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What The Heck HAPPENED to UF's Offense & Can It Be FIXED? · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to A Peak Inside Gator Football Alley Peak here.
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  Speaker 1: This video is brought to you by PrizePix. Don't forget,
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  Speaker 1: get $ 150 in lineups instantly. So I've got two numbers
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  Speaker 1: that I want you to think about today, 387 and 393.
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  Speaker 1: That's how many total yards Florida and South Carolina had
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday. Okay. Just six yards separated these two offenses. Now,
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  Speaker 1: if I told you that without giving you the final score,
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  Speaker 1: you probably assumed that we watched a pretty competitive football game,
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  Speaker 1: maybe one that came down to the final possession. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: South Carolina walked out of Gainesville with a 38-19 victory,
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  Speaker 1: and Florida suffered its second consecutive embarrassing loss. So how
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  Speaker 1: does that happen? How do you move the football nearly
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  Speaker 1: 400 yards finished with 20 first downs, and somehow managed
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  Speaker 1: just 19 points. And here's something even more frustrating. Florida
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  Speaker 1: had four possessions that covered a combined 231 yards. Those
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  Speaker 1: four possessions produced six points. Meanwhile, South Carolina had two
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  Speaker 1: touchdown drives that combined to cover 53 yards. 14 points
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  Speaker 1: on 53 yards of offense. Think about that for a second.
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  Speaker 1: When you really start looking at this game, possession by possession,
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  Speaker 1: you realize Florida didn't just struggle to move the football.
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  Speaker 1: The Gators were absolutely terrible at turning that movement into points.
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  Speaker 1: And today I want to break down exactly where things
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  Speaker 1: went wrong because I think the answers tell us quite
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  Speaker 1: a bit about what is happening with Florida's offense right now.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think the box score tells the whole story.
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  Speaker 1: Let's start with, you know, the overall numbers. Florida finished, again,
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  Speaker 1: with 387 yards of total offense on 74 plays. South
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  Speaker 1: Carolina had 393 yards of offense on 72 plays. Florida
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  Speaker 1: had 21st downs. South Carolina had 22. The Gators converted
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  Speaker 1: 16 of 13 third-down opportunities and one of two fourth-downs. Now,
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  Speaker 1: those aren't spectacular numbers, but they don't necessarily scream a
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  Speaker 1: 19-point blowout either. So where is the disconnect? Well, part
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  Speaker 1: of that is not all yards are created equal. You
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  Speaker 1: can move the ball from your own 20 to the
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  Speaker 1: opponent's 30, but if you don't finish the possession, those
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  Speaker 1: yards don't appear on the scoreboard. That's exactly what happened
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  Speaker 1: to Florida. In fact, by the time the Gators started
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  Speaker 1: their final possession with just over four minutes remaining, they
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  Speaker 1: already had 330 yards of total offense and just 13 points.
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  Speaker 1: The final touchdown came with one minute remaining and Florida
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  Speaker 1: trailing by 25. So let's be clear, the final scoring
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  Speaker 1: drive wasn't representative of Florida's ability to move the ball
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  Speaker 1: when this game was still competitive. And when you look
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  Speaker 1: at some of the opportunities earlier in the afternoon, that
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  Speaker 1: makes this performance even harder to accept. Let's go back
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  Speaker 1: to the end of the first quarter. Florida had already
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  Speaker 1: shown it can make an explosive play. Aaron Filo found
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  Speaker 1: Bailey Stockton for a 59-yard touchdown, gives the Gators a
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  Speaker 1: 7-0 lead. That's exactly the kind of play that this
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  Speaker 1: offense was producing during the first four games of the season.
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  Speaker 1: But after South Carolina tied it up, Florida puts together
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  Speaker 1: what should have been a really encouraging possession. 13 plays,
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  Speaker 1: 72 yards, more than six minutes off the clock. And
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  Speaker 1: the Gators get all the way down to the South
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  Speaker 1: Carolina nine-yard line with a fresh set of downs, first
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  Speaker 1: and goal. This is where good offenses finish drives. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: Jaden Bogg gained four yards on first down. Philo gains
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  Speaker 1: two on second down. And on third and three, Philo
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  Speaker 1: keeps it again and goes nowhere. Now you're kicking a
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  Speaker 1: 21-yard field goal, three points instead of seven. And listen,
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  Speaker 1: I understand that you're not going to score a touchdown
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  Speaker 1: every single time you get inside the 10, but look
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  Speaker 1: at this sequence. Three straight running plays, and you can't
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  Speaker 1: gain nine yards? You have Dallas Wilson. You have Bailey Stockton.
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  Speaker 1: You have, you know, weapons. Bailey Stockton had already made
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  Speaker 1: a huge play on that actual drive. You can't find
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  Speaker 1: a way to get the football into the end zone?
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  Speaker 1: Was that play calling? Was it execution? Was South Carolina
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  Speaker 1: simply better up front? It is probably a combination of
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  Speaker 1: several of those things, but for me, that was the
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  Speaker 1: first real missed opportunity of the afternoon. Florida did the
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  Speaker 1: difficult part. It moved the ball 72 yards, and then
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  Speaker 1: they couldn't finish the job. Now let's fast forward to
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  Speaker 1: the second quarter. It's tied at 10, and there are
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  Speaker 1: just over four minutes remaining. Florida gets the football at
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  Speaker 1: its own 25. This is a really important moment because
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  Speaker 1: the Gators deferred to start the game. They know they're
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  Speaker 1: receiving the second half kickoff. So there's an opportunity here
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  Speaker 1: to score before halftime, get the ball back, and potentially
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  Speaker 1: build a two-possession lead. Instead, everything unravels. Philo completes a
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  Speaker 1: four-yard pass to Dallas Wilson on first down. Then Florida
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  Speaker 1: commits a false start. So instead of second and six,
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  Speaker 1: it's second and 11. And on the next play, Philo
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  Speaker 1: is intercepted by Bakari Swain. South Carolina takes over at
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  Speaker 1: the Florida 26. Five plays later, Lenora Sellers finds Bennett Jr.
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  Speaker 1: in the end zone for a touchdown. Suddenly, Florida is
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  Speaker 1: trailing 17-10. This is one of those things that drives
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  Speaker 1: me crazy about this game. It's not simply that Florida
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  Speaker 1: failed to score. The Gators took a possession that could
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  Speaker 1: have produced points and turned it into seven points for
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  Speaker 1: the other team. That's a massive swing. And it's another
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  Speaker 1: example of how one mistake compounds into several more. The
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  Speaker 1: false start puts you behind the chains. The quarterback made
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  Speaker 1: a bad decision. The defense inherits a short field, and
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  Speaker 1: South Carolina takes advantage. That's how the game gets away
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  Speaker 1: from you. But here's another part of this sequence that
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  Speaker 1: deserves attention. After South Carolina takes the lead, Florida gets
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  Speaker 1: the ball back with a minute and 40 seconds remaining.
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  Speaker 1: And this is where I really want to question the approach.
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  Speaker 1: Florida still had time to answer, but the club keeps running.
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  Speaker 1: Florida picks up a first down with 30 seconds remaining
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  Speaker 1: and then loses a yard on a Jaden Ball run.
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  Speaker 1: The Gators don't call their first timeout until there's only
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  Speaker 1: 22 seconds left. Then, suddenly, they start to move the ball.
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  Speaker 1: Philo finds Wilson for 16 yards. He gets nine more
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  Speaker 1: from Evan Pryor, then another 13 to Wilson, and another
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  Speaker 1: five to Luke Harpering. Florida has moved 52 yards and
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  Speaker 1: positioned Patrick Durkin for a 43-yard field goal. They position
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  Speaker 1: him on the right hash, though. I have an issue
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  Speaker 1: with that. Durkin misses the field goal. And the Gators
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  Speaker 1: go into the locker room trailing by seven. Now, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not going to pretend we know that Florida would have
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  Speaker 1: scored a touchdown with a more aggressive clock management. We
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  Speaker 1: don't know that. But I absolutely think it's fair to
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  Speaker 1: question whether the offensive approach that possession had enough urgency,
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  Speaker 1: especially knowing that you're getting the football to start the
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  Speaker 1: third quarter. Instead, Florida had an opportunity to put points
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  Speaker 1: on the board and came away empty. That's now two
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  Speaker 1: substantial drives where Florida has moved the football, but they
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  Speaker 1: failed to get the payoff it needed. Now I want
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  Speaker 1: to talk about the second half. This might actually be
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  Speaker 1: the possession that frustrated me the very most. Florida gets
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  Speaker 1: the ball to start the third quarter. You're down seven.
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  Speaker 1: You're playing at home. You just had an extended halftime
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  Speaker 1: because of a lightning delay. This is your chance to
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  Speaker 1: come out, make a statement, and tie the football game.
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  Speaker 1: And initially, the drive does look promising. Jaden Baugh picks
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  Speaker 1: up a first down on third and one. Then he
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  Speaker 1: gains five yards. Then he breaks off for a 26-yard
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  Speaker 1: run to the South Carolina 32. And for a moment,
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  Speaker 1: you're thinking, okay, here we go. Maybe Florida finally has
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  Speaker 1: found something in the running game. But what happens next?
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  Speaker 1: Ball gets stopped for no gain. Philo completes a five-yard
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  Speaker 1: pass to Evan Pryor. And then on third and five,
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  Speaker 1: Pryor loses three yards on a rushing attempt. So you
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  Speaker 1: go from a 26-yard explosive run to a third down
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  Speaker 1: play that moves you backwards. Then Patrick Durkin makes a
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  Speaker 1: 48-yard field goal. So now it's 17-13. And yeah, you
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  Speaker 1: are within four points. But once again, the offense has
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  Speaker 1: moved the ball into scoring position and failed to finish.
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  Speaker 1: And what happens immediately afterwards? South Carolina marches 75 yards
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  Speaker 1: in six plays and scores a touchdown. Florida spends nine
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  Speaker 1: plays getting three points. South Carolina needs six plays to
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  Speaker 1: get seven. That's the difference between moving the football and
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  Speaker 1: actually threatening your opponent. Now let's jump to the end
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  Speaker 1: of the third quarter. Florida's trailing 31-13. And at this point,
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  Speaker 1: the Gators desperately need something positive. They've put together another
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  Speaker 1: promising possession. Philo completes a pass to Stockton. He runs
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  Speaker 1: for a first down. Then he finds Stockton again for
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  Speaker 1: 10 yards. Dallas Wilson gets involved. Stockton adds another 22-yard reception.
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  Speaker 1: And suddenly, Florida is inside the South Carolina 30. You
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  Speaker 1: can see the offense beginning to find some rhythm. Then
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  Speaker 1: Philo connects with Ball for nine yards. And then Florida
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  Speaker 1: has second and one at the South Carolina 17. Now
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  Speaker 1: think about that situation. You need a touchdown. You are
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  Speaker 1: already down 18 points. And you've finally gotten the ball
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  Speaker 1: into an area where you can put real pressure on
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  Speaker 1: the defense. But on the next play, Philo runs the
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  Speaker 1: ball and fumbles. South Carolina recovers at its own 13.
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  Speaker 1: That is an eight-play, 62-yard drive. Zero points. And another
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  Speaker 1: scoring opportunity gone. And to be fair, by this point,
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  Speaker 1: Florida's defense has already put the offense in an enormous hole.
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  Speaker 1: But you can't turn the football over inside the red
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  Speaker 1: zone and expect to give yourself any chance to recover.
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  Speaker 1: And that brings us back to those numbers that I
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  Speaker 1: mentioned at the beginning. Four possessions, 72 yards for a
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  Speaker 1: field goal, 52 yards for a missed field goal, 45
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  Speaker 1: yards for another field goal, and 62 yards ends in
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  Speaker 1: a fumble. 231 yards, six points. That is the story
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  Speaker 1: of Florida's offense against South Carolina. I want to take
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  Speaker 1: a quick break and give some love to our partners
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  Speaker 1: you know, I want to dig into why these drives
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  Speaker 1: keep falling apart, because I don't think you can blame
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  Speaker 1: every stalled possession on one bad call. Some of this
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  Speaker 1: comes down to the way Florida is operating offensively. Let's
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  Speaker 1: look at the rushing attack. Florida finished with 120 yards
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  Speaker 1: rushing on 38 attempts. That is 3.2 yards per carry.
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  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh had 59 yards on 15 carries, but 26
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  Speaker 1: of those yards came on one run. That means on
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  Speaker 1: his other 14 carries, he managed just 33 yards. And
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  Speaker 1: when your running game is producing that kind of inconsistency,
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  Speaker 1: it creates problems for everywhere else. You're constantly asking your
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  Speaker 1: quarterback to convert second and long or third and medium situations.
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  Speaker 1: And South Carolina was able to take advantage. Florida also
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  Speaker 1: gave up three sacks for 24 yards in losses. Think
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  Speaker 1: about the impact that has on a drive. A sack
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  Speaker 1: on second down doesn't just cost you yardage. It takes
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  Speaker 1: an offense that might have been in a manageable situation
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  Speaker 1: and puts it in a position where the defense knows
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  Speaker 1: you are probably throwing the football. And that's where this
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  Speaker 1: offense then becomes predictable. But there's another number I found interesting.
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  Speaker 1: According to pro football focus data reported by the independent
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  Speaker 1: Florida Alligator, nine of Philo's 21 completions came behind the
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  Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. Nine. So while Philo completed 75% of
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  Speaker 1: his passes, that completion percentage doesn't really tell you how
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  Speaker 1: effective Florida was at attacking the defense. A lot of
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  Speaker 1: those throws were short underneath passes and Those plays are
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  Speaker 1: fine when you're producing yards after the catch, but when
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  Speaker 1: they're not, you're essentially asking your receivers and your running
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  Speaker 1: backs to manufacture an offense after the ball arrives. And
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  Speaker 1: the defense doesn't have to respect the entire field in
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  Speaker 1: the same way. To me, that raises a legitimate question
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  Speaker 1: about how this offense is being constructed. Are we putting
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  Speaker 1: Philo in the best position to succeed? Are we getting
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  Speaker 1: our playmakers the football in a way that allows them
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  Speaker 1: to be dangerous? Are we making opposing defenses uncomfortable? Or
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  Speaker 1: are we allowing them to dictate what Florida can and
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  Speaker 1: can't do? What worked against Campbell and Auburn and Ole
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  Speaker 1: Miss clearly isn't generating the same results now. So make
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  Speaker 1: some changes. And here's another number that really puts this
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  Speaker 1: performance into perspective. South Carolina scored two touchdowns after taking
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  Speaker 1: over at Florida's 26 and 27-yard lines. One came after
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  Speaker 1: the final interception. The other came after Florida turned the
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  Speaker 1: ball over on downs deep in its own territory in
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  Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. On that fourth quarter possession, Florida had
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  Speaker 1: a sack that helped create a long yardage situation, and
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  Speaker 1: eventually they failed on fourth down. South Carolina needed only
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  Speaker 1: three plays to score. So on two possessions, the Gamecocks
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  Speaker 1: covered just 53 yards and put 14 points on the board.
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  Speaker 1: Now compare that to Florida's 231 yards for six points.
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  Speaker 1: That is an absolutely staggering difference in efficiency. And this
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  Speaker 1: is where I think we have to acknowledge the relationship
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  Speaker 1: between offensive mistakes and defensive problems. Now, Florida's defense did
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  Speaker 1: not play well. South Carolina converted 10 of 16 third downs.
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  Speaker 1: Lenora Sellers accounted for five touchdowns. And the Gators never
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  Speaker 1: forced a turnover. All of that is unacceptable. But the
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  Speaker 1: offense repeatedly made life harder for the defense. When you
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  Speaker 1: turn it over in your own territory or you fail
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  Speaker 1: on fourth down deep in your own end zone, you
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  Speaker 1: practically are handing your opponent the opportunity to score. And
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  Speaker 1: when your defense is already struggling, you simply cannot do that.
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  Speaker 1: Good football teams understand complementary football. They understand that protecting
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  Speaker 1: the football, finishing drives, and controlling field position aren't just
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  Speaker 1: offensive responsibilities. They're responsibilities for the entire team. And Florida
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  Speaker 1: failed in those areas. So where does Florida go from here?
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  Speaker 1: I don't think that the solution is as simple as
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  Speaker 1: calling more running plays or throwing the ball downfield more
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  Speaker 1: often or making a quarterback change. All of those things
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  Speaker 1: might be part of the conversation. But the bigger issue
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  Speaker 1: is that Florida has to be a more efficient offense.
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  Speaker 1: You can't settle for field goals every time you put
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  Speaker 1: together a long drive. You can't lose yardage on critical
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  Speaker 1: third downs. You cannot keep putting yourself behind the chains.
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  Speaker 1: And you absolutely can't continue to turn the football over
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  Speaker 1: in the scoring position. Look, 387 yards tells me Florida
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  Speaker 1: is still capable of moving the football. There is talent
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  Speaker 1: on this offense. Bailey Stockton just had an outstanding game
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  Speaker 1: with eight catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. We've
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  Speaker 1: seen what Jaden Baugh is capable of doing. We've seen
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Filo make big plays. But you don't get credit
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  Speaker 1: for what you're capable of doing. You get credit for
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  Speaker 1: what you actually accomplish. And against South Carolina, Florida accomplished
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  Speaker 1: very little when it mattered most. Here's the question I
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  Speaker 1: keep coming back to. If Florida can gain 387 yards
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  Speaker 1: and still only score 19 points against South Carolina, what
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  Speaker 1: happens when the Gators face an even better defense? Because
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Texas is next. And the Longhorns aren't going to care
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  Speaker 1: how many yards the Gators put in the stat sheet.
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  Speaker 1: They're going to care about how they keep Florida from scoring.
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  Speaker 1: So Buster Faulkner and this offensive staff have some serious
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  Speaker 1: work to do. Now, they need to not just figure
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  Speaker 1: out how to move the football, figure out how to finish.
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  Speaker 1: At the end of the day, 387 yards sounds pretty good.
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  Speaker 1: 19 points, totally different story. But now I want to
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  Speaker 1: hear from you. What's the biggest reason Florida continues to
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: struggle offensively? Is it play calling? Is it the offensive line?
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: Is it Aaron Filo? Is it a combination of everything?
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Drop your comments below. down below. And if you haven't already,
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  Speaker 1: you guys for tuning in and as always go Gators.