Gator Country

Brady Ackerman/Gator Country Photo by Tim Casey

Florida enters its first bye week of the season 2-0 after solid victories over Hawaii (56-10) and Miami (26-3). The Gators can certainly improve, which is good because you want to get better every day as the season moves along. The best programs are playing their best football at the end of the season and the key to playing for a championship is to not give away an early loss due to preparation or execution.

I think both opponents will finish better than most people think. I believe Hawaii and Miami will be bowl teams at the end of the 2008 season.

Before we take a look at the three phases of football let’s look back at the Miami game one final time.

Florida’s defense was the story of the game. Miami’s offense only had seven first downs and 91 yards in the last three quarters of the football game. Florida held the Canes to 33 percent on third-down conversions and kept the Hurricanes out of the end zone.

While the Hurricanes won the time of possession battle, Florida’s defense grew up in a lot of ways on Saturday night. Carlos Dunlap re-emerged from a disappointing opener to record two sacks and two tackles for loss plus a quarterback hurry.

The Gators recorded 10 negative plays --- 7 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback sacks – giving them 20 in two weeks. UF did not create a turnover, but the Gators accomplished their goal of keeping opponents out of the end zone.

Florida’s offense struggled identifying the Miami blitz in the first three quarters and getting into rhythm. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen did not adjust to Miami’s scheme until the fourth quarter.

If Florida becomes one dimensional in the spread then it must tighten up the passing game. I think the Gators need to work more on the passing game and less on the option because I think good teams are going to come after them. Tebow had to use his mobility within the pocket to get the ball out to the receivers.

Tebow really played well considering the game plan for three quarters was not up to par. I expected Florida to play action more after seeing the run blitz on first down most of the first half. In defense of Mullen, it would have been nice to have Cornelius Ingram, especially against a fast-thick defense. The sign of a great quarterback is third-down conversions. Tebow helped Florida win the money down by converting 8 of 16.

The special teams are very solid right now for Florida. The Gators blocked a punt which was converted for a safety and kept Urban Meyer’s perfect record intact. His Florida teams are 11-0 when they block a punt in a football game.

Florida’s punt team netted 39.9 yards per punt with an average of 45.6 per kick. The Gators forced nine punts and the coverage team had one block and only allowed the dangerous returners 20 yards in just two attempts.

The field goal and PAT units are solid early in the season. The only unit that has some questions is the kickoff team. Florida kicked one out of bounds which resulted in the best field position of the night for Miami.

ACK’S ANALYSIS:

* I think Percy Harvin needs to play a bigger role in the offense. If he is not going to be a featured runner, then Mullen needs to take advantage of his speed in the passing game. Florida should have at least one deep ball per game to Harvin in the passing game.

* If UF does not find a power runner for the SEC then expect Tim Tebow to continue to shoulder the load against the top teams.

* I think UF missed Cornelius Ingram big time against Miami. With his speed there is no way Miami would have benefited blitzing the linebackers so much and leaving the middle of the field open.

* The Gator offense has room for improvement but it is 2-0 and really good on third downs. Plus UF has six drives of over 70 yards for scores in two games.

* Florida’s defense is better than last year. There has been more pressure from the defensive line and the secondary is playing with confidence. Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham look formidable at the end positions.

* I am still concerned with the outside linebackers. Only five tackles from Dustin Doe and A.J. Jones combined and I thought both were victimized by bootlegs, rollouts and dumps to the tight end.

* Miami never really challenged UF’s secondary down the field but the few times they did the Gators were on coverage.

* While Miami and Hawaii won the time of possession it is more a reflection of teams trying to limit the amount of touches the Gator offense is getting.

* The touchdown pass to Louis Murphy by Tebow was an NFL throw and a big-league heater.

* Florida’s offense had only one big play (20 yards or more) in the ground game with a 20-yard run by Tebow, compared to four against Hawaii. However, there were five big plays in the passing game.

* Defensive tackle Terron Sanders seemed very active and was tough against the run with 1.5 tackles for loss.

MR. STAT MAN:

* The 30-30-15 defensive numbers needed to help Florida win the SEC title. To refresh, Florida needs 30 turnovers, 30 sacks and hold teams to 15 points a game or less to win a championship. Update: 7 sacks (pace 42), 6 turnovers (pace 36), 6.5 points a game.

* Florida has converted 13-of-26 third-down plays (50 percent) on the season.

* Gator opponents are averaging just 2 yards per rush.

* The Gators have not committed a turnover this season.

* Tim Tebow is completing 61 percent of his passes, which is down from a season ago.

* Through two games Tebow is Florida’s team leader with 22 rushing attempts.

* Jermaine Cunningham is tied for the lead in tackles through two games with 11.

* The Gators are allowing only 190 yards per game on defense.

* Florida has been flagged for 18 penalties already on the season.

* The Gators are perfect in the red zone and perfect on extra points this season.

* Florida is only averaging 375 yards per game and 6.4 yards per play. The Gators averaged 457 yards per game and 7 yards per play last year.

UP NEXT:  A visit to Rocky Top

Florida travels to Tennessee and I expect them to use the open week to address their blitz plans on offense. Florida is pretty healthy in my opinion. Carl Moore will have some time to get right and UF is hopeful to get senior guard Jim Tartt back at left guard. Defensively look for the staff to use the open week to continue looking at defensive tackles behind Sanders and Marsh. Troy Epps and Matt Patchan seem to be the guys right now while Omar Hunter is in the mix but could use the work.

The Volunteers play this week against a weak UAB team so they should be coming in with a winning feeling after their overtime loss at UCLA. Florida’s coaches will use this week to really scout the Vols and also to scout themselves.

About the author

Brady Ackerman

Brady Ackerman is a former running back at the University of Florida from 1987-1991. He is currently a college football analyst on Sun Sports and you can hear his radio show "The Brady Ackerman Show" in Orlando on Espn AM 1080 and the Space Coast on Espn AM 1060. His radio show is Monday-Friday 3-6pm and you can listen on-line at www.espnflorida.com. Ack's email is brady@espn1080.com.

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