned? Allowing your opponents 30 more snaps than you will usually get your @ss beat! It speaks poorly of your D’s ability to consistently stop the opposing O and we gave up 11 combined third and fourth down conversions! I guess we’ll now have “4th and Grantham,” too? We were able to get just enough stops, but thank the O for scoring as much as they did.
*The other stat, Time of Possession, a Muschamp hallmark, should be seen as mostly meaningless in these days of high octane, fast scoring offenses. It is also referenced in the book of Modern Football Statistics as “this statistic is for losers.” Teams nowadays that ascribe to this practice are rarely champions of any description.
*It was easy for all of us to scream at our televisions “WTF are you doing, Dan?!” when Trask fumbles on a keeper, that led to a quick USCe score. You likely thought why risk an injury to the guy making our offense really click? And then he keeps on a speed option and picks up a first down on a nice gain of 10+. I’d rather him not run, but it’s going to happen. It’s football and if it’s not called, which I don’t think we’ll see often at all, he’ll get flushed occasionally. No way to protect him from that.
*Big Head Todd and the Monsters aren’t really scaring anybody thus far this season. We really struggle at times in coverage even though we looked sporadically better at times today. Sean Davis has come on and shows some needed toughness and reliability (e.g. the jump ball break up in the end zone) and Elam can play, but we still allow too much separation at times, get lost, or flat out blow coverages. Safety play overall is scary. Our LBs aren’t good in coverage and seem to get pinned frequently on off tackle plays (especially bad when our Ends fail to set the edge, which happens too frequently). We got to the ball today, but struggled a bit getting the ball carriers on the ground. But my biggest worry is that we are not as strong on the LOS as the OLs we’ve met. This might be a season-long issue that will require a lot of improvement in the other defensive areas lest we get bit.
*Take away Trask’s two turnovers and we likely hang half a hundred on them. When our D is struggling, we can’t help the other team no matter how good our O is.
*Pierce looks like the #1 RB. 51 yds on 9 carries with a score was tops for us. I’d love to see him get a few more touches. One of the best things about our backs is the aforementioned role they are playing in pass pro. Sooner or later, they’ll have to be involved as receivers in the throw game a little more.
*Don’t want to praise too much too soon, but I believe we are trending upward with the OL. Not sure of the depth, but hope it will be ready when called and that’ll happen sooner or later.
*Still not sure exactly who’s responsible for the O clicking and our efficiency, but keep it up. Any way you cut it, Brian Johnson, by effort or presence, is a part of it.
So College Station and Jimbo are set for next Saturday. That can be a tough place to play. Kellen Monds, depending on which one shows up, can give our inconsistent D fits. We’ve got a lot of work to do defensively to prepare and get better. One thing we’ve got going for us is the vaunted “Twelfth Man” is made partly of cardboard this year. Shouldn’t make much difference either way if the D steps it up a bit and the O cleans up and performs like opening day. Jimbo’s tears are long overdue. Go Gators!
*Forgot to give Toney a shout. His TD reception showed his strength, balance, and speed as he pulled away from several defenders to take an intermediate throw to the house. Just a reminder, though, for him not to run backwards even if he does have more moves than a young @crosscreekcooter at a tent revival.
* I really think Grantham’s gotta commit to pressure on every conversion down. He’ll have to be creative, disguise it, and bring it from a lot of different places. Contain the QB and make him throw it before he’s ready is the best chance we’ve got right now imo.
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