Florida’s dominant 2nd half defensive performance leads the Gators to a 41-24 victory over Texas A&M in College Station.
Billy Napier and the Gators wanted a fast start offensively, they got one in week ten. Florida scored a touchdown on two of their first three drives and put points on the board in four straight drives to open up the game.
It wasn’t so pretty on the other side of the football in the first half. The Aggies first play from scrimmage was a 65-yard run from Devon Achane, who was a problem for Florida all game. It looked as if Achane was stopped at the line of scrimmage but slipped out and found himself open space. TAMU scored touchdowns on their first two drives and three in their first five. Just one punt for both teams in the 1st half.
Florida found success with zone reads early on in this one. Richardson scored two first half touchdowns on reads he kept for himself, one of them untouched for 60 yards.
The Gators went into the locker room down 24-20, with the Aggies receiving the kickoff to start the 2nd half. It seemed as if Florida’s offense was going to have to put up 50 points and pray for a stop or two.
Florida’s defense did much more than that. The Gators forced five punts in the 2nd half, caused two turnovers, and stopped the Aggies on downs. Patrick Toney brought the pressure and never let off the gas. It appeared as if Haynes King spent more time on the ground in the 2nd half than he did standing up. Easily the best half of football we’ve seen from Toney’s defense in 2022, as they pitched a shutout in the final two quarters. This is two weeks in a row Florida’s made a good defensive adjustment.
Florida quickly flipped the momentum to start the 2nd half, forcing a three out, returning the punt 28 yards, and scoring a touchdown to give the Gators the lead. You can’t ask for a better start in all three phases of the game.
Florida wasn’t as consistent offensively in the 2nd half, punting twice and turning it over on downs against the Aggies. The Gators had two trips to the red zone end in zero points. Fortunately for the Gators, it didn’t end up being much of a factor because Florida’s defense wasn’t giving anything up.
This was one of Anthony Richardson’s best performances of the year. I thought he was fairly accurate with the ball, outside of the poor throw behind Pearsall in the endzone. He finished the day with 201 passing yards on 17/28 passing, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also added 78 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Florida continues to dominate teams via the ground and pound. The Gators rushed the ball 50 times today, totaling 291 yards and three touchdowns. Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne showed why they are one of the best duos in the country.
Florida’s win improves their record to 5-4 and inches closer to bowl eligibility with three games left in the 2022 season. The Gators are set to take on South Carolina in week 11.