Georgia, the Gators' next opponent, has surrendered 46 points on the season.
Let that sink in.
It's a statistic so striking that seven weeks needs no context. It pretty much speaks to the immense challenge ahead, with UF (4-3, 2-3) facing the daunting task of trying to right itself in its annual mega-rivalry meeting in Jacksonville against a Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0) squad ranked No. 1 in the nation and virtually unchallenged since the season's opening week.
UGA opened the 2021 campaign with a 10-3 defeat of then-No. 2 Clemson, a team that has revealed itself to be a much lesser version than the one with six straight playoff appearances and two national championships. No matter. Since a 56-7 thrashing of UAB in Week 2, the Bulldogs have vaporized their five Southeastern Conference opponents by a combined 203-36
— including shutouts of 62-0 against Vanderbilt and 37-0 over Arkansas in back-to-back weeks — and will head to TIAA Bank Field with a defense that ranks first nationally in both points (6.6) and yards allowed (208.3 per game), as well as second in stopping the run (63.6 ypg) and pass (144.9).
This will mark the first in Florida history the Gators have faced two opponents ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll in the same regular season, with the 31-29 home loss to Alabama back on Sept. 18 being the first.
"You've got to execute," UF coach Dan Mullen said Monday, as the team returned to game-week routine following Saturday's open date. "One thing, they have great players. When you're playing against a great defense you have to execute because if you make little mistakes they turn into big mistakes and mistakes are hard to recover from when you're playing against a great defensive front. You've got to be efficient and execute at a high level every snap of the game. You can't be herky-jerky, kind of back and forth."
That's kind of what the Florida offense was its last time out in losing 49-42 at LSU. The Gators moved the ball for 488 yards and scored six touchdowns, but they also turned the ball over four times, with starting quarterback Emory Jones and backup Anthony Richardson each throwing a pair of interceptions. Richardson, however, replaced Jones in the second half and led the team to four consecutive touchdown drives to keep the Gators in the game.
Jones completed 12 of 19 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown and the two picks last time out, plus rushed 10 times for 16 yards. Richardson went 10-for-19 for 167 yards, three TDs, the two interceptions to go with 42 yards rushing and a score on seven carries.
On the subject of quarterbacks, Mullen remained noncommittal. In other words, consistent with his approach all season.
[Note: If he was considering a change, or even a tweak in reps at QB, do you think he'd say so?]
"We're going to keep playing them the same way," he said. "We plan on playing both of the guys like we have."
Doing so thus far has produced the No. 9 offense in college football, but also one that is tied for 122nd (and next to last in the conference) in turnover ratio at minus-7. That's herky-jerky.
And so was the defense the last time out.
There was nothing inconsistent about the unit that allowed tailback Tyrion Davis-Price to rush for a LSU-record 287 yards (of his team's 321 on the ground) and three touchdowns. The Tigers found something working between the tackles and did it over and over again, with the UF defense unable to provide an answer. They also got 133 yards passing and three scores from quarterback Max Johnson, who engineered an offense that totaled 454 yards and did not commit a turnover.
For comparison's sake, the week before facing the Gators, LSU rushed for just 147 yards in a 42-21 loss at Kentucky and only 77 in Saturday night's 31-17 loss at Ole Miss.
"They're a good team, a physical team," defensive tackle Trey Dean III said. "They're not the No. 1 in the country for no reason, so we've we've got to bring our A-game."
The A-game version of the defense was there in the loss at Kentucky, as well as the final three quarters in a blowout win over Tennessee and narrow loss to Alabama. What happened to it in Louisiana is something the coaches and players will have two weeks to stew about and do something about.
"You've got to put yourself in the right position. You've got to be in the right gap. You've got to play disciplined football. You've got to put yourself in the right position fundamentally to go make tackles," Mullen said. "There's some guys on the other side of the ball that have scholarships that want you to not make that tackle. After the game, we kind of look at it and, last game, was not great a great one for us. The majority of the time I think we've won the yards-after-contact from one game to the next throughout the season. That's something we just go to continue to grind on and be in position."
The lack of doing so last time has forced the Gators to recalibrate their goals, as talk of championships or a fourth straight New Year's Six bowl have been dashed. There's still plenty to play for this season, however, starting with a game against the No. 1 team in the country and a chance to play spoiler against a hated rival.
"Right now, we're playing to finish strong and end the year on a good note, so getting this win would mean a lot, especially potentially knocking off the No. 1 team," defensive end Zachary Carter said. "I wouldn't necessarily say [we'd be] ruining their season, because I'm sure if we beat them they still might end up in the playoff somehow. But just getting that win, it would mean a lot, man. For real."
Yes, for real.
"looking" - Google News
October 26, 2021 at 05:06AM
https://ift.tt/3CeMPlS
Gators Exit Bye Week Looking Out for (Another) No. 1 - Florida Gators
"looking" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2tdCiJt
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Gators Exit Bye Week Looking Out for (Another) No. 1 - Florida Gators"
Post a Comment