Florida vs. South Carolina: Can John Brantley Be Effective in the Pistol?

The Florida Gators started the 2011 season with a 4-0 record and were averaging 40.3 points per game. However, in Week 5, starting quarterback John Brantley went down with an injury.

In the three games following Brantley’s injury, the Gators averaged an anemic nine points per game.

Two weeks ago, Brantley returned against the Georgia Bulldogs and was successful in the first half. However, Brantley was a little slow in the pocket and was sacked multiple times.

Because of Brantley’s injury—and the Gators' inability to run the ball—Florida’s offense was abysmal in the second half.

As a result, last week Will Muschamp and Charlie Weiss added a wrinkle to their offense by adding the pistol formation. A formation made popular by University of Nevada football coach Chris Ault, the pistol offense is a combination of the shotgun formation and the single-back formation.

The Gators lined Brantley up four yards behind the center, with the running back directly behind him. This allowed Brantley to hand the ball off to the running back without having to completely turn his body and put more pressure on his ankle.

The running game was much more effective in the new offensive set. Jeff Demps led the Gator's rushing attack with 158 yards on 23 carries; he scored two touchdowns.

With Florida running the ball better, it will open up the passing game. Brantley was 16-for-24, passing the ball for 173 yards. This is a great improvement after Brantley went 12-for-34 against Georgia the week prior.

Brantley did not throw any touchdowns this week, but that was because Jacoby Brissett subbed in for Brantley in goal-line situations. Florida wanted to line up under center inside the 10-yard line and Brantley still lacks the necessary mobility.

Unfortunately, this pattern will continue until Brantley’s knee is fully healed. However, the coaching staff should be credited for coming up with a temporary solution.

The Gators are still running a pro-style offense out of the pistol formation—they are just taking pressure off of a quarterback who lacks of mobility.

It is clear that the new offensive scheme has been beneficial. However, the Gators continued to struggle in the second half this past week; this is something that an offensive scheme is not going to fix.

Despite the improved running game, the Gators once again struggled in the second half for the third straight week. Over the last three games, the Florida offense has averaged 108.6 more yards in the first half their games than in the second.

Florida has not been able to find a rhythm in the second half. They need to find that this week if they want to have any shot at winning the game against South Carolina.

If Florida is able to establish the run out of the pistol offense this week, then the Gators might be able to flip the switch on their second-half woes—and on the season in general.