Five Key Takeaways from the Florida Gators' Subduing of Georgia
Photo credit: University of Florida athletic association
Dan Mullen went and did it.
The Florida Gators broke a three-game skid to the arch-rival Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday evening in a way that we are oh-so accustomed to, but at the same time, proving that Florida's offense can lead the Gators to victory even against its toughest competition.
Will it be enough if Florida is to advance to the 2020 SEC Championship, however? That is debated below in the five key takeaways from the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
Kyle Trask has cemented himself in the Heisman race, but is he playing at a winning level yet?
At the midway point of Florida's 10-game regular season, Kyle Trask has completed 68.7% of his passes for 1,815 yards, throwing 22 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions. Strictly against SEC competition.
Setting UF and conference records against the No. 15 defense in the country only cemented what was already being speculated: Trask is a legitimate contender for this year's Heisman Trophy. Trask ranks tied for first in the FBS in touchdown passes and 14th in passing yards, despite UF only playing five games so far this season.
But is Trask playing well enough to win the award?
Even when you consider that Trask just torched one of the nation's best defenses, it's still easy to nitpick at the small things that might separate Trask from the Trevor Lawrences’ (before his COVID-19 diagnosis) and Justin Fields' of college football.
It marked Trask's second game in a row where he threw a pick-six, one where UGA built a 21-14 lead off of his turnover. Trask nearly threw a second pick-six in the middle of the fourth quarter as well, and if that one was caught and returned, Florida would have held just a one-possession lead with about seven minutes left in the game, and we could've had a different result this morning.
As things stand, Trask deserves an invitation to New York (or the virtual Heisman Trophy ceremony) this year and that is likely to remain the case given UF's remaining schedule. Trask should have little-to-no issues continuing to perform at a high level. However, there are still some small things that need fixing if Trask is to win the award.
Balanced pass/run attack, for the most part, worked
The Gators attacked the Bulldogs with perhaps the most balance we've seen in an extended period of time all season long from UF's offense. In the first half, Trask attempted 26 passes compared to UF's 20 total rushes, and moved the ball efficiently both ways for the most part.
The rushing attack was better in the first quarter as it ran through Dameon Pierce than the second quarter when Malik Davis saw more carries. Throughout the half, Pierce tallied nine carries for 43 yards and a score, while Davis put together 14 yards on seven attempts with a long rush of seven yards. If Davis' seven attempts, or at least the majority of them, went to the RB with the hot hand in the run game, Pierce could have made Florida's pass/run balance look even better on the box score.
However, Florida's run game still proved beneficial as Georgia spread it's already thin defense out to combat the pass, which opened up rushing lanes to where Florida could bounce back and forth in between play calls. Georgia was able to adjust and slow down both the pass and run dramatically in the second half, but by that point, UF had already posted 38 points and 411 yards.
The wheel route remains undefeated
After adding up each completed attempt, I found that Florida finished the night with eight completions on wheel route throws for 217 yards and a touchdown.
That's crazy production for one type of play. Georgia simply no answer for the route, whether it was run by a running back from the backfield or a tight end, and Mullen made sure to rub it in. Head coach Kirby Smart admitted as much post-game.
"What I can’t live with is leaving the guy wide open on a wheel-route," Smart said, detailing UGA's defensive issues on the night. "You should be looking at him. That is your job, and somehow you don’t look at him and he is wide open. Those are the breakdowns that we had."
While Davis has struggled to rush the ball at times this season, he's emerged as a dominant receiving back and that showed specifically on the wheel route. Davis hauled in half of UF's eight wheel receptions, tallying four catches for 96 yards. Nay'Quan Wright added one for 50 yards, Pierce took one for 35 yards, and Kemore Gamble scored his first career touchdown on a 24-yard wheel from the tight end position.
Gamble also made an impressive one-handed catch later in the game, stealing a reception from wide-open Wright who had run another wheel. If the ball had gotten to Wright, he had one man to beat for a 41-yard touchdown.
Florida got lucky on defense
The game had the feeling of being over when Georgia took a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. UGA began with a 75-yard touchdown rush from Zamir White on the first play from scrimmage, and followed UF's proceeding three-and-out with a six-play, 61-yard, pass-heavy scoring drive.
Florida's defense sharpened over the course of the next seven drives, forcing a punt on five straight, a one-play kneel-down to end the first half, and recording an interception to open the second half. Along the way, UF's offense took off and crossed the 40-point threshold.
Redshirt freshman QB D'Wan Mathis replaced starter Stetson Bennett IV after the INT, and suddenly the game got close again despite his own poor play. While Mathis completed just 4-of-13 passes for 34 yards, a touchdown and two picks, UF's lead shrunk to two possessions on Mathis' first drive and never extended beyond that again.
Both quarterbacks, but specifically Mathis, dealt with errant passes and overthrows, as well as drops from receivers, which kept UGA from truly getting back into this contest. On top of his two second-half turnovers, Mathis inaccurately missed three open throws in the fourth quarter that would have gone for either first or touchdowns and changed the game. Florida's safeties were beaten over the top on numerous occasions, which most average quarterbacks would have identified and connected with.
All three interceptions were gifted off of poor passes as well, rather than being impressive plays made by UF's secondary. Bennett threw an in-breaking route way behind and right into Kaiir Elam's breadbasket, while Mathis' first pick was a lob to Shawn Davis as he took a hit. Mathis' second INT was on UGA's final play of the game, an underthrow while rolling out that was caught by Amari Burney.
The bottom line is: UF's defense played admirably in the first half after getting off to a rough start, but it was luck more than execution that kept this game out of reach for Georgia's offense in the second half. Florida may be SEC Championship bound at the current pace, but this defense won't hang with Alabama, meaning the Gators will have to play perfect football offensively if they make it there.
UF control its own destiny
Speaking of the SEC Championship, Florida controls its own destiny to get there this year after taking down Georgia and appearing to change the guard in the East division.
Win, and you're in.
Florida has Arkansas (home), Vanderbilt (away), Kentucky (home), Tennessee (away), and LSU (home) on the second half of their 2020 schedule - those schools owning a combined record of 9-19. UF can't afford to take any program lightly (okay, maybe other than Vanderbilt), but this should be an easy path for the Gators to walk to Atlanta.
With a Georgia win now in the books, I feel confident in saying: This is the year we find out if Dan Mullen is capable of bringing a championship to Gainesville.
