UF will look
to contain an explosive Texas A&M offense and pick up the pace of its own attack during today’s SEC meeting in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE – Mired in an up-and-down season, UF coach Jim McElwain and the Gators still see hope, possibility and even another shot at an SEC championship.
“Everything is still out in front of us,” McElwain said.
The view is supported by the conference standings, but little else, entering today’s visit from Texas A&M.
The Gators (3-2, 3-1 SEC) have struggled on both sides of the football and continue to lose key players by the week, leaving UF with 19 scholarship players either suspended, out or questionable against the Aggies.
Coming off a one-point loss to LSU, McElwain is curious how his players will respond. Because another loss will crush any optimism and ambition that remain this season.
“How we approach that and how our guys choose to attack that is really going to be interesting,” McElwain said. “I don’t
care who is missing. It’s the guys that we have, go out and execute, play your tails off — and that’s what has to happen.”
It still might not be enough against coach Kevin Sumlin’s squad.
Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1) is explosive on both sides of the ball and sure to be motivated itself. Sumlin’s dicey future in College Station hinges on how his team finishes out the season.
“It’s a must-win game for both sides,” UF defensive end Jordan Sherit said. “It’s going to be two sides and who wants it more. I think that’s the answer and what we’re going to find out at the end of the game.”
Execution not effort cost UF against LSU.
Kicker Eddy Piñeiro’s missed extra point and a fourth-quarter collapse on offense exposed the young, banged-up Gators’ tissue-paper thin margin for error.
UF might not have to be perfect to win tonight, but will have to be sharper and faster than a week ago to keep up with the Aggies.
LSU, for one, flummoxed the Gators’ defense with jet sweeps sure to be included in Texas A&M’s arsenal.
“We know Texas A&M is gonna run them sweeps again,” said UF linebacker Kylan Johnson.
But the Aggies’ offense offers many more challenges for a UF defense ranked only 10th in the SEC against both the run and the pass and without a takeaway in three games.
A&M receiver/returner Christian Kirk is among the league’s top game-breakers. He has scored 27 touchdowns in 32 games at Texas A&M, including six this season, and averages 110.8 allpurpose yards in 2017.
Powerful Keith Ford and slippery Trayveon Williams form a one-two punch at tailback good for 742 yards and 12 touchdowns through six games. Meanwhile, freshman quarterback Kellen Mond is a threat passing and running — he passed for 216 yards and rushed for 109 last month against Arkansas.
A&M offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone packages all these high-octane pieces in an up-tempo attack averaging nearly 78.8 plays — 18 more than UF.
“We just gotta line up fast, get our feet in the ground and play fast,” Johnson said. “That’s how we are gonna stop them.”
The Gators counter with an offense struggling to find an identity behind redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks.
During a third-quarter surge against LSU, UF drove for a pair of touchdowns behind a power running game, with a dash of Franks tossed in. The Gators then gained just 24 yards on 13 snaps during the pivotal fourth quarter.
“I have no idea what happened after those two drives,” right guard Fred Johnson said. “We came out said we were gonna run and throw it. That’s what we did. And then after that, just the feel of the game started to change.
“Certain routes weren’t open, and certain assignments were being missed. Communication … all of that affected how the game fell apart.”
Last week, A&M showed it will not quit or back down, even against the top team in the nation. Trailing Alabama 24-3, the Aggies fought back to a respectable 27-19 decision — the first win by the Crimson Tide by fewer than 10 points in 11 SEC games.