Gators’ Five Biggest Keys to Beating No. 9 Texas
Florida football looks to get back on track with a season-defining win Saturday when it welcomes No. 9 Texas to The Swamp for the first time since 1940. UF (1-3) comes in losers of its last three, while Texas (3-1) has bounced back with three straight wins since its opening week 14-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State.
The Gators’ back is against the wall, but they have yet another opportunity to take down a ranked foe at home. The sense of urgency is at an all-time high, as Florida is out of chances to slip up if it still has aspirations of making a run to the SEC Championship.
“Everything that we need to do, we need to make sure we bring that energy every single game, like we’re playing it like it’s our last game,” linebacker Myles Graham said. “We have to play like our hair is on fire.”
Here are Florida’s biggest keys to beating Texas:
Crowd Factor
Every year, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is among the toughest places to play in college football. Originally, BHG was not built to be the noise factory it is today. But later on, expansions were made that enclosed the stadium and steepened the stands to bring the crowd closer to the field, making 90,000 fans feel like 100,000.
Florida is relying on that enhanced crowd to make The Swamp a hostile environment this weekend.
“Certainly at home, the energy that comes from starting fast,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “This is a 3:30 kick. So this is one of those where we need people to kind of wrap the tailgate up and get in there early. Let’s get in there and be prime when that first kick is teed up. It’s going to be critical.”
Penalties have been an issue for Texas this season, averaging 8.5 per game, which ranks 122nd in the nation. With how loud it can get, pre-snap penalties will be very telling for how effective Texas will be this week.
It also puts pressure on quarterback Arch Manning, who is making his first career SEC road start. BHG has proved to be a house of horrors for talented quarterbacks, who seem to be engulfed by all the mayhem going on around them.
Loading ...Have to run the ball
In order for Florida to win Saturday, it has to show a willingness to run the ball. It seems crazy, right? A team that ranks 107th in rushing despite its No. 1 tailback, Jadan Baugh, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. But that’s where Florida’s at.
One constant theme during Florida’s three-game losing streak is that the Gators are moving away from the run and putting pressure on quarterback DJ Lagway, which has made this offense one-dimensional and predictable.
Thursday’s availability report revealed that running back Ja’Kobi Jackson is out, joining running back Treyaun Webb, who has been out all season. Without Jackson and Webb, Florida will be relying on a rotation of Baugh, KD Daniels and freshman Duke Clark. Baugh, who is only averaging 12 carries a game, could inadvertently see an uptick in touches this week.
Texas has one of the best rushing defenses in the country, allowing just 59.8 yards per game (fourth in the FBS). Still, Florida cannot abandon the run game. Handing the ball to Lagway to play Superman against the Longhorns’ fifth-ranked passing defense wouldn’t be productive.
“This is a challenging group. The ability to run it will be important. The key is going to be first and second down efficiency. That’s where we struggle,” Napier said. “Gotta eliminate the penalties, and got to stay out of these third and longs, right? … There’s going to be a physical element to this game for sure.”
Win Third Down
Both teams have been miserable on third down this season. Texas is 88th in third conversion percentage allowed at 4.8%, while the Gators come in at 126th, converting 3.3% of the time. So the point is simple: whoever wins third down and can extend drives is likely going to win.
Florida has struggled staying on schedule during drives that are often killed by penalties and sacks. This year, Florida is 1-for-19 on third-and-nine or longer, which seems unfathomable, but is true. Lagway understands the importance of avoiding the negative plays and staying on schedule, which makes for more manageable third-down tries.
“I kind of preach to my guys, ‘6 seconds of greatness.’ Gotta go one play at a time, one and put all of our focus into this one play,” Lagway said. “Can’t worry about the past, can’t worry about the next play. You just gotta focus on this one play and execute. That’s all we all do.”
Make Arch Manning beat you
Similar to Florida, Texas also comes in with injuries at the running back position. The Longhorns will be without running back CJ Baxter, but are hopeful to get Quintrevion Wisner back this week after missing the last three games due to an undisclosed hamstring injury.
Nonetheless, Florida needs to put the game in Manning’s hands to beat them. Manning was the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, but like Lagway, he has not lived up to expectations. Through four games, Manning is completing 61.3% of his passes for 888 yards and a nine-to-three touchdown-to-interception ratio.
But three of the four games have been at home against Group of Five or FCS competition, in his one road start at Ohio State Week 1, Manning was 17-of-30 for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Now making his second-career road start is an opportunity for Florida’s secondary to make things difficult on the inexperienced quarterback. While injuries have been an issue of late for the secondary, it is still plenty capable of making plays against a decent wide receiving core.
Florida must find a way to get pressure on Manning, which has been a tall task for this pass rush that came into the year with high expectations. Through four games, Florida has three sacks on the year (126th in FBS) and is going against a Texas offensive line that ranks 15th in sacks allowed. Even when Florida does get pressure, they need to be wary of Manning’s dual-threat abilities that can help extend plays and drives.
So that’s on us keeping, like you said, keeping our rush lanes and keeping our eye on the quarterbacks, especially in a zone type of coverage,” Graham said. “So we can see what he’s trying to escape the pocket and get them down. Arch is definitely a great runner, so we’re going to have to contain him.”
Keep Lagway Upright
Things have not gone well for Florida’s offensive line this year. A unit hyped as one of the best in college football is playing like one of the worst. It has struggled in run blocking, is too undisciplined with penalties that have stripped touchdowns off the scoreboard multiple times this season and give up too many sacks.
With the return of wide receivers Dallas Wilson, Aidan Mizell and J. Michael Sturdivant, the Gators pass-catching unit will be at full strength, which should help open the offense up down the field for explosive plays. However, none of that matters if the offensive line cannot protect the quarterback. UF is allowing almost three sacks per game, which slots them 107th in FBS.
Texas arguably has the best linebacker room in the nation; not only is it big and fast, but UT’s backers can get after the quarterback. Edge Colin Simmons leads the room with 1.5 sacks, but is joined by edge Trey Moore, linebackers Anthony Hill, Liona Lefau and Ty’Anthony Smith.
The Longhorns love to mix up their pre-snap looks to try and confuse opposing offensive lines, center Jake Slaughter says making sure that the front is properly communicating to make sure everyone in position is ready will be key.
“Right there was a big point of emphasis just within the offensive line, communicating and it’s one of those things, sometimes you take it for granted,” Slaughter said. “We had some veterans in the group, that you maybe take it for granted, but, take it back to the basis, you’re gonna make a call, make a call loud, make sure you are communicating properly, so that was a big point of emphasis for us.”
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC
