Joe: When the sun rises in Gainesville this Saturday, everything will be a little bit brighter.
The trees will seem taller, the grass will look greener and the coeds more beautiful. The Gators are 4-0 again this season, and there is plenty of room for optimism in 2012. Why?
Two words: quality and quantity. Through four games, Florida has defeated three Southeastern Conference opponents. While one win was a meaningless romp against Kentucky, the other two were road victories against quality opponents in hostile environments. As far as the quantity argument is concerned, look at this team’s depth.
Multiple injuries have failed to derail The Coach Boom Express, and with a bye week to heal, the Gators will be healthy and deep heading into October.
Greg: Take a second to pump the brakes.
Florida’s first four performances were far from flawless. The win against Bowling Green was an obvious abomination, regardless of coach Will Muschamp’s plan to run the ball in suboptimal situations just because he could. Texas A&M was making its debut with a redshirt freshman quarterback, and UF’s three-point margin of victory says the game obviously could have gone either way.
Even against Tennessee, Florida relied on an 80-yard touchdown run by Trey Burton and a 75-yard score from Frankie Hammond Jr. It’s wrong to assume big plays will repeat themselves going forward. Plus, maybe the Volunteers aren’t as good as we all thought. They’ve played N.C. State close and were tied at halftime against Akron.
Morgan Newton’s terribleness kept Kentucky from mounting any type of threat.
Joe: But you need to consider the process, Greg. Achieving success is not an overnight venture. The game against Bowling Green was is an anomaly. Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett were not asked to do much — aside from pooching punts and playing wide receiver — for obvious reasons. Shaking offseason rust with a new scheme in the ground game is not a blueprint for scoring 50 points in the season opener. The victories at Texas A&M and Tennessee proved that Florida, which finished last season 1-4 away from home in SEC play, can win on the road. The Gators rallied back from halftime deficits against the Volunteers and the Aggies, both quality opponents. That’s a big deal, especially after last season. Florida is building and maturing, and that’s all Muschamp can really ask for just one month into the season.
Greg: Sure, UF has shown a lot of resiliency with second half comebacks, but only because slow starts have been such a consistent problem. The Gators have been outgained in the first quarter of every game this season, as opponents have a 454-261 edge in net yards. UF has been outrushed 164-123 and outpassed 257-130 in opening quarters, totaling a 27-14 disadvantage in first downs. Early deficits can be overcome against lesser teams, but the chore will be more difficult against LSU. UF also suffered from slow starts last season, so it’s hard to believe this is a totally different team. Florida also ranks No. 100 nationally with eight penalties per game after finishing No. 112 with 7.7 flags per game last season. Until those fundamental issues are straightened out, this team will still remind me of last year’s squad.
Joe: The Gators’ start slow and penalties have been problematic, but the team has made such significant progress from last season that I’m inclined to believe that they can keep growing. Just look at Driskel. He went from a wild card to the SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Take Mike Gillislee. The guy could barely crack the lineup last season. Now he is arguably the best running back in the SEC. I’m not saying Florida is going to beat the hell out of everybody, but I do not foresee another 3-6 finish in 2012. The Gators have grown, they are deep and they are motivated by last season’s failures. “We handle things better,” Muschamp said. Florida is far from flawless, but for the most part, I believe him.
Greg: Despite hot starts, Driskel and Gillislee have a lot left to prove before I peg them as catalysts of a turnaround.
Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey combined for 182.8 yards per game on the ground in Florida’s 4-0 start last season before averaging only 87.4 the rest of the way. Just because Gillislee is averaging 100.5 yards per game right now doesn’t mean he’s the savior on offense and will enjoy the same success the rest of the year. As for Driskel, his hot start doesn’t look so spectacular if you take away about 100 yards after the catch and two touchdowns from Hammond. Like the team as a whole, Driskel has been better than I expected, but there’s no guarantee he keeps it up. Especially not if he makes the same types of overthrows and misreads he sprinkled into an otherwise solid performance against UK.
If Driskel, Gillislee and Florida get it done against LSU, then they’ll have my attention. But right now, it’s too early to definitively say this year won’t be another 2011.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org and Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Sophomore quarterback back Jeff Driskel escapes the pass rush during Florida's 38-0 win against Kentucky on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
