The No. 8 Florida Gators entered Week 5 as one of the hottest teams in all of college football. With a statement win against Ole Miss under their belt and an offense that was averaging 53.5 points per game through the first month of the season, it was fair to suggest that Jon Sumrall had already re-established a proud Florida program to its desired status of SEC title contender.
With challenges left against Texas and Georgia, the job was far from done, but prior to Saturday, the belief around Gainesville was that this team could play with and score on almost anyone.
That context made Saturday’s 45-17 loss at No. 25 Missouri not just a massive shock to those singing the praises of Sumrall and Florida’s resurgence, but also a devastating reality check on this team’s strengths and weaknesses against conference competition.
“We did not play to our standard,” Sumrall said after the game. “Embarrassing performance in every phase. It starts with the coaching, it starts with me. I just told the guys in the locker room right now I expect everyone to be a man which means be accountable for your actions and own it. I’m going to start that way right now. I’m not going to point fingers at anybody, but we have to play a lot better.
“I’m sick to my freaking stomach with what we just did.”
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How Missouri neutralized Florida’s offense
Florida’s superpower, it seemed, was the offense and the rushing attack helmed by Jaden Baugh. With 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in the first four games, Baugh was becoming a key figure in the Heisman Trophy race, and his electric running style was perfectly matched with the creative ways that offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner aligns the offense. It could be blocked well or schemed up, but if Baugh could just get a little bit of space, he has the explosive ability to break a game wide open.
Unfortunately, that space was hard to find against Missouri’s defensive front, exposing real concerns about whether this is one of the best offenses in the country. The Tigers pushed Florida’s front off the ball and filled running lanes, holding Baugh to just 13 total rushing yards on 12 attempts. As a team, Florida was limited to 42 rushing yards on 25 attempts and had no runs of 20+ yards after totaling 10 such runs (most in the SEC) through the first four games.
With struggles to run the football, Florida was left putting a lot more weight on quarterback Aaron Philo to make tough plays against a Missouri defense that could tee off on obvious passing downs. Philo was sacked three times and struggled to open things up with deep passing, leaving the offense to short completions and the hope that the Gators’ skill could win in the open field. Philo finished completing 21-of-34 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but he was replaced by backup quarterback Tramell Jones in the fourth quarter and watched Florida’s only second-half touchdown from the sideline.
Philo and the passing attack were not the most productive pieces of Florida’s offense in the wins against Auburn and Ole Miss. The transfer from Georgia Tech threw for 204 yards against Auburn and then 196 against Ole Miss, but those numbers raised no alarm when the team was scoring 40+ points every time it took the field. The passing attack was shorthanded, still missing starting wide receiver Vernell Brown III with an injury, but if Florida was going to be judged as a true SEC title contender, it needed to be more than a one-trick pony on offense.
Not just an offensive problem
Arguably as alarming as Florida’s inability to run the ball was the way that Missouri’s offense gashed the Gators for big plays, especially in the second half. The Tigers’ front did a great job moving defenders to create clear running lanes for Jamal Roberts, who put together a career day with 211 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. From physicality to run fits to open-field tackling, there wasn’t much that graded out well for Florida on defense, and it reframes how the Gators will have to win if they are going to remain in the hunt for an SEC title.
Austin Simmons had a field day picking apart the Gators secondary, too, completing 23-of-30 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Missouri wideouts were finding their way behind defenders and, like the run game, exposing a troubling tackling effort from Florida in the open field.
It’s worth noting that safety Bryce Thornton was ruled out for the game due to an injury, but if his absence leads to this kind of success, then the depth of Florida’s pass defense should absolutely be a concern when graded against the standard of the SEC’s best.
How Florida moves forward
Now, if this reality check feels like a cold shower for Florida’s hot start, it’s important to warm up to the idea that things might not be as bad as they looked on the field in Columbia. Winning on the road in the SEC is hard, and this program is now 1-7 in its past eight conference road games. It’s also hard to maintain momentum after running so hot with back-to-back emotional wins against Auburn and Ole Miss. Jon Sumrall was very aware that the success could be intoxicating and warned that if his team did not take a humble approach to their preparation, they would get humbled on the field.
“Here’s the deal, and I told the team this, you have to humble yourself or you will be humbled,” Sumrall said on Monday. “If we don’t look in the mirror and own where we are deficient still, someone will show it to us.”
That’s exactly what happened on Saturday in Columbia as Missouri put Florida’s deficiencies on full display for the rest of the SEC and the country to observe. Florida still has one of the best running backs in the country and one of the most dangerous offensive attacks, but the counter-punch, if a team can stop the run, does not appear fully formed. Defensively, this is a group that has playmakers but also gives up 37.3 points per game in conference play.
These facts are important when we’re evaluating Florida’s spot among the top teams in the SEC. Because if the Gators are getting pushed around in the trenches against Missouri, what will be the expectation, then, when they face the likes of Texas and Georgia later in the season? Those defenses must be thrilled to know that shutting down Florida’s ground game can have such a wide-ranging impact on their success.
To Sumrall’s credit, he has offered regular reminders to Florida fans that this team is not perfect and still a work in progress. He has embraced the excitement and attitude that come with Florida when it’s buzzing with swagger, but now has evidence for his team that they are not good enough to overcome bad performances. It’s normal for a team to have a bad day on the road, but true contenders are able to find ways to punch back. Outside of a late touchdown drive in the final minute from the backup quarterback, the Gators did not offer much in terms of a response to Missouri’s second-half success. The Tigers took control of the game in the middle eight (17-0), and it slipped away from the Gators, possession by possession.
Florida is still a team with the talent and explosiveness to beat anyone on its schedule, including Texas and Georgia. But what Saturday’s loss laid bare was that this year’s team lacks the roster depth or the consistency in performance to be compared with some of the most successful Florida teams of the 21st Century, even if the Gators’ stats and rankings suggested otherwise.
Florida is still an SEC title contender and very much in the mix for the College Football Playoff thanks to its win against Ole Miss, but if the Gators are going to finish the season competing with the best teams in the country, they cannot afford the kind of mistakes on display Saturday. Florida plays at Texas on Oct. 17 after a game against South Carolina, then faces Georgia in their rivalry game on Oct. 31. One of those games will likely need to be a Florida win, and achieving that will require a lot of work and humility over the next week.
