Once again, a tale of 2 halves ended well for the Gators. Make that "ended very well" for the Gators.
The first half was, again, the worse of the halves. The defense came out committing way too many penalties, allowing way too many yards and probably giving up too many points (although this was a very capable offense they were facing)! On offense, 10 points should have been 14 and the only touchdown came on a short field after an interception.
After getting down 20-13 midway through the third quarter, I feel like Will Muschamp became a little desperate in unnecessarily and unsuccessfully faking a punt. From that point on however, it was great to see big plays return to the offense! The one play, 80 yard drive/run by Burton surprised me. I didn't think Burton had that kind of speed. Then there were two other 3 play drives that led to touchdowns in the second half. One was concluded by a 75 yard catch and run by Frankie Hammond Jr. and the other by a perfectly placed, 23 yard pass to Jordan Reed. The impressive part of the latter play was the throw by Jeff Driskel which was released very early due to heavy pressure... and a crunching hit.
Jeff Driskel showed amazing improvement during this game. I think he may have grown up before our very eyes; anticipating throws, staying in the pocket as long as possible and taking off when needed can all fall under the category of much improved decision-making. Factor in that this was the second of back-to-back road starts in the SEC, at the third largest stadium in the country (102,000+) and it's hard not to be thoroughly impressed with the quarterback's performance.
The Gators held the ball six minutes longer than the Volunteers which is quite impressive when considering those lightning quick scoring drives. Of course, I shudder to think how the game might have ended without those same quick scoring drives.
Did I mention that the defense continued its pattern of essentially shutting down opponents in the second half? Tennessee only mustered 6 points (missed PAT) which came on the first drive. I can't help but wonder why the defense doesn't come out playing so dominantly? It's probably one or more of 3 things: 1. Quality depth allows coaches to rotate players throughout the first half, keeping star players fresh for later on, 2. Strength and conditioning which is another route to having energy filled players in the second half and 3. Coaching adjustments during halftime. Number one is easy to see during the game. Number three can be seen if you're football IQ is way higher than mine. Number two might be wishful thinking but it does make me wonder.
Next week should be interesting. Hosting the 1-2 Kentucky Wildcats (SECNetwork, 12:00 PM) doesn't seem to be a threatening game, especially considering that 25 game win streak Florida currently holds over Kentucky. I do have a feeling that if Florida can get out to an early lead while the defense holds Kentucky down that the coaches may work on a few things to get ready for the next game which is against #2 LSU. For that reason I don't see the score getting out of hand. Maybe something like 30-10. Let's just hope the coaches and players aren't looking past Kentucky the way I am!
Just Joe
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