Gators find a spark in Austin

The Gators got an unexpected win on the road in front of a crowd of over 103,000 fans mostly wearing burnt orange on Saturday with the first start by a backup QB. Coach Sumrall said they found a way to suck less on Saturday. Let's review some things that point to the fact that the Gators do suck and then move to the positive things that point to them sucking less.

There were a handful of plays that were there for the making, but the Gators just couldn't get it done. Let's start with the punt that should have been down at the two except Kanye Clark knocked the ball to the goal line when it was stopped at the two. The Longhorns drove down the field for a FG. Maybe they would have anyway, but the chance to get the opponents pinned deep in their own end was missed due to an error.

DJ Coleman had a chance to intercept an Arch Manning pass, but he dropped it instead. The Gators gave up a fourth and forever pass from Manning in the fourth quarter by being half a second too slow on the rush. Now that may have been due to an uncalled hold by an offensive lineman. Dallas Wilson had an opportunity to keep a drive alive with a difficult catch on a back shoulder fade that he got his hands on but couldn't hold onto it as he hit the ground. Florida was flagged for 7 penalties for a total of 55 yards. Two of those gave the Longhorns first downs and a couple made drives for the offense harder in a hostile environment.

The Gators need to find a way to make those plays and avoid the penalties if they want to move from a good team to a great team.

The defense sucked a little less this week. They kept the Longhorns to less than 100 yards rushing, although that is deceitful in some ways because the total reflects 46 yards lost in sacks and TFLs. They held the highly publicized Arch Manning to 173 yards on 14 completions and sacked him 5 times including the fumble that sealed the win with 2 minutes left in the game. The biggest improvement was that they allowed the Texas offense to only make 2 of 10 third downs and only 1 of 3 fourth down attempts.

Photo courtesy UAA and Hannah White.

The offensive line sucked less this week. They only gave up one sack to the nation's leading pass rusher. Jadan Baugh finished with 91 yards rushing on 25 carries. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry and had one touchdown. The offense netted 158 yards on the ground and gained 184 yards before deducting 26 yards lost in the one sack, one bad snap, and TFLs.

They gave Tramell Jones Jr. enough time to go 22-35 for a total of 155 yards and two touchdowns to Lacota Dippre. The offense found a way to score 27 points on the vaunted Texas defense led by Will Muschamp. That was the key to the Gators having a chance to win the game. They proved that they could keep drives alive going 8-19 on third downs, most of those coming in the second half and going 2-2 on fourth downs. The biggest one of those was the pass from Jones to Wilson from the Texas 36-yard line on a fourth and twelve play.

Because Florida sucked less this week, they have moved back into the top 25. There was a fire in the eyes of the Gator players that had been missing for the last two weeks. The game didn't start out well for the Gators. They didn't fold as they had in the previous two games. They fought back. They got off the deck, and they started landing punches of their own. The defense started to assert themselves up front. The offense looked like the balanced unit they need to be if they are going to be successful. Bailey Stockton found a way to return to the game when it looked like he was done for the day and maybe longer. Jadan Baugh looked like a man hungry to run through someone on every play again.

Somewhere in the week leading up to the game or maybe at halftime they found a spark. We may never know what that spark was, was it something someone said or was it just a realization by the entire team that the game was right before them and all they needed to do was seize the moment.

On a separate note, Texas has benefited from media bias and brand recognition. They still are as they are ranked ahead of the Gators in the polls. If you looked at their schedule and results and didn't put the name there, their record would not warrant a top 25 ranking. They looked like a mediocre team.

The effects of the Media can be seen in the fact that Alabama didn't drop out of the top 25 after losing two straight games. Notre Dame should have dropped more after losing as would Georgia. The major networks want to keep those teams in the front runner positions for the College Football Playoffs. It's good for the ratings, it's good for the bottom line. It's just not fair to the teams that have better records. Would they be undefeated if they played the tougher schedules, probably not.

The good news for Gator fans is that if the Gators can find a way to suck less in two weeks and the rest of the season, they would likely find themselves in that CFP discussion. There is a lot of football left to play, and time will tell if the Gators can learn to suck less each week and win each week. One thing is certain, on Saturday the Gators found a way to suck less and leave Austin with an incredible victory over the Longhorns.

Photo courtesy UAA (University Athletic Association, FloridaGators.com) and Hannah White. See more of her work on Instagram, and the official Florida Gators photo galleries at FloridaGators.com.