The Good, the Bad and the Great from Florida's 41-24 Victory Over Texas A&M
Amid a tumultuous first season for head coach Billy Napier, his staff and his players, the Gators hit the road on Saturday looking to rebound following two straight losses.
That's exactly what happened.
Shutting out the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station in the final 30 minutes of the contest while posting 41 points, Florida produced its most complete game of football on the season by pairing a well-oiled offensive attack in the first half with a strong defensive effort in the second half.
As a result, Florida moved just one game away from earning bowl eligibility in Napier's inaugural campaign.
To recap the encouraging performance from Saturday, All Gators will follow the pattern UF used on Saturday to triumph over Jimbo Fisher's squad by adding a twist to the "Good, Bad, Ugly" recap series.
We will analyze the good, the bad and the great from the Florida Gators -point win over A&M to improve to 5-4 (2-4 SEC) on the season.
Good: Anthony Richardson Propels Gators Offense
The Florida Gators' offense is an enigma burdened by inconsistency to this point in the season. Anthony Richardson is a direct representation of that.
However, on Saturday, the Gators' offense exploded behind the arms and legs of Richardson, who accounted for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the Gators' defeat of Texas A&M.
He commenced UF's scoring with two straight rushing touchdowns in an early track meet between the Gators and the Aggies. The high-scoring first-half affair was catalyzed by rushes of 10 and 60 for the uber-athletic signal caller.
In the second half, he showcased his arm with an impressive back-shoulder ball to Ja'Quavion Fraziars on the goal line from 19 yards out to allow Florida to retake the lead early in the third quarter. Two drives later, he displayed an added pocket awareness from earlier in the season to remain in the pocket and sling it 12 yards to true freshman Caleb Douglas for his second career touchdown despite Richardson displaying an unset base.
It reiterated the fact that when Richardson's ticking, everyone on the offensive side of the ball benefits.
While some may call the offensive scheme monotonous, given the fair share of inside zone rushes paired with different variations of wide receiver screens and an occasional deep shot, the system still works. That's growing increasingly evident as Richardson settles in and Florida produces.
Saturday was a prime example of that fact, as the Gators posted 35-plus points for the second time in three games.
A major aspect of that increased success is the added comfortability of Richardson, who seems to excel under the raucous road environments he faces with his best performances coming in two of the most daunting venues in the SEC in Tennessee and now Texas A&M.
His progression from week two — following an anomaly outing in week one — to week ten is drastic. As a result, so is the offensive production.
Bad: First Half Defense
Despite the sustainable offensive attack, the Gators still walked into the halftime break trailing by four to their hosts in College Station.
Like most of the year, Florida's success — or lack thereof — on Saturday hinged on the defense's struggles. The Aggies' offense started fast behind the talents of Devon Achane, who opened the first offensive drive for A&M with a 65-yard run on his first touch. Three plays later, Achane capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown rush to take the lead.
That started a back-and-forth between the two offenses as they operated relatively unimpeded from scoring points as each squad punted just once.
Achane gashed Florida to score three first-half touchdowns and once again raised questions about the personnel and scheme being employed each week. What the Gators were doing wasn't working and opened the door for a depleted A&M team to snap a four-game losing streak to drop the Gators to 4-5 on the year.
The 307 total yards in the first half in a game with the makings of a shootout led to their 24-20 lead heading into the locker room.
It was another week where Florida looked to be dead men walking as they struggled to create stops and expressed little signs of potential improvements moving forward.
However, as we'll discuss in the next point, this time, it was different. The concerns that arise when the Gators' defense takes the field were, luckily for UF, effectively washed away when Florida returned from the locker room on Saturday.
The first-half showing remains a hole that needs to be patched in the final three games of the regular season and shouldn't be glossed over due to recency bias. But, the second half showing provided hope to Florida fans and the team itself that the page may be starting to turn.
Great: Patrick Toney's Second Half Defense
Was Saturday a turning point for the team in Gainesville?
Sure, it faced a drastically underperforming and short-handed A&M unit, but there was a lot to be encouraged about if you're Florida. Namely, the defensive side of the ball made waves.
Throughout most of the season, Florida's defense has been a much-maligned aspect of the overall unit due to lapses in nearly every possible area of the game. Failing to defend the pass, allowing opposing runners to gash holes in the middle, struggling to tackle and faulting on third downs, Patrick Toney's unit has earned its fair share of backlash for continuing a trend set by former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
As mentioned above, it looked like that would continue on Saturday as the Aggies imposed their will on Florida throughout the first 30 minutes.
Scoring 24 points — including a late-half go-ahead score to capitalize on their first attempt to go two-for-one as they got the ball out of the half — and accounting for 307 yards, the Aggies looked destined to right the ship against Florida.
However, for the second week in a row, the Gators' halftime adjustments catapulted their efforts in the second half.
This week, that particularly came on the defensive side of the football as Toney adjusted to the Texas A&M offense. The production and efficiency Haynes King, Achane and Co. found early on faded, and the Gators' defense pitched a shutout.
Florida allowed just 106 yards in the second half and forced four three-and-outs and two turnovers to limit A&M's opportunity to mount a comeback.
Toney flashed the expertise that earned him play-caller duties this offseason with his halftime adjustments proving to be the factor in the game. Not only did his tactic tweaks play a strong role in the victory, but the players' response for the second week in a row proved to be a step in the right direction.
While it may have come against a team depleted due to illness and injury, the promise for Florida to overcome their early woes and produce a strong second-half performance provides assurance for what the future can provide.
Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.
Get your Gators football, basketball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.
