Any hope that Florida football had for a prestigious postseason destination evaporated in the Louisiana swamps on Saturday when the LSU Tigers held their home ground and ran over the Gators for a 49-42 win in what turned out to be an offensive onslaught on both sides. The loss dropped UF under the .500 mark in SEC play and gave it a 4-3 overall record so far for the 2021 campaign.
To be perfectly honest, the loss was embarrassing for many reasons, not limited to a ridiculous number of interceptions, an even more ridiculous number of yards surrendered to LSU’s ground game and a complete absence of its own running game — which came in ranked among the best in the nation against a defense that left a great deal to be desired.
Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports published his winners and losers for Week 7 Saturday night, and predictably picked Florida for one of his “losers” for obvious reasons. Here is what Myerberg had to say.
The run defense is one problem. The defense as a whole is another. Then there’s the mismanagement of the quarterback position, with Dan Mullen still leaning on Emory Jones despite the clear difference in overall production with Anthony Richardson under center. Once a real contender for the New Year’s Six, the Gators are winless in three games against ranked competition and quickly turning into one of the biggest disappointments in the Power Five.
The fact of the matter is that this Gators football team is a mess and every week it feels like playing whack-a-mole trying to figure out what the weaknesses will be for that game. The coaching staff has been unable to assemble a game plan that operates over the entire 60 minutes of play, and that is why 2021 has turned out to be the rebuilding season many had predicted.
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