As Gators’ season gets even tougher, the defense fights to hold on
There isn’t a lot of hope at the University of Florida right now. That’s what an underperforming football team does to a self-respecting SEC school.
The losses — each one growing in proportion to USF, LSU and Miami — have fostered an environment that UF hasn’t seen in decades.
At 1-3 for the first time since 1986, Gainesville’s Florida’s buggy skies feel like they’re falling, especially with two top-10 teams, Texas and Texas A&M, looming in the coming weeks.
Conversations in dorm rooms and lecture halls consist of roughly 97% university-loathing and imitative protests to fire coaches and athletic directors. But the other 3%, often muttered by students prospectively examining transfer applications, is distinct.
“I didn’t go to a football school to lose,” one student said in Florida’s Marston Library on Wednesday, computer open. “[But] we still have a defense.”
Its offense now sits at 100th in the nation, and hasn’t had a game against an FBS team in which it has scored more than one touchdown. But its margin of defeat is only 10.3 points per game because Florida’s defense continues to hold up.
The Gators are 31st in the country in total defense, allowing just 284.2 yards per game. They held No. 4 LSU to its lowest offensive total of the season so far (316 yards), and were 5 yards short of doing the same with Miami a week ago. It bends but doesn’t break, with opponents scoring touchdowns on only 40% of their red-zone visits.
Fans, with little to cling to, have gravitated to this band that doesn’t seem to stop performing, even with limited backing.
“I do think we’ve excelled so far on defense,” beleaguerd coach Billy Napier said after losing to LSU 20-10. “We made a point of emphasis to get more three-and-outs, to create more short fields.”
Which his team has done. But the current formula Florida is rolling out might not be entirely sustainable.
Six of Florida’s eight remaining foes are capitalizing on 90% or more of their red-zone appearances, which excludes Florida’s next opponent, No. 10 Texas. In some ways, UF’s success stymying offenses near the end zone is a product of a defensive line that’s only allowing 111.2 rushing yards per game.
However, with four Gators defensive linemen out, Miami proved UF will bend with pressure, with 78 of its 184 ground yards in the fourth quarter while scoring two coffin-nailing touchdowns. Texas and Texas A&M, Florida’s next two opponents, both rush for more than 155 yards per game. So, Florida, especially with star defensive tackle Caleb Banks Jr. out for the foreseeable future, could struggle in its strongest location: the red zone.
As if UF’s problems near the line of scrimmage weren’t enough, its secondary is also hurting. Napier confirmed last week that cornerback Dijon Johnson will be out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
“It’s incredibly tough, anytime you see a teammate go down putting so much blood, sweat and tears with those guys,” cornerback Devin Moore said about Johnson’s injury against Miami. “I see it every day on the ground. It’s the next man up mentality.”
Safety Aaron Gates also left Florida’s game against Miami, thinning a Florida defensive back group that only allowed 160 passing yards against the No. 2 Hurricanes. The Gators experienced a similar issue last year, losing both starting cornerbacks by early November. After both sustained injuries, Florida allowed 61.2 passing yards per game more than when they both were playing. Yet Florida won four of the five games in which neither played.
So the Gators have been good defensively. Maybe even really good. But the laurels earned are not entirely controllable nor easy to replicate without a portion of their starting unit. Not to mention, only one of the offenses Florida has faced has ranked in the top 50 nationally in scoring, which was the Hurricanes, who methodically tore Florida apart in the fourth quarter. Six of Florida’s eight remaining opponents are in the top 50.
While Florida might have some of the same magic that it used to end last season with four straight victories, regression, instead of hope, reeks throughout Gainesville.