Breaking Down the Florida Gators Close Loss to the Missouri Tigers
- Loren Meadows
- Nov 19, 2023
- 5 min read
Post-Game Analysis: Gators (5-6, 3-5) vs. Tigers (9-2, 5-2)
Almost and should have’s prevent the Gators from a Top-10 upset on the road
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A 4th and 17 pass by Missouri’s Brady Cook to Luther Burden III was the final straw in a football game that saw the Florida Gators play hard but fail to make yet another play when they needed it most. In the 12th week of the season the story has become less about what the Gator opponents have and more about what the Gators don’t.
Florida scored over 30 points for the third straight week but failed to make key defensive plays to prevent the opposing offense from besting the Gators, who would play most of the second half without starting quarterback Graham Mertz but rode the solid performance of backup Max Brown to the lead late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Gators, the defense failed once again to get the meaningful stops or turnovers for the Gators to leave Mizzou with a win.
What We Thought: This would be a challenge from the beginning for the Gators. Missouri was coming off an emotional win against Tennessee and was playing with as much confidence as any team in the country. Missouri running back Cody Schrader was leading the SEC in rushing and after surrendering a historical number of rushing yards last week the Gators were primed to be bludgeoned once again. Missouri also featured as good a group of pass catchers as any team with the trio of Luther Burden III, Mookie Cooper, and Theo Weise Jr. Florida’s offensive output had increased over the last month and with arguably the nation's most underrated signal caller playing his best ball, scoring would be the least of Florida’s worries. If the Gators could generate a couple of turnovers they were fully equipped to defeat what may have been an over confident Missouri team.
What We Got: Five plays essentially sum up the night and in many ways the season for the Gators. Late in the second quarter on a 3rd and 1 from the Florida 42 the Florida Gators failed to align properly to the closed formation into the boundary of the field. With no player in the B-Gap, Schrader ran untouched into the end zone to give Missouri the early lead. When asked about the consistent near misses on his defense Florida Coach Billy Napier stated, “we know what the issues are whether its communication, alignment, eye discipline, fundamentals”. Napier continued, “We all have to take ownership in this.” Almost.
On a 2nd and 8 from the Florida 40 trailing 10-7 the Gators were on their way to a positive drive at the end of the half looking to tie the game or take the lead before halftime. Graham Mertz dropped back to pass and sailed a pass high of intended receiver Arlis Boardingham. Instead of the ball sailing harmlessly out of bounds Boardingham reached up with one hand keeping the ball in play where Missouri safety JC Carlies tip-toed the sideline for a huge turnover. Seven plays later Missouri would tack on three more points to take a 13-7 lead into the half. While it was an errant throw by Mertz it was one of those un fortunate circumstances that seems to find the Gators in key situations.. In most cases the ball falls aimlessly out of bounds but in this case the ball found a Missouri defender for a momentum changing play. Almost.
With Florida leading 21-20 Missouri was driving deep into Florida territory, Brady Cook was flushed out of the pocket and threw a pass directly in the direction of Florida defensive back Jaydon Hill. Hill misplayed the ball and deflected it into the hands of Burden for an apparent touchdown. While the catch was overturned after replay, Hill was in perfect position to make a play and at worst flip the field position in the Gators favor. Even though Hill should have made the interception the play would have been negated due to Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks being called for offsides. Missouri would take the lead two plays later on a Harrison Mevis field goal. Almost.
After the loss ofMertz, Florida back-up quarterback Max Brown had moved the Gators down to the Missouri 15 yard line looking to take the lead late in the game. The drive was eliminated by a routine handoff that hit the elbow of Montrell Johnson Jr. and fell to ground where it was recovered by Missouri’s Kristian Williams. Two plays later the Florida defense would once again fall prey to the big play as Theo Weise Jr. would score on a 77-yard catch and run. “That’s the one that gets me,” Napier stated. “That’s a big play in the game for sure”. Almost.
It’s 4th and 17 from the Missouri 33 late in the game and the Gators need one stop to pull the upset. The Gators make the questionable choice to rush only four defenders with a long twist on the defensive line rush giving Cook time to find Burden 27 yards downfield for a first down and well with in the range of Mevis. While the defensive call can certainly be criticized with eight men in coverage and the situation at hand a Florida defender should have certainly knocked Cook’s pass down. Five plays later the Gators would watch as Mevis put the Tigers ahead for the final time on his fourth field goal of the game. “We got multiple players in the area,” Napier stated. Almost.
The Skinny: The front page of Sunday’s Columbia Missourian reads “Clutch Finish” to describe the outcome of Saturday night's game. A headline like that shows that this game is always open to interpretation and the narrative goes to the victors. If the Missourian and its readers what to be honest with themselves it should possibly read, “The Better Team Lost the Game." This is one of those contests the Florida faithful will file under one that got away. In the case of 2023 their seem to be a few of those. Coach Napier has spoken about the respect he has for his players and their ability to pick themselves off of the mat throughout the season shows their respect for him as well. Yet the Gators seem to have an issue with the messaging throughout the program -- particularly on defense. The championship level play necessary to take the next step has been mostly nonexistent for 24 games and two different defensive coordinators. Five turnovers in 11 games in unacceptable and more so unbelievable. If you laid both teams on the table this was an even contest, but losing the turnover battle in the end is what helped decide the outcome. There were opportunities for plays to be made, as expected and the Gators almost made enough -- and should have made more.
Final Score: Missouri Tigers 33 Florida Gators 31
(Prediction Missouri 42 Florida 30)
Post Game Show Loren Meadows, Buddy Martin, Franz Beard , Brenden Martin
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