Florida Gators Lose Close One to Ole Miss Rebels

I had to wait a few days before writing this in hopes my anger would subside. Unfortunately, it really hasn’t. I’m a little calmer in the respect that now I’m fully aware it really did happen and have prepared myself to move on. But at the same time, I feel this was a game

During the offseason we were inundated with stories about USC-transfer Emmanuel Moody and how he wasn’t making progress learning UF’s extremely complex playbook. Where in the world is the complexity?!? We’ve seen four Gator games so far this season and it seems like no more than 10 offensive plays have been called. There’s the quick slant in which even though there are five receivers on the field, the only guy ever going to get the ball is the primary option. Then there’s Tim Tebow faking the option but running it himself, Tebow faking the handoff but running it himself, Tebow faking the reverse but running it himself, and Tebow just running it himself. Where is the true spread that’s supposed to keep defenses on their toes? It’s all become too predictable. On fourth down with one yard to go, the entire world not only knew who was running the ball, they also knew exactly where he was going to run it. I’m not saying Tebow’s power running should be eliminated from the offense, but there has to be some variety to how he’s asked to do it because teams have figured it out. This is an offense designed to score a lot more than 30 points against Ole Miss, but it hasn’t been opened up enough to actually do so.

On the other hand, there’s one glaring issue that makes me ask the opposite: where’s the simplicity? This offense’s biggest weakness is constant pressure and blitzing. Georgia tested it. Michigan exposed it. And Miami and Ole Miss proved it. You would think you would put someone else in the backfield to help pick up the blitz, but time after time Tebow is the only one back there. There are way too many 5-receiver sets being called. Teams know UF isn’t putting anyone back there to help, so they blitz again and again and again. This is an easy fix that needs to be done immediately. Kestahn Moore is a decent blocker. Put him back there and give Tebow more time to make his reads.

Staying with the offense: if you’ve ever played EA Sports’ NCAA Football, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Those video games aren’t particularly hard. It’s fairly easy to consistently keep your program at the top of the polls. However, sometimes the computer gets angry with you and decides that no matter what, you aren’t going aren’t going to win the next game. Your Heisman winning quarterback will throw six interceptions. Your pass defense will disappear. And to make matters worse, they’ll keep it close enough to make you think you have a chance to actually pull out a win. Anyone that’s ever had one of those games knows exactly what happens to your game plan. It goes out the window. When you’re blowing an opponent out, you experiment a little more. You’ll actually try the quadruple reverse deep slant option with your fourth string tight end at quarterback. Why not? Everything else worked. But in this game, nothing works, so what do you do? You call the same three plays you always call. You call your money plays. You only throw to your star receiver. You only run to one side of the field. You call them over and over because you don’t think anything else will work when in reality your third receiver is wide open 103% of the time and your left tackle has 487 pancake blocks but you still refuse to run his way. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gator offense. Tebow completed 24 passes against Ole Miss – 13 to Percy Harvin. The Gators ran the ball 32 times – 22 were credited to Tebow and Harvin (I’ve removed the three sacks out of these numbers because for some reason the NCAA still thinks they should be included in rushing numbers although a sack technically means it was not a designed running play). So out of 56 plays where the correct person actually ended up with the ball (so basically everything except sacks and incompletions), 35 were to Tebow or Harvin. That’s 62.5%, which my friends, is insane. UF has the talent – Chris Rainey, Jeffrey Demps, Carl Moore, Deonte Thompson, etc. – coaches are just afraid to use anyone who doesn’t have Tebow or Harvin stitched on the back of their jerseys. And it becomes very apparent when the Gators are playing from behind.

Although statistically one of the best receivers in Gator history, I always had issues with Taylor Jacobs. Jacobs would make the one-handed, behind the back, through the legs, in traffic, while being molested by the entire defense catch, but couldn’t hold onto a perfectly thrown ball when he was wide open. I introduce you to Louis Murphy. Before the season, Murphy was being discussed as a potential first-round draft pick. I didn’t agree, but if you looked at tape and factor in his size, speed, and route running, you could see how he had the potential to be a good pro receiver. The problem is the drops. Murphy needs to correct this now because it’s not something that will fix itself. He needs to keep his concentration on the easy catches like he does on the difficult ones. Jacobs is no longer in the NFL for a reason.

As for the defense, the reason Ole Miss was able to put up 31 points was a combination of missed tackles and blown assignments. 10 of the Rebels points were scored on drives of less than 20 yards thanks to some untimely turnovers. But the other 21 points were scored on drives that averaged 77 yards. Take a look at the big plays and you’ll see the glaring problems. On Dexter McCluster’s 40-yard touchdown run, everyone from Jack Youngblood to Channing Crowder to Major Wright missed tackles. And I don’t think I’ve missed Reggie Nelson more than on Shay Hodge’s 86-yard touchdown catch. Oh Hodge still would’ve caught the ball, but Nelson would’ve knocked him clear out onto University Avenue. Wright is good and will probably end up being great, but on that play he made a very bad choice. Where was the defense from the first three games?

I could go on, voicing my frustration about the loss, but I’ll leave with some comments from One-Eyed Willy, who hits the nail right on the head when it comes to the Florida run game. “I personally think Florida has too many playmakers at running back. It’s too easy for Urban Meyer to take out Moody and put in Moore, take out Moore and put in Rainey, take out Rainey and put in Demps. You know why Joe Haden is so good this year? Because the Gators couldn’t replace him with anyone last year when he screwed up. Time to suck it up and DEVELOP a running back, not just hope that one is automatically good enough to play the second he walks out there. That means 20 carries a game, if not more.” Exactly!

In the end, this was a particularly frustrating loss to watch because 1) it was against a team UF should beat on a regular basis, 2) it was against a team UF should beat on a regular basis but doesn’t, and 3) if it had been against LSU or Georgia, it would’ve been much worse than a 1-point loss. This was one of those games that even though it was close entering the fourth quarter; you just knew Florida wasn’t going to win.