This year was supposed to be different, but Florida’s 41-17 loss against Miami on Saturday has morale at an all-time low in Gainesville.
[autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag].’s 71-yard touchdown in the second quarter was the only bright spot of the contest and was the last time Florida came within a score of its in-state rival.
The defense struggled after repeating several of the same mistakes we saw from them a year ago, and a [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag]-led offense appeared unable to manufacture anything positive until he got hurt.
Mertz’s injury might have brought the only silver lining of the day, though. No one expected the [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] era to begin so early, but the true freshman led the Gators to its only score of the second half.
Too many missed opportunities in the first half
Things got ugly fast after halftime, but Florida wasn’t that far from holding a lead through the first 30 minutes of action.
A pair of roughing-the-passer penalties accelerated/extended Miami drives and directly led to a pair of touchdowns. The first came from Justus Boone on a third-down play that would have forced a punt from the Hurricanes. Instead, Miami quarterback Cam Ward found Cam McCormick to break a 0-0 tie.
The other roughing the passer penalty came in the second quarter on a DJ Douglas blitz that he couldn’t slow down on. Granted, that was on first down, so it didn’t directly lead to a touchdown, but it certainly accelerated Miami’s path to a two-score lead.
On offense, Graham Mertz struggled to connect on deep passes, completing just one of seven attempts from beyond 15 yards. Two notable overthrows in the direction of [autotag]Elijhah Badger[/autotag] stand out, in particular. If Mertz is healthy enough to return, he’ll need to refine his connection with the Arizona State transfer. The concepts aren’t the problem; it’s execution.
The defense is already banged up
Despite allowing Miami to put up over 500 yards of total offense, this Florida defense looks better than last year’s, or at least more talented. However, injuries are already an issue, both in the trenches and in the secondary.
[autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag], who has enough talent to be a shutdown cornerback in the SEC, left the game in the first half and didn’t return. Cam Ward targeted his backup, [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag], who doesn’t appear ready to be an every-down player quite yet.
[autotag]Asa Turner[/autotag] also went down with what looked like a non-contact injury to his lower body. Turner grabbed his hamstring walking off the field, but replays of the injury show a clear jerk in his knee. An ACL injury would devastate Florida’s secondary, and remove a veteran leader from the position room.
Those two injuries help explain Miami’s 385 passing yards and three scores through the air.
There’s also the front seven to worry about, although it seems to be the defensive line that struggled more than the edge guys and linebackers. [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] reeled in a tipped pass for an interception at a crucial moment before things got out of hand, and [autotag]Grayson Howard[/autotag] had a nice wrap-up tackle in a one-on-one situation. Miami didn’t put up crazy rushing numbers, either — 148 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.
Florida’s pass rush was non-existent, however. Ward and his receivers had all the time in the world to break coverage, and Florida’s lone sack ([autotag]Tyreak Sapp[/autotag]) came because Ward held the ball too long. The Gators face too tough of a schedule to win without getting penetration up front. And they certainly can’t afford to commit penalties when the pass rush does work.
Miami’s offense ran up and down Steve Spurrier Field at will on Saturday. Imagine what Georgia, Tennessee and Texas are going to do away from Gainesville if this kind of play keeps up from Florida.
Hover over the panic button, but don’t press it
A three-score loss after two straight losing seasons is typically enough for an SEC fan base to turn on its coach and athletic director. Half of Gator Nation is already there, but the other half is still hoping that this was just the Week 1 jitters.
Florida’s in for a long season if things don’t change, but the Mertz injury might have forced Billy Napier’s hand in the best way. DJ Lagway is the future of this program, and getting him on the field now against the toughest schedule he’ll see as a Gator is a good thing.
Lagway only attempted six passes over three drives, one of which was an interception, but there’s no denying the tone shift that came when stepped on the field. Lagway looks like an SEC quarterback, even if he makes the mistakes a true freshman should. He leads the drive with intent, and he’s a legitimate dual threat, unlike Mertz.
Former Florida wide receiver [autotag]Jacob Copeland[/autotag] commented on social media that Lagway showed shades of [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] in his first appearance in the Orange and Blue after seeing Lagway rip a 16-yard run. If Lagway gets significant playing time moving forward, this is a completely different Florida offense.
That’s not to say Graham Mertz shouldn’t return if he’s healthy enough, but rather to suggest a complete lean into a two-quarterback system. It’s worked for Florida in the past (Leak-Tebow). Why not try it again?
It would be malpractice not to mention Montrell Johnson Jr. again in this section. He ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries after missing most of fall camp with a knee injury that required minor surgery. His 71-yarder provided the bulk of those yards, but he was effective throughout the game. Florida needs to lean on him more moving forward if he can handle the workload.
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