On Saturday, the Gators did something they hadn’t done in their past four games: win without the outcome ever being in doubt.
Still, UF was well aware that its performance in a 23-0 win against Jacksonville State in The Swamp was not good enough.
It might have been sufficient when the task at hand was to defeat Jacksonville State (6-5, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference), an FCS opponent. But UF (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference), ranked No. 4 in the latest BCS standings, has to improve quickly to beat Florida State on Saturday and keep its national championship hopes alive.
Coach Will Muschamp said his offense is still not where it needs to be.
“(There are) some things we need to do better to be more consistent offensively as we move forward,” Muschamp said. “I know I’ve been saying that. I know that’s a broken record. But we’ve got to get better.”
Mike Gillislee’s 7-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter was the only offensive touchdown for the Gators against the 108th-ranked defense in the FCS. The only team to score fewer than 23 points against Jacksonville State this season is 3-8 Southeast Missouri State. The list of teams that have scored more than 30 points against Jacksonville State this season includes Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State.
“Of course we wanted to score more,” guard James Wilson said. “We felt like we were moving the ball pretty well, and we’ve just got to capitalize. ... We’ve really got to come through next week and just plan for Florida State.”
The defense’s touchdown output matched that of the offense. Senior linebacker Jon Bostic gave the Gators a 17-0 lead when he intercepted a pass from quarterback Marques Ivory and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
“(The play was) exactly what we practiced, and it was perfect,” Muschamp said. “Couldn’t play it any better.”
But, as has been the case most of the season, the offense struggled . UF converted on just of 11 third-down chances.
Mike Gillislee was one of the few bright spots. He ran for 122 yards on 20 carries to mark his first 100-yard effort since Florida’s 14-6 win against LSU on Oct. 6.
The yards won’t come as easily against the Seminoles, who field the nation’s best run defense at 70.6 yards allowed per game.
Jacoby Brissett completed 14 of 22 passes for 154 yards on Saturday. During the coming week, Muschamp will have to decide whether Brissett or Jeff Driskel will start against FSU. Driskel missed Saturday’s game due to a sprained right ankle.
Muschamp said he made a conscious effort to focus on the run game but was happy with Brissett’s play. Still, he reiterated that he’d like to see the offense make more progress.
“We need to get more production offensively,” Muschamp said. “We can’t continue to self-inflict wounds on ourselves as far as the penalties and different mistakes that we make.”
FSU also improved to 10-1 with a 41-14 win against Maryland on Saturday. The Gators and Seminoles rank third and fifth in the country, respectively, in scoring defense. Bostic said he expects the game to reflect the statistics.
“We know they’ve got a great defense, and so do we,” Bostic said. “It’s going to be a battle. ... It’s definitely going to be a defensive game.”
UF’s game against FSU took on added importance Saturday night as Oregon and Kansas State were upset. With a win against FSU and a USC upset of Notre Dame next week, UF would likely face the SEC champion for the national title.
Although the win against the Gamecocks sent the seniors out of The Swamp for the last time with a win, Wilson said his class already has another goal in mind for when the Gators take the field in Tallahassee.
“We’ve got to switch those bragging rights over to Gainesville,” Wilson said. “We’ll make it happen.”
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Omarius Hines pushes toward the end zone after catching a screen pass during the second quarter of Florida’s 23-0 win against Jacksonville State on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
