Florida’s been flirting with disaster the last month, and they did it one too many times against FSU this past weekend. Here’s how FSU won their third straight in Gainesville:
It was over when… Dalvin Cook scored on a 15 yard run to make the score 20-2 with six minutes left. That was more than enough.
Play of the game… Florida’s Cece Jefferson forced a fumble from Sean Maguire deep in FSU’s own territory, and after what seemed like hours of the ball bouncing around, FSU fell on it in the end zone for a safety. The Gators’ failure to fall on it and get themselves a touchdown deprived them of a spark they so desperately needed, and FSU recovered from the near fatal flaw to win convincingly.
Game ball goes to… Kelvin Taylor. Lost amid an otherwise horrific offensive performance, Taylor turned in one of his best games as a Gator, carrying 24 times for 136 yards. But to be fair, he’d probably sink the ball into the Gulf of Mexico if someone tried to give it to him.
Stat of the game… 162. The Noles gained just 162 yards of total offense through the game’s first 52 minutes- up until the 7:46 mark of the fourth quarter, to be exact. If Florida had an actual quarterback running the offense, they would have paid dearly for that. The Gators’ defense finally got tired and let FSU rack up 142 more yards and 14 more points in the second half of the fourth quarter- but think how different the game could have been if Florida had a legitimate leader at the controls.
What to be proud of… Florida’s defense hung in there for a lot longer than I expected, repeatedly squashing FSU momentum for the game’s first three and a half quarters. That’s the biggest positive I could find in a game mostly devoid of them.
What to work on… It’s time to find another QB. Saying Treon Harris sucks, is awful, is horrendous, etc. doesn’t really do justice to just how detrimental he is to this football team. Using Harris is like giving the other team an extra player; i.e. it’s like playing 10 vs. 12. I refuse to believe Josh Grady or even Jacob Guy, used to the coaches’ level of comfort with them, could possibly have such a negative impact in an SEC Championship Game and/or a high profile bowl game.
Bottom line: Treon Harris’s various deficiencies have finally cost Florida a game. But it’s still worth looking at the big picture: Jim McElwain has won the SEC East in his first season, something Will Muschamp couldn’t do in any of his four seasons, and he did so despite having to use the worst Gator quarterback in a recent string of bad ones for half the season. Help is on the way: Oregon State transfer Luke Del Rio is eligible next year, Florida just snatched Feleipe Franks away from LSU and Will Grier’s suspension is lifted after the first six games of next year. All we have to do is hang on for two more games with Harris, and things will begin to improve shortly thereafter
Scoring recap:
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
FLA ST | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
FLORIDA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Scoring plays:
Team | Time | Play | FSU | FLA |
FLA ST | 2nd 12:11 | R. Aguayo 45 yd FG | 3 | 0 |
FLA ST | 2nd 7:47 | J. Kerr 1 yd pass from S. Maguire (PAT GOOD) | 10 | 0 |
FLA ATL | 3rd 5:21 | R. Aguayo 51 yd FG | 13 | 0 |
FLORIDA | 4th 8:58 | SAFETY- fumble recovered in end zone | 13 | 2 |
FLA ST | 4th 6:17 | D. Cook 15 yd run (PAT GOOD) | 20 | 2 |
FLA ST | 4th :20 | D. Cook 29 yd run (PAT GOOD) | 27 | 2 |