Florida Gators Football: 5 Reasons Why the Gators Lost to Auburn

The Florida Gators lost their third-straight game at the hands of the Auburn Tigers, 17-6.

There is not much to be excited about after their performance against the Tigers as a lot of things went wrong for the Gators.

It is tough to pinpoint the loss on any one player or aspect, but there certainly is a lot to scrutinize. 

In my opinion, here are the five reasons why Florida lost to Auburn this weekend.

1. Special Teams Miscues

Perhaps the most evident reason the Gators struggled on Saturday was their special teams miscues.

All in all, the Gators muffed five punts, four by Chris Rainey and one by Robert Clark. The Tigers were able to take two of those muffed punts and get 10 points off those turnovers.

Catching a punt is a very simple concept for a college football player and it is inexcusable for the Gators' players to be struggling with this aspect.

In a game of field position, turnovers on special teams is the one thing that can kill momentum for such a young team. And as we saw this weekend, that is exactly what it did to the Gators and it essentially cost them a victory.

2. The Injury Bug

Although it may be classified as an excuse, there is no doubt the injury bug was a big reason the Gators suffered a loss at Auburn.

I understand that with injuries comes a lot of "what if" questions. What if John Brantley was the starting quarterback? What if Jeff Demps was able to play?

The Gators were without two of their best offensive players Saturday, one of which is the fastest player in college football. And for an anemic offense like the Gators', the absence of these two players was a huge blow to the team.

With no Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey was forced to be an every-down running back, which caused him to wear down much quicker than normal and become less effective.

The absence of John Brantley forced two freshman quarterbacks to try and make an impact for the third-straight game. And it is clear both Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett are not ready to make that huge impact for the Gators yet. They still have a lot of things to work on before they can take over the offense.

Obviously there is no way to predict the outcome of the game if certain players had played. But it is clear that the repercussions of the injury bug greatly affected the Florida Gators this weekend.

3. Inconsistency at Quarterback

It's tough to expect true freshmen quarterbacks to be very effective in a SEC road game. 

But it was clear that the Florida Gators do not have any legitimate option at quarterback behind John Brantley.

The Gators' defense stepped up tonight and forced Auburn to punt the ball nine times. But the offense was never able to get the ball in the end zone.

At times, both Driskel and Brissett made some nice throws throughout the course of the game.

However, they both had some moments where you just had to shake your head. The difference in Brantley compared to Driskel and Brissett is the flea flicker pass that Driskel overthrew Reed, or the double coverage that Brissett would throw into.

Like I said earlier, it's tough to expect the world from Driskel and Brantley in only their freshman season, but with the mistakes that they made tonight, it's hard to argue that they weren't one of the reasons why the Gators lost this weekend.

4. No Turnovers for Auburn

For the third-straight game the Gators were unable to force any turnovers. And with the three turnovers that Auburn forced, it turned out to be the difference maker in Saturday night's matchup.

Eventually, this Gators' defense will have to start getting turnovers because the offense has been struggling ever since John Brantley has been injured. It seems as if the offense is not capable of driving the football down the field and scoring in the red zone.

The defense forcing turnovers will give the young quarterbacks some confidence and the offense a higher chance of putting points on the board.

The Gators' secondary ranks 11th in the SEC in interceptions this season with only four picks. That will have to change if the Gators expect to get any more victories against conference opponents the rest of the season.

5. Lack of Playing Time for Mike Gillislee

One of the biggest disappointments in Saturday night's performance by the Gators was the lack of playing time that Mike Gillislee received.

With Jeff Demps out due to injury, it was expected that Gillislee would receive a larger workload against Auburn, especially since he has proven that he is the best downhill runner the Gators currently have.

But Gillislee only had three carries for 16 yards. While Rainey was running around, exhausting himself, Gillislee would have been a great option for the Gators to spell Rainey with throughout the game.

He would have been a different type of runner for the Gators, which could have thrown off the defense and maybe even made the Gators offense more effective.

It is just disappointing to see a great talent like Gillislee seemingly getting no important carries throughout a game in which he could have a major impact in.