The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Florida’s 24-17 Win Over Missouri
Photo: Brady Cook; Credit: Zach Goodall
The first leg of Florida’s slate of Tigers opponents is complete with the Gators fending off a formidable Missouri team in their trip to Gainesville.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was a win, nonetheless.
On the back of opportunistic defense and a second-half surge in the rushing game, Florida overcame a late comeback attempt by Missouri to record their first conference victory of the season.
Before the Gators host LSU at home under the lights next Saturday, All Gators looks at the good, the bad and the ugly from Florida’s touchdown win over a different Tigers in week six.
Good: Cornerback Jaydon Hill
There are plenty of aspects of Florida’s game that could legitimately be placed in this category.
From Florida’s second-half rushing performance, the emergence of the special teams and multiple red zone stops on Missouri, the Gators looked solid in multiple aspects of their operation.
However, it would be remiss to ignore not only an excellent performance, but a comeback tale of epic proportions in defensive back Jaydon Hill.
Following a near-14-month absence action due to a torn ACL in 2021 preseason camp before tweaking the knee again in the spring this offseason, Hill returned to the Florida lineup as a starter against Eastern Washington in week five.
Ramping back up to game speed in the Gators' blowout victory, Hill shared that he had more to give but expressed his content with being back on the field in any capacity after times of wonder if he would ever return.
“It’s been a long journey,” Hill said on Wednesday. “A lot of hard work, long late nights, a lot of tears. It’s been a journey. The work I’ve put in has paid off and I can’t complain. I’m just blessed. I’m still out here. I’m still going.”
On Saturday against Missouri, not only did Hill return for game two. He starred.
Operating as the starting boundary cornerback opposite Jason Marshall Jr., Hill locked down his side of the field to give the Gators a considerable boost despite a sluggish start.
At the end of the first quarter, just six plays after Florida was forced to settle for a field goal despite a 49-yard punt return by Xzavier Henderson, Hill dropped back into coverage with a bit of cushion on his assignment. Reading quarterback Brady Cook’s eyes, the redshirt sophomore made a break on the ball intended for Luther Burden III to pick it off at the 50-yard line.
Looking up and seeing green grass ahead, the surgically repaired knee showed no signs of rust as Hill remained in stride to record his first pick-six since he was a junior in high school, putting the Gators up 10-0 in the first quarter.
"Really, the route, that combination came from a lot of the film study," Hill said when asked about what he saw on that play. "So honestly last night, that same exact play, I watched it like three times.”
According to linebacker Ventrell Miller, defensive coordinator Patrick Toney wrote that play call down on the whiteboard, signaling that they would go back to it in a similar look.
A similar offensive set came when Missouri entered the red zone in the third quarter looking to tie the game for a second time at 17. Miller said Toney called the same play that resulted in the pick-six, once again resulting in a Hill interception to give the Gators the ball back at a crucial point of the contest.
Florida’s offense capitalized on the change of possession to take a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter.
Hill’s excellence in coverage, heightened ball skills and three solo tackles on the day proved as a catalyst for the Gators to overcome their early struggles.
Going from a player on the sideline without the ability to contribute to the most valuable player on the team on Saturday, Hill gives Florida the playmaker the defensive unit is missing.
He firmly solidified the depth chart spot he once thought about losing after his knee tweak in the summer as a result.
Bad: Anthony Richardson’s turnover problem
I don’t think there will ever be a week where the polarizing Anthony Richardson will not be included in the good, the bad and the ugly series. But, as the quarterback at a storied SEC institution, that’s the way it should be.
While Richardson’s performance itself wasn’t necessarily bad, as he made plays in crucial moments to set the Gators up to walk away with a victory, he still falls into bad due to an aspect of his game.
Namely, his propensity to turn the ball over — with seven interceptions and three fumbles lost on the season.
The trend continued on Saturday as Richardson lost a fumble at the end of the first half that gave Missouri possession with the ball within striking distance with little time remaining. It resulted in three points for the Tigers to tie the game up heading into the halftime break.
Then, late in the second half on the final meaningful offensive possession when Florida looked to churn out yardage to run the clock down, Richardson looked to hit Ricky Pearsall over the middle on 3rd and 14 but placed the ball too high for his receiver. The ball popped off of Pearsall's hand, boinked off of safety Jaylon Carlies and was intercepted by STAR Daylan Carnell, giving Mizzou a game-tying drive opportunity with 2:57 remaining.
“Definitely,” Richardson said when asked if he was concerned with his string of turning the ball over this year. “Not so concerned with it happening; it’s football things are going to happen. Coach [Billy Napier] says that every time we have to post a zero [turnovers] and we’ve yet to post a zero. So I’m trying to take charge of that so we can limit turnovers as much as possible.”
In doing that, he can elevate Florida’s play significantly. That will be needed against the likes of LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M upcoming.
Ugly: Third Down Defense
Different week, same problem for the Florida Gators' defense.
Unlike recent weeks, the Gators weren’t brutalized upfront against a stout rushing attack by their opponents. They weren’t susceptible to the big play because of lapses in communication and busted coverage either.
However, the defense still performed at a below-average level due to the unit’s continued inability to get off the field.
Allowing Missouri to extend multiple drives by converting third and longs on a consistent basis.
On the day, the Tigers converted on nine of their 17 third downs attempts, taking advantage of an aspect of Florida that has plagued the unit to this point in the year. The Gators rank as No. 127 out of No. 131 in third down defense this season. The formula for their approach to combatting offense’s facing punting situations is reminiscent of that under the previous regime when “Third and Grantham” reigned supreme.
That needs to change. It needs to change fast for Florida to operate at full capacity.
Middle linebacker Ventrell Miller, the team’s leading tackler with 10 solo tackles under his belt on Saturday, commented on the third down defense postgame.
“I feel like we came out and did a decent job,” he said about the overall performance. “I know some third downs, some long third downs, we got to take advantage of, but other than that I feel like the guys came out and executed and made plays when we needed to.”
Adding possessions by getting off the field in third downs will be a focal point for the remainder of the season.
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