Gators Whiffing On Third Down. Bulldogs Are Having Success.

By KYLE CURTIS

GatorBaitMedia.com

With Todd Grantham's departure this offseason, many Gator fans were left optimistic about the young-blood Patrick Toney taking the reigns as defensive coordinator. The results on the field have not been pleasing. Maybe a case of first-year jitters?

Although, there has been one underlying reason for each loss. Not even 90,000 in The Swamp screaming at the top of their lungs can get the opposing offense off the field on third downs.

Florida has been historically bad on “money down” this season, and it is not close. The Gators rank 130th in the nation on third down defense, allowing the offense to convert on an average of 7.8 yards per play 52.6 percent of the time.

Let’s look at the top 10 most crucial third conversions by opposing teams throughout the season.

1. LSU: 2:21 left in the first half and the Tigers faced a 3rd & 8 at their own 46. The Gators have gone back and forth with the Tigers all half and have yet to stop them on defense. Jayden Daniels’ connects with Jaray Jenkins for a 54-yard touchdown reception directly before the half. This resulted in LSU having a 28-21 halftime lead along with scoring a touchdown on all four of their drives in the first half.

2. LSU: 12:36 left in the first quarter on LSU’s first possession following a Florida Gator possession where Anthony Richardson and Justin Shorter connected for a touchdown. The Tigers faced a 3rd & 8 at their own 27.

Following a 52-yard touchdown reception by Justin Shorter on the second play from scrimmage, The Swamp was buzzing. A chance for the Gator defense to set the tone early and force the Tigers to go three-and-out. Jayden Daniels was able to elude from the pocket and find his superb wideout Kayshon Boutte for a 40-yard gain, quieting the crowd. The drive ended up in an LSU touchdown tying the game at seven.

3. LSU: 5:00 left in the third with LSU leading 35-21, the Tigers faced a 3rd & 6. Jayden Daniels, once again, completes a pass to Karen Lacy for 13 yards in a spot where Florida’s defense desperately needed to get off the field. Later in the drive, the Tigers would cash in on their sixth straight touchdown drive to extend their lead to three scores, 42-21.

4. LSU: 7:20 left in the second with the Gators up a score, 21-14. The Tigers faced 3rd & 10. The score is tied, and the Gators are looking to get off the field to give their offense enough time to try and get a halftime lead. Daniels had a different idea, completing a 26-yard pass for another chunk yardage play on third down. The drive would result in a touchdown, putting LSU up 28-21.

5. Utah: 10:22 left in the fourth quarter with the Gators up by a field goal. The Utes faced a 3rd & 6. Cameron Rising was able to expose another part of Florida’s defense that has lacked this season, tight-end coverage. He hit Brant Kuithe across the middle for a 14-yard gain. This helped the Utes score and ultimately put them up 26-21 late in the fourth quarter.

6. Missouri: 11:10 left in the fourth quarter with the Tigers down two scores. They face a 3rd & 22 on their own 42. With a chance to close the game for the Florida defense, they played well on first and second to get into a dream position for a defensive coordinator, third and long. Missouri’s quarterback Brady Cook found Cody Shredder for a 27-yard gain and the first down. This resulted in a Missouri touchdown and the Tigers getting within one score.

7. Tennessee: 13:40 left in the third quarter with Tennessee possessing a 24-17 lead. The Volunteers faced a 3rd & 7. On a down that was crucial for Florida to get back their offense back on the field, the air raid is not what killed them. Rather Jaylen Wright gaining eight yards in a defense set up for a medium pass scheme. The conversion resulted in Tennessee marching down the field and creating a two-score ball game early in the second half, a deficit deemed to be too much.

8. Tennessee: 13:40 7:55 left in the fourth quarter and Florida trails by 10 points. The Volunteers are faced with a 3rd & goal from the five-yard line. A virtual must-stop for the Florida defense to force a field goal and maintain the two-possession lead. Once again, Toney and the Gator’s defense prepared for a pass and got beat by a Jaylen Wright outside run that resulted in a touchdown. This put the Vols up 38-21 halfway through the fourth and the game out of reach.

9. LSU: 12:45 left in the second quarter and the Tigers face a 3rd & 8. Daniels completes a pass to Jaray Jankins for 13 yards. The drive later resulted in a touchdown. A preview of what was to come for the rest of the game.

Photo Credit Chris Spears

10. LSU; 9:02 left in the first quarter on LSU’s opening drive. The Tigers faced a 3rd & 15 after already having connected on a long third down on the previous set of downs. Yet again, Daniels connected with Boutte for 14 yards. Although they did not achieve the first down, it set up a semi-easy call to go for it on fourth down early in the game ultimately resulting in another score for LSU.

A common recurrence throughout this analysis was the LSU game. The Tigers went a staggering 8x12 on third downs and scored touchdowns on six straight possessions. In the SEC, that cannot be winning defense.

This weekend the Gators are faced with the task stopping, or at least slowing down, the Georgia Bulldogs. Debatably, the best roster in the country, the Bulldogs sit atop the AP Poll and have yet to lose a game this season.

Georgia is fourth in the nation with a 54.93 percentage conversion rate on fourth downs this year. As previously mentioned, Florida lacks in that field. The Gators currently are last on third down defense, allowing opponents to convert 52.6 percent of the time. Two stats that don’t gel well together for the Gators.

The Georgia quarterback, Stetson Bennett, emphasized the importance of being successful on third down to ON3 earlier in the season.

“That’s what I’m most proud of, it’s the third downs, you know,” Bennett said.

Here is a peek at how Georgia and Bennett have been successful on third down at this point through the season.

● In a tough Missouri game, the Bulldogs were down a touchdown early in the third quarter when Stetson Bennett was able to connect on 3rd and 7 to Ladd McConkey and lead the Dogs to a score to keep them in the game.

● Another Missouri conversion, at this point with eight minutes left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs had still not scored. They faced a 3rd and 7 and felt as if they needed something to show for the current possession. Bennett was able to connect with Dominick Blaylock for 18 yards and ultimately got a field goal out of the possession.

● Early in the South Carolina game, before things got out of hand, Bennett gave Georgia some breathing room. Bennett also harped on how important red zone efficiency is along with third down. He lived up to his word. On third and goal Bennett was able to find his a All-American tight end, Brock Bowers, for a score that would put them up 21-0 with still 11 minutes left in the second.

“I mean, that’s what we’re harping on–third down and red zone, you know, this whole offseason and we executed,” Bennett said.

The Georgia Bulldogs are not one to make mistakes, more likely to force them. The Gators will have to show up on Saturday ready and prepared.