Gators’ Four Keys to Beat No. 5 Texas A&M
Florida football heads to the Lone Star State for a primetime showdown against No. 5 Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday. This will be the Gators’ fourth straight game facing a top 10 team, and the third away from home. Rather than letting their 29-21 win over Texas last week be a one-off, the Gators hope to use it as a springboard and turn their season around with another signature win.
“We handled adversity well, now we’ve got to handle some success,” coach Billy Napier said Monday. “So it’s all about earning the right to win throughout the week. I think you’ve got to prepare a certain way, and then ultimately get in a position where you can play with some confidence and go execute. … I’m hopeful that this will be a multiplier and maybe not a distraction.”
Here are Florida’s keys to beating Texas A&M:
Balanced Attack
When Florida (2-3, 1-1) has gone on the road this season, it has struggled to remain balanced offensively. Against No. 3 LSU, quarterback DJ Lagway made his first career SEC road start and had 49 attempts, while Florida only ran 27 times for 79 yards. In turn, he finished with five interceptions as Florida lost 20-10. A week later against No. 4 Miami, the Gators had 29 rushing attempts, but only completed 12 passes for 61 yards.
In its home win over No. 9 Texas last week, Florida looked in control for the first time this season. The Gators had a pass-run split of 28 to 37, and threw for 298 yards while rushing for 159. Averaging 4.3 yards per carry allowed for UF’s explosive-pass game to finally put it together for the team’s best performance of the year.
Venturing to another hostile venue, Florida cannot afford to get away from one piece of the offense and favor the other. The Gators need to remain as balanced as possible while on offense.
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Negative plays have been the Gators’ Achilles heel and a big reason why Florida has struggled to sustain drives. The team has consistently put itself in third-and-long situations due to unnecessary penalties, sacks or tackles-for-loss, which have killed any momentum. Against Texas, the Gators remained ahead of schedule and kept third down manageable — going 7 of 14 with the average distance to go being 6.4 yards.
Florida still ranks 115th in the nation in third-down offense and is facing the fifth-best third-down defense Saturday. So it will be crucial that Florida avoids negative plays and doesn’t let this Aggies defense wreak havoc in the backfield. Texas A&M knows how to get after the quarterback: the Aggies rank third in the FBS in sacks. With how shaky UF’s offensive line has been (74th in sacks allowed), this talented Aggies’ defensive line is going to test it.
“They’re a good front, it seems like A&M has got a revolving door of really good guys up front,” center Jake Slaughter said. “They’re good up front. They’ve got good length. They’ve got guys that move well. They do some unique things in the back end. It will be a great challenge for us.”
Don’t let Marcel Reed Takeover
A year ago, Aggies’ quarterback Marcel Reed made his first career start against Florida, and the Gators had no answer. Reed was 11 of 17 through the air for 178 yards and rushed for 83 yards, finishing with three total touchdowns. Through five games, Reed looks to have taken another step, totaling 1,256 passing yards, an 11-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 149 yards on the ground.
Florida has had issues slowing down mobile quarterbacks. Oftentimes, it is the unannounced plays that have hurt the Gators the most, as Texas’ Arch Manning and USF’s Byrum Brown showed what can happen when Florida lets opposing quarterbacks start creating plays on their own.
“You know, the kid at A&M, it’s the unannounced plays, it’s the off-schedule play, there’s a lot of them. And more designed quarterback run game,” Napier said. ” So, it’s a huge part of the puzzle when you start talking about defending the group.”
Slow Aggies’ Run Game
The biggest thing Florida has to be able to do is slow down the run game, which is easier said than done. The Aggies rely on their talented offensive line to push defenders back and allow its running backs to go to work. A&M running backs are averaging 1.4 yards before contact, and 4.9 yards per carry, which ranks 26th in the country.
“The O-line is tall, long. They work well together,” Napier said. “There’s good synergy there. I think the tight ends are tough. They’re big, they do blue-collar work. These two backs are outstanding. So, yeah, it’s a challenge.”
Le’Veon Moss leads the charge, racking up 343 yards and five touchdowns this year. He’s followed closely by Rueben Owens II, who has totaled 276 yards while averaging an impressive 7.1 yards per carry (18th in the FBS).
“The two backs, not just Moss, but Owens — both those two guys — I had those two guys at the top of our board here,” Napier said. “We know who they are. They were two of the best backs in the country.”
Florida understands the challenge ahead, and has used the week to focus on wrapping up when its defenders have a chance to bring down any of the Aggies’ ball carriers. Napier put an added emphasis on the secondary ensuring its open-field tackling is sound.
“So you gotta bottle them up, gotta play with edges, gotta gang tackle, gotta wrap up. Can’t assume. Playing defense is about not assuming, and I think it’s gonna be critical.lock destruction, point of attack fundamentals, all those things are going to be really important,” Napier said. “The ball is going to roll off the table and the DBs are going to have to be in the mix. You’re spot on, it’s going to be a critical part of the game.”
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC
