Florida’s 41-24 victory over Texas A&M marks the Gators’ first win of the season in which they were trailing at the half. Florida won their first SEC road game since Dec. 5, 2020 at Tennessee (W, 31-19). The Gators rushed for a season-high 291 yards on the ground – Florida’s sixth 200-yard rushing game of the season including the fourth in the last five contests. Florida’s 20 explosive plays marked the team’s most in a game this season.
Gator Country provides key takeaways from Florida’s week ten victory over the Aggies.
NEXT MAN UP
Florida’s leading receiver Justin Shorter was out for the game with an injury, forcing the Gators to lean on less experienced playmakers. Ja’Quavion Fraziars made his first career start and did not disappoint. He caught four passes for 50 yards and a one-handed touchdown catch that you’ll see all over ESPN tonight. Caleb Douglas also made an impact, reeling in three passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. Florida showed they have more than just Shorter, Pearsall, and Henderson in the WR room.
On the other side of the ball, Antwuan Powell-Ryland made his first start in a Gator uniform, replacing Brenton Cox at edge. Powell-Ryland Jr. set career highs with six tackles (three solo) and 2.0 TFL while adding one sack and one forced fumble (his second of the season).
Multiple players stepped up to the plate in week ten, making impact and game changing plays.
TURNOVER BATTLE
This game marks the third straight game Florida has posted a zero in the turnover column. The Gators turned the ball over in all of their first six games prior. This is a huge step in the right direction and a good sign moving forward. Billy Napier has stressed taking care of the football throughout the course of this season and it appears to be getting through to the players. Richardson isn’t putting the offense in danger nearly as much as he did to start the season.
Defensively, Florida recorded its 16th turnover of the season with a pair of fourth quarter forced fumbles. The Gators have had at least one turnover in eight of nine games this season. If there’s a positive to take away from the defense this season, it’s that they’ve drastically improved in the turnover department.
2ND HALF ADJUSTMENTS
Patrick Toney and this Gators’ defense deserve credit for the adjustments made at halftime; Florida pitched a shutout in the final two quarters. The 2nd half started with really good coverage from Florida’s secondary and that continued throughout the rest of the game. Florida created pressure on TAMU’s Haynes King the entire 2nd half, knocking him to the ground on what seemed like every play. Florida only registered two sacks, but they affected King’s play on every drive.
Florida also held the Aggies to just 11 rushing yards in the 2nd half.
That was the best half of football we’ve seen defensively from the Gators this season, that’s a step in the right direction.
ANTHONY RICHARDSON
Outside of the poorly thrown football to Ricky Pearsall in the red zone, Richardson was accurate today. I believe this was Richardson’s best performance of the season. He finished the day 17/28 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He added seven carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. You can make an argument his game against Tennessee was more impressive, but he missed some wide-open receivers in that game. Richardson showed his willingness to run the football early on and that kept TAMU edge defenders honest all game, opening up the zone running game.
BOWL ELIGIBILITY
At the beginning of the season, most people (Including me) counted UF out of winning this football game. Winning on the road in college football is not an easy task. The victory inches Florida closer to locking in bowl eligibility. Florida’s remaining schedule shows South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Florida State. The Gators just need to win one to make a bowl game, but there’s a real possibility there’s multiple wins left on UF’s schedule.
RICKY PEARSALL WRINKLE
Billy Napier has flirted with handing the ball off to Pearsall this season and he finally pulled it out of the bag in week ten. Pearsall ran the ball three times for 34 yards (long of 20) in the Gators victory. Pearsall is one of Florida’s best offensive weapons and Napier needs to continue to get the ball in his hands anyway he can.
REDZONE STRUGGLES
Florida’s offense put up 41 points and 492 yards against Texas A&M. However, the Gators left points on the field. Florida stalled in the redzone before Adam Mihalek missed a chip shot field goal. Later in the game Florida turned it over on downs attempting to make it a three-score game. The Gators could have easily scored 50+ points in this contest but had two trips to the redzone result in zero points, allowing the Aggies to hang around longer than they should have.
Florida is back in Gainesville next week for the last home game of the 2022 season.