Florida Gators Football: 10 Reasons To Panic After Opening Game Scare
Let's face it, the Florida Gators got lucky today in their 34-12 victory against Miami (Oh.).
They came away with a win in their home opener, but Florida hopefuls should consider themselves fortunate.
The team looked terrible. And they did not look like a top-10 team in this matchup.
They have a long road ahead of them. If they have national title aspirations, there's a lot of work the needs to be done.
Here are 10 reasons to panic after the opening game scare.
10. Poor Start
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The Florida Gators, believed to be a top national title contender and ranked No. 4 by the AP, gave little support for their early top-5 ranking by playing poorly in their home opener.
After one quarter against Miami (Oh.), who had a 1-11 record playing out of the MAC East last season, the Gators couldn't even notch a score.
The RedHawks took a 3-0 lead after the first quarter in front of a clearly disturbed Gators home crowd at the Swamp.
9. Fumbles Galore
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The Gators started the game with three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the RedHawks.
With so many early turnovers, their offense was clearly out of sync.
By the end of the game, the team had eight fumbles and lost three to the Miami (Oh.) defense.
8. Bad Snaps and More Problems
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Their center's long snapping skills needs to be brought to question.
There was a total of five screwed up snaps from the center. John Brantley did save a few from turning into more turnovers.
But this shortcoming should never have come to surface in the game.
Clearly this team needs to work out on their long snaps during practice.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Brantley Looked Bad
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Overall, he failed to live up to his expectations.
Until the fourth quarter, his longest pass went for 10 yards.
Brantley was able to salvage a miserable showing by throwing for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Despite converting 17 of 25 passes, he threw for an unimpressive total of 113 yards.
6. Offensive Line
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The Gators offensive line failed to make an impact.
Not all the blame should point to Brantley.
His offensive line also pulled a disappearing act.
By the time the fourth quarter started, the Gators had amassed 26 total yards.
5. Too Much Pressure on Defense
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The Gators defense was their only saving grace for this game.
However, if their offensive problems continue, their defense is going to feel a lot of pressure.
Today they came away with four interceptions. The first one was returned for 67-yard TD by Janoris Jenkins and allowed the Gators to take a 7-3 on Miami (Oh.) in the second quarter.
Can we really expect them to carry the load the rest of the season?
Miami (Oh.) made plenty of mistakes of their own on offense, and the Florida defense was able to capitalize. But more tougher opponents won't make those same errors and, if given the opportunity, they will give the Gators fits.
4. Missed Extra Point
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Urban Meyer already has a lot to deal with in scolding his lethargic offense.
But his kicker also missed an extra point.
Adding to the pile of misdeeds, kicker Caleb Sturgis, missed a gimme.
There's nothing else that frustrates coaches more than missed extra points.
3. Can't Grasp the Offense
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As you can expect, Urban Meyer was not happy.
"I didn't imagine the offense's incompetence that we experienced today," he said to the Associated Press.
This team's poor showing was a direct reflection of their inability to work well in his spread offense—the same offense that won him two BCS Championships and led Utah to a BCS Bowl.
And if that first game was an indication, they have a lot of learning to do in this week's practice.
2. No Tebow
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Here is a fact—gone is Heisman-winner Tim Tebow, their star quarterback that led them to two BCS National Championships.
Say what you want to say about Urban Meyer's coaching prowess and John Brantley's potential, but Tebow was the heart and soul of this team.
And there's just no way they can rebuild, one season after his departure.
1. Not a Top-10 Team
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This all adds up to one key point. The Florida Gators are not a top-10 team.
At least not today.
Consider the fact that they'll be facing No. 1 ranked Alabama in their fifth game of the season and three top-25 teams in Florida State, LSU and Georgia, plus other tough SEC foes.
This Florida team is in for an extremely difficult season.
And if they continue their poor play, it will be a season in which they could very well fall out of the top-25 rankings by the end of the year.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
