Tag Archive for: UF

Where the Gators Stand after 7 Games

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After a devastating loss against unranked LSU last weekend, Florida’s record fell to 4-3 when just a month ago, they had chances to beat then top-ranked Alabama. So, where did everything go wrong?

 

Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham certainly hasn’t helped matters with his defense allowing 454 yards against a struggling LSU offense, with 287 of those yards coming from Tyrion Davis Pierce’s rushing yards with a total of 3 TDS. But it’s more than just the defense. For example, take the Kentucky game, where playcalling was weak and special teams struggled. Florida is also dead-last in the SEC in yards per kick return.

 

And then there’s the quarterback situation where Emory Jones has struggled the past few games. Anthony Richardson brought life back into the offense when he replaced Jones in the LSU game, accounting for three key touchdowns and high energy that was simply unmatched. He did have two interceptions which is understandable as he is only a redshirt freshman compared to Jones, who has been a part of the offense for four seasons now and is making interceptions that a player with that much experience should not make. 

 

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And in the most recent news, Florida lost a commitment for the 2022 class from 4-star linebacker, Shemar James. I can’t blame him when Florida’s defense is subpar and Todd Grantham’s contract is up at the end of this season. Many fans are calling for his firing which has gone back to the end of last year. 

 

Even more than that, many Florida fans on Twitter are finding tweets from current and former players who are disgruntled with Todd Grantham and Head Coach Dan Mullen. You can see easily in recent press conferences that Dan Mullen doesn’t have the same fire and passion for winning as he did back in his first two seasons at Florida. Midway into Mullen’s fourth season, sitting at 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC, there’s definitely some cause for concern. We’ll see what happens next when Florida travels to Jacksonville to take on top-ranked Georgia on October 30th at 3:30 pm.

 

Let us know your thoughts below.

Gators’ Dan Mullen Looks to Stay Undefeated Against Tennessee

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Coming off a close loss to top-ranked Alabama last week, No. 11 Florida is ready to move on and take on another SEC matchup at home against the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida has a 30-20 overall record against Tennessee, winning the last 15 of 16 games, and they’re favored by 18.5 points as of Thursday, September 23rd. 

 

Despite the spread, this game should be entertaining nonetheless. Florida is second in the nation in total rushing offense while Tennessee is fifth in rushing defense, allowing just 54.3 rush yards per game. This statistic might seem daunting at first glance but Tennessee has not even played an SEC team yet, with their first three games coming against Bowling Green, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee Tech. Florida also accounts for over 550 yards of total offense per game so far. 

 

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Florida’s defense through the first three games of the season has improved from last season as well, allowing 21.7 points a game, 960 total yards, and 17 third down conversions.  Coach Dan Mullen has an undefeated record against Tennessee at Florida (3-0) and I don’t expect that to change this Saturday.

 

What is your prediction for the Tennessee Florida game? Let us know in the comments below.

 

QB Controversy Brewing in Gainesville?

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This past Saturday, Florida played FAU in its first game of the season, defeating the Owls, 35-14.

 

Redshirt junior Emory Jones patiently waited his turn since 2018 to become the starter this year after Kyle Trask got drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Going into this season, Jones has played in 24 Florida games, making the FAU game his 25th game to play in and his first career start. There was a lot of preseason hype surrounding him, as he’s on the Johnny Unitas and in some conversations for the Heisman. This being said, Jones didn’t play as well as we all expected him to. He finished the night 17-27 with 113 yards, 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions. Jones did contribute to the team’s 400 rushing yards, with 74 total. The two interceptions were definitely surprising, with the first one a forced pass to the end zone. There was also confusion on 4th and goal in the first half when Emory ran a quarterback sneak with coach Dan Mullen visibly upset afterwards. 

 

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I’m not going to sit here and say Anthony Richardson, otherwise nicknamed as AR or AR15, was perfect when he came in but his energy was just great. He finished 3-8 for 40 yards passing but what stood out to me the most was his rushing attack, running seven times for 160 yards. Two of his carries were electric, which included a 73 yard rush touchdown and a run for a first down in which he hurdled over the defender, both coming in the 4th quarter. With AR in the game, the energy was just different and you could tell he needs to have playing time because he’s got something special.

 

After the game, coach Dan Mullen said, “Obviously Emory’s our starter.”

 

We certainly don’t want to count Emory out after just one game as a starter, but it will be interesting to see who will have the most playing time with a key game in just under two weeks against top-ranked Alabama. This weekend, Florida faces USF, who didn’t look great in their season opener against NC State, losing 45-0. Only time will tell but there’s definitely a quarterback controversy brewing in Gainesville.

 

Photo from Al.Com 

Kyle Trask gets 4th in the Heisman voting

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The Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to the “most outstanding” player in college football. The Heisman results this year proved once and for all that there should be an asterisk next to the qualifications. 

 

The Heisman Trophy will go to the most outstanding player on the most outstanding team. This year’s final four proved this. Here’s why:

 

In 1st place: WR DeVonta Smith (Alabama)

In 2nd place: QB Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)

In 3rd place: QB Mac Jones (Alabama)

In 4th place: QB Kyle Trask (Florida)

 

They got 1st Place Right

 

DeVonta Smith became the first wide receiver since 1991 to win the most prestigious award in college football. He totaled 105 receptions, 1,641 yards, and 20 touchdowns in the 2020 season. Besides putting up those mind-boggling video game-esque numbers, he turned the ball over 0 times and helped lead Alabama to an SEC Championship over Kyle Trask as well as propel them into the National Championship.

 

DeVonta Smith was the best player in college football, and he proved this week in and week out. He dominated defenses and did something no wide receiver has done in over two decades. His 447 first-place votes were deserved, and he will be a long time threat to come when he reaches the NFL.

 

2nd-4th is where the issues arise

 

If you had to pick one player out of the stats I am about to list as the “most outstanding” player who would it be?

 

Player 1: 4,036 Yards, 36 Touchdowns, 4 INT

Player 2: 4,283 Yards, 43 Touchdowns, 5 INT

Player 3: 2,753 Yards, 22 Touchdowns, 4 INT

 

A simple glance at these numbers would point to Player 2 being the clear favorite to at least be 2nd place in the voting for the Heisman. At least. Then Player 1. Then Player 3. 

 

It (un)surprisingly went the opposite way. Player 3, Trevor Lawrence, was 2nd in the Heisman voting. Player 1, Mac Jones, was 3rd. Player 2, Kyle Trask, found himself 4th, even with his legendary numbers. 

 

The difference between these teams was that Clemson and Alabama made the Final 4. Florida did not have that luxury. 

 

Disregarding Trask’s performance in the Gators’ 55-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl which shouldn’t impact Heisman voting anyways, he played at an elite level the entire season. To utilize winning and losing as a key measure in this voting system implies judging Heisman contenders based on external factors out of their control. 

 

The University of Florida had a horrendous defense throughout the year. In their regular-season losses, they put up 38 points and 34 points respectively only to lose by a field goal in both cases. 

 

Overall

 

The good thing is that the best player won the award, but looking deeper at the Heisman results shows an ever-growing bias towards team success. The Heisman committee has continued to say that it is an “individual” award. But as time passes, it is clear that may not be the case.

 

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A different weekend for the Florida Gators

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The Florida Gators have played the Florida State Seminoles usually on the weekend after Thanksgiving for 61 years straight. Ever since 1958, this tradition has held strong and provided an exciting rivalry game for Florida sports fans.

Gators fans would have loved to have this annual rivalry game this year considering they are the 6th ranked team. While the Seminoles are a team with a 2-6 record this year, it’s safe to assume that the gators would’ve taken this years game.

Overall, the Gators take the all-time win record holding 36 wins, 26 losses, and 2 ties in these 64 games. The Seminoles have had very well-known names including Deion Sanders and Derrick Brooks compete in this rival game. The Gators brought all-time greats Jack Youngblood, Emmitt Smith, and Percy Harvin into these games.

The biggest win of all-time in these games came when the Gators shutout the Seminoles for a 49-0 win in 1973.

Due to COVID-19, the SEC had to change the college football schedule around. As the season started 3 weeks later, many games had to be moved or canceled to account for the schedule changes. One consequence of these changes was the cancellation of the 61-year tradition.

The hope for Gators fans is that they can continue the rivalry next year with a record-breaking win, but for this Thanksgiving weekend, they had to settle for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Gators leaving Georgia feeling blue

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Since 1933, the Florida-Georgia rivalry has been held in Jacksonville, Florida annually. While the number of fans in attendance had to be dialed down, the game didn’t let down at all.

The #8 ranked Florida Gators(4-1) took down the #5 Georgia Bulldogs(4-2) in their SEC showdown, and it wasn’t even that close. How did they do it?

The Gators played an amazing defensive game but this win really comes down to Kyle Trask’s HUGE performance.

The Gators defense held starting quarterback, Stetson Bennett, to 78 yards and a touchdown on only 5 completions. Cornerback, Kaiir Elam also intercepted Bennett in the 3rd quarter.

The Gators defense was playing so well containing Bennett that the bulldogs benched him and brought in D’Wan Mathis.

The Gators held Mathis to 34 yards and a touchdown on only 4 completions, and also intercepted him twice.

While containing the Bulldogs defensively, Kyle Trask picked apart the Bulldogs defense to propel the Gators offense to 44 points.

Trask WENT OFF with 474 yards and 4 touchdowns on 30 completions. He was down 0-14 in the first quarter but then started a 38-7 scoring run to bring the score to 38-21 at the end of the half. It didn’t end there as his air assault continued to overcome Georgia 44-28.

Kyle Trask’s Heisman-worthy performance brings him to 1815 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season in only 5 games. Trask is tied with 3 other college quarterbacks for first place in touchdowns this season, but the others have all played at least one more game than him. How far will Trask carry the Gators this season? Only time will tell.