Alabama Crimson Tide 31 – Florida Gators 6

I took yesterday off from the blog world to reflect on the disaster that was Saturday.  Okay, so that’s not true at all.  I took yesterday off because it was Sunday and I had no desire to do anything but sit on my couch and do, well, nothing.  But I might as well have been stewing from what felt like a season-ending derailment in every sense of the feeling.  Funny thing though, it wasn’t.

Put your orange and blue bias down for a minute and think objectively.  Before the season started what did you think Florida’s final record would be?  14-0?  No, you didn’t.  13-1?  Maybe, there is talent, but it might have been a long shot.  12-2 or 11-3?  Seems more reasonable.  I’m not trying to justify losing as being “okay.”  It’s not.  This is college football.  You get lucky if you can lose a game a still come away with a National Championship.  The Gators know; they’ve done it three times.  What I am trying to say is that it shouldn’t have come as a shock that the #1 team in the nation – Alabama – beat Florida.

What is shocking is the way it was done.  It you looked at the stats without seeing the final score, you might think the game was closer.  You would say the Gators’ defense played pretty well in containing Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson – with the exception of one 30-yard jaunt by the latter.  You would be wowed that Florida had more total yards, a greater time of possession, and held the Crimson Tide to only 103 yards passing.  Then you would get to turnovers and want to put your head through a wall.

The Gators had their chances.  They drove the field more than once to be stopped by “interesting” calls (I won’t say “bad” because as obvious as the Trey Burton and Emmanuel Moody touchdowns may have been to a Florida fan, it’s completely understandable why neither was overturned) or turnovers.  All in all, despite a few lengthy drives, Florida still looked lost on offense.  John Brantley is learning his way and he is 4-1 as a starter, so this isn’t necessarily complaining, but he continues to look flustered.  Traveling to the nation’s top team and playing in that environment is no small feat, but Brantley has looked nervous throughout the season.  Part of it could be the mental game (more to come, but the snaps are definitely affecting him) and part could be the legacy he is following, but he needs to snap out of it.  Brantley has the talent to be a top quarterback.  It’s time to show it.  The training wheels are off.

As for the snaps, how many games must the experiment go on?  I’ve said it before, and I really do hate to put down a very good player, but move Mike Pouncey back to guard.  Clearly the coaching staff is having a hard time determining who the best option at right guard is.  We’ve seen a steady rotation at the position.  Well, five games into the season they also have a serious problem at center.  After one game, we all heard it was an easy fix, but now it’s four games later and it’s still broken.  Seriously, thanks for trying Mike, but you’re a better guard.  That’s where you belong.  The snapping issue is something you think too much about now and it’s not going away.

The biggest concern on the defensive side of the ball was the disappearance of one unit.  I won’t necessarily put any blame on the players themselves as it looked more like the sets being called, but the linebackers were largely non-existent for the entire game.  Coverage calls and defensive schemes were the culprit as it appeared the LBs were put into assignments which took them out of the play for the most part.  The first half was frustrating as Alabama seemed to work the open parts of the field over and over again.  Those areas where in any other game this season the linebackers would be.

I could get into other areas as well, but the game is over.  It goes along the lines of something cliché statement about not being able to change the past and blah, blah, blah.  It could be seen as a heartbreaking game for Florida or one which exposed some definite areas of weakness that need to be addressed.

The best way to describe this game is with the word unsure.  Of course, there were players that could have and should have stepped up, but ultimately the coaching staff appears to be unsure of what to do.  (Side question: does anyone else find it interesting that the man taking the heat for a lot of this – Steve Addazio – coaches from the sideline and not the booth like so many other offensive coordinators?)  There were games like this last season as well.  For whatever reason, the Gators go into safe mode.  The playbook is different and the defensive schemes are out of the ordinary.  Florida goes from playing to win to playing not to lose.  Against an opponent as strong as the Tide, the Gators did lose.

It’s hard to determine exactly why.  There are enough reasons above or in a number of other places.  But the coaching staff needs to be confident in what they have.  We won’t know how good of a gunslinger Brantley can be until they let him do it.  We won’t know exactly how much Florida can get out of the running backs if they continue to run them right into the line.

A loss to Alabama isn’t the end of the world, but a game plan like that and it won’t be the last one.  The talent is there and the Gators are still very much in the driver’s seat to go to a third consecutive SEC Championship Game.  Changes need to be made if that’s going to happen though.