Florida Three Keys: Missouri

Three-keys-Florida

Florida football hosts Missouri on Saturday in Gainesville. Here are your three keys to a Gator victory.

By Matt Zemek

The Florida Gators have battled COVID-19 in the past few weeks, not just the ways in which their defense is ailing. Florida needs to get healthy as a team, but it also needs to get healthy on defense as it prepares for Missouri.

1 – Third down

This is a third-down game. Both teams need to win third down. The defenses need to win third down to get off the field and – if pushed into their own third of the field – force field goals, which will probably feel like punts in a game which is supposed to feature a lot of touchdowns. The offenses need to win third down not so much for the purpose of ball control, but to get a fresh series of downs and a chance to hit a big play. Texas A&M did this against Florida, winning third downs and being able to exploit the Gators’ defense on subsequent plays in a 41-38 win. Florida has to become a significantly better third-down defensive team, and its offense needs to remain formidable on third downs, in order for this season to move in the right direction. Any slippage on offense, or any failure to improve on defense in third-down situations, will spell almost-certain disaster for Dan Mullen and Todd Grantham.

2 – Pass rush

Florida’s defense has a large number of problems, and a central one is the pass rush. A defense which can’t create negative plays will constantly face the uncertainty of a favorable down-and-distance situation for the offense. If an offense can always choose between running and passing, it can put the defense on a pendulum and torture it with disguises and misdirection. Defenses need to put offenses in predictable situations – getting negative plays does that, and Florida doesn’t create many negative plays. That simply has to change if the season is going to improve for the Gators. Florida, as a team, is highly reminiscent of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL: The offense is going to do well, but if it makes any mistakes, the defense is bad enough that the game can be lost. The Seahawks have no pass rush, and it’s much the same for Florida. The defense has other problems, but this is number one on the list.

3 – First-half rhythm

Florida’s season has been interrupted by COVID-19. This game does present the possibility that UF’s high-octane offense could lose the precision and fluidity it established in the first several weeks of the season. If the Gators stumble on offense in the first quarter and their defense continues to flounder, they could get in trouble. A rhythmic, fine-tuned offensive performance in the first quarter should keep Florida on track against Missouri.

Saturday‘s Florida football game kicks off at 6:30 PM CT (7:30 PM ET). You can watch on the SEC Alternate Network.

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