A win is a win.
And while UF’s victory over South Carolina wasn’t particularly ugly, the 38-24 final score was just a millimeter closer than it was last week. Coach Dan Mullen will be the first to tell you that the Gators have a few more beasts to slay before they reach the top of college football’s proverbial mountain.
“I think we've got to get a lot better,” he said after the game on Saturday. “We certainly have to get a lot better with how we finished the game. Offensively, should have finished the game much sooner. Defensively, have the opportunity to get off the field.”
Despite the win, Florida fell to the No. 4 spot in the nation. But it will need to improve on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball if it wants to avoid a further fall down the polls.
Offense
As Aerosmith would say, it was the “Same Old Song and Dance” for Florida.
Senior quarterback Kyle Trask threw four touchdown passes on Saturday to tack on to the six he threw at Ole Miss last week. Half of those scores found their way into the hands of junior tight end Kyle Pitts, who netted four receptions for 57 yards. Mixed with an Evan McPherson field goal and a touchdown on the ground from running back Dameon Pierce, UF went to the half with a 10-point lead.
In the second half, though, that success started to dwindle.
“I didn’t think we played exceptionally well today offensively, to be honest with you,” Mullen said. “We made some critical errors in the course of the game.”
Florida managed 14 points in the third quarter, but came up with nothing in the fourth. The Gators only picked up nine yards of offense in the last quarter of the game,with two turnovers, two punts and around half as many total yards (348) as they accumulated last week (642), there was reason for concern among the Gators offensive unit.
“With the capability and potential of our offense, the playmakers that we have, we expect to score every single time we have the ball, Trask said. “And we should have scored every time we have the ball. We’ve just got to go out and do a better job of cleaning up those little things.”
There were some positives, however. Pierce scored his first rushing touchdown of the year and averaged almost six yards per carry. Florida also got the ball to nine different players in the passing game, showcasing its depth fairly well.
The team has work to do before facing the Texas A&M Aggies this Saturday at Kyle Field, but despite that, Mullen still has confidence in his squad’s ability to move the football.
“Our guys came out and made plays when we needed to make them at critical moments of the game. We made the plays we needed to win,” Mullen said. “We want to play better.”
Defense
Damage that’s half as bad is still damage.
The Gators gave up 329 total yards on Saturday, and they also lost the turnover battle 2-1. The Gamecocks had more first downs than UF (25-18) and running back Kevin Harris rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
“All these third-down conversions, they're just learning lessons to help us execute next time,” defensive back Kaiir Elam said after the game. “I feel like we should come off the field every third down, but if that's not the case, you can't dwell on it."
While the defense came up with a much-needed stop at the end of the game and played well enough to stave off the Gamecocks, it’s becoming clear that the unit needs to improve if it wants to compete with other SEC powerhouses.
“I mean, we gave up 11 conversions today. We gave up good opportunities, whether it's third or fourth down, so we've got to do a better job getting off the field,” Mullen said.
Next week, against a Texas A&M team that put up 450 total yards against a stout Alabama defense — in a blowout loss, but impressive nonetheless — Florida will need to step up defensively with a secondary that was missing players like safety Brad Stewart Jr. for the second week in a row. And while the Aggies struggled previously against a poor Vanderbilt team, the Gators will need to bring their best if they hope to maintain an unbeaten path this season.
Preparation for Saturday, though, won’t look any different than it usually does.
“Every second of the game concerns me about us getting better,” Mullen said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a game that every second didn’t concern me. So this week will be no different than any other week.“
Contact River Wells at rwells@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.
Tight end Kyle Pitts had four receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's win over South Carolina.
