Johnson on Florida Gators Run Game, Need for Improved Red Zone Production
You've heard it before: The No. 8 Florida Gators have one of the best and most efficient offenses in the nation.
Scoring touchdowns at the highest rate in the SEC on 8.27% of plays, and scoring one way or another on every red zone drive this year, opposing defenses haven't found a way to keep Florida from putting points on the board all season long.
However, it hasn't been perfect, which is a goal for every coach and player in football but specifically for this Florida Gators' offense. Head coach Dan Mullen and Brian Johnson have made it known that, if they had it their way, UF would score on every single play, or more realistically, a touchdown on every drive.
“Yeah, we’ve got to be better in our red zone production," Johnson said on Tuesday, asked about a lack of red zone run plays in the first half. "Could have called that a couple of times. They were kind of playing the pass early on."
Florida entered the red zone on its first two drives against Missouri this past Saturday, calling seven passing plays to zero run plays and being forced to kick field goals twice.
Running back Dameon Pierce averaged five yards per rush on two first-drive carries and took a short pass into the red zone for a gain of 34 on the second drive, but didn't receive a handoff deep into Missouri territory on either.
"You’d like to see us get touchdowns on those first two red zone possessions," said Johnson. "We talk so much about, the ability to score touchdowns down there is critical if you want to be great offensively."
UF didn't score again for another 14 minutes and 29 seconds of game clock before the offense finally sparked and scored touchdowns on three of their next four drives, all via wide receiver Kadarius Toney. The lone non-scoring drive was the third in that stretch, which came at the end of the first half, ending on an incomplete deep shot and an ensuing brawl. The Gators got the ball back to begin the second half and Toney scored on a rushing play to cap off the drive.
"It was kind of adjusted to what they were doing within the course of the game plan," stated Johnson. "[Missouri] had switched up a little bit in the red zone and we were able to make the adjustment on the fly."
Florida ended up rushing the ball well on the night, finishing with 169 yards and a score across 35 attempts (4.8 yards per rush). Nine different players - four running backs, three quarterbacks, and two wide receivers - tallied a rush, as QB Kyle Trask led the way with 47 yards on the night.
Trask also set a UF record, being the first Gators quarterback to throw for four or more touchdowns in four consecutive games.
"[Trask] was everything we needed him to be in terms of his decision making, his willingness to go get first downs," Johnson described of his starting quarterback. "He prepares and he played well. Honestly, we didn’t get off to as clean of a start as we would have liked, but we settled in and started making some plays and got things rolling.”
Florida can't afford to start slow against a much better team in the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs this week, and will need to take advantage of every opportunity that the No. 13 defense in the nation gives them.
Johnson understands that, which is why the team continues to stress efficiency on offense specifically in the red zone. Of course, it isn't fair to expect Florida to score on every play - it isn't even fair to expect a score on every drive. But in order to beat the cream of the crop in the SEC East that is Georgia, Florida will have to come close on the latter.
