Florida’s Week 3 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday was a struggle to watch, but fans might be surprised at some of the grades earned by the Gators in defeat.
The pass-blocking unit was pretty good, but that doesn’t mean the passing game was efficient. Down a top receiver and splitting dropbacks between two quarterbacks led to some dysfunction for the Orange and Blue, and a typically stout run game was almost non-existent on Saturday.
Once again, the good outweighs the bad for Florida, and it’s easy to see why the Gators ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Let’s take a look at what Pro Football Focus said about the Gators’ performance in Week 3.
Understanding PFF grades
The grading scale ranges from minus-2 to plus-2 with increments of 0.5, and players are given a grade on every play they are on the field for. A zero grade means a player did his job, while the two ends of the scale represent extreme success or failure — think red zone interception at the end of a game or a game-winning touchdown pass when applying it to quarterbacks.
There’s a level of subjectivity to it, but each grade is reviewed at least once. Once all plus-minus grades are in, the numbers are converted to a 0-100 scale to easily compare players. There are some loosely defined tiers within the system — 90-100 is elite, 85-89 is Pro Bowl level for NFL players, 70 to 84 is a starter and 60-69 is a backup. Anything 59 and below is considered a replaceable talent.
Since we’re looking at college athletes with a system designed for the pros, we will consider anything above 65.0 as a solid performance.
Quarterbacks
Florida earned a 62.9 grade from PFF on passing plays. It’s a much better figure than the 37.1 put up against Miami but is a bigger drop than desired after a 90.5 in Week 2 against Samford.
The Gators dropped back 33 times over 59 total offensive snaps, splitting the dropbacks rather evenly between Graham Mertz (16)and DJ Lagway (17). Mertz had the higher passing grade, 68.6, to Lagway’s 56.1, mostly due to the second interception thrown by the true freshman. However, Mertz was charged with two turnover-worthy plays while Lagway had none, meaning the interception wasn’t solely on him.
Lagway also faced twice as many defensive pressures (6) than Mertz (3). Some of that can be chalked up to waiting too long in the pocket, but Lagway and Mertz finished the day within 0.12 seconds on time-to-throw during dropbacks.
Receivers
Florida struggled on offense all around, but their second worst grade of the day came from the receiver corps at 60.3, according to PFF.
With Eugene Wilson III out against Texas A&M, it was Chimere Dike who stepped up as the team’s lead receiver on Saturday. He played 44 snaps, which is the most of any skill position player on Florida’s offense this week, and hauled in six of seven targets for a 70.4 offensive grade and 69.5 receiving grade.
One drop hurt him a little, but he was still Florida’s most reliable receiver against TAMU. Dike thrived in the intermediate range (10 to 19-yard passes). He added 34 yards after the catch to finish the day with 91 in total and a touchdown. Florida’s quarterbacks had a 158.3 passer rating when targeting Dike at the intermediate level.
Elijhah Badger has been Florida’s No. 2 receiver all season, and he had another solid game against Texas A&M. Pro Football Focus gave Badger a 73.8 grade on offense and a 72.9 grade as a receiver. He’s another guy who gets targets on intermediate and deep passes often. Badger reeled in five catches on six targets with no drops.
Arlis Boardingham also caught five balls on six targets, but his receiver grade (52.0) suffered because of a drop. Hayden Hansen was the more efficient tight end despite only reeling in one catch on three targets. Hansen earned the team’s highest receiver grade (73.7), although a 61.8 pass-blocking grade is a bit uncharacteristic of him. Tony Livingston had a solid blocking day at 68.5 though.
Marcus Burke (47.1), Aidan Mizell (53.3) and Taylor Spierto (52.2) all played 13 or more snaps and were targeted at least once. They combined for zero catches on five targets, with Burke providing the lone drop.
Running backs
The running backs room provided the lowest offensive grade of the day (57.6) for Florida. Rushing was supposed to be a strength for the Orange and Blue with Montrell Johnson Jr. returning for a third year in the Swamp, but it hasn’t gone that way so far.
Florida ran the ball 23 times on Saturday, splitting the carries between Jonhson (7), Treyaun Webb (6), Ja’Kobi Jackson (4) and Jadan Baugh (1). The other five attempts came from Lagway (2), Mertz (1) and a sweep from Tank Hawkins.
Johnson finished the day with -7 yards, his worst performance as a Gator, but his grades might be higher than expected. On run plays, Johnson earned a 59.7, which is still replacement level but not a total disaster. This might have been a case of good defense shutting down the strongest part of Florida’s offense. Don’t forget, TAMU has several former Florida coaches and players that know the offense well.
Webb had the highest run grade of the day for Florida at 68.8, rushing for a team-high 37 yards. He ran the ball exclusively to the left side of the line, finding the most success in the gap between the center and left guard. Webb also put up a decent pass-blocking grade of 73.3.
Jackson’s four carries were fruitful. He ended the day with 23 yards and a touchdown, grading out at 66.1 just behind Webb. He broke a 10-yard rush off the right end, accounting for the majority of Florida’s 18 rush yards on that side of the line.
Blocking
Some of Florida’s failure in the run game can be blamed on the offensive line. A 63.0 run-blocking grade is replacement-level play, but the pass protection was actually quite strong at 84.0. We’ll go left to right by position to analyze the line’s play this weekend.
Left Tackle
Austin Barber played all 59 snaps at left tackle for Florida this weekend, but it wasn’t his best performance. A 61.7 pass-blocking grade and a 63.2 run-blocking grade are both below our 65.0 threshold for solid play. With Barber being a veteran leader of the unit, his standard is set even higher than that.
Barber allowed three of Texas A&M’s six quarterback pressures on the day.
Left Guard
Knijeah Harris got the start at left guard for Florida, but he ended up splitting snaps with Bryce Lovett. Harris played 32 to Lovett’s 27, but there’s a solid chance Lovett gets more playing time each week Harris struggles.
Harris is the better run blocker (59.1 to Lovett’s 56.0), but both are playing at replacement level. What makes Lovett stand out is his prowess as a pass blocker (85.0 to Harris’ 67.7). The good news is that both options appear solid in pass protection, but Lovett’s clearly the guy you want on the field in a two-minute drill.
Center
Jake Slaughter played all 59 snaps like Barber, but he was significantly more efficient. Pro Football Focus gives Slaughter an 86.2 pass-blocking grade and a 67.1 run-blocking grade. Neither are the highest figures on the team, but it’s still a very strong performance from the anchor of the O-line.
Right Guard
Kamryn Waites is beginning to take over at right guard, but it was still Damieon George Jr. who got the start. George played just 24 snaps to Waites’ 35, though.
Waites was the team’s best pass blocker (88.3) and run blocker (77.6). He also ended the day as the team’s second-highest-graded player on offense.
George struggled against the run defense, putting up a 47.8 as a run blocker. However, his 83.8 pass-blocking grade makes up for some of that poor play. George was moved from right tackle to right guard this season in hopes of making him more efficient, but he’s still figuring things out.
Right Tackle
This is the big surprise of the day. Florida’s right tackle play was atrocious against Miami with Waites starting on the edge, but Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson has since taken over and appears to be out of the funk he started the season in.
Crenshaw-Dickson was the highest-graded offensive player on the team with an 80.2 overall grade. His 85.3 grade as a pass blocker was also the highest for Florida in Week 3, and a 74.7 run-blocking grade puts him just behind Waites. Not to mention he played all 59 snaps as well.
This is the kind of week-to-week adjustment Billy Napier has been talking about in his press conferences. It’s good to see at least one thing go right for Florida, even though it resulted in a loss.
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