Gators’ Offense Stalls Again in Home Loss to Oklahoma

Florida entered Saturday night looking to turn the page after a difficult October. Instead, the Gators suffered another setback, falling to Oklahoma 23-7 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The second consecutive double-digit loss leaves the Gators (5-4, 3-4 SEC) one win shy of bowl eligibility with three regular-season games remaining.

“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to make it better today,” coach Jon Sumrall said after the fourth loss in five games. “We have to find new things to make us be successful, and we’re going to continue to work tirelessly to do so.”

After struggling offensively in a 27-8 loss to Georgia, Florida turned to sophomore quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. to provide a spark. Making his second career and first home start, Jones finished 10-of-22 for 133 yards and two interceptions, as the Gators continued searching for consistency on offense.

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“We never could find our rhythm, some of that was the things going around the quarterback,” Sumrall said. “[Jones] missed a couple things, too, but I really felt like I wanted to give him the full game.”

Jones attributed Florida’s offensive struggles to self-inflicted mistakes that prevented the Gators from sustaining drives. He said the offense started well on first and second down before struggling to finish possessions, pointing to third-down execution as an area that needs improvement.

“We just got to sustain drives, finish on third down and it’ll move on from there,” Jones said.

Despite dealing with an injury throughout the season that could require offseason surgery, Jones said his focus remains on playing for his teammates. 

“I just want to play for my brothers, play for my team,” Jones said. “Everyone has something. You got to play through it. If you love the game, you’ll play through it.”

In what looked like it could have been a touchdown pass to Eric Singleton Jr. in the third quarter, Jones instead threw an interception to Courtland Guillory in the end zone. Jones was also sacked three times.

With Florida trailing 13-7, Sumrall elected to go for it on fourth-and-short rather than settle for a field goal attempt. He said the decision was influenced by the Gators’ limited red-zone opportunities and the need to score touchdowns to keep pace. 

“Did not know how much more opportunities we were going to get in the red zone,” Sumrall said. “Felt like with us down six, kicking a field goal when we hadn’t had that many trips down there, we needed to try to get a touchdown there.”

Florida also looked to running back Jadan Baugh to help establish its ground game. After recording just 38 rushing yards against Georgia, Baugh finished Saturday with 35 rushing yards on eight carries. Baugh also secured a rushing touchdown, his 14th of the season, tying the most by a Gator since Tim Tebow’s 14 in 2009.

Florida’s struggles extended beyond the quarterback position, as the offensive line had a hard time   protecting Jones in the pocket. The Gators’ offensive line faced an aggressive Oklahoma defense that entered the matchup with 23 sacks, fifth most in the SEC.

Defensively, Florida faced an Oklahoma offense led by quarterback John Mateer, who entered Saturday with 1,835 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. The Gators limited Oklahoma’s explosive plays. Linebacker Myles Graham led the way with 15 tackles, 0.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Sumrall pointed to the defense’s improvement, saying its performance helped keep the game competitive despite the offense’s lackluster showing. Graham acknowledged the progress but said the unit still needed to improve its third-down execution.

“We didn’t get off the field on third down when we needed to, and we had a long drive that we had to get off the field to give our offense the ball back,” Graham said. “It’s better but it’s not good enough, the game is just as much on us as it is the offense.”

Despite the defense continuing to improve, Florida could not overcome its offensive struggles after only putting up 203 yards through the night and not scoring until the second quarter.

“I think the defensive trajectory right now feels more positive to me,” Sumrall said. “Offensively, I just don’t see us finding our rhythm and our footing.”

The matchup marked Florida’s 23rd consecutive home sellout, with the stands filled for Oklahoma’s first visit to The Swamp. Former Florida coach Urban Meyer was also inducted into the Florida Football Ring of Honor. 

Florida looks to recover when it faces No. 6 Kentucky (7-2, 5-2) in Lexington at 6:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. Coverage begins at 3:15 p.m. on WRUF 98.1-FM/850-AM/103.7 HD2.

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