Key Matchups: How Florida Can Beat Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl
Photo: Desmond Watson; Credit: Alex Shepherd
The Gators' 2022 season has been a rollercoaster of the highest highs and the lowest of lows.
Coming off a crushing rivalry loss against the now No. 13 Florida State Seminoles, Florida has a chance to clean the slate and end its season on a high note with a win over the No. 14-ranked Oregon State Beavers.
For the final time of the 2022 season, what must the Gators do to secure a win?
Pressuring the quarterback
The Gators all year have been gashed by mobile quarterbacks and have had very few games this year where they faced a true pocket passer. The Oregon State offense has primarily seen success through its traditional ground game, so taking advantage of the weaker passing game must be a priority for the UF defense.
Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson has fumbled in four of his last five contests, showing promise to a Gators defense that forced just one turnover in its previous game. On top of four fumbles in recent games, Gulbranson also threw two interceptions against Oregon in the last week of the regular season.
NFL-bound Gervon Dexter is in a prime position to continue to build on his team-leading quarterback pressures, currently at 24 according to Pro Football Focus, followed by Princely Umanmielen (23) and Antwuan Powell-Ryland Jr (21).
Beavers left tackle Joshua Gray leads his team in allowed pressures with 17, a weak spot on an otherwise relatively confident and polished offensive line unit. If the Gators were to gameplan around a place on the offensive line, the focus should start on Gray.
Shutting down the Beavers' rushing attack
The heartbeat of the Oregon State offense is running back Damien Martinez. Martinez leads the team in rushes (158) and yards (970) and is tied for first in touchdowns with seven on the ground. Containing Martinez would effectively bring the Beavers' offense to a halt, allowing the Gators to provide its offense ample opportunities to score more points, hopefully.
As a team, the Oregon State offense scored 33 rushing touchdowns compared to 15 passing touchdowns. If you stop the ground game, you control the scoring.
Martinez has seen the most success attacking the middle of the line of scrimmage, meaning the inside of the Gators' defense will have to play their best football. Gators defensive lineman Desmond Watson will be a crucial part of Florida potentially winning this game.
A large aspect of locking down the middle of UF's defense, Watson and the Gators' linebackers will have to play their best football if they wish to see consistent success against the Beavers' offense.
A new-look Gators' passing attack
With quarterback Anthony Richardson heading to the NFL, third-year redshirt freshman Jack Miller III is slated to start for the Gators on Saturday. Florida's wide receiver room continues to get healthier, which only bodes well for the inexperienced Miller.
Miller has not thrown a pass for the Gators, with his only collegiate experience coming from his season at Ohio State where he went 7 of 14 for 101 yards in four games.
As one of Anthony Richardson's main targets in the regular season, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall will need to continue to serve as a No.1 receiver for this offense and to be a security blanket for his new quarterback.
Pearsall led the Gators in 2022 in receiving yards (604) and touchdowns (5). Miller will have to be able to lean on his lead guy in Pearsall for the Gators' offense to establish any rhythm.
Another factor in streamlining Miller's first career start will be the play of the offensive line. With star guard O'Cyrus Torrence headed to the NFL, the Gators lose a huge piece of their offensive line, however, that doesn't mean there is a need to sound the alarm.
Florida has done well with keeping its quarterback upright, with individual blockers dinged for allowing a combined mere five sacks on the year. PFF knocks Richardson for taking sacks outside of protection throughout the season, leading to his 13 sacks in total.
If the line can continue its strong play in protection, Miller will have a fair shot at taking down the Beavers in his first career start. It helps that Oregon State does not have a pass rusher on its roster with more than three sacks this season and the entire defense has combined for just 16.
The Gators have several obstacles to clear to secure their seventh win of the season and to notch Billy Napier's first winning season of his Florida coaching career.
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