It was an ugly scene in Austin during college football’s Week 11, where the Texas Longhorns whipped the Florida Gators, 49-17, in the two schools’ first meeting since 1940 and as mutual members of the Southeastern Conference.
The ‘Horns came out strong but an early stop in the red zone by the Gators gave Billy Napier and Co. some early confidence… which was quickly evaporated later that quarter. The Orange and Blue did not score its first points until 7:03 in the third quarter and by that time the home team had run out to an insurmountable lead.
After the dust settled from the SEC gridiron action, Florida’s head coach spoke with the sports media about the events that unfurled inside Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium this weekend.
Opening statement
“OK, we — look we struggled to get anything going early. Obviously, a first half where they have 353 yards, about 10 yards a play. Felt like the rush and the coverage never married up and then we didn’t tackle very well. Just overall, fundamentals and technique.
“Obviously, in the back end, we struggled to keep up with them and tackle. You’re not going to win turning the ball over four times against a team like that. We had two tipped interceptions, we had a fumble, short field missed field goal. Any chance of momentum, we missed a field goal early.
“Look, I do think the kids continue to play with fortitude in the second half but not good enough. I think, overall, it got out of hand in the first half. You looked up and the game was over. We have to evaluate the effort, we have to evaluate the point of attack, issues that we had and we just have to flat-out play better.
“I didn’t think we defended them very well. Obviously, Aidan fought his tail off out there today. Some good things for a guy making his first start against a really good defense, one of the better defenses in the country. Good to see him move the team a little bit in the second half.
“But again, we rushed the ball but in general, we had no continuity. You go into the game understanding that you’re playing with your third quarterback and you know you have to defend them and we did not do that. I think we lost a little bit of our steam there because of that.
“Just in general, not good enough. Period.”
On DJ Lagway’s progress throughout the week:
“I think that he got better each day. A little bit better with each opportunity. I do think that he probably felt as good as he’s felt since the injury today pregame. That’s kind of what he voiced to me. But not quite ready.
“I think there was risk with putting him out there with a soft-tissue injury. All of the metrics said he’s not quite ready to do it but we’re hopeful. He’s made some progress and we’ll get a good feel for it early next week.”
On Florida’s depleted secondary
“And the guys that are playing are banged up. Let me tell you something, I appreciate the toughness. DD, Cormani, Trikweze, they played today through some things.
“But just in general I didn’t think we covered well, and again, the rush is not landing. The loose plays, the perimeter tackling, we didn’t play the perimeter plays well at all – and obviously that’s the secondary.”
On a lack of effort when trailing
“Yeah, I think early … we had some chances. Look, we had 3rd-and-10, fourth-and-one, I thought they had it to us early, to be honest. But yeah, just early in general we didn’t do enough to slow them down.
“Then we go fumbling and bang, bang you look up and it’s 14-0. Then here we go, we’re moving down there and we have an opportunity to make it 14-3 and we miss a field goal. I think that affected the momentum a little bit, no question about it.”
On whether the team needs to be deeper
“Some of these scenarios we’re talking about is a third-team guy. So the two areas that have been banged, the secondary and obviously at quarterback. I think outside of that we’ve survived it to some degree.
“I just think the running backs have performed. We haven’t really had any injuries, or depth issues, at any other positions.”
On the defensive effort
“I didn’t think we tackled well. I didn’t think we played the perimeter plays well. And I don’t think when it was pocket-pass, we’re not landing. We didn’t affect the quarterback.
“That’s one of the things we’ve been doing well. We’ve been affecting the quarterback, and the rush and coverage have been working well together. We did not do that well today. That paired with some of the tackling and the way we played on the perimeter, that’s when you look up and it’s 10 yards a play in the first half.”
On Texas’ playmakers
“Good skill, really good skill at receiver, at running back. It’s a talented group. And obviously, when you don’t affect the quarterback and he’s able to work his way all the way through the progressions and throw completions, that’s when they cause problems for you.”
On a sense of frustration with the defense
“There’s no question about it. There’s no question about it.”
On AD Scott Stricklin’s vote of confidence
“First of all, I’m thankful for our players. I think you ultimately answer questions with players. We would not have made some of the progress we made over the last four, five, six weeks without a great group of players relative to what I’ve talked before, the character there at the core of that group, their leadership.
“Obviously, the staff has done a good job. Again, I do think when you look at the roster as a whole, we have a ton of young talent that I think will continue to develop. They’re learning, they’re going through this experience, and I think that will prove beneficial in the future.”
Next up for Florida
The Gators return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to host the LSU Tigers in college football’s Week 12. The Southeastern Conference matchup will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
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