This past Saturday was yet again another disappointing performance by the Gators, but only for the defense. Fans across the country witnessed a calm, renewed, and collective Florida Gator offense that tore up Tennessee’s defense with nearly 600 total yards. Unfortunately for the Gators, it just wasn’t enough as Tennessee’s offense nearly matched Florida’s with 576 total yards in Saturday’s 38-33 loss to the Volunteers. From blown coverages, to players being out of position constantly, and veteran’s making mistake after mistake; you could go on for hours pin-pointing mistakes. Besides a couple of sacks, it was hard to find many good things to say when looking at the defensive side of the ball. Below I give a breakdown on what I saw Saturday from Florida’s defense.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
The defensive backs played the worst football I’ve seen them play this year.. Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy breezed by Trey Dean for a 70-yard bomb early in the second quarter that later resulted in a Tennessee touchdown. From what it looks like Dean was only paying attention to the quarterback. Dean also made the same mistake late in the game leaving Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren uncovered for a gain of 45 yards on a wheel route. Tennessee later went on to drive right down the field and score eight plays later. Tre’Vez Johnson, Jason Marshall, Trey Dean and Rashad Torrence were all seen either trailing receivers, missing tackles, or getting beat multiple times. Torrence missed a crucial open field tackle on a 39-yard run to start the second half, which later resulted in many more mistakes from the defense and a Tennessee touchdown. Marshall got beat deep on a 43-yard pass from Hendon Hooker, which also later resulted in a Tennessee touchdown before halftime. Hooker went on to finish the game with 349 yards and two touchdowns in the air, while averaging 12.5 yards a throw. All around it just wasn’t a good day for the Florida defensive backs. These mistakes are correctable, we all know that. Right now, the only question is if these defensive backs can make the fix at this point.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Brenton Cox Jr. continued to over pursue the quarterback Saturday. Late in the second quarter Cox had an opportunity to make a huge sack on third down that would have resulted in the Gators getting the ball back. Cox over pursued, and Tennessee went on to toast Jason Marshall and our defensive backs to take the lead before halftime. Florida would’ve had the lead, and a little over a minute before halftime if Cox makes that sack. Gervon Dexter continues to get double-teamed up front and just can’t make his way through a wall. Besides his interception against Kentucky, Dexter has been very quiet up front this season and hasn’t made much noise. Freshman Chris McClellan absolutely shined when thrown in the game beating double teams. McClellan finished with four total tackles, a shared tackle for loss, and is someone I want to see get more in-game reps next week against Eastern Washington. I sound like a broken record here but finishing plays when applying pressure just continues to be a struggle for this defensive front. Brenton Cox over pursues at least once or twice a game, and the defensive line just hasn’t shown any progress through week four. The defensive line currently only has 1.5 total sacks on the year, with eleven quarterback hurries after the loss to Tennessee. Something must change for this Gator defensive front, and they must make the big plays if Florida wants to win football games. Tennessee ended up finishing the game with 227 yards on the ground with three touchdowns on the day.
LINEBACKERS
Although Shemar James got his first sack and Amari Burney recorded two sacks, the linebackers still didn’t play up to par, playing catch-up often. Early in the third quarter Burney was late getting over to the flat when Tennessee scored their third touchdown of the day, which can’t happen when its 2nd & goal from the 16-yard line. Ventrell Miller, however, played exceptionally given he wasn’t at full health finishing with six total tackles and two quarterback hurries. Yes, at times he was also playing catch-up, but the guy played his heart out and left everything out on that field. He’s exactly what defines a Gator football player, and this linebacker room needs to feed off that. “Ventrell Miller is a leader, he is an example setter, and he is a great communicator. He is one of the best I have ever been around when it comes to his ability to influence other people in a positive way. Ventrell Miller, couldn’t be more proud of him,” Napier said. Miller having such a big impact still, and Shemar James flying around as a true freshman is a testament to how badly this linebacker room is hurting. The linebackers finished the day with 2.5 total sacks as a group, with only 3.5 sacks on the year. While the defensive line has two sacks less than that.
VERY COSTLY YET SIMPLE MISTAKES ON DEFENSE LOST THIS GAME FOR FLORIDA
It’s a tough pill to swallow when you lose a football game or take yourself out of the game because of a couple blown coverages and plays. Unfortunately for us Gators, that’s exactly what we had to do Saturday evening. Although Anthony Richardson and the Florida offense came roaring back with two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to make it a one score game, it just wasn’t enough in the end after the defense gave their worst performance of the season. All five of Tennessee’s touchdown scoring drives had a play go for 39 yards or more, two of which were detrimental. Dean gave up the first big play that went for 70 yards, and the last big play in the game that went for 45 yards, which both led to easy touchdowns just plays later for the Vols. The Florida Gators should have won that football game Saturday, but they simply didn’t deserve it. Remember, these aren’t Coach Toney’s type of football players, and the Grantham mentality still very much lingers in this defense for now.