Wins and Losses from Week 11 of Florida Gators football

The Florida Gators have made major improvements in the last two years under Jim McElwain, but one thing has not changed. Florida can’t beat Florida State. The Seminoles have owned the Gators in football for nearly half a decade. Four straight brutal losses to the one team that hurts the most.

This looked like the same Florida team, especially on offense, that showed up against Arkansas a few weeks ago. The offense was as bland as ever and injuries finally caught up to a worn out defense. It was just another game that positives came at a minimum.

Losses

The Gators made it pretty easy to put these together this week. It was like all the progress of the last few weeks was just erased without any signs of returning.

LOSS #1: This offense is horrendous

Florida managed just 207 yards of offense in the game. Boston College was the only team to be held to fewer yards by Florida State this season. To give some perspective, Boston College has a 6-6 record and is one of the worst teams in the ACC. The Gators did not score an offensive touchdown in this game for the second year in a row and only made it inside the red zone twice. Not to mention, 0-for-12 on third down is not a good recipe for any offense. Austin Appleby has been a step up from Luke Del Rio in the last two games. He has been doing just enough to keep Florida’s offense alive, but he could not even do that this week. He was inaccurate and could not find wide-open receivers all night. Appleby is an athletic guy, but he is not using it to his advantage. Instead of making a play, he crumbled almost every time he was put under pressure, which was a lot. The offensive line looked like the unit that started the season, not the one that has been making strides in recent games. Florida gave up a season-high six sacks. Jordan Scarlett didn’t have much room to run either, as he put up just 54 yards. Lamical Perine only had nine yards.

Florida’s offense made Florida State’s defense look like the best in the country. The Seminoles have not been a great defensive team this season, If the Gators come into the SEC Championship game with the same mentality, things will get ugly against the actual top defense in the nation.

LOSS #2: Play-calling is getting worse every week

Florida’s offense is not filled with the playmakers that many offenses around the country have, but good play-calling can make a world of difference in any offense. Doug Nussmeier has not provided that as offensive coordinator for the Gators. The play-calling this season, and especially in recent weeks, has been as unimaginative as it could possibly be. As usual, Florida drove down the field on the first drive with great play-calling that stalled inside the 10-yard line. Instead of taking points on fourth-down on the two-yard line, the Gators opted to go for it on fourth-down as the offense was hitting a wall. Appleby threw to Brandon Powell in triple-coverage with DeAndre Goolsby wide-open in the end zone and that’s when the feeling of the game completely changed. During that drive, the Gators ran an end-around play with Antonio Callaway that worked beautifully for 24 yards. That play, or anything resembling that play, was never to be seen again.

Florida’s first plays of the game are scripted between McElwain and the offensive staff and are normally the best plays of the game. McElwain is an offensive mind and needs to get more involved in Florida’s play-calling throughout the game because the scripted offense and non-scripted offense are so different. Something has to change for the Gators to find some kind of success on offense.

LOSS #3: No sacks against one of the worst offensive lines in the country

Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois has been hit so many times this year that he probably shouldn’t even be on the field. The Seminoles are ranked 109th in the country in sacks allowed per game, averaging 2.8. Francois has taken beating after beating in nearly every game, but against the best defense Florida State has played this season, he hardly saw the ground at all. The Gators have recorded just three sacks in the last four games after starting the season tops in the country in that category. Injuries have been a huge factor in the drop in production from that standpoint, with five of Florida’s top seven tacklers out. Even with so many guys out, it’s like the Gators aren’t even trying to get to the quarterback. Not a single blitz was called in the game.

It is hard to imagine why Florida wouldn’t even attempt to put pressure on an offensive line that has struggled so badly with protecting the quarterback all season. A defense that can’t put pressure on Florida State’s quarterback isn’t on a good path for success against an Alabama offensive line

Wins

There are no wins to take away from the offense this week, but defense and special teams provided a few bright spots along the way to make the game somewhat watchable.

WIN #1: Defense kept the Gators in the game as long as possible

The defense was not the best it’s been this season, but it was not terrible. Depth is lacking for Florida’s defense at this point in the season. There are almost no backups because the backups are the starters. It is really amazing how well this defense has done with all the adversity it has faced and continues to face with more and more guys going down each week. As the game went on, the offense wore the defense down. Three 3-and-outs to go along with two fumbles gave the defense a very small chance to save the game. It was a great day for the secondary, which had one of its best games of the season. Marcell Harris stepped up at safety to lead the Gators with 11 total tackles on the day. Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson each had three pass breakups, including two in a row from Tabor with Florida State in the red zone that ended with just three points for the Seminoles. True freshman Chauncey Gardner also stepped up with six tackles, one pass breakup and an interception that was not taken advantage of by Florida’s offense, which was of course very shocking.

This defense gives the offense every opportunity to make something happen, and it just doesn’t happen. Florida’s defense played a much better game than the score shows.

WIN #2: Special teams helped the defense keep Florida in the game

Special teams have not been Florida’s most impressive unit this season, but it was actually something to talk about this weekend. The Gators blocked a field goal. That just doesn’t even sound right. It’s been so long (42 games to be exact). The kick was pretty low, to begin with, but it was still a huge confidence booster for special teams. Two out-of-bounds kickoffs were uncharacteristic for Eddy Pineiro but were the only real special teams blunders to speak of.

The biggest win on special teams was the punt that Chris Thompson ripped out of the Florida State returner’s arms Harris took it 12 yards into the end zone to keep the Gators hopes alive with a score of 24-13 and 10:45 to go in the game. Still, it was not enough, but one thing about this team is it did not stop fighting. Even down 18 points in the fourth quarter, a nearly impossible deficit to come back from for this team, the Gators had not given up. That is something that probably could not have been said a couple years ago or even last year for that matter.

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.