Pat Dooley’s Grades: UCF vs UF

 

Pat Dooley grades the Gators after their 29-17 loss to UCF in the Gasparillla Bowl.

 

OFFENSE F

First half: Florida had the chance to put off a big half, but something went wrong too many times. Sometimes it was Emory Jones missing a wide open receiver or receivers dropping passes. The offense ran for 145 yards with Jones leading the way.

Second half: There were probably a lot of Gator fans who were thinking during the game that the best part of it was not having to watch Jones misfire anymore. How many big plays could a quarterback with decent accuracy have had in the game?

For the game: The Gators were hoping to use their run game to wear down UCF and there was no question that Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis ran hard. But the combination of bad throws and dropped passes was too much.

 

DEFENSE F-

First half: The defense played pretty well in only allowing 140 yards to UCF. There was the one touchdown drive where the defense gave up some big plays, but only allowed 48 rushing yards in the half.

Second half: Not having two starting defensive tackles was a huge problem and the Gators wore down. Ty’Ron Hopper getting kicked out of the game for throwing a punch was a huge blow to a defense that has been struggling all year.

For the game: Once again, this defense had its moments, but in the end it was manhandled by a Group of Five team. UCF had 288 yards in the second half and was able to do whatever it needed to do.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS C-

First half: There was good and bad. Stopping the two-point play big. Chris Howard missed a 51-yard field goal but made a 26-yarder. Jeremy Crawshaw had two punts over 50 yards and another inside the 10.

Second half: The onside kick attempt was not a bad idea, but it is kind of important to recover the ball. And then, the missed field goal was a deflating finish to Florida’s chances.

For the game: Special teams has been an issue all year in terms of not making big plays all season. Billy Napier has a lot of work to do and a lot of it is acquiring more speed and talent.

 

OVERALL F—

This was, in so many ways, the perfect way for this team to end the season. It was the fifth game the Gators lost as favorites and the 85 yards in penalties were part of the problem. There was no Anthony Richardson available to turn to. The bottom line is that this 6-7 team is what its record is.