Florida Gators thoughts of the Week: October 28th – November 3rd

Wow, it is amazing what can happen in one game. In one game, the talk of the town wasn’t who will replace Will Muschamp as the Florida Gators head coach next year, the talk was could Florida finish the season undefeated, or at least with only one more loss.

The game against Georgia was one that fans and analysts have been clamoring for – one that was fun to watch. The Gators looked excited, ready to play, and for once, they looked like they had an offensive plan (that included adjustments) that capitalized on Georgia’s inability to stop Florida’s run.

While it looked like a game that featured only two players – Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor – it was a total team win. Look no further than Demarcus Robinson’s blocking throughout the game – his most complete game blocking as a wide receiver. The offensive line again played spectacularly under the direction of Mike Summers. And finally, the Gators pulled out an old trick play and used walk-on Mike McNeely to deliver the largest momentum swing of Will Muschamp’s young head coaching career.

All in all, a good day. One to remember. One to celebrate, but also one to move on from.

Thoughts on Georgia and Season Stats

1. It was great seeing the Gators thrive when the pressure mattered. The Gators were down 7-0 and had gone three-and-out twice to start the game and then a fumble by Treon Harris had fans expecting the same result as the last two games. But when the Gators marched down field to start the 2nd quarter capped off with a 21-yard Mike McNeely touchdown scramble on a fake kick, you felt something different as a fan – something you haven’t felt in a very long time. That march down field started the Gators on a 31-point streak and helped Florida achieve their first win against Georgia in four years.
2. Not only did the offense thrive when it needed to, the Gators defense stepped up big time. After allowing Nick Chubb to gash the Gators for 108 yards in the first half, the Gators held him to just 48 in the second half – only 65 yards in the last three quarters. With the Gators taking a decisive 24-7 lead in the third quarter, the Bulldogs had to rely on Hutson Mason to make big plays and the Gators forced him to have his most attempts of the season, but second lowest completion percentage and fourth lowest yards per attempt and not nearly enough to overcome the dominant Gators defense.
3. Jonathan Bullard and Demarcus Robinson had the best games of their careers. Before the game against Georgia, Bullard’s best game was against Tennessee a few weeks ago. But against Georgia, Bullard was where he needed to be, applied pressure to the quarterback, and ended with five tackles and two tackles for loss. Bullard’s impact was not huge on the stat card, but helped the Gators keep Hutson Mason on his toes and allowed others to step-up to make plays. Further, Demarcus Robinson earned his spot on an NFL roster on Saturday. Sure, he didn’t have catch, but we know he can catch. His ability to block was on display, however. Before the season, Robinson had been called “selfish” and a “me first” type of guy, but you could see it on Matt Jones’ 44-yard run where he blocked two separate Georgia players (at various parts in the run) en route to the touchdown that gave the Gators a 21-7 lead. Blocking is not fun or sexy, but necessary and Robinson never gave up on Saturday, so kudos to him.
4. The most impressive statistic I have seen this season is that the Gators are scoring in the red zone. They are ranked second in the country in red zone scoring (24/25). Last year, they ranked 121st. They should be scoring more touchdowns (only scoring on 60% of the time), sure, but still an impressive improvement.
5. Somebody in the forum asked me, “are the Gators doing better offensively with Treon Harris in the game?” The answer is yes. The Gators have scored 36% of the seasons points with Treon Harris playing, even though he has only 25% of the snaps. Moreover, the Gators average 5.93 yards per rush with Harris in, compared to Driskel’s average of 4.09. Finally, the Gators have passed for 290 yards on 15-for-24 passing for three touchdowns and only one interception, which yields an average of 12.1 yards per attempt, compared to Driskel’s 5.1 (but if you take away two passes against EMU its 6.45 yards per attempt of 13-for-22 for 142 yards).
6. Last season, the Gators ranked 96th in the country with 1.58 sacks per game. This season, they are averaging 2.68 and ranked 25th in the country. I credit that to a huge improvement in Dante Fowler’s game, but also Bryan Cox, Jr. Last season, the Gators only had one game with more than two sacks. This season, they have four.
7. The game against Georgia was the fifth straight game with five or less penalties – the Gators only did that twice last season.
8. Last season the Gators had 33 quarterback hurries in twelve games – this season in seven games, the Gators have had 42.
9. DJ Humphries did a great job blocking on the left side and we saw his best game of the season, in my opinion.
10. Six passes was not enough for Treon Harris. I know that they “ran until the wheels fell off”, but when the Gators were up big, they needed to give Treon an opportunity to throw the ball a bit. Sure, I understand, “conservative”, but only throwing six passes in a game is not a reasonable way to win in the future and the young man needs good snaps. Oh, well.
11. The Gators needed this win for their energy and for Will Muschamp’s job, but will the energy continue this week against a very bad Vanderbilt team?

Thoughts on Vanderbilt

1. Vanderbilt is really bad. Really bad. On offense and on defense. On offense, Vanderbilt is ranked 112th in scoring offense, 110th in rushing offense, 110th in passing offense and 122nd in total offense. While on defense, they are ranked 99th in scoring defense, 74th in rushing defense, 71st in passing defense, and 74th in total defense, with the big jumps in improved defensive statistics coming after playing Charleston Southern and Old Dominion.
2. Charleston Southern lost to Vanderbilt 21-20 and rushed for 199 yards. The Gators should rush for at least 400. What worked against Georgia will work against Vanderbilt no matter how much film the Commodores watch.
3. A battle of opposites – if the Gators get into the red zone they will likely score. The Gators are ranked 2nd in the country in red zone conversions, whereas, Vanderbilt is ranked 118th in stopping teams in the red zone.
4. Vanderbilt is ranked 100th in sacks allowed per game and the Gators need to capitalize on that.
5. Vanderbilt would love nothing more than to play spoiler for the Gators and win their second game in a row against the Gators — something they haven’t done since 1945 – 1946.

Dan’s Heisman Rankings

1. Dak Prescott
2. Marcus Mariota
3. Melvin Gordon
4. Jameis Winston
5. Amari Cooper

Must Read Articles of the Week

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Richard Fitzpatrick | The game of sports ghostwriting

Song of the Week

This week I am going to feature Will Hoge again, one of my favorites. Will Hoge, who is known more as a song writer, is a mixture of Bruce Springsteen, Gary Allan, Tom Petty, and a gospel singer. I think no matter what type of music you like, you will like Will Hoge.

Here is a great one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0EIxUWO_0M