Saturday morning I said that what we saw against Vanderbilt would be at least somewhat indicative of whether the Gators have indeed turned the corner or if the Georgia game was just another blip on the radar screen. Saturday night the Florida Gators did exactly what I said we needed to see. Florida dominated a lesser Commodore team. Just as importantly, offensive coordinator Kurt Roper let Treon Harris open things up some in the passing game. It was time to find out if Harris could run the whole offense and the answer was a resounding yes. Of course, this isn’t the entire offense. As Treon continues along the learning curve, more and more plays will be added but in this game there was a solid balance between the running and passing game. That will be an important step in two of the next three games.
It would be difficult to beat South Carolina or FSU simply running the ball. The fact that Treon Harris was successful in throwing deep passes against Vandy will force both of those teams to defend the entire field. That can only help the running game. Gator fans finally got to see the real Roper offense against a real SEC opponent, although the Commodores are clearly not among the better SEC teams. For the first time in a while there was evidence that this Gator team is taking steady steps forward.
Offensively, there are still some concerns. Florida struggled in the red zone against Vandy. In upcoming games it will be important to score touchdowns in the red zone it you want to keep pace with the Gamecocks and Seminoles. Florida cannot count on the defense to shut those offenses down. Harris must continue to mature and grow into an SEC quarterback. And, he must continue to avoid costly turnovers. Under head coach Will Muschamp, the Florida Gators do not lose when they win the turnover battle. The one concern from the offense Saturday was the number of injuries along the already thin offensive line. Hopefully some of those lineman will be available for this week’s game. Back to back thirty plus point games have the Gator Nation feeling giddy.
Treon Harris did not look anything like a true freshman. Harris appears to be in complete command of the offense and it is clear that the rest of the team has confidence in him. That is the one important variable for a quarterback that you just cannot coach. He either has it or he doesn’t and Treon quite clearly has “IT”. Connecting on deep passes was something this team needed desperately for so long. Teams challenged the Gators to beat them over the top and Florida had failed over and over. That allowed defenses to crowd the line fearlessly and it is nearly impossible to be successful offensively in that situation. South Carolina will be forced to approach Saturday’s game differently after watching the Vandy film. Isn’t it nice to see the Gators dictate what an opposing defense does for change?
Defensively, the Gators dominated for the second straight game. Vernon Hargreaves III and true freshman Jalen Tabor each made impressive interceptions. Dante Fowler and Antonio Morrison turned in fantastic performances. Alex McCalister showed off his quickness again. The defense is coming together as a unit. If this group continues to improve each week Florida will have a chance to win each of the games left on the schedule and that includes the FSU game. For some reason, the defense still gives up that easy early drive every game, but I can live with it if they shut things down afterward.
It is also time to stop the talk about how none of Muschamp’s recruits are making plays or have been developed. Hargreaves, Tabor, Bryan Cox JR, McCalister, Kelvin Taylor, Demarcus Robinson and others are stepping up and making plays. These are Muschamp recruits and they are showing clear signs of player development. And let’s not forget Treon.
Of course, this is a “what have you done for me lately” sport and the success must continue for it to matter. This Saturday is another brutal test as one of the all-time great Gators brings his team into the Swamp looking to salvage their own season. Steve Spurrier will have the Gamecocks ready to play and he will have a game plan to take advantage of any tendencies that might have shown up now that the Gator offense has some consistency. This game will require solid coaching by the Florida staff for success. Spurrier turns a football game into a chess match and it will be up to Muschamp, Roper and DJ Durkin to counter.
I refuse to be drawn into the discussion of what it would take for Florida to sneak into the SEC Championship Game. It is just too much of a long shot. But, a strong finish and a quality bowl game is a real possibility and that would be quite an accomplishment for this program based on what has already transpired. I am excited about making the five hundred mile drive to Gainesville this weekend for the South Carolina game. I hope other fans are as well. A few short weeks ago it felt unlikely that there would be much excitement left this season. Enjoy it. It is what college football is supposed to be about.
The mismatch Spurrier will expose is our nickel back on the slot receiver. It seems Poole gets beat in this matchup more often than not. In his defense, Poole makes a lot of plays on the field, but he’s not quick enough to cover the slot. Perhaps Duke Dawson is the answer, but this is definitely something the HBC will test.
I think UF has become a good team now, transforming from a bad team just a few weeks ago. The reason is the removal of the albatross that was hanging around Florida’s neck, Jeff Driskel. It’s not a coincidence that the entire offense; the offensive line, receivers, and running backs, are performing much better. It’s a great relief psychologically to not have the thought lingering in your head that Driskel is going to find a way to “driskel” the game away. Consistency is the key, and UF took a major step forward in that area by doing what a good team is supposed to do going on the road at Vandy. The next step is to beat another bad team, South Carolina, at home. Accomplish that, then you can start dreaming about beating FSU, which, by the way, I think is a pipe dream with Winston playing. One game at a time is the mantra, the Gators are not a good enough team to look past anyone, at least not a team like South Carolina. They can probably look past the paid scrub that follows, but let’s win over South Carolina first.
Mark, please do NOT refer to Kurt Roper when mentioning “he let Treon open up the offense” –It’s Muschamp that gives Roper the “OK” to do it..That is a MAJOR reason why we have not had a better record since he took over as coach. Pease and Weis wanted to pass the ball while they were here, but were NOT able to do so due to being “restricted”..As far as developing players; Kelvin Taylor should have STARTED since last yrs Miami game (especially with Jones coming off major injury), Robinson had no chance last yr as we never threw the ball, and Treon should have been starting since DAY 1 of this season..ALL coaching decisions by the head coach..Whether we beat SC or not, I agrre with you that the SEC East is out of reach..We will all be saying “what if…” if we win this game…And THIS is my greatest fear and MOST fans fear is ALWAYS saying “what if” in the future…We will need a change soon if we want to compete for championships, and not to just be satisfied beating Ga once every 4 yrs. and ending up mediocre each season…thanks for listening..