Florida vs. Missouri: Game Grades, Analysis for Gators and Tigers

Riding a suffocating defense, the No. 11 Florida Gators took care of the Missouri Tigers on the road by a 21-3 margin.

Kelvin Taylor and the Gators offense got it going early, with the junior running back throwing up two short touchdowns on the road. Jim McElwain's lead back finished with 124 yards of offense, but the defense was the story in this one.

The Gators held Drew Lock and the Missouri offense to three points, only once allowing a conversion on 14 third-down tries. The Florida secondary led the effort, picking off the freshman twice, including a pick-six by Jalen Tabor.

There are a lot of positives from this one, but the Gators definitely have work to do before they travel to LSU to take on Leonard Fournette and Co. next week.

Positional Units	1st Half	Final
Passing Offense	C+	C
Rushing Offense	B	C
Passing Defense	A	A+
Rushing Defense	A-	A-
Special Teams	D	C
Coaching	B	B

Grade Analysis for the Gators

Passing Offense: It was a pretty ho-hum day for Will Grier, who threw for only 208 yards on 33 attempts. The positive here is that he never made a big mistake with the Mizzou pass rush crawling all over him. There are better days ahead.

Rushing Offense: Taylor was hot early but slowed down as the game wore on and the defenses buckled down. Still, he's second only to Grier in terms of importance to this offense. He can do a little bit of everything, and he just never comes off the field.

Passing Defense: Lock never had a chance against these guys. In addition to Tabor's pick-six, Marcus Maye played an excellent game in coverage, picking up the first interception of the game and dropping another one he should have had.

Overall, Mizzou averaged 3.9 yards per attempt, and its leading receiver had 39 yards. You can't even nitpick these guys.

Rushing Defense: The Gators' early lead forced the Tigers to go pass-heavy for the final three quarters. They gave up over four yards per carry, but it was of little consequence.

Special Teams: Jorge Powell missed a field goal, and the Gators committed another dumb catch interference penalty. Johnny Townsend was pretty consistent on all nine of his punts.

Coaching: With so much movement coming in the Top 10, you would expect a team like the Gators to come out with a little more fire. But a win is a win, and they never put themselves into position to lose this one. 

It gets a stiffer test next week, but this defense has been tremendous these past two weeks. This staff is getting some great football out of guys who don't get a lot of national attention, though that should change here very soon.

Positional Unit	1st Half	Final
Passing Offense	C-	F
Rushing Offense	B-	B-
Passing Defense	B	A
Rushing Defense	D	B
Special Teams	D	C
Coaching	C	C-

Grade Analysis for the Tigers

Passing Offense: You had to feel for Lock in this one. The true freshman, and really this entire offense, was no match for the Florida defense after the Gators went up by double digits. He needs more help.

Rushing Offense: Russell Hansbrough needed only nine carries to gain 74 yards, and you have to wonder why he didn't get more work. The Tigers abandoned him and the run far too early, which played right into Florida's hands. 

Passing Defense: The Tigers actually did a great job getting after Grier, sacking the redshirt freshman six times on the night. The Gator offensive line proved it was no joke last week against the Ole Miss Rebels, so we can expect even bigger games from this unit.

Sophomore Charles Harris looks like the next star defensive end for a program that's been churning them out like none other.

Rushing Defense: Taylor ran all over these guys in the first quarter, then was pretty quiet the rest of the way. The Gators averaged 2.9 yards per carry, so you can't blame this one on anybody on the defensive side of the ball.

Special Teams: Punter Corey Fatony was the Tigers' best weapon, averaging almost 48 yards on his nine punts. Andrew Baggett missed a field goal.

Coaching: Aside from sticking with the run, there wasn't much more the Tigers could do here. The Gators are just a better team and are absolutely deserving of the Top 10 ranking they'll receive this week. The bigger picture is a more significant issue than what we saw on the field today—this offense has been basically rudderless since the end of 2013.