Florida Gators vs Missouri Tigers: Both Driskel, Harris to See Time at QB

Despite the disappointing loss Saturday night against LSU, the Florida Gators still have an opportunity to win the SEC East. But it will take some big wins in their remaining SEC East games, starting this week with Missouri (and a loss by Kentucky, who face LSU and No.1 Mississippi State in the coming two weeks.)

Muschamp: “Treon is a guy who has shown the ability to make some plays. He has a certain confidence about him.”

To help get that win, Coach Will Muschamp is bringing all hands on deck, particularly at the quarterback position. On Monday, Muschamp said freshman quarterback Treon Harris will share snaps with Jeff Driskel.

The Hero in Tennessee

We last saw Harris in the Tennessee game, where he rescued a down right awful offense to lead the Gators on two drives to make up the 9 point deficit and pull out a one-point win for the Orange and Blue.

Harris’ touchdown drive occurred after a turnover gave him a short field. Harris also led a drive from his own 19 to set the Gators up with the game-winning field goal. Of course, Harris wasn’t available for the LSU game after his suspension on the since-dropped sexual assault allegation caused him to miss a week of practice.

But while effective, there isn’t much to read out of Harris’ numbers in the Tennessee game. He went 2-4 with 17 yard passing and also added 24 yards with his legs. However, once Harris entered the game, the combination of his mobility and enhanced passing threat lossened the defense for running back Matt Jones, who ended the game with 114 yards, including a key 32 yard scamper that helped set the Gators up for the field goal that would seal the game.

Aug 31, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel (6) walks out prior to the game as he was announced team captain for the week against the Toledo Rockets at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Run, Jeff, Run

When it comes to creating offense with his legs, Driskel has shown he’s more than capable. Against LSU, he was the Gators leading rusher, with 71 yards on 21 carries. During Monday’s press conference, Driskel said running the ball is an area where he feels he can make a big contribution. “It’s a part of the game that I can make an impact in,” he said.

QBRs

But when it comes to quarterbacking, Driskel’s results don’t bear out. On ESPN’s total QBR rating, Driskel ranks a discouraging 96th out of the 129 ranked QBs. His passer rating of 45.9 takes into account a miserable -0.2 passing “expected points added” — or EPA — statistic. Put in perspective, top college quarterback Marcus Mariota of Oregon has a Pass EPA of 41.2.

Based on Pass EPA alone, Driskel ranks 122nd, falling below quarterbacks for teams like Navy, Connecticut, Wake Forest and Boston College. Who’s taking snaps at Boston College? You guessed it. Last year’s QB replacement Tyler Murphy, who came in after Driskel was injured and transferred once it became clear that new recruits like Harris and redshirt freshman Will Grier were the future of the program.

ESPN also has a QBR for Harris, who rates an amazing 407.7. But with only 6 pass attempts, it’s too small a sample size to be a truly relevant statistic. It includes his unreal stat line from the Eastern Michigan game, where he tossed long TD passes on his only two attempts, putting up a superhuman 1051.6 rating for that game.

As far as Harris goes, Muschamp said both he and his teammates have confidence in him, especially after seeing his performance in practices. “Treon is a guy who has shown the ability to make some plays. He has a certain confidence about him.”