Florida Football: Washington successful running Gators doomed flea flicker

One of the plays that will haunt Billy Napier and the rest of Florida football this offseason was the choice to run a double reverse flea flicker while up 12-0 against FSU with a chance to put the clamps on the game. Florida took an intentional grounding penalty on the play, FSU scored a touchdown on the next drive, and the rest is history.

Last night in the Pac-12 title game, the Washington Huskies ran the exact same play with better results than what doomed the Gators.

Florida Football: So it can work

Washington knocked off Oregon 34-31 to win the Pac-12 and clinch a spot in the college football playoffs.

During the game, the Huskies ran the exact same double reverse flea flicker the Gators did against FSU and picked up a first down from the play.

When Florida ran the play, the intention was for the ball to go from Max Brown to Tre Wilson.

It never made it.

Somewhere in a press conference, we have a feeling Napier will point to Washington as proof the play had a pathway to work. But there are two massive differences between why it worked for Washington and why it was a dumb idea for Florida football.

Number one is that Washington has a much better offensive line than Florida, which wasn’t being put on roller skates. As we noted last week, the problem with Napier calling a long-developing play is that the offensive line hadn’t shown all season it was going to hold up long enough for it to develop, doubled down with the fact FSU had been getting home all during the first half.

The second reason is a bit subtle but also important. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. is left-handed. When he catches the ball from his running back, he is already standing in a natural throwing position that allows him to naturally get the ball off to the left.

When Florida ran it, Brown, being right-handed, would have had to open his body into the pathway of oncoming rushers. When he caught it, he looked at Wilson for a nano-second before snapping his head back towards Ricky Pearsall in a natural throwing position.