Dawgs Are Good, Gators Aren’t Going Anywhere

by Chris Paschal

Yes, there were other games this weekend. The Gamecocks actually ran the football and snatched victory away from the Vols. Tennessee looked competent but overwhelmed at times. Missouri is a joke. That pass interference call against Missouri was a joke. Kentucky still controsl their own destiny in the East. Mississippi State proved once again that they are a good, but inconsistent football team. Texas A&M proved that it still has a ways to go in the rebuilding process if it is to compete in the SEC West. And Vanderbilt and Arkansas looked like a couple of dorks trying to win a football game.

The game of the week, with the most on the line, was the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Here is what we learned.

Georgia Won the East

I will die of shock if the Wildcats find a way to beat the Dawgs next weekend. It just ain’t happening. Kentucky has now barely beaten Vanderbilt and Missouri in back-to-back weeks. The most points they scored in a game the entire month of October was 15 against Missouri. Yes, they won two thirds of those games, and yes, the loss was in overtime at Texas A&M, but Georgia is a whole other beast.

Not only are the Dawgs more talented than Kentucky, but they now have the taste of blood in their mouth. Georgia’s entire season rides on one game – the Kentucky game. You think an offense that can barely score against Missouri and Vanderbilt is going to put up enough points against this defense to keep up with Fromm, Swift & Co.? Not a chance. The Dawgs won the East by beating the Gators. The only remaining question is do they have to beat Bama in the West to make the Playoff?

Jake Fromm is a Winner

This game could have gone one of two ways. The Gators might be the most aggressive defense in the SEC, which is saying something. They rank highly in forced turnovers, tackles for loss, and sacks, among other defensive statistical categories. Therefore, Jake Fromm could have either succumb to the Gator’s swarming defense, or he could have taken advantage of their overzealous play at times and make them pay. The fact that the latter happened on Saturday shows what kind of quarterback he is. Fromm finished the game 17-24 with three touchdowns and a stellar 93.1 QBR. That’s winning football. And it wasn’t like he threw a bunch of screen passes. Some of these throws had some touch on them. He completed some vertical passes, as well. Further, he showed some spunk and creativity in the run game, as well, throwing a block down field early in the game for Elijah Holyfield, and then later on when he picked up ten yards of his own.

Jake Fromm is the real deal. Image from Georgia Athletics.

The Gators Are Dang Good

This defense showed up, and this roster is talented. At the conclusion of my season preview for Florida I wrote, “I don’t buy the rhetoric coming out of most pundits that Florida is a few years behind Georgia. I just don’t. Maybe in maturation, but not in talent.” I still stand by those words. Pound for pound, Florida has a team that can compete in the SEC East and with Georgia. The biggest difference in Saturday’s game were turnovers and mental errors. In fact, you could argue that the biggest difference was program maturation. Yes, many Gator fans (and maybe even some Georgia fans) will point the blame at Feleipe Franks. In fact, Front Porch Football co-founder Brendan Paschal did as well. And while I think Franks was a big part of it, I also think it was an overall lack of mental fortitude that one often sees in the first year of a new era that doomed the Gators. I watched basically the entire game up until halfway in the fourth when I had to head into the South Carolina game. These were the moments that sunk the Gators.

Mistakes were the deciding factor for this game. Image from Florida Athletics.

1. On the very first defensive series for Florida, CJ McWilliams was told to put his knee pads over his knees. Instead of leave the field like he was told to, McWilliams stayed on the field with his exposed knees which resulted in a ten yard penalty against the Gators. Georgia went on to get further into field goal range and score three points.

2. On the very first offensive play for the Gators, Franks overthrew a wide-open Van Jefferson who would have scored a touchdown if he had caught the ball. I mean Jefferson had the Georgia secondary beat by at least five yards.

3. Later in that opening drive, Florida handed the ball off to the talented Jordan Scarlett who picked up the first down and an additional five yards before fumbling the football, allowing Georgia safety, Richard LeCounte, to scoop up the football and run about 30 yards to within inside 15 yards of a touchdown. Georgia would capitalize and score just a few plays later.

Jordan Scarlett fumbled the ball early. Image from The Gainesville Sun.

4. On the next Florida offensive drive, their second of the game, after rushing the ball well and gaining about 30 yards, Franks threw what has to be one of the worst interceptions I have ever seen. Josh Hammond ran what was about a 12 yard out route. Franks probably threw it 3 yards short and instead hit the Georgia defender, Tyrique McGhee, square in the chest. It was as if Franks was playing catch in the backyard with McGhee. Another wasted possession in Georgia territory.

5. With just under six minutes left in the second quarter, Florida tight end Moral Stephens dropped an easy catch from Franks which would have resulted in a first down in Georgia territory. Instead, the Gators had to punt.

6. With 1:44 left in the second quarter, freshman quarterback Emory Jones and running back Jordan Scarlett had horrific pitch relationship only needing a yard for the first down. It looked like Scarlett thought the play call was a read option with inside zone blocking instead of the traditional quick option to the outside. Because of the brief misstep inside, Scarlett was late getting outside.  Instead of getting the ball into Scarlett’s hands like Jones could have (which would have converted the third down in my opinion), Jones was forced to try and throw the ball behind him since Scarlett was behind him. This foolishness resulted in a fumble and a punt by the Gators.

Emory Jones saw some substantial playing time against Georgia. Image from USA Today.

7. The play of the game might have been the punt by Georgia in the third quarter that pinned the Gators on their own one yard line. On the very next play, Franks fumbled the ball trying to run through a defender. The Dawgs recovered and were only a yard away from the endzone. While the Gators defense had possibly the most impressive goal line stand in this rivalry’s long history, stopping the Dawgs from the one yard line seven times (drive was extended due to a suspect pass interference call), Georgia was still able to kick a field goal to extend their lead to two scores.

8. Florida answered with a field goal of their own, but down six in the fourth quarter proved to be too big of a stage for some of these Gators, failing to score again and giving up two more touchdowns. While the score (36-17) looked like a beatdown, this for the most part was a highly competitive game between two equally matched teams.

In closing, Georgia is a good football team, and after they beat Kentucky next weekend, I think they are in the playoff conversation even if they don’t win the SEC. Further, Florida is on schedule to get back to competing for SEC Titles, and even though they lost by 19 to Georgia, I think this past Saturday proved the Gators aren’t going anywhere.