Saturday night was a mostly simple night for the Florida Gators. Billy Napier and crew rolled over an overmatched LIU squad to an easy 55-0 win to start 1-0.
But not all was perfect as the Gators gave up 11 tackles for a loss, and Napier addressed why that number was so high on Saturday.
Florida gives up 11 tackles for a loss
At his press conference on Monday, Napier indicated something similar to what he hinted at after the game on Saturday:
"There were too many. But I do think that some of it was (LIU's) new scheme, very unique scheme might I add. A little bit all over the place, but I do think once we got that identified, I think we settled in there. So, I think it's not concerning. I think it's a little bit more just players doing what they're supposed to do.
And then, you know, I think all positions contribute to that, right? Tight ends, quarterback, and the running back contribute to that sometimes. You got to start with a little bit more detail and then obviously, you get a new scheme. I think there are some adjustments to be made in the game."
Napier talked about LIU running a "new scheme" as well during this post-game press conference. But, if you are keeping score at home, seven of the eleven TFLs Florida took occurred after it was already 17-0, so the narrative of "settling in" isn't 100% accurate.
And while it can throw a team off when you prepare for a defense to do one thing and it does the opposite, the things Florida was getting beat on at times weren't just scheme-related. There were multiple times when Gator offensive linemen were just outright getting beaten one-on-one.
Plus, it also paints a narrative that all a team has to do to befuddle Florida is to do something new.
It is worth keeping an eye on as the difficulty is set to ramp up, and taking 11 TFLs isn't going to cut it against the increased quality of opponents.