Florida football: 3 observations from the first half against Georgia
Well, it’s been a grind in the first half for No. 6 Florida football. But, the good news is it’s been a grind for No. 8 Georgia too.
You almost want to give the officiating seven points after the blown completion call midway through the second quarter, but nonetheless, there’s a lot for Florida football to work on.
The Gators struggled from the get-go with everything except stopping the Georgia running game — which was something they needed to do.
The problem was much deeper than that, however.
Here’s a couple of observations we have from the first half as Florida football trails Georgia, 13-3 in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.
1. Where’s the short-yardage offense?
Our short-yardage play on offense in the first half has been, well, atrocious.
Florida football struggled to rush for even a yard and, if it wasn’t for tight end Kyle Pitts, the short-yardage passing game would be in trouble too.
The good thing out of all this is Georgia’s running game has been equally bad in the first half, but how long is that going to last?
Honestly, I didn’t expect the Florida football running game to be that big of a game-changer today, but I would have hoped it would get somewhere.
Conversely, it has to be noted that our offensive line has been worked the entire half. Georgia’s defensive line is owning the line of scrimmage and our offensive line can’t do much about it.
Georgia is getting pressure on Kyle Trask and they are halting any significant progress made in the running game.
If it keeps up, we are in for a long afternoon.
2. Third down and who cares
Our third-down defense is awful.
Georgia was 6-of-8 on third down and only the officiating crew helped with Lawrence Cager used the ground the control the ball on third and two, but the pass was ruled complete (yeah, shook my head there too).
Regardless, the defense on third down was horrendous.
Florida football used a soft zone that Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm exposed time and time again.
Of course, the latter third down led to a touchdown, so you have to give the officiating crew the assist there, but nonetheless, that third-down defense is going to have to get better in the second half, or else.
In the end, letting a team go 8-for-11 on third down and you are just asking to get beat.
3. Coaching flat-footed
It seemed when we needed it, the coaching staff for Florida football seemed off-kilter.
Forced to take a pair of timeouts in a three-minute span early in the first quarter, followed by putting Emory Jones in at quarterback after Trask gobbled up nearly 50 yards with passes to Pitts and Freddie Swain late in the second quarter were just a few of the questionable coaching decisions in the first half.
Keeping Trey Dean III in the game for an extra two series after he blew coverage twice leading to big gains for Georgia.
I also don’t understand why Brett Heggie was left in the game on the offensive line after he was thoroughly worked by the Georgia defense in the first quarter.
I’m no football coach, nor do I know all the circumstances Dan Mullen or Todd Grantham have to work with, so I will keep the second-guessing to that.
What to do in the second half
Well, shore up the third-down defense and quit playing a soft zone against the pass would be a start on defense.
As for the offense, we need to understand our strengths, and right now, that’s Kyle Pitts.
It’s no secret Georgia struggles against good tight ends (see Notre Dame), so as long as Pitts has the advantage, we need to use it.
Like we saw in the Florida football scoring drive, it opened things up for Swain as well, so that seems to be something to continue exploiting.
Next. 5 Gators to watch Saturday against Georgia. dark
On to the second half.