Key Battle Florida is Emphasizing Ahead of Texas A&M Game

Florida won a key battle on both sides of the ball against Texas and are looking to carry it over to Saturday's game at Texas A&M.

J. Michael Sturdivant had two catches for 42 yards in the Gators' upset over Texas, one of which was on third down. / Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

It had been a lackluster start through the first four games of the season for the Florida Gators' offense. However, it finally came alive in Week 6, producing a season-high in passing yards (298), rushing yards against FBS opponents (159) and points against FBS opponents (29). 

More notably, though, it did a complete 180 on third down, converting at a higher rate than it has in any of the past three games, thanks to more manageable situations against the Longhorns. 

“Did a great job on 3rd down. I think we were 50 percent on 3rd down, way over that going into the four-minute situations,” Gators head coach Billy Napier said after the win. “I thought the staff had a really good plan, and we kept it manageable.”

The Gators were 7-for-14 against the Longhorns on third down. In contrast, they were 0-for-13 against the Miami Hurricanes in Week 4, 6-for-17 against the LSU Tigers and just 4-for-12 versus the USF Bulls in Week 2.  

Moreover, the average distance on these 14 third downs was 6.36 yards, and if you exclude the one 3rd-and-23 the Gators had in the game, then the average drops to 5.08 yards. The offense also started the game 4-for-4 on third-down opportunities, including starting 3-for-3 on the opening drive of the game that led to a touchdown by Jadan Baugh. 

A big reason they were more efficient against Texas compared to the previous three contests was their work on first down. Of their 30 first-down plays, they averaged 10.27 yards on passing plays and 5.67 rushing yards on run plays. 

“You've got to keep 3rd down manageable, and that starts with good 1st and 2nd down efficiency, run the ball, good quarterback play, keep 3rd down manageable,” Napier said. 

It also helps when quarterback DJ Lagway is 10-for-15 on passes on first down for 154 yards, with five completions picking up at least 10 yards. 

Gators quarterback DJ Lagway was 10-for-15 on passes thrown on first down, which set up Florida for success in later downs. / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

On the opposite side, the Gators' defense did a great job putting the Texas offense in unfavorable situations. Texas was 3-for-11 on third downs against the Gators and had an average third-down distance of 11.09 yards. 

Furthermore, the Longhorns had less than nine yards needed on third down twice. Outside of those two, it was 3rd-and-9 or longer.

Florida can't get too caught up in this performance, though, with a road trip to College Station set for this weekend. 

While the defense should be able to keep its efforts against a rough 3rd-down opponent in Texas A&M, which converts 34.4 percent of its third down attempts, it is the Aggies’ defense that poses the biggest challenge of the season so far for the Gators' offense. 

Following their victory over Mississippi State in Week 6, the Aggies’ opponents are just converting on 22.4 percent of their third downs, which ranks No. 5 in the country. 

Kickoff between Texas A&M and Florida is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by ESPN.

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