Still looking for a scapegoat to take the fall for Florida’s red-zone struggles in its 21-16 loss to Miami in Sun Life Stadium on Sept. 7?
Brent Pease will take the blame.
The second-year UF offensive coordinator put the Gators’ failures inside the 20-yard line against the Hurricanes squarely on his own shoulders Tuesday.
“Me, in particular, I have to do a better job,” Pease said.
Florida enjoyed an efficient game offensively under Pease’s direction, racking up 413 yards of total offense against the Hurricanes.
But the Gators turned the ball over five times and came away with only nine points in six red-zone trips during the five-point loss.
Quarterback Jeff Driskel, who threw for a career-high 291 yards, received heavy criticism following the game after ending two red-zone possessions with interceptions.
Pease said Driskel’s miscues were a result of how he handled the junior signal caller.
“We’ve all got liabilities,” Pease said. “I’ve got to do a better job of maybe limiting or controlling what we give him. The options. He’s mature enough. He’ll handle things.”
Pease also admired Driskel’s maturity off the field in handling criticism following the loss. The offensive coordinator said accepting a disproportionate share of blame for losing is just part of being a quarterback.
“Jeff’s a strong kid. I don’t think anybody deserves all the blame,” Pease said.
“He understands when he makes a mistake, but he’s a competitor. He’s never going to just give up. You’ve got to appreciate him at some point in time on that.”
Halapio to return: Coach Will Muschamp announced Monday that Jon Halapio (partially torn pectoral muscle) will start at right guard against Tennessee on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Florida is excited to get Halapio back, but the team acknowledged it may take the redshirt senior time to adjust to game speed.
“He might just have to knock the rust off the hinges a little bit,” center Jon Harrison said.
“Knowledge-wise, his competence is there. Just like the physical part about it, of course, he’s missed a little bit of football now, so there’s just going to be that little acclimation period.”
Even if Halapio needs time to adjust to the physicality of a game, Harrison believes the return of the Gators’ right guard will help the offensive line’s communication as well as boost the team’s morale.
“On the field, you know, he gets worked up,” Harrison said.
“Say we’re in practice and the offense has a couple unsuccessful plays. He gets worked up, gets the offense worked up and the next thing you know, the person in front of him is doomed, really.
“It gets everybody pumped up. It gets everybody going. We really need that as a team. His leadership is really important.”
Defense aims for perfection: On Monday, Dominique Easley made known the tough weekly goal of Florida’s defense, which ranks third nationally with only 208.5 yards allowed per game.
“Our goal is not to let an offense score, period,” Easley said. “So once we manage to get that stat, we could say we have one of the best defenses.”
Easley’s teammates have answered the call and are on board with his philosophy.
“The past few games, we had good games on the defensive side of the ball, but we give up a big play here or there,” defensive lineman Damien Jacobs said.
“So he’s just talking about correcting the little stuff to make us become a great defense.”
Linebacker Neiron Ball added: “Like he said, it’s the standard. It’s not really any pressure. It’s just you have to. There’s no question you have to get to perfection.”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Dominique Easley (2) leaps over a pile of players during Florida’s 21-16 loss to Miami on Sept. 7 in Sun Life Stadium. Florida’s defense is No. 3 in the nation, allowing 208.5 yards per game.
