Pat Dooley’s Grades: Florida vs UGA

Pat Dooley Grades the Gators

Georgia 34, Florida 7

 

OFFENSE D-

First half: Pathetic is the only possible word. Let’s see, the fact that Florida has only 147 total yards was one problem. The fact that Anthony Richardson, in his first start, turned the ball over in the last 2:22 of the first half three times and handed Georgia the game is another story. It was Florida’s first time failing to score in the first half since Jim McElwain’s 2017 farewell game against Georgia.

Second half: Not much better although Florida at least found a way to get into the end zone to keep alive its streak of 418 straight games scoring. Georgia’s defense is really good, but Florida’s inability to execute kept the Gators from any chance to come back.

For the game: Believe it or not, Florida outgained Georgia by a yard. But Florida had a lot of empty yards in the fourth quarter. The Gators again abandoned the run game and you could almost feel the pressure in the play-calling.

 

DEFENSE C

First half: The defense, this time, was not the problem. Florida only allowed 203 yards and actually came up with what looked like a big turnover. The defense allowed 24 points but not really. Those turnovers can skew your stats when it comes to points allowed.

Second half: This was not a defense that let its team down, but Georgia was just trying to get this game over. The defense continued to play well enough to win the game and created turnovers, but we saw a great defense in this game and Florida’s wasn’t one of them.

For the game: They certainly showed a ton of improvement, but this team found a new way to lose. The heat may be turned down on Todd Grantham for a bit, but you still could do a lot better than this defense has on “quick change” defensive opportunities.

SPECIAL TEAMS F (again)

First half: There are rumors out there that there are teams who actually benefit from their special teams. This team missed a field goal and had very little impact in the first half although Jeremy Crawshaw did average 47.5 yards on his two punts.

Second half: So, we assume Jace Christmann is in the doghouse after another missed field goal. Chris Howard came in to kick the extra point after Florida’s late touchdown. The kicking game didn’t lose this game, but it certainly did not help.

For the game: We got used to a great run of great kickers at Florida. Clearly, the line has stopped. Florida has had major kicking issues in all four losses this year and not much in the way of making things happen on special teams.

OVERALL D-

How many of you were rooting for the clock to go faster at the end of that disaster? You never thought that a Dan Mullen team would have no chance because it had no offense. This team has a knack for doing the opposite of what you think, but it is not in a good way. Changes have to be made, but everybody knows that.