Gators Must Go Back to the Run Game Against Mississippi State

Florida has failed to run the ball consistently this season.

Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh has been one of the lone bright spots on the team's offense this year. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators' offense had little to no success on the ground against the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 7, averaging 3.1 yards per carry and drumming up 74 total rushing yards, with 65 of them coming from star running back Jadan Baugh.

However, the Gators' rushing offense has a chance for redemption and could be the key to a victory against an underperforming Mississippi State Bulldogs’ ground defense on Saturday in The Swamp.

The Bulldogs are surrendering 162.7 rushing yards per game through six games this season, which ranks No. 99 in the country and No. 15 in the SEC. Moreover, their defense is allowing ball carriers to gain 4.32 yards per carry, which places them 13th in the conference.

It also helps that the Bulldogs will be on the road for this contest. In their latest road game against Texas A&M, the Aggies produced 299 rushing yards and an average yards per carry of 5.5 yards.

With that in mind, attacking Mississippi State on the ground should be a clear plan of action for head coach Billy Napier going into Week 8.

It is not all about the production, though, that makes feeding the running backs a vital decision. Going right at the Bulldogs’ front seven and defensive backs with Baugh can also help open up the field for starting quarterback DJ Lagway.

Just refer back to the win over Texas a few weekends ago. While the offense did not mimic the level of performance that Texas A&M had against the Bulldogs, only rushing for 159 yards and a touchdown, it did free up the field for the Gators' wide receivers.

Lagway had four passes that resulted in 20 or more yards, thanks to the Longhorns having to honor the Gators' run game. Furthermore, he connected with both star true freshmen wide receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson on passes of more than 50 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown to Wilson.

But for all this to work out for the Gators, the offensive line must vastly improve from the contest against Texas A&M as well.

Only one player graded out above a 70 run-blocking grade on PFF, and that was offensive lineman Austin Barber. Outside of Barber, every Gator offensive lineman received a 60.1 grade or lower from PFF against Texas A&M.

Each of the starters needs a bounce-back performance in the Gators’ fourth SEC matchup of the season, should they want to leave the stadium with a victory.

Kickoff for Florida’s contest with Mississippi State takes place at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.