Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Four Things We Learned From Florida's 38-27 Victory Over South Carolina
It wasn't perfect - in fact it was far from it - but Florida managed to pull out a sloppy victory in Columbia on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators (7-1, 4-1 SEC) knocked off South Carolina (3-4, 2-3 SEC) 38-27 to bounce back from their first loss of the season to LSU the week prior. In the rain, Kyle Trask struggled with accuracy and velocity throughout the day, yet still finished with a 21-of-32 passing line, 200 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Here are the four things we learned from the Gators' victory:
Florida's run defense has taken a big step back
While Florida still boasts a dominant defense when fully healthy, something has gone wrong with its run defense.
In the first five games of the season, Florida allowed only 558 rushing yards, or 111.6 yards per game. Since then, Florida has allowed 426 rushing yards over its past two games, as South Carolina scampered for 208 yards and two scores.
In fairness, defensive ends Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga have barely played in that two-game span, as both are dealing with ankle sprains. That certainly is hurting the run defense, but linebackers are also missing their gaps and tackles are still being missed.
Run defense has to be Florida's primary focus during the bye week, as Georgia is averaging 237.5 yards on the ground per game this season. Florida will face Georgia on Nov. 2nd in Jacksonville.
It was best for Greenard and Zuniga to sit out
While the run defense was clearly an issue that Greenard and Zuniga could have helped fix, it was best for both players to sit out and get healthy for the Georgia game.
Florida was able to put decent pressure on QB Ryan Hilinski, and that resulted in a poor performance from the true freshman. He completed 17 of his 35 throws for only 170 yards, and one touchdown. Florida sacked Hilinski three times.
Given that Florida has a bye week prior to the Georgia game, Zuniga and Greenard will have two full weeks of rest and rehab for their ankle sprains. That should be plenty of time to get back at full health, which the Gators will need in order to beat the Bulldogs.
Jacob Copeland is growing
He went out with an injury after a catch in the second half, but Jacob Copeland had the best game of his career against South Carolina. Tallying 89 yards on three receptions, with one going for a touchdown, the redshirt freshman displayed a lot of growth in his routes and ability to track the ball.
No other receiver posted more than 29 yards. After the game, head coach Dan Mullen said that Copeland has been a "different player" over the past two weeks of practice. That much is clear as seen by his performance today, and it can be expected that he will contribute more going forward.
The run game appears to be improving
It still isn't perfect, as the offensive line is struggling with consistently winning its zone blocks, but things are getting better in Florida's run game.
Today, the Gators ran for 154 yards on 30 carries, with Dameon Pierce toting the lone score on a 75-yard carry. Lamical Perine was effective all game long, averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 14 carries.
The production posted on Saturday followed Florida's solid performance running the ball against LSU, when the Gators posted 146 rushing yards. Perine and Emory Jones combined to produce 101 yards on 26 attempts—not great, but improved compared to weeks past.
Florida needs to remain a pass-first team as the run game has been pretty unreliable compared to the pass, but it appears that Florida is finally starting to run the ball a bit more efficiently. Should that continue, the team can finally begin to keep defenses on their toes with complementary offensive production.
