Following a wire-to-wire road loss to No. 11 Tennessee, the Florida Gators left much to be desired offensively in Saturday’s 54th edition of a storied rivalry.
“The tale of the tape is the missed opportunities in the first half on offense,” UF head coach Billy Napier said. “We had many opportunities to score points and left a ton of points out there.”
The Gators carried a 3-0 advantage into halftime, but their lead could have been significantly more substantial than it was. In the first half, UF crossed inside the Volunteers 25-yard line three times, coming away with a combined three points on those trips.
The two non-scoring drives ended in a failed fourth-down conversion on a questionable jet sweep call by Napier on 4th-and-3, followed by a turnover by redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz, who fumbled the ball on the goal line.
“We got them [Tennessee] all blocked,” Napier said. “I think the guy that had Tre [Eugene Wilson lll] man-to-man ran over the top of the play and made a heck of a play.”
Florida’s blunders continued against the Vols as the evening went on. An illegal substitution to close out the first half wiped a field goal off the scoreboard for the Gators. As the matchup reached halftime, UF left at least nine additional points on the field, making it nearly impossible to defeat a top 10 team on the road.
Moving forward, UF could be without Mertz for an extended period of time. After throwing a 13-yard touchdown to redshirt sophomore tight end Arlis Boardingham in the third quarter, Mertz hobbled off the field, having sustained a non-contact injury to his left leg.
Stepping into the starting quarterback role for Florida will be highly touted freshman DJ Lagway, who has seen a healthy amount of playing time already this season with the two-man quarterback rotation that Napier has coordinated.
Lagway entered Saturday’s game following Mertz’s injury. On his first pass attempt of the ensuing drive, he was intercepted. However, Lagway wasn’t rattled by the critical mistake, instead showing signs of promise near the end of the game. On Florida’s final drive of regulation, he stepped up in the pocket and delivered a 29-yard strike on 3rd-and-19 to senior wide receiver Chimere Dike with 29 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.
“Graham is our leader… I think DJ did a really good job responding in that situation and going to work,” Dike said.
UF stands at 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in SEC play, and with a brutal schedule ahead, things won’t get easier for the Gators. Nonetheless, there have been positive signs as of late that could have a crucial impact on the rest of Florida’s season.
The Gators’ defense has completely turned around since the bye week, most recently limiting an explosive Tennessee offense. One of UF’s most glaring defensive struggles has been on third down. On Saturday, however, Florida’s defensive unit held the Vols to just 4-of-15.
“It feels good for us to see the improvement week-to-week,” junior linebacker Shemar James said. “It starts in practice and going against the offense each and every day. They get us better.”
Florida’s defensive line has come alive as well, pressuring opposing quarterbacks far more often to make the lives of UF’s secondary and linebackers a little easier.
“Defensively, our guys kept us in the game,” Napier said. “We had a good plan… we did a good job on conversion downs and were able to affect the quarterback.”
The push for bowl eligibility starts this week for UF as the Kentucky Wildcats (3-3, 1-3 SEC) come to Gainesville. The “must-win” games left on the schedule are Kentucky and Florida State (1-5, 1-4 ACC). A win will also have to be found in Florida’s remaining four games, consisting of No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 LSU and No. 18 Ole Miss.
If UF’s defense can keep the Gators competitive in their remaining games, much like they did against Tennessee, there’s a path for an above-.500 season for Florida.
Contact Chandler Hawkes at chawkes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @HawkesChandler.
