The Florida Gators picked up right where they left off last weekend, but in a positive light this time. The Gators started out hot and played complete football on both sides of the ball for the first time all season. This led to the win against the Gamecocks.
There were plenty of good things to take away from Saturday’s win. While Anthony Richardson did miss some throws, he was on target for the most part going 11/23, for 112 yards and two touchdowns on the evening. The run game was the best it’s been all season. Richardson did exactly what we wanted him to do which was utilize his legs. Florida’s rushing game almost saw Montrell Johnson, Trevor Etienne and Anthony Richardson all rush for over 100 yards Saturday until a sack set Richardson back to 96 total rush yards late in Saturday’s game. This would have been the first time three players had rushed for over 100 yards since 1984.
However, the story of the evening was how well the defense performed Saturday. It was unlike anything that anyone’s seen from this defensive unit all season. Defensive backs and linebackers were flying around for four quarters while the entire defensive line unit was in the face of Spencer Rattler from start to finish. Tackling and pass coverage certainly wasn’t perfect by any means, but it took a step in the right direction after Florida’s defense went on to completely shut out the Gamecock offense Saturday.
“Going into this game, we know we started slow at Texas A&M, so starting fast, that was the goal of this game. Those guys definitely came out and did that, and I appreciate those boys for sending me out the right way,” Ventrell Miller said.
Turnovers played a vital part in Saturday’s win as Florida had caused three turnovers to open the second half. Florida now ranks 19th in the FBS in turnovers gained; 11th in fumbles recovered.
“We were on and off the field, so that felt good. We created a lot of turnovers. I’m definitely proud of those boys. That’s a definite point of emphasis every week,” Miller said. “We know turnovers win ballgames, so we definitely try to go out there and get turnovers every game.”
Ventrell Miller has played a big part in this team’s success the last two weeks. Not just from his performance on the field, but from the heart, energy and passion Ventrell Miller brings to this entire football team. Every week, he leaves everything on the field.
“We had a little team meeting Thursday,” Miller said. “I let the guys know how I felt about this game, how this game is really emotional for me. I broke down and all that there, Thursday to the boys. I was just happy to see how they came out and dominated on defense, especially.”
After six total quarters without giving up a touchdown on defense, it sure seems like this staff has really started to rub off on these players. The accountability and obvious obedience of this football team has clearly improved the last couple weeks.
“Before I had made the decision to come back, I knew that the [new] coaching staff had a great plan. I know that once it clicked it would be exciting to see,” Trey Dean said on accountability leading to turnovers on defense. “The second half against Texas A&M and this game was a great sight to see. Coach Napier and his staff have done an excellent job.”
“When you have player accountability, it’s when you are going to attack to the next level. Coach Napier overseeing everything along with us players knowing that we have each other’s backs allows us to go out there and execute, and it showed,” Dean said.
After the departure of Brenton Cox for undisclosed reasons, this defense and the entire team have started to play harder while playing for each other and not themselves.
“I think that we’ve done a good job of sticking with and getting consumed with the process of preparing to play,” Napier said. “I do think the staff has done a terrific job making tweaks. We’ve improved in certain statistic areas that were not up to par, not the standard. But again, I keep saying this and I know y’all don’t like to talk about these things, but the people are improving the football is improving. There’s just a different approach. I think that guys are playing the game with the right intent, with respect for the game, understanding that this game is not about individuals.”
“If you want to have individual success you get consumed on what you can do to help the team, you work hard on the role that you’ve been given, you prepare a certain way, and there’s a certain part to this game, there’s a human element to this game. It’s not just the defensive players that contribute, there’s lots of people that impact the players ability to perform. It goes back to the intangible parts of the team and I think that’s ultimately the difference,” Napier said.
Florida’s running game was the hottest it’s been all season on Saturday. This staff looks more comfortable running the ball with Richardson, and so does Richardson himself. This offense has thrived in every aspect all season when Richardson is comfortable and playing his game.
“That’s always been a staple of ours, just moving the ball,” Richardson said. “As you guys can tell, we are a fifty-fifty offense, we’ve got to run the ball and we’ve got to pass the ball, so just getting the run game going has been a blessing for us.”
Montrell Johnson rushed for a career high of 161 yards on 25 carries in Saturday’s win, but he wasn’t the only Florida running back who dominated in the run game. True freshman Trevor Etienne has been a key factor for this rushing attack all season, and that was evident again on Saturday. Etienne took a run 85 yards to the house against the Gamecocks, making his long touchdown run the seventh longest touchdown run in school history.
O’Cyrus Torrence played a huge part in Etienne taking it the distance, with Caleb Douglas and others helping along the way.
“It was a regular play,” Torrence said on the 85-yard touchdown run. “Honestly didn’t expect him to take it all the way, because usually for an outside zone, I was expecting him to hit the outside. But the fact that he cut it inside, when I felt him cut it inside, I saw him miss the backer, I was like, ‘He going to the house.’ Nobody was going to catch him. It was just a well-run play, everybody did their job. He had one person to make miss, and he did it.”
The Gators are now a six-win team after taking down South Carolina Saturday and are now bowl eligible. However, this team still has two essential games to close out the season. One against a Vanderbilt team who just got their first SEC win since 2019 against a Kentucky team who beat Florida, and an FSU team who looks to have finally gotten it together.
“Those are things that are good,” Napier said on becoming bowl eligible. “I would like to think that we go to a bowl. I’m not really worried about a bowl game. I’m worried about getting that group to keep improving. That’s not how we do it. You get consumed with the things that you can do better: being more efficient, having better relationships, being better at communication, better fundamentals, all these things that contribute to winning.”
There’s still a lot to clean up for this football team and a bowl game doesn’t seem to be on the minds of many people in that locker room. These players are focused on finishing the job.
“We’re going to be pretty focused because we want to win out and that’s the main goal,” O’Cyrus Torrence said on the final two games of the season. “The away games are the hardest, so we just got to make sure we stay locked down on the small things that helped us to get to this point and we feel like we are a pretty good team. We have played much more team ball and I feel like we’re just getting better from now.”
This Florida football team has gone through every bump in the road and faced almost every obstacle while continuing to endeavor and find a way to succeed and win on the football field.
For a Florida team who has finally seemed to have gotten the ball rolling, they will face their biggest test in the remainder of the season. This is to win out and finish strong.