Gators bounce back with blowout victory over Colorado State
By Shannon Seal
The Florida Gators used a strong showing on special teams to ignite the 38-point drubbing of Colorado State. The Gators blocked a punt for a touchdown and Freddie Swain returned another from 85-yards out. That explosion of an otherwise dormant special teams is something that has been missing for years, in fact — since Dan Mullen’s last days at UF as an offensive coordinator. Urban Meyer made it a point to have his fastest playmakers on special teams and Mullen is following that same recipe.
It’s really hard to get a gauge on where this team is right now, and how much progress was made during the week after the tough loss. After all, the Gators were too much for Colorado State, using all three phases to take care of the Rams 48-10 on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville. But Florida can only play the games on the schedule, and the Gators responded nicely despite the flames around the program this week.
Has Florida found an identity on offense? Well, it’s entirely too early to tell. I’ve been saying that UF needs to get the football to Jordan Scarlet and the rest of this cast in the backfield, but for some reason Florida completely got away from that in the loss to Kentucky. I believe that not giving these backs touches against the Wildcats could have been the difference in last week’s loss.
Now again — it’s still way too early to tell. Florida had no problem running the football against Colorado State — as the Gators rushed for over 200 yards against the Rams. With that said, nearly half of those yards came in garbage time. The Gators started slow on offense, and a big reason for that is not establishing the run from the very start.
Florida needs to start faster moving forward. Feleipe Franks and the offense had trouble scoring touchdowns until the second quarter, only kicking two field goals in the first. Franks passes were erratic to start, and the offense sputtered as a result. As the game wore on and Florida turned its focus to Scarlet and running the football, things began to move smoothly for the Gators. Franks threw touchdowns to Swain and Van Jefferson, both on play-action passes after a bullying rushing attack.
There’s no question about it — this offense is a work in progress, but the best recipe for success in the passing game is to feed these backs and get dirty up front.
UF was a bend-but-don’t-break defense against the Rams. The Gators were much more physical and active up front, tackling was much better, but then again there were no Benny Snell’s on the field for Colorado State. The Rams did gain 22 first downs in all, but Florida only gave up 10 points. Florida harassed Rams quarterback Michael Carta-Samuels throughout, sacking Carta-Samuels 5 times along with 6 hurries. Florida also forced and recovered 3 fumbles on the day. The Gators had no respect for the Rams rushing attack. The defensive line’s activity and the improved tackling are great starts, but Florida has room for concern on the back end with giving up explosive plays.
This secondary is nipped up — with 8 defensive backs out against Colorado State. True freshman Terry Dean III and sophomore Brian Edwards stepped in somewhat nicely in Marco Wilson’s place against the Rams, but time and time again Carta-Samuels would continue to throw their way opposite of C.J. Henderson at the other corner. Florida must vastly improve each week with the passing attacks that await, and the Gators best method of neutralizing that is if this defensive line can stay awake and pressure every opposing QB.
This was a very strange game — as Florida ran only 44 plays of offense, compared to Colorado State’s 83. The keyword and take-away from this game is efficiency, as that contrast of the time in possession wouldn’t typically be associated with a 38-point win the other way. The efficiency in which Florida played throughout is something that this team can build upon as the SEC slate comes centerstage.
Colorado State isn’t a lousy opponent, but certainly not the daunting challenges that lie ahead in just about every game for the rest of this season.
Florida travels to Knoxville to take on rival Tennessee next Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. The trip to Knoxville will be the first time this season that the Gators will stray away from the Swamp.
