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Pat Dooley, co-host of The Tailgate on WRUF, grades the Gators after a tough 34-20 loss Saturday to No. 2 Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.
OFFENSE C-
First half: The Gators (4-4, 2-3 SEC) certainly were conservative for the most part, but who didn’t love freshman quarterback DJ Lagway going deep after a Georgia (7-1, 5-1) turnover? Certainly, his injury sapped the air out of the room, but QB Aidan Warner drove the Gators to a late field goal to give everyone hope.
Second half: You kind of knew it might get ugly on offense in the second half and even though the Gators did manage a score to tie the game on Ja’kobi Jackson’s 15-tard touchdown run. The problem was the lack of a passing game with the third-team quarterback in. UF only had 78 total yards in the half.
For the game: My one beef with the offense is why the Gators did not get creative with the running game once Lagway went out. Warner was clearly playing in a game that was too big for him.
DEFENSE B-
First half: Man, that was the defense we hoped we’d see and really it’s the way the Gators have played the last few weeks. Every time I’d think Florida was playing too much zone, the Gators would get a pick.
Second half: It was good until the defense just wore down. The defense was put into a lot of bad spots, but still gave up 28 points in the second half.
For the game: The Gators had three interceptions and held another top-10 team without a touchdown in the first half. But the defense lost a little of its passion in the second half once it was pretty clear the Gators had little offense.
SPECIAL TEAMS
First half: That 53-yard field goal by Trey Smack was large. And Jeremy Crawshaw had three of his four punts go more than 50 yards. Coverage was good when it needed to be.
Second half: Well, it wouldn’t be a coach Billy Napier loss without a special teams gaffe, would it? The low snap on a field goal try ended up changing the momentum of the game. I thought Crawshaw could have been more athletic either knocking it down or jumping on it.
For the game: Same old story. Good kickers, but procedural mistakes. Smack and Crawshaw are really talented, but Florida needs to have a game every once in a while where special teams is not the difference in a negative way.
OVERALL C-
This was the second time Florida has played a team favored by 16 and the second time the Gators could have won the game. However, they did not. And it’s difficult to see a path to a bowl game now that they are out of quarterbacks. Napier has him some Zook-luck, no question about it.
WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
