Miller Report: The turning point for the Florida Gators

I said before the season one game that concerned me was the Vanderbilt game. It would be the second conference road game in a row for the Gators AND Florida would be coming off of a very emotional game win or lose against Tennessee. That said, I still did not expect the game to be as sloppy and ugly as it turned out to be. Florida found a way to win and that is important but that kind of performance will not be sufficient down the stretch. The Gators must find a way to get back the intensity and focus that somehow slithered down the rabbit hole chasing Alice at halftime in Knoxville.

At 4-1 the Gators are still positioned to have a very special season, but they must get back to the team that embarrassed Kentucky. What they put on the field Saturday against Vandy cannot continue. That was ugly football. Mostly, it was ugly offense and we’ve had just about enough ugly offense for a very long time around here. What will it take to get this affliction cured?

I think it is important for Florida to get Luke Del Rio back for the LSU game. At face value it appears that Austin Appleby is playing decent enough and I am certainly not faulting the young man at all, but it is my opinion that it is a different offense with Del Rio taking snaps. I think the playbook is a little more limited with Appleby and I think the weaknesses of the offensive line makes Del Rio’s quick decisions and release valuable. This is a rejuvenated LSU team after the firing of Les Miles which is often the case. The Gators cannot plod around on offense and win this game.

This is starting to sound like a broken record but there are clear deficiencies on this Gator football team and more on the horizon. Head coach Jim McElwain MUST recruit well if the program is going to keep pace with their rivals. Alabama, FSU, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee are recruiting well. LSU may take a hit now with the coaching change but they might not. If you believe for a moment that this staff is going to find enough diamonds in the rough to compete with teams that are loading up on elite talent, you are whistling past the graveyard my friend. Florida must recruit to keep pace and the only way to do that is to put a product on the field that players want to be a part of in the future. That begins on Saturday.

Offensive players do not want to come be a part of the ineptitude that has permeated that side of the ball for years now in Gainesville. That is not more evident anywhere than on the offensive line which has ample opportunity for early play and yet the Gators sit with only one commitment for the unit. Florida MUST keep winning and need to start winning with some style if the Gators intend to make their way back to the upper echelon of college football.

It is OK to have an occasional display like the Vanderbilt game IF you follow it up with a win over LSU. Make it to the midway point of the season at 5-1 and Florida will be in position to make the claim that they are back. Drop to 4-2 and the ground beneath McElwain’s rebuilding project begins to get a little shaky.

The offense was anemic against Vanderbilt. Austin Appleby’s performance was pedestrian at best. The running game was not much better. As is always the case with the Gators it seems these days, a lot of that falls on the shoulders of the offensive line. There are more bodies to work with this season on that unit but the results are largely the same. It is extremely concerning that recruiting for that unit continues to be paltry. If things do not improve both on the field and on the recruiting trail for the offensive line pretty soon changes may be necessary during the offseason. If that occurs I don’t want to hear players pining about how much they loved their position coach. If you care about him that much, get the job done now for him.

Saturday may well be the turning point of the season one way or the other for Florida. That direction may well affect this recruiting cycle and seasons down the road. The Gators need a win over LSU in the worst way. As if that isn’t enough to put the Gator Nation on edge, there is so much uncertainty surrounding this game. Will the Tiger’s star running back Leonard Fournette be healthy? Will Gators starting quarterback Luke Del Rio be healthy? Will hurricane Matthew even let the game take place? One would like a little more stability going into such an important game for both programs but you must play with the hand you are dealt. Coach McElwain needs to find a way to win with the cards he is holding. A few more losses and he may find even weaker cards in next year’s deal.