Florida’s Three Biggest Takeaways from Loss to Miami
On a soggy night at Hard Rock Stadium, the Florida Gators (1-3) dropped their third straight game 26-7 to No. 4 Miami. Miami dominated Florida on both sides of the ball.
“They did a great job. They came out physical,” Gators cornerback Devin Moore said. “We tried to match their intensity. We got some things to clean up, but they’re a good team.”
Florida is now 2-8 against Miami (4-0) in its last 10 meetings and extends its losing streak at Miami to four games. Florida finishes the month of September 0-3 and is idle before welcoming the No. 10 Texas Longhorns Oct. 4.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Gators’ loss to UM.
Gators’ Defense Did All It Could
Florida limped into Saturday night shorthanded as three starters on the defensive line — Caleb Banks, George Gumbs Jr. and Michai Boireau — were all out with injuries. The Gators have prided themselves in recent seasons on having good depth on the line, but the toll of facing this tough, physical Miami offense started to bear effect. Miami recognized Florida’s weaknesses up front and turned to its heavy offensive line to run the ball 46 times for 184 yards.
“A couple of those touchdowns are on the short fields at the end of the game. But, in general, [Miami’s] effective,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “Their OL does a nice job. It’s a vertical run game. … They’re both heavy, and they’re tough to tackle, so they’re both really good players.”
The only reason the game did not get out of hand was how well Florida’s defense continues to play. There were plenty of times Miami got the Gators to bend with long, sustained drives, but most of them ended in punts or field goals.
It was not until the fourth quarter that Florida broke down defensively and could not get off the field. Holding onto a 13-7 lead, the Hurricanes put together a fourth quarter, 13-play, 80-yard death march that burned over six minutes of game time, which running back CharMar Brown concluded with a touchdown that extended Miami’s lead to 19-7. Miami would tack on one more score after taking over at the UF 22 on downs to cap off the win.
“I do think that our kids battled their tail off,” Napier said. “I think in particular, defensively, it was an incredible effort.”
While Miami tallied 344 total yards of offense, it only averaged 4.5 yards a play. Florida held UM quarterback Carson Beck and his potent passing attack to its worst performance of the year. Beck finished 17-of-30 passing for 160 yards and one interception.
But unfortunately for Florida, the laundry list of injuries got longer with three new defensive additions: safety Aaron Gates, cornerback Dijon Johnson and defensive lineman Brendan Bett. Gates left the game in the first half with an arm injury, Johnson suffered a non-contact lower-body injury and Bett suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
“It’s incredibly tough anytime you see a teammate go down. Put in so much blood sweat and tears with those guys,” Moore said. “But it’s the next man up mentality and the guys who were the next man up stepped up to the occasion.”
Loading ...Overrated Offensive Line
When it comes to being physical on both sides of the ball, opponents have taken Florida to the woodshed over the last three games.
Coming into the year, most projective outlets thought Florida’s offensive line would be a strength. The unit returned four starters, including first-team All-American center Jake Slaughter and talented tackle Austin Barber.
Instead of a strength, the line has been nothing short of pathetic so far.
Yes, Miami and LSU have two of the most talented defenses in the country, but to be physically dominated in run and pass protection the way Florida has been is one of the many reasons its offense cannot find any rhythm.
On Saturday, Miami sacked quarterback DJ Lagway four times, pressured him another four while recording seven tackles-for-loss. UM also held the Gators to 80 rushing yards, making it the second week in a row that Florida recorded fewer than 100.
“It was muddy. It was a pressure game. A lot of fire zones,” Napier said. “We did have some issues with protection.”
Those ailments aren’t abnormal.
Florida has given up nine sacks (105th in FBS) and 30 tackles-for-loss (126th in FBS) this season and is on track to finish the year allowing 27 sacks and 90 tackles-for-loss.
The line is giving Lagway no time to actually work through his progressions and find an open receiver down the field because he typically has about a second before a defensive end is on top of him. Pro Football Focus gave Florida’s pass blocking a 2.3 grade, one of the lowest grades ever handed out in PFF history.
A big focus for Florida heading into the week was staying on schedule and reducing the number of negative plays that lead to long-distance downs. The point is quite simple — it reduces the chances for turnovers and raises third down conversion odds.
“My dad used to tell me, on third-and-XL, he would say, Look, you screwed it up on first down, you screwed it up on second down, don’t screw it up again on third down,” Napier said on Sept. 17. “So I think you just got to understand where you’re at.”
That message clearly was not received up front, because from the opening drive on, Florida was consistently behind the chains, with its average third down distance to go being 7.2 yards. It went 0 for 13 on third downs Saturday.
The Offensive Woes Continue
It was another dreadful performance by the Gators’ offense Saturday. Florida only mustered seven points — the same number of times Tommy Doman punted. UF’s average points per game against FBS opponents dropped to 11 with the performance.
You could not have drawn up a worse first half than what Florida put together. Through two quarters, Florida had 32 total yards, one first down, 0-for-7 on third down, five three-and-outs, two sacks allowed and a shutout. It finished the night with 141 total yards and a drive chart that goes as follows: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, touchdown, turnover on downs, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs.
“We had some busted protection. I do think there are opportunities there when you look at it big-picture-wise, where we got to make some plays,” Napier said about the struggles on offense. “We got to give Miami some credit, too. They pressured us. They affected the quarterback. And it wasn’t good enough. So I think the first half in particular was a game that was about third down. They stayed on the field; they got us off the field.”
An area where Miami has shown vulnerability is giving up big plays down the field. Entering three games, Miami had allowed 10 plays of 20 yards or more and Lagway, having a history of being one of the better deep ball quarterbacks, felt like an area Florida could attack. Well, Florida attempted zero passes of 20 yards or more. Most of Lagway’s 60 passing yards came on short throws in the flat due to not having any time in the pocket.
Florida put together one solid drive the entire game, which came on the first drive of the second half. Other than that, it was another dud performance from this offense, searching mightily for answers. Lagway spoke postgame about the struggles and vows that things are going to change, whether people want to or not.
“What gives you that conviction? Because I’m the head of it. I’m going to start with it. I’m going to demand greatness from everybody. It’s not — we’re done with the playing around stuff. It’s time to get serious, and it starts with me. I’ve got to set the tempo,” Lagway said. “I’ve got to set the tone in practice. In meetings, around the building. I know for a fact it’s going to change because it’s going to start with me.”
Category: ACC, College Football, Gators Football, Miami Hurricanes, SEC
