Special teams are the Gators’ specialty,
When offense stalls, defense and special teams lead way
So it’s become the sum of a lot of different parts making the whole greater.
“When you win explosives ( big plays) and you win turnovers, which we were able to do, you’ve got a very good chance of winning the football game,” Muschamp said.
But the margin of error becomes even smaller this week. Georgia is averaging 486.86 yards in total offense and 39.57 points a game; both marks rank in the top 20 nationally.
Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray is second in the SEC in passing efficiency and presents another new test. GAINESVILLE, FLA. Florida’s offense has struggled at times to move the football. Starting running back Mike Gillislee has run for 67 and 37 yards in his past two games as defenses focus more and more on him. Quarterback Jeff Driskel hasn’t had a 100-yard passing game since Sept. 22 vs. Kentucky, a stretch of three games.
The Gators ranked 114th nationally in passing offense, No. 100 in total offense and 54th in scoring offense.
So how has Florida managed to start 7-0 (6-0 in Southeastern Conference play) despite those struggles that have prompted even Gators secondyear coach Will Muschamp to say this team has little room for mistakes?
“When I said we don’t have a whole lot of margin of error, I mean that we have to play well in all three phases,” he said. “It’s very evident every Saturday. We’re a team that’s not going to overpower you in any form or fashion. ... When we’re all hitting together, we’ve got a chance.”
The chance starts with special teams, which are among the nation’s best. Kyle Christy, the SEC specialteams player of the week, leads the nation with a 47.94-yard punting average. He set a school single-game mark with a 54.3-yard average in Saturday’s 44-11 win vs. South Carolina.
Kicker Caleb Sturgis has missed one extra-point and two field goal attempts this season. He leads the SEC with 1.71 field goals a game. Florida ranks seventh in total defense and ninth nationally in turnover margin. The Gators were 108th in turnover margin a year ago.
Florida had a season-high four forced turnovers vs. the Gamecocks, two on special teams, leading to a bizarre halftime statistic: The Gators had 29 yards of total offense but led 21-6.
But whatever the task each week, Florida seems to find a way to adjust to the other team’s strengths.
“Every opponent is different.” Muschamp said. “You may go into a game thinking you’re going to do this, and it’s kind of like Trey Burton’s (Wildcat) package. We have a package for him every week. Based on some looks they were giving us, it was really working for us. It was something that was really good for us in the game. You’ve got to change gears. You may have thought these things were going to be good, and they weren’t as good. It’s about what we need to do to win the game.
“That can change week-to-week, and sometimes your idea of what it’s going to take can certainly change. That’s one thing that is really good about our staff is we adapt very well when the circumstances do change.”