Offense: LSU Tigers 41 – Florida Gators 11

First thoughts can be found here.

213 yards of total offense. If that number – or at least the ballpark that number resides in – looks familiar, it’s because it is nine yards lower than last week’s output – 222. Against LSU, Florida was expected to struggle. Against the Tigers, the Gators did. In the 41-11 thrashing at the hands of one of the nation’s best, Florida totaled 100 yards in the air and 113 on the ground. LSU’s defense was actually better than it had been against the pass and in points allowed. Not surprising, but a punch to the gut all the same.

It all started and ended with ankle injuries. One week ago, Alabama had the better team, but if John Brantley hadn’t gone down near the end of the first half, I have a hard time believing a 28-point loss was in the Gators’ future. The passing game was beginning to come together and surely could have kept Florida in the game longer. Against LSU, that would have been the case as well. Both the Tide and the Tigers possess all-world defenses and losses wouldn’t have been shocking, but the Gators would have been able to move the ball more effectively. But the ankle injury happened and Jeff Driskel was thrust into action. Then another ankle injury would haunt Florida. Driskel was rendered unavailable for the matchup with LSU and another true freshman – Jacoby Brissett – was named the starter.

Let me start this section by saying no one blames Driskel or Brissett for what happened against Alabama or LSU; or at least no one should. There may not be two tougher defenses for the true freshmen to have faced in their first significant minutes. Driskel was handed the reins in a split second after a fifth-year senior went down. Brissett was then given them when he was clearly on a path to a redshirt season. Both are extremely talented, but extremely inexperienced. It doesn’t help that the defending national champions are next on the schedule (it does that Auburn doesn’t possess defensive talent even in the same room as Alabama and LSU). In the last five seasons, three programs have won the national championship not named Florida. The Gators play those three in succession this season and for 150 of 180 possible minutes, Driskel and Brissett will be the primary quarterbacks. The phrase baptism by fire comes to mind, but that’s putting it far too mildly.

Brissett wasn’t bad in his debut. Yes, I just said that. He wasn’t. He was inexperienced. 8-for-14 for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions isn’t a good stat line, but what did we really expect? In addition to being one of the most fundamental sound defenses in the nation, LSU’s is one of the fastest. Against an offensive line still trying to find consistency (AND THE ABILITY TO WORK AS A UNIT!), the Tigers’ front was able to apply pressure on Brissett forcing him to make quick decisions. I’d imagine a lot runs through the mind of a quarterback during a play. I’d also imagine double the typical number of thoughts were going through Brissett’s on Saturday.

If anything, it was a learning experience for the freshman. He learned how quickly you have to make decisions in the SEC and just how fast the college game is compared to the high school one. We learned that he sure does love the deep ball and he may be the best rollout quarterback on the roster. If there was a shining moment for me as a fan, it was watching Brissett use his feet to avoid the rush on several plays and get outside the pocket to give himself more time. It didn’t always result in a positive play for the Gators, but that escapability is something that can come in handy for him as his continues his development.

The running game wasn’t as dynamic as it had been over the first four games of the season, but again that all goes back to the defenses the Gators’ offense has gone up against in the last two weeks. Perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel though: against Alabama – 29 carries for 15 yards; against LSU – 32 carries for 113 yards. That isn’t a great output against the Tigers and it results in only 3.5 yards per carry, but it’s an improvement. Florida won’t face a defense like either of those two for the remainder of the regular season so we hope the run game returns.

What can’t come back are the penalties. Despite a devastating loss to the Tide, the Gators only committed four penalties for 20 yards. Against the Tigers, those numbers rose to 12 for 90 and many were momentum killers. The offensive line needs to come together as I’ve mentioned numerous times this season, but they also need to play smart. There is talent there, but there is also intelligence. They need to get back to the fundamentals of football and just play hard and play smart. Chris Rainey can be one of the most dangerous weapons in the nation, but he can’t do it alone. He’s not a bruiser. He needs lanes, but he also needs to be able to break runs without the worry of them being called back. Line play – on both sides of the ball – will be the key going forward. So will getting Jeff Demps back and giving Mike Gillislee the ball more.

This was another one of those games where the receivers were practically invisible, but they also can’t really be blamed for that. While Brissett was trying his best to avoid the rush and find anyone he could to get the ball too, the receivers weren’t always the primary option. Andre Debose is clearly the deep threat and proved for the second week that he will get a homerun shot at least once or twice each game, but his 65-yard touchdown catch was one of only two receptions by wide receivers. Six games into the season and the Gators don’t have a single wide receiver with more than nine receptions. Think about that for a second, Florida is on pace to not have a receiver reach the 20-catch mark during the regular season. By comparison, USC’s Ronald Woods has 55 receptions in five games this season, hasn’t had a game in which he had less than eight, and has a 14-catch and a 17-catch game. The receivers need to step up, but Charlie Weis needs to ensure the quarterbacks are able to run the right plays to get them the ball.

The offense has left a lot to be desired over the last 120 minutes of football. Injuries, offensive line play, and an inability to consistently sustain drives have caused the Gators to flounder. There’s time to right the ship, but not much. Auburn’s defense gives Florida the opportunity to get back to the basics and revitalize the run game, but the Gators have to do exactly that. Florida scored 7 points in the first 19 seconds against Alabama. In 119:41 since then, the Gators have put 14 on the scoreboard. That’s a far cry from the 40.3 Florida averaged over the first four games of the season. Time for the offense to get back on track.

Coming up next: the defense.