Gators ‘D’ continues to struggle when stops are needed the most
JACKSONVILE — Georgia lined up on 4th-and-1 at its own 34-yard line to run a quarterback sneak with Stetson Bennett and converted with ease.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs knew they could have their way — punting wasn’t even a consideration — against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
Half the battle to winning a college football game on the defensive side is the basics that consist of tackling, being in the right spots and capitalizing on opportunities.
Coach Billy Napier’s unit didn’t check any of those boxes at TIAA Bank Field for a rivalry called “the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
His Gators were left feeling hung over for the fifth time in six meetings.
“We dug ourselves in a whole in the first half,” said Napier of his team’s 28-3 halftime deficit. “To go where we want to go, to win an SEC championship, we have to do it all really well. We have to develop. We’re going to watch the film to see areas where we can be better.”
The displeasing performance by the defense didn’t go unnoticed as the sea of blue and orange cleared out of the stadium early during the 100th meeting between the teams.
In the end, a 42-20 loss to the Bulldogs keeps the Gators (4-4, 1-4 SEC) in a hole and still struggling to achieve bowl eligibility. It didn’t appear that the defense improved much, if at all, from the last game two weeks ago against LSU, which scored
45 points and posted more than 500 yards of offense against Florida.
The Gators defense allowed 555 yards to Georgia.
They had difficulty covering tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey as the duo combined for 205 yards and 1 touchdown each.
The defense has allowed 112 10-plus yard plays — more than any SEC team but Vanderbilt — and 35 20-plus yard plays which is ahead of only Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
Things began to look up in the second half Saturday. Senior inside linebacker Amari Burney forced 2 turnovers late in the third quarter that set up scoring drives for the Gators as they cut the deficit to 28-20.
The missed tackles, however, set them back again and overshadowed that momentary progress.
“[Georgia] rushed the ball very effective. They’re a really good football team that’s wellcoached,” Napier said. “The key is to learn from our experience, and we certainly learned a lot about what we need to do.”
To get back to Gators football to compete atop the SEC, the defense has a long climb ahead.