Not Enough Gator Talent For Billy Napier To Tame The No. 1 Bulldogs

The Gators were clearly out-matched in the game both physically and schematically but still found a way to keep it interesting into the fourth quarter. The next step is to manage a road test at College Station, Texas...

By Loren Meadows

Gatorbaitmedia.com

Ricky Pearsall looks to find space in the 1st Half - Photo Credit - Chris Spears

What We Thought: In order for Florida to have any opportunity to pull off the upset in Jacksonville, the Gators would have to depend on the dynamic playmaking ability of Anthony Richardson. And find a way to create timely turnovers with a defense that has struggled at times to get teams off the field. Richardson was by far the most athletic quarterback Georgia had seen this season and was seen as the equalizer to a dominant Georgia defense that ranked in the Top 5 against both the run and the pass.

Defensively the Gators had a monumental task of stopping the two-headed monster of tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington, who had combined for 50 catches. Bowers and Washington presented a matchup nightmare and gave Stetson Bennett plenty of flexible options for the nations 7th ranked passing offense. The Gators would need to impose an occasional three-and-out, as well as at least two turnovers to make the game interesting. Couple that with Richardson repeating his Week 1 performance against Utah and the Gators could possible pull off the upset as a 22.5-point underdog.

What We Got: Bowers may be the best player in college football that does not line up at the quarterback position. The versatile tight end consistently took advantage of matchups against the Florida safeties and linebackers. He finished with five catches for 158 yards and a touchdown and was open for Bennett on multiple occasions, including a key fourth-and-seven play late in the fourth quarter where Bowers out jumped Florida defensive back Miguel Mitchell for a key conversion late in the game. Florida was stagnant on offense early in the game, managing zero first downs in the first quarter. Richardson was sporadic with his accuracy and Florida failed to generate the big plays necessary for an upset of this magnitude to happen. The Gators' 16th ranked rushing attack failed to gain meaningful yardage for the bulk of the game with 100 total yards less than half of their average for the season. The Florida defense did create three turnovers and became the first team this season to win the turnover battle against Georgia.

The Skinny-“Not good enough” was the term Coach Billy Napier used to begin his post-game press conference. Many would take that to mean at some point Florida did not play with passion and fight during the game. Unfortunately, “not good enough” means that Florida is not consistently executing -- players or coaches -- at the level necessary to compete with one of the nation’s best programs. While there were bright spots, the Gators are a year or two away from standing toe-to-toe with the heavyweights.

To be critical, the offense at Florida will need to find a dynamic identity organically as opposed to mechanically (Richardson). Bennett threw the ball directly to the Gators five times but the Gators only brought the groceries home twice. When looking to pull of an upset in the ******** Party, the groceries have to come home with the bag full.

The Gators were clearly out-matched in the game both physically and schematically but still found a way to keep it interesting into the fourth quarter. The next step is to manage a road test at College Station, Texas before giving the Gator faithful one last look at their team at home. If anything, this game showed that continued “talent acquisition” is the nature of the business. With Georgia as the measuring stick, it will be interesting to see what the Florida Gators look like in April of 2023 when spring ball is near conclusion. Meanhile they need to find a way to win at least half the remaining four games --Texas A&M, South Carolina, Vanderbilt or FSU -- just to get bowl eligible. The Gators leave this game defeated, but not battered, which may mean more than anything else at this time. Maybe not great for the ego, but productive for the program.

Final Score Georgia 42, Florida 20