Post-Game Analysis: Gators (5-4, 3-3) vs.Razorbacks (3-6, 1-5)

There are few answers to glaring questions as Florida fails to gain bowl eligibility with loss.

By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Football Analyst

The Florida Gators honored America’s military and first responders by wearing black uniforms for the first time in school history. Instead of the last name of each player, the back of the jerseys had a mix of the words Integrity, Commitment, Excellence, Honor and Courage representing the core values of America’'s Armed Forces.

While excitement was in the air for the Gators to unveil the new gear, that excitement turned to dismay as the Gators spotted Arkansas 14 points on the way to an up-and-down game that saw Arkansas win 36-33 in overtime. leaving The Swamp with their first conference win of the season and the first by the school in Gainesville. The loss cost the Gators their sixth win and an opportunity to gain all-important bowl eligibility. The loss also dropped Head Coach Billy Napier to 11-11 at Florida with many questioning his ability to complete the “so-called” rebuild with the Gators.

What We Thought-Florida was in prime position to win the football game. The Gators were undefeated at home this season and had played extremely well in front of their home crowd. Quarterback Graham Mertz has been exceptional this season and his battery of receivers seemed to be growing confidence. The Florida running game had been absent the past two contests but had been far better at home and this game would be an opportunity to return to offensive balance.

Offensively, Arkansas installed Kenny Guiton as its new offensive coordinator during the bye week as the Razorbacks would look to simplify their offensive attack to allow quarterback KJ Jefferson to process information faster and utilize his athleticism. For the Razorbacks, all roads begin and end with Jefferson. Ultimately the Florida defense would most likely decide the game. The defensive front of the Gators would be tasked with keeping Jefferson in check against an offensive line that was surrendering close to four sacks a game. To help Jefferson would be the return of running back Rocket Sanders who, if healthy, adds a different tone to the offense.

Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. (Chris Spears photo)

What We Got: From the opening bell Guiton was in his bag and Arkansas executed a well-designed seven-play drive that might have well been against air. The Razorbacks used the threat of Jefferson to affect the eye discipline of the Gator defense as all four pass completions on the drive were uncontested. Florida failed to answer the scoring drive when on the next play from scrimmage receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. was stripped by Jaylon Braxton, who returned the ball 33 yards for a score to put the visitors up, 14-0. Florida would fight to get back in the game, scoring the next 14 points that highlighted the ability of the Gators to make plays at times.

As expected, Jefferson was the heartbeat of the Razorback offense accounting for 355 total yards and three touchdowns. Sanders returned with a solid performance rushing for 103 yards on 18 carries. The performances of Jefferson and Sanders exposed a Florida defensive unit that has seemed to regress as the season progresses. The 33 points surrendered by the defense was the most at home this season while surrendering 481 yards to an offense averaging 306 yards per game. While Coach Billy Napier pointed to “wrinkles” utilized by Guiton (which should have been expected), the Florida defense failed to tackle in space and cover consistently on third down. The Gators did produce five sacks, but they failed to generate any meaningful momentum.

Offensively, the Gators started slow but managed to right themselves to get back in the game. Napier did a good job of getting Eugene Wilson III involved in the game early but when the game was in its most crucial moments there was a stretch that saw little involvement in the offense by the freshman receiver.

Special teams and clock management continue to be an issue for the Gators as Florida had to utilize two crucial timeouts on the same drive due to miscommunication issues from the sideline. The lack of at least one of those timeouts would affect the final play of regulation by the Gators as the field goal unit prematurely ran on the field after a clear first down leading to an illegal substitution penalty that possibly distracted kicker Trey Smack causing him to miss the game winning chip shot field goal.

Florida Head Football Coach Billy Napier (Chris Spears photo)

The Skinny: This a frustrating loss for all involved with the Florida program and at this point there is very little the Gator faithful can find to be optimistic about. Certainly Napier has done very little to encourage patience in the fan base and stated on Saturday that “preaching patience" is not his job. Napier did state that his job is to coach the team and right now coaching may be the biggest issue in the program. A staff that is one of the best in the SEC by resume has failed to get consistent results from this group on a consistent week to week basis. Too many times the Gators have failed to show up ready to play and lack the fire that you see from good teams. A missed field goal by the Razorbacks Saturday was a microcosm of the Gators possibly taking on the mentality of their stoic coach. Upon the missed field goal only one player on the field was observed showing emotion with the stop almost representing a sigh of relief as opposed to a job well done. While Napier has assembled a number of recruits that could lead Florida back to stability, he has also assembled an army of individuals who were supposed to eliminate many of the issues that reared its ugly head on Saturday. With three games to go in this season, possibly a review of the “Army” may be the first order of business when the season culminates. As it looks now, Napier will have most of December to make those assessments as the Gators are looking home for the holidays square in the face.

Final Score: Arkansas Razorbacks 36 Florida Gators 33 (Prediction Florida 31 Arkansas 21)