OUCH! Unfortunately, that 38-10 loss to Alabama went about as I expected. Actually, it ended up worse since John Brantley was lost due to injury late in the second quarter. Going in I said I would be happy if we hung with Alabama for three quarters. And even though Alabama threatened to pull away in the second quarter, a scoreless third quarter meant we indeed did hang with them for three quarters. In fact, if the Gators could have put up a score in the third quarter the whole feel of the game would have been different.
Where to begin? I loved the call to open the game. With Alabama sure to play up to take away speedsters Chris Rainey and Jeffrey Demps, throwing deep to loosen things up and let everyone know that that is in the arsenal was a good call, and the result didn't stink either! The entire first quarter Brantley was given all kinds of time by the offensive line. This led to the Gators moving the ball steadily but only coming away with 3 points after the opening play. Quarters 2 through 4 were a different story. Alabama switched to a zone defense which seemed to completely stump the offense. And at no point was the offensive line able to open up any running holes.
Defensively I thought it was important to get early 3 and outs to keep from being worn down later in the game. Instead, the "bend but don't break" defense became the "bend and break" defense. The young guys just couldn't hold up to the relentless onslaught of Alabama's offensive line. Those bulldozers just kept coming and proved that big and fast beats fast every time. It will be nice to see some size in the Gators offensive backfield next year with running back recruit Matt Jones who measures in at 6''3", 215 pounds. Hopefully he can do some damage the way Trent Richardson does for Alabama this year.
The defense did have some success in the third quarter but I thought the same thing that the announcer mentioned, Alabama looked like they let off the gas. It seemed like many of their running plays in the third quarter were simple and straight ahead. But once they began pulling linemen again in the running game, it was over.
I suppose it's a good thing that the backup quarterback Jeff Driskel received some playing time against this nearly-professional level defense since next week he'll have to face one for an entire game (and on the road no less).
The special teams were hot and cold. Mostly hot on returns and mostly cold on coverage. After receiving the kickoff after Alabama's first score, Jeffrey Demps was one missed Mike Gillislee block away from scoring a touchdown. 14-3 may have been a little more interesting than 10-3 (Florida scored a field goal on that drive).
On the bright side, this only counts as one loss. With South Carolina losing this week, the Gators are still tied for first in the East and still have a chance to get to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. A win at either #1 LSU next week or at Auburn the week after is a must. At full strength I would hope we could hang with LSU for three quarters as we did with Alabama. But with a freshman quarterback getting his first start on the road, all bets are off and I have no idea what to expect. Well, I have an idea but I will remain hopeful!
Just Joe
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