The Good
Defense dominates after slow start
Dan Mullen giving Todd Grantham a full-on Sabaning in full view of the cameras will end up being the moment we remember from the 2020 Kentucky game.
As a fan, it’s easy to grow quickly frustrated with the defense on the heels of what seems like another poor first half performance. The start of the Kentucky game was extra irritating considering Florida’s lackluster start at Vanderbilt just a week ago, but the defense is improving!
Florida fans accept nothing less than perfection – but at some point we need a reality check. This defense has been a developmental project throughout a shortened season which featured little to no real preseason preparation. Turns out social distancing on a mass scale for the public good doesn’t lend itself to building the next ’85 Bears. There have only been three SEC games this season where the winners have scored less than 20 points: Georgia 14-3 over Kentucky, Texas A&M 17-12 over Vanderbilt, and Missouri 17-10 over South Carolina. The days of 9-6 classics are over in the SEC.
Back to the Kentucky game.
*Not counting UK’s meaningless one-play drive at the end of the first half.
On the first four drives of the game, Florida surrendered 180 yards and allowed the Wildcats to chew up 22:10 of the clock while running up 38 plays. The Cats gained 111 of those 180 yards on eight plays meaning the Gators only allowed 2.3 yards per play on 30 plays in the first half…a sign of this to come.
Starting with their last full drive of the first half, Kentucky went three-and-out on five out of their final seven drives. On the two drives which survived past three plays, the Florida defense forced a turnover on downs in four plays and intercepted UK backup QB Joey Gatewood on fifth play of the drive to effectively end the game.
Final stat lines for the Kentucky offense: 221 total yards, 61 yards passing, 3 INTs, and 2=13 on third down conversions.
That’s complete and utter dominance.
Dominance against one of the worst offenses in the SEC? Yes.
Dominance after allowing Kentucky to run their gameplan to near perfection for most of the first half? Yes.
It’s fair to criticize aspects of this defense, but make sure you also give credit where credit is due.
Alabama Anxiety
I’m no different than the rest of the fanbase. I’ve done my share of griping about the defense this season too. That’s why I think it’s important to point out what’s going right at times instead solely focusing on the weaknesses of this team.
Dan Mullen pleasantly surprised us in year one. In year two, it was safe to say the new Gators looked like the old Gators we fondly remembered. This season, Florida has toppled Georgia (despite Kirby’s “construction of the Death Star” which has yielded back-to-back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes), produced the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and is poised to make its most anticipated SEC Championship berth since Tebow.
The two title shots in 2015 and 2016 served as little other than a reminder of how far the program from grace. The juice wasn’t there. Jimmy Mac barked at the fans to be grateful for SEC Championship Game appearances and, by reasonable standards of human decency, he had a point. But by Florida fan standards, he couldn’t have been more off base. This program is not about making it to Atlanta. It’s about winning titles. Championships should always be the expectation. Most years, Florida falls short of that expectation, but its the commonly understood tie that binds and it brings us back charged with fresh optimism each September.
This year will be the 29th edition of the SEC Championship Game. Florida is on the verge of making their 13th appearance having won seven overall. Since Spurrier led the program to wins in five of the first nine SEC Championship Games, but since Spurrier left Florida, the Gators have only won a league title in 2006 and 2008.
Turns out SEC Championship Game wins are special and not our birthright.
Two SEC titles in 20 years and no titles in 12 years. The drought is weighing on Gator Nation and some of that cantankerousness is starting to show. Will Miles offered great perspective to end his Kentucky postgame piece:
Was it the best win Florida has ever had? No.
But is a 24-point win against a quality SEC opponent anything to turn our nose up at? No to that as well.
I get it. We’re all looking ahead and measuring Florida against the Alabama juggernaut on the horizon. But you have to imagine that Florida’s players are as well. When you know you have your shot at the Tide coming up, I can understand why it would be hard to concentrate against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
“But championship teams don’t do that!” is the refrain I suspect I may hear from some fans. Well, Florida has victories of 16, 14, 24, 16, 28, 21 and now 24 points. Those are blowouts folks.
I know we’ve gotten used to it this year, but let’s not take them for granted. Florida had SEC wins of 8, 11 and 11 last year, along with losses by 14 and 7. The only loss this year was by three on the road and the rest have been laughers
Instead of fully enjoying our ride to Atlanta, Gator Nation is suffering from Alabama Anxiety.
I, too, have fever dreams of DeVonta Smith, running free 15 yards behind Shawn Davis to put Florida in an early 7-0 hole.
I worry that the combination of Mac Jones and Najee Harris will slice and dice this Gators defense to death.
What if Florida’s running game is non-existent and Alabama has a coaching staff that actually understands how to adjust to cover a wheel route?
What if 2020 strikes and the Gators are missing key pieces heading into the SEC Championship Game?
There are 100 other questions we can worry about heading into Atlanta. I get it. It’s Alabama.
We can nitpick these Gators all we want, but don’t let 2015 or 2016 cloud your judgment. In those years, Florida had no clear future. There was nothing to look forward to; those teams just outlasted a weak SEC East field. They weren’t the dominant forces we witnessed in the 1990s and mid-2000s. This 2020 group has an identity and is fully capable of playing like a dominant force.
Florida may end up being humbled by Bama in a few weeks, but Mullen’s Gators will head to Atlanta with a powerful offense that can score on any defense it faces and a clear identity heading into the future.
The 2020 SEC Championship Game should not be an anxiety-ridden moment where the focus lies on how far the program has fallen (like in 2015 and 2016), but rather a moment to measure how far Mullen is from building a national champion.
These are exiting times in Gainesville. This program will be a serious contender for titles for years to come. Let’s enjoy the ride back to the top!
The Bad
It’s Tennessee week. Prepare yourself. You will hear Rocky Top more than you would ever choose to hear Rocky Top, so you might as well embrace it and numb yourself to it now. If you can only handle one video, I strongly recommend dancing Manning at the end of the selection.
Wish that I was on ol’ Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain’t no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain’t no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop
I still dream about that
Rocky Top, you’ll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol’ Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Once two strangers climbed ol’ Rocky Top
Lookin’ for a moonshine still
Strangers ain’t come down from Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
Corn won’t grow at all on Rocky Top
Dirt’s too rocky by far
That’s why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar
Causal mention of missing strangers makes a reference to Deliverance seem like too much of a layup, but I do enjoy the quick change of subject from a missing persons report to corn. Cool.
Rocky Top, you’ll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol’ Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
I’ve had years of cramped-up city life
Trapped like a duck in a pen
All I know is it’s a pity life
Can’t be simple again
Rocky Top, you’ll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol’ Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
The UGAly
In what must’ve been a relief to Kirby Smart, Georgia got back to running the ball in a 45-16 win over South Carolina on Saturday night.
A week after throwing for 401 yards on 38 attempts, J.T. Daniels did his best impersonation of a Georgia quarterback by throwing for 139 yards on 16 attempts.
The Dawgs rushed for a staggering 332 yards, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is not a space to praise a near perfect performance by Georgia.
I could: A) focus on a few meaningless penalties, B) go on another UGA quarterback rant after the news of QB D’Wan Mathis leaving program, or C) we can relive a solid SEC Shorts from the week after Georgia’s 2019 loss to South Carolina.
I choose C.
Justin Lovins
I cannot in good conscience listen to that awful song. I attended UT for one year, I grew up in TN as a Gator fan, and if I never hear it again outside of their lone TD in a 38-7 asskicking, it would still be too much! Thansk for the great content!
Mike Wood
Best article so far.
Spike
“Seems like another poor first hand performance”. It didnt “seem” like it was….it was. Several smart football folks have posted video review of the UK game showing not necessarily poor first half play by the players but poor scheme/ play calls based on UKs strentghts and weaknesses. We played a passive scheme prior to Dan yelling at Mullen. Aggressive after. I won’t get into the analysis they provided but without it – it was obvious the defense played poorly in the first half and great in the second.
Mike Wood
Dan yelling at Mullen?