The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Florida Gators vs Texas A&M

There was good, there was bad, and there was a whole lot of ugly from Florida on Saturday as they fell short of victory at the hands of Texas A&M in College Station.

Entering a top-25 matchup for the first time this season, Sports Illustrated-AllGators emphasized the importance of finding their identity defensively after two straight games of inferior play.

That did not happen, and with that, neither did a victory.

With no long introduction needed to describe the successes and shortcomings of their performance yesterday, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly for Florida at Texas A&M.

The good: Florida's offense is as talented as ever

The Gators offense continued to roll for the third week in a row.

Posting 402 total yards, with Kyle Trask accounting for 313 of those through the air, the high-powered air attack Florida has carried to start the year is as dangerous as any in college football.

As possibly the biggest emergence of the season, one of three recipients of Trask’s four touchdown tosses, Kadarius Toney continued to show his development as a wide receiver and posted a career day with seven receptions for 92 yards on top of two touchdown grabs.

Beginning the game on an eight-minute, 17-play drive, the Gators were adamant about having a balanced attack offensively. Passing on nine plays and toting the rock on eight, questions were seemingly answered on if the run game could be complementary of the passing game.

As a testament to the constant necessity to score points, despite utilizing their weapons in the run game early on, Florida only gained 90 yards on the ground on 24 carries—the Gators' highest total on the year. Production still needs to increase there, but given the position they were in the late game with the inability to stop A&Ms offense, Florida had no option but to continuously stay on the gas pedal in an attempt to outscore the Aggies.

The offense is in no means a concern for Florida. The possible questions that could have been present there have been answered. They have other options outside of tight end Kyle Pitts that can be depended on, and they have an ability to churn out yards on the ground when they’re in a position to do so.

Now, the Dan Mullen-led offense is looking to the other side of the ball, hoping the questions over there get answered soon, so the most talented offense the university has ever seen isn’t tainted much longer.

The bad: Inability to close

28 to 17. The way the scoreboard read at College Station early in the third quarter and the supposed indication that Florida was pulling away.

However, that wasn’t the case as the Aggies overcame an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the kickoff that backed them up in their own territory and bullied their way down the field by way of Isaiah Spiller into the end zone.

In a game-changing drive in which the Gators held their biggest lead of the contest, A&M imposed their will on Florida, rushing the football 17 times compared to only two 11-yard pass plays to Jalen Wydermyer. Punching it in from three yards away, Spiller put the Aggies back in striking distance 28 to 24, and it left many wondering, can Florida close out this game?

Following a week that saw the Gators defense get torched by South Carolina on third and fourth downs, the closing was a focal point throughout the week in practice.

Not only did UF continue with their pitiful performance in getting off the field—allowing TAMU to convert on 12 of 15 third-down attempts—but they fell short in closing out the game. Ultimately leading to a huge 41 to 38 loss despite the offense posting another spectacular performance.

The goal was for Florida to reach national prominence, with a return to the biggest stage of them all. Now, a wrench has been thrown in that plan because of the inability to close.

The ugly: Everything on defense, from top to bottom

Many different things could have gone into the ugly section this week when trying to describe Florida’s matchup against Texas A&M. In fact, the bad section above is more like “The ugly: Part one.”

However, the one that encompasses the full range of ugliness would be the defense. Yes, the entire defense. One that has, well, stunk up the field thus far in the year, and continued to do just that yesterday.

Following week one, there was a buzz of uncertainty defensively after giving up 600-plus yards to a newly formed Ole Miss regime. However, the problems were cast off as first game mistakes, like poor communication and missed tackles.

In week two, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham attempted to use highly-skewed yards per play stat to justify his unit's play and note that as a possible turning point on the year.

In week three, there are no more excuses. Allowing 41 points and 543 total yards to quarterback Kellen Mond and a unit that only posted 17 against a now 0-3 Vanderbilt squad earlier in the season, the once sketchy play of the defense has become a liability.

The worst part? There are no positives to build upon.

Through three games, the pass rush has had no consistency and couldn't create pressure in big moments, the secondary has struggled mightily in coverage and communication, former talent looks to have steps back from last year, and the missed tackles against the run have continued.

The Gators' defensive inefficiencies are costing the team an opportunity to establish themselves as a championship contender. As a result, changes need to be made and made quickly for the Gators to salvage their season. The offense has already done more than you can ask for to keep them afloat on the year.

The defense doesn’t need to be great; it doesn’t even need to be good. If the unit could be middle of the pack within the SEC, Florida could find themselves in a position to take the east due to their offensive attack alone.

Play more freshmen. Overhaul the scheme to better fit the players. Anything would help.