How Florida Fared in Its Key Matchups Against Arkansas
Photo: Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson vs. Florida; Credit: Alex Shepherd
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida squandered its best opportunity for a bowl-clinching win in its 39-36 overtime loss to Arkansas and now will need an upset victory over the next three weeks to get to postseason play.
It only took the Razorbacks a little over three minutes to take a 14-0 lead behind a KJ Jefferson touchdown pass and a Jaylon Braxton 33-yard fumble return touchdown on Saturday, putting the Gators in a hole that they dug out of only to stumble and fall right back into.
The teams traded blows for the next three quarters, before Florida's Trey Smack missed a 44-yard field goal with three seconds left, sending the game to overtime. His make in the first overtime wasn't enough as Jefferson found Tyrone Broden for the game-winning score.
Prior to the game, All Gators broke down three key matchups that were likely to determine the outcome of Florida's matchup against Arkansas. Here's how those battles played out.
Depleted Florida Defense vs. Mysterious Arkansas Offense
Arkansas' mysterious offense nearly lost the Razorbacks the game between the second and third quarters. but was able to outmatch Florida in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Jefferson threw for 255 yards and two scores and added 95 yards and another touchdown on the ground to lead the Razorbacks to an upset victory, but it didn't come without its difficulties.
After Arkansas took a 14-0 lead, the Gators' defense stuffed the Razorbacks with four consecutive stops, which included Jordan Castell's first career interception.
The Gators deployed a "bend, but don't break" style of play in the second and third quarters. Florida forced Arkansas to kick three field goals inside the 25-yard line and forced a missed kick.
Additionally, a heads-up forced fumble by Scooby Williams led to a Florida touchdown to take the lead late in the third quarter. From there, Jefferson and the Hogs retook control.
19 of their 39 points came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Jefferson had big runs of 14 yards, 16 yards and 25 yards, the latter being a touchdown to take a 30-26 lead in the fourth quarter. In overtime, he added a 20-yard rush on first-and-20, which led to the game-winning score.
"We struggled to tackle the guy. We struggled to finish on the quarterback today," said UF head coach Billy Napier.
Florida's depleted defense had its opportunities throughout the game, even without Shemar James, Cam'Ron Jackson and Tyreak Sapp.
Princely Umanmielen had two sacks, and Mannie Nunnery added 10 total tackles in James' place. Down the stretch, though, Florida consistently missed tackles and allowed what's been a stagnant offense to dominate on their home field.
Arkansas had 481 yards of total offense after only averaging 305.9 coming into the contest. 39 points are the most since its 56-13 win over Western Carolina to open the season.
Saturday's matchup was a tremendous opportunity for a bounce-back performance for Florida, but the Razorbacks' simplified and mysterious offense dominated the Gators when it mattered the most.
Gators' Offensive Line vs. Inconsistencies and a Steady Razorbacks' Defense
Although it didn't seem like they were dominated like last week against Georgia, Florida's offensive line had their moments against Arkansas.
The Gators gave up three sacks, which extends a streak of at least three sacks given up to six straight games. Damieon George Jr. struggled at right tackle by missing a few blocks in space on screen passes. He was eventually replaced by Kamryn Waites in the second quarter before returning to the field for most of the second half.
Graham Mertz was forced into being a dual-threat quarterback as he was in scramble mode throughout the game. There were moments where he seemed to hold onto the ball too long, but nonetheless, the offensive line struggled to give him time to throw, which forced Florida back to its short-pass-only offense.
Additionally, the Gators couldn't sustain long drives. Three of Florida's four touchdown drives and one of their two field goal drives already started in Arkansas territory. Florida did have a three-play, 72-yard touchdown drive late in the third quarter and a 12-play, 59-yard drive resulting in a field goal.
Now, this obviously isn't entirely on the offensive line, but struggles to establish consistency at the line-of-scrimmage plagued the Gators.
"We had to move the pocket. We had to get the ball out of our hand. We had to try to rush the ball effectively," Napier said. "It was definitely an issue within the game and part of -- one of the challenging things about playing Arkansas going into it."
To the line's credit, there was the game's final drive in regulation, where the offensive line did give Mertz enough time to make quick passes as they drove down the field, and Ricky Pearsall's opening fumble, which isn't the line's fault.
However, the stats don't lie. Florida was held to 112 yards on 28 carries as a team, and Montrell Johnson could only muster 35 yards on the ground. Trevor Etienne led them with 80 yards on 12 carries, but he covered 58 of those yards over two carries.
Once again, Florida couldn't establish the line-of-scrimmage offensively, and although it wasn't the most glaring issue on Saturday, it cost them.
Florida vs. the Injury Bug
Florida's defense took a hit this week when head coach Billy Napier announced that James would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. It took another hit when it was revealed that Jackson and Sapp could miss Saturday's game.
Initially listed as questionable, both defensive linemen were held out of the contest. The bug continued to bite when Jack Pyburn, who started in Sapp's place, suffered a knee injury on special teams.
He went straight to the locker room, and although he later returned to the sideline in a knee brace, his day ended prematurely. In an already depleted defense, the Gators could not afford to lose more players to injury.
Offensively, the injuries weren't as serious, but that doesn't mean there weren't scares. Mertz left the game briefly with 9:46 left in the third quarter after taking a hit while rolling out to the left side.
He later returned to the game, and his play nearly led Florida to a win. His 32-yard touchdown to Pearsall gave Florida a 23-20 lead going into the final period. With less than a minute left in a tie ballgame, he led the Gators on a five-play, 49-yard drive with no timeouts to set up Smack with a potential game-winning kick.
Kingsley Eguakun's injury-riddled season continued as he went down with 1:33 left in the first half and went straight to the locker room. He later returned in the third quarter and played the rest of the game.
Leading into the game, Napier indicated his team's need for Etienne to get going after a shoulder injury limited his role in the offense. It took him nearly the entire game, but his performance gave Florida an opportunity to win. A 41-yard catch-and-run combined with a 26-yard touchdown run put Florida ahead with 3:02 left in the game.
Injuries happen in a physical sport, especially in a conference like the SEC. Napier noted that leading up to the game. However, the injuries on defense and the scares on offense are enough to note that Florida cannot afford anymore if they're to pull off an upset and make a bowl game.
Keys Going Forward
With the loss, Florida sits at 5-4 on the year and one game shy of bowl eligibility. To say the Gators squandered their best opportunity for that win on Saturday is an understatement.
Special teams woes, coaching miscommunication and missed tackles were few of the many mistakes the Gators made in the loss, and now they turn to a gauntlet of a schedule while still out of reach of a bowl game.
Florida plays road games at ranked Missouri and LSU before returning to the Swamp against playoff contender Florida State. The Gators will likely be massive underdogs in each of those games.
The key for Florida is simply to finish the season and try to get one of those games to go in their favor. A bowl game is still on the table, but the task at hand becomes much harder in what easily could have been a win against the Razorbacks.
Last season, the wheels fell off following a shocking 31-24 loss at Vanderbilt, and the team looked like it lost focus from there on. After Saturday's loss, Napier said losing focus with a daunting schedule won't be a problem.
"We won't have that problem with this group," he said. "My message to them is be who you are, and I know who they are. I think we've got a group consistently that has showed up and put it on the line. That's what I would say."
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