Like moths to a flame, the Gators ate up all of the rat poison served to them by the media and their fan base all week. Then they traveled to Missouri and were humiliated by the Tigers 45-17 in a game that wasn’t competitive after Florida tied the score at 10 midway through the second quarter. Even then, it was obvious that the players were flat, as there was little to no emotion or juice throughout the roster. I included a rat poison warning at the end of my game preview, and unfortunately a lot of immaturity and inability to take and respond to some direct hits showed up all afternoon.
The performance by the Florida defense was frighteningly reminiscent of what was seen the previous 4 years – ZERO pass coverage, the front seven getting pushed around and run over, and just meekly capitulating to their opponent with no resistance. Austin Simmons was practically untouched while torching the secondary for 340 yards passing and 2 TDs, while the Gators made Jamal Roberts look like Bo Jackson as he rolled up 211 yards rushing and 3 TDs. The score went from 10-10 midway in the 2nd quarter to 45-10 with 4 minutes left, and it looked more like a controlled scrimmage for the Tiger offense. DC Brad White has earned close to an ‘F’ grade so far, and I’m not kidding when I say Jon Sumrall may have to take a very hard look at scrapping everything White is trying to do and to start over…..including White’s responsibilities. It’s that bad. The entire secondary looks completely lost and lacks confidence in coverage, while the front seven doesn’t play with an aggressive scheme despite having a lot of SEC athletes. There is no need to try and analyze any particular thing – this was a complete disaster.
The Gator offense was flat out bad as well, just overshadowed by the hideous defensive display. Jaden Baugh gained 11 yards on his first carry, and finished with……13 yards on 12 carries. You can’t make that up – a total failure by the O-line. That left any hope of scoring up to Aaron Philo, and he simply is not built to carry a team when it has to rely solely on the passing game. He was pressured often, and never had any real chance of rallying the offense as things turned bad midway in the 2nd quarter. WR Dallas Wilson had 4 catches and a TD, but no one else stepped up in the absence of VB3. TJ Abrams caught a 42-yard TD from Tramell Jones in garbage time, but I put no positive spin on that. Again, just no energy or juice, after performing so well the first 4 games. It was surprising given OC Buster Faulkner’s experience and success that there seemed to be no real adjustments made at halftime.
It looks like Jon Sumrall inherited a lot of negatives from Basement Boy, including the inability of many players left over from the previous regime to handle adversity, and a losing mentality when punched in the mouth. It may take longer than anyone hoped to wash away the remnants of the damage left behind. What an incredible disappointment, and now we’ll have to see if this team has any maturity and self-respect. Is it willing to flush away this abomination, get back to basics, and show some fight? Sumrall will take ownership of all the bad as a head coach should, but let’s be honest – this one is mostly on the players, along with Coach White.
Hey – maybe some good comes from this. Sumrall gets to see who on the roster is willing to fight back – or not – starting next week. Maybe Coach Faulkner sticks around another season. Maybe – no, hopefully – Sumrall s***-cans whatever White is doing with the defense, and also realizes he may have to make a tough staff decision much earlier than he hoped. Sadly, for now it’s Back To The Future for Gator Football, with the nightmare of the Napier Error flashing before the eyes of Gator Nation. Let’s see if this coach and staff can push the right buttons and get the team to bounce back – hopefully quickly.