Conservative Gators play defense to get a win against Mizzou

[travisduncan]

November 3, 2012; Gainesville FL, USA; Florida Gators running back Mike Gillislee (23) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida won 14-7. Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

By Travis Duncan
Gator Envy writer

The Gators got a win. But it was kind of a ho-hum atmosphere Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin-at least in the first half.

Even as the Gators made adjustments at halftime, moved to 8-1 and continued to exceed anyone's expectation in the win-loss column, many in Gator Nation wanted to see more.

Maybe a three touchdown win.

Perhaps it's a product of a transitional period which is ongoing. This team does what it has to do on offense, a la Alabama and LSU, and then dominates on defense and creates turnovers. Gator Nation may still be waiting for the offense and a passing game to take over and it never happens.

In some ways the game was handed to Florida as much as they earned it. Mizzou just doesn't have the talent or enough pieces at the right spots, especially offensively, to challenge many teams in the SEC. The Gator defense played excellent, though they gave up some yardage. Four interceptions put the Gators in a position to win.

So let us not forgot even after two seasons of exposure and repeated reminders, that Will Muschamp was previously a defensive coordinator and has made no secret that defense is the path to victory at Florida now.

"I think that is something you drill into your player’s heads 365 days a year and in all my years as defensive coordinator, regardless of the circumstances our job was to make stops," said Muschamp after the game.

"I always tell them that they are the firemen and they have to go put the fire out no matter how bad it is blazing, go put it out. When you go onto the field your job is to stop them and that is something that is not just talked about during the week of a game, we talk about that in January. It is an opportunity for greatness when you have to make a stop on the goal line. If you want to be great, be put in that situation and do it."

The Gators decided to grind it out instead against Mizzou, as they have with about every other opponent in 2012. In this game however, unlike others, Jeff Driskel was taken out of the game, as it were.

"We haven’t taken many shots this year because we haven’t had to," said Driskel.

"When you have a defense that plays like our defense does you just focus on not turning the ball over. We turned the ball over a lot against Georgia and ended up losing. We’ve held the ball for the rest of the games, and we’ve won them. It comes down to taking care of the ball and taking shots when they come. We had one today, the one over the top to Frankie (Hammond, Jr.), but unfortunately we had a holding call that brought it back. When you’ve got a defense like that, just don’t force it."

Driskel finished 12 of 23 in the passing game for 106 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. On the ground the Gators did well statistically, though it may not have seemed that way visually. Mike Gillislee finished with 68 yards on 16 carries and as a team the Gators ran for 170 yards.

With Louisiana Lafayette and Jacksonville State up next, Florida realistically faces just one more test before a bowl game, Nov. 24 against Florida State.

 

[Escambia94]

The holding call on Halapio does not take away the fact that Driskel threw a beautiful pass to Hammond, into tough coverage. That was a nice preview into what the Gators could do if they played more disciplined football, and if they unleashed Driskel with more of the playbook.

What I see going on in Gainesville is that none of the offensive coordinators since Dan Mullen have been willing to gamble with the plays available in the playbook. Maybe that is a sign of the political or fan pressure placed on offensive coordinators in Gainesville.

 

[travisduncan]

The holding call on Halapio does not take away the fact that Driskel threw a beautiful pass to Hammond, into tough coverage. That was a nice preview into what the Gators could do if they played more disciplined football, and if they unleashed Driskel with more of the playbook.

What I see going on in Gainesville is that none of the offensive coordinators since Dan Mullen have been willing to gamble with the plays available in the playbook. Maybe that is a sign of the political or fan pressure placed on offensive coordinators in Gainesville.

You have to wonder to what extent Muschamp dictates the offensive game plan first with Weis and now with Pease.

 

[DRU2012]

This is exactly what I have assumed for some time, becoming certian of it this season with Pease as the OC. However, I see the logic of it more and more, with injuries to both an O-line and receiver-corps that were never very strong, deep or consistent to begin with (especially so at WR). It has been extremely frustrating, and I myself have at times publicly called for its being "opened up for the sake of our best chance to win", but the evidence says otherwise. It wasn't the failure to change to a more aggressive passing offense that led to our only loss, after all. Though I too believe we could do more with a Pease-built and called offense, even this still thin and battered one, I accept now the effectiveness of the path chosen under the guidance of our unabashedly D-minded Coach.
It is my hope, however, and for now my belief, that though Coach M's plan has always been to build a tough team that dominates the line-of-scrimmage on both sides of the ball, one that CAN RUN THE BALL, he has since he got here intended to get the pieces in place to run a more balanced offense, one that includes a pro-style control-passing game that can at any time take shots downfield--and WILL if either the OC, or the QB himself, sees the opportunity to do so.
Ours is a brilliant and ambitious Head Coach. Chomp's no one's fool, and he can see as well as any of us what this team could already be with a more balanced and creative offense. He didn't bring Pease in here for window-dressing (nor Weis either--whom he gave autonomy to and who did so little with it)--nor will Pease stay if not permitted to do the kinds of things he came in here dreaming of eventually doing with the kind of first-tier talent he has access to now...With attrition, defection, reneged commitments, inexperience, busts and injuries we were not left with a whole lot of options in our passing game this season. I give Pease enormous credit for getting as much out of what's left as he has, but given the resulting lack of balance, you'd have to say regarding this season that the Muschamp/Pease partnership has thus far produced amazing results.
It's early yet; let's give this Coach and OC a season or two more before we start drawing conclusions about what they are capable of achieving, together AND in each's area of expertise. Muschamp above all plans for the long term, to create a team that perennially challenges for SEC- and National-dominance. For now at least, Pease is here to create some of the most powerful and creative offenses the modern college game has seen. He's in the right place to do so, and he knows that after a few years of it, once established, he will have his pick of jobs--any Head Coaching job he wants, or secretly covets, as they or it become available.