Florida State Seminoles 21 – Florida Gators 7: Offenses Need Not Apply
On Saturday night, we witnessed one of the worst offensive performances of the college football weekend, and that team won by 14 points. The Florida State Seminoles laid claim to the 2011 state title by defeating the Florida Gators 21-7 in The Swamp. In a season in which Florida’s big three are a combined 20-16, that’s not a title to brag about. Then there’s the way FSU claimed it, in Saturday’s debacle of a game.
I’m not sure what we were to expect from Saturday night. It is THE rivalry game of the season every year for these two programs. There are never conference standings impacted and national title hopes were dashed for both the Gators and Seminoles before the season even began, but it was still supposed to be the rivalry we were used to. Then Dustin Hopkins kicked off at approximately 7:00 PM ET and we were all subjected to whatever version of football that was.
FSU’s offense was abysmal as the numbers clearly dictate: seven first downs, 2-for-15 on third-down conversions, 65 yards passing and 30 rushing for 95 total yards, 0.7 yards per rush and nine penalties for 85 yards. Yes, the ‘Noles lost almost as many yards due to penalties as they gained on offense. Despite all of that, only one number mattered: 21, or better yet 14 if we’re only talking about the FSU offense. The ‘Noles were the beneficiaries of a pick six that would give them the 21, but the 14 would have been enough on its own. That number and one other very important one made it possible for FSU to turn an easily forgettable offensive performance into a double-digit win over their instate rivals.
That other number would be four. Four as in four interceptions thrown by Florida quarterbacks. John Brantley would throw three himself before going out with injury. Anyone with the ability to feel even the slightest bit of sympathy would want to keep the Brantley bashing to a minimum. I’ll do so because there’s not much else to be said and I’m sure he’s ready to move on from his roller coaster career as much as we all are, but I will bring up the interceptions. The reason is simple really and all revolves around a question: what did he see during those plays? Analysts are always quick to point out plays where a quarterback’s vantage point may not have allowed him to see a defender. Fair enough. It’s hard to imagine that is what occurred on the first interception by Greg Reid and it’s difficult to believe Brantley didn’t see the four defenders in the area of his throw when Mike Harris intercepted him. The problem is that there have been too many throws that have brought up similar questions and concerns. Drives have ended too abruptly too many times over the last two seasons. Reasons are plentiful and Brantley can’t shoulder all of the blame, but only a few days after I wrote about his “career” day, the senior had another one he would gladly erase from history.
The Gators only managed 184 yards of offense themselves, much of it actually generated by Brantley before he went down. Once he did, any offensive hope died. Jacoby Brissett didn’t fare much better as the true freshman weathered through more growing pains. To say he led Florida to its lone touchdown drive is extremely generous. The drive covered 21 yards, 15 of which can be attributed to an FSU penalty. Much more couldn’t be expected from Brissett or fellow true freshman Jeff Driskel if he had been playing; the offensive issues go way beyond how either did or would perform.
For one side of the ball, it was an admirable performance. Jelani Jenkins totaled 11 tackles, the Gators forced four fumbles, but only recovered one, and Florida tallied four sacks. FSU’s two offensive touchdowns came after drives totaling 24 yards. TOTALING 24 YARDS!!! Sorry, but that’s not a defensive problem. Give the opposing team the ball on the 20 and then the four and points will be scored one way or another. You could argue that the defense could have held the ‘Noles to field goals on both possessions and that’s a possibility, but then what? Then the Gators lose 13-7 instead of 21-7 and we don’t feel any better.
The regular season is over and Florida is 6-6. If ever a break was needed this is it. The Gators will be invited to a bowl, but we have weeks before we need to worry about game plans and personnel and coaching. Those things are in the back of the mind at the moment. Or at least that’s where we’re trying to put them. It’s hard to forget what happened on Saturday night and for much of the season. You can say 6-6 doesn’t happen at the University of Florida. Well, it just did.