MIAMI GARDENS — When coach Will Muschamp addressed the media following Florida’s 21-16 loss to Miami on Saturday, there was one group that he singled out — the defense.
A reporter said the defense played well enough to win, and Muschamp said he was “disappointed early.”
He harped on two drives in the first quarter where the defense allowed Miami to score.
When another reporter said the defense kept them in the game, he said, “That’s their job.”
Florida’s defense was not the reason Gators fans needed to make the five-hour drive back to Gainesville upset.
The blame lies squarely on the offense.
Florida’s defense had a rough start, but it stepped up time and time again throughout the second half to give the offense an opportunity to put the game away. It couldn’t.
In the second and third quarters, the Gators forced four straight three-and-outs. What did the offense have to show for it? Three points.
Florida got inside Miami’s 20-yard line seven times on Saturday and failed to score four times.
The first time the Gators scored in the red zone, it was because of a stellar special teams play, not the offense’s prowess. Defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy blocked a punt to start Florida’s drive at the 9-yard line. All quarterback Jeff Driskel needed to do was scamper about 30 feet into the end zone to get the Gators on the board.
The second time Florida scored a touchdown from the red zone came late in the fourth quarter when the game was effectively over.
That’s on the offense.
Driskel threw those two interceptions, not Ronald Powell. Driskel’s second interception was — to use a bad cliché — the straw that broke the Gators’ backs.
Freshman defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III gave Florida the momentum it needed with a crucial fourth-quarter interception, but Driskel gave the ball right back.
The Gators were driving down the field with a chance to jump ahead for the first time. Driskel missed his wide receiver and found Hurricanes defensive back Tracy Howard, who returned the ball 36 yards. Running back Duke Johnson punched the ball into the end zone 3 minutes later and sealed Florida’s fate.
Momentum gone.
That is not the defense’s fault.
Miami didn’t score from the end of the first quarter until the end of the fourth quarter. Florida had a multitude of opportunities that it could not capitalize on.
The defense is the focus of the Gators football team, and rightfully so. It is by far the superior unit.
But after Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris torched them for a 52-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, the defenders buckled down.
Although the defense did not record an official quarterback hurry, Morris was uncomfortable in the pocket for most of the game as Florida’s defensive front moved him from sideline to sideline.
Johnson could not get any momentum up the middle or to the outside as the defense stopped him behind the line repeatedly.
With Miami’s two major offensive weapons silenced, Florida had a chance to win and win big.
But because of the offense’s repeated failures — and the fact that the Hurricanes will not appear on the Gators’ schedule any time soon — Miami fans have perpetual bragging rights.
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @ALichtenstein24.
Will Muschamp speaks at a postgame press conference following Florida’s 21-16 loss to Miami on Saturday in Sun Life Stadium. Florida dropped to No. 18 in the Associated Press Poll following the defeat, while Miami moved into the rankings at No. 15 with its first win against a top-10 team since 2009.
