Everyone's raving about Florida's "explosive offense" thanks to their epic beatdowns of SEC opponents these last seven weeks.
And thanks to a 56-6 pounding of Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks, the laudations about the unstoppable Florida Tebows will continue.
But let's take a closer look at the Gators' smashing of the Palmetto State Poultry. What happens when you take away scores provided by Florida's superlative defense and special teams units? South Carolina found themselves in a 21 point hole after three horrible miscues: two Chris Smelley interceptions (one for a touchdown, the other returned to the Gamecocks' 26-yard line) and a botched lateral which gave the Gators another 1-yard scoring drive.
21 points in two minutes, 15 seconds. The offense might have wrapped the bow around two of those early Christmas presents, but in my mind you've got to give those points to the Gator D and kickoff coverage units.
Take those away, or at least call them NA from an offensive standpoint, and here's what Florida's offense did in the first half:
Drive 1: 3 plays, 22 yards, fumble
Drive 2: 9 plays, 32 yards, punt
Drive 3: NA (see above)
Drive 4: NA
Drive 5: NA
Drive 6: 3 plays, 36 yards, fumble
Drive 7: 4 plays, 84 yards, TD
Drive 8: 6 plays, 13 yards, punt
Drive 9: 3 plays, 5 yards, punt
Drive 10: end of half
Ten drives. Subtract the 3 NAs, and the end of half, and you have 6 legitimate scoring drives. Of those, Florida fumbled twice, punted 3 times and scored once. Total yardage on those seven drives? 192 yards... or about 32 yards per possession. It boils down to an entire half's worth of yardage production with only one touchdown to speak of.
Also interesting: Florida scored only once when they started from their own territory. The rest were turnovers or punts.
Now, to be fair to the Gators, the second half was a different story. The Gators started the third quarter super-charged thanks to their 28-3 lead. They immediately broke off an 80-yard touchdown thanks to an amazing run from Percy Harvin and sealed the deal. Still, the Gators' second-half possessions show that they can indeed be stopped:
Drive 1: 1 play, 80 yards, TD
Drive 2: 6 plays, 82 yards, TD
Drive 3: Punt
Drive 4: 6 plays, 40 yards, TD
Drive 5: Punt
Drive 6: 4 plays, 42 yards, TD
Drive 7: 4 plays, 35 yards, punt
Hard to argue that the Gators weren't dominant in this stretch. But before you give them too much credit, it's special teams and defense to the rescue again: two of the Gators' four TDs came from drives starting at or inside Caroina's 42-yard line -- one of those thanks to yet another Gamecock interception. How'd the Gators get there? It was thanks to Florida's smothering defense and excellent punt return team: of the Gamecocks' 16 possessions, 10 were 3 plays or less. Wha... ? I say again, 60% of the Gameocks' drives were 3 plays or less. In fact, only one of Carolina's drives exceeded 5 plays!
That's great defense. That gets you field position. It keeps your offense on the field. And it wears out the opposing defense.
The Gators love being the alpha dog on the field, especially when they're up and up big in the Swamp. When the floodgates open, watch out. What they don't like: close games, or playing from behind.
Had the Gamecocks been able to keep a handle on the ball in the first half, the Gators might have gone into halftime up a meager 7-3.
What it boils down to is this. While many are predicting a blowout victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, or an easy romp into the BCS title game, Florida's offense has a lot of room for improvement. Also important: their special teams and defense aren't getting nearly enough credit for breaking open tough conference games. And, let's be honest: South Carolina's offense isn't very good.
What would happen if Florida faced an offense like Texas Tech or Oklahoma? Think those guys might be able to move the ball a bit better?
When you talk Florida, you should talk first about great defense and great special teams. There's no question this Gator offense is scary good, but they're the third-best unit on the field.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-17-2008 @ 7:16PM
Michael said...
yes they are, if you think not, you must not watch their games.. yes they have a awesome defense too, special teams.as well, think if the ist string offense.. played the hole game. yeah they are awesome and so very young
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11-20-2008 @ 2:22PM
Jpmyers said...
I truly believe not only is Florida's offense explosive, but that the team is the best in the country. As a Tennessee Volunteer fan, it is hard to say but I don't mind giving credit to an SEC team who deserves it. They are a better football team in my eyes than all the teams ranked ahead of them in the polls. I don't think Alabama will be able to keep up with the gators in the SEC championship and I truly feel bad for whatever team meets them in the BCS Championship game. The gators attack led my Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow is just too powerful and explosive for any defense to stop this year. After their only loss to Ole Miss, Urban Meyer and the gators have played with a chip on their shoulders and led one of the most dominating second half of a season I have ever seen. It was not easy to bet SEC teams, let alone blow them out.
11-17-2008 @ 9:10PM
Dad said...
Explosiveness is also measured in quick strke ability, and the number of big plays, both of which are demonstrated in abundance Saturday. It isn't just the total number of points. Demps, Rainey and Harvin all had touchdown runs in excess of 30 yards. Tebow threw a long touchdown pass to Thompson. I dare say no one in the country produces as many big plays. That might be an interesting stat to look up ... I agree the defense and special teams are good, but I would be hard pressed to say one unit is better than another. I would say that all 3 units are explosive.A pick 6 is a game changer. So is a blocked punt. It is just amazing what this team accomplishes in all 3 phases of the game. I just hope they keep it up and don't lose their mojo. If they can maintain this intensity level and this level of execution no one will stop them. I've never seen anything like this.
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11-17-2008 @ 9:08PM
Tha_Prowler said...
this must be a joke...is this guy for real???
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11-17-2008 @ 9:37PM
dbridgesx3 said...
the last time i checked - football DID consist of 3 parts - offense, defense, and special teams. each of the three scored, which means, they all did their part. what the problem is?
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11-17-2008 @ 10:31PM
Darrell said...
If Florida played Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri back to back like each of these teams have done with each other more or less, EVERY time Florida punted, they would give up a touch down to these teams. Everyone thinks there is no defense in the Big 12, fact is, there is no defense that can stop any of these teams. I figure, this year, anyway, any SEC team would be lucky to go .500 in league play. Face the facts, this year, overall the SEC is down. It seems everyone is jealous of another conferences good fortunes. So what Ryan said is par to the course. Florida is a good team, but they have flaws. Anyone can win with a weak conference schedule.
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11-18-2008 @ 12:53AM
colliekw said...
You have to look at the situation for those drives you break down in the first half Ryan. They were in ball control mode, running the majority of the time. You saw what happened when Tebow aired it out. What if he were to do that more? He only has 2 interceptions on the year. And they still gained 192 yards in the first half on the SEC's #1 ranked defense (YPG)! As far as the SEC being down, I would gladly line up Florida, Alabama, and Georgia against Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma, the only really good teams in the Big 12. The SEC is having a down year, for the SEC. None of the conference supremacy stuff will be answered until after the bowl games. Luckily, it looks like a SEC/Big12 championship game, which means the argument can be settled on the field.
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11-20-2008 @ 4:40PM
dan said...
This guy will be looking for a job next year reporting on sinkernized swimming !! GATORS ARE THE BEST ALL AROUND TEAM !!! I no BAMA's IN TROUBLE YOU CAN BELEIVE THAT JUST ASK SABEN ... GO GATORS A CANADIAN FAN !!
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11-21-2008 @ 2:15PM
misterbama said...
I love it when nobody gives BAMA a shot!
thats when we make a fool out of everyone.
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11-21-2008 @ 3:46PM
Esther said...
Misterbama, I totally understand how you feel. No one gave Florida a shot (except for Florida and SEC fans) when they played OSU two years ago. Personally, it's not that I don't want to give Alabama a shot, but as a grad of UF and an avid Gator supporter--I am always hopeful for a Gator win, even when we're favored to lose. Not saying that we're invincible, but the way we're playing now, I feel we have the POTENTIAL to beat any team in the nation, including 'Bama. However, before the conf. champ. game, we still have to contend with the Citadel and FSU. I will not be counting out FSU, that's an instate rivalry and we know how those can go.
11-20-2008 @ 6:16PM
Esther said...
You, who wrote this article, you are an obvious hater. When USC was ranked number one, all I heard was how invincible they are, then Oklahoma was number one and I heard how great a team they were, then it was Texas' turn at number one and I heard that they were the most dominant team in the game--but all that time, do you want to know what I didn't hear? I did not hear, not once, that those teams were overrated. So now people are finally talking about Florida and guess what--now we're overrated?
First off, we don't have a great offense, a great defense or great special teams...we have a great team period! A team that excels in all three aspects of the game and that is why all three are putting points on the board. Because the defense and special teams are putting points on the board, the offense has less time with the ball. Florida has 20-25 less plays this year than last year because of the new clock rules, and yet they're winning by the same amount of points they did last year. That right there should tell you just how damn explosive the offense is.
And the next time you want to talk about overrated teams, why don't you pick one from the big 10 or the pac 10.
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11-20-2008 @ 9:21PM
uscsteve said...
Ester, Enough already This year the SEC may again bitch and complain itself back into the national championship game like it did the last two years, this conferance is always the first too tell everyone how good they are like last year Les Miles did it with his BS Tigers, but this year Ohio St will not be in that game, like they were that last two BS seasons, this year you will have actully play a good team a real team, you can not talk your way into a trophy this year you will have to earn it and this year USC, Texas, Texas Tech or even Oklahoma will be waiting then what? beating teams like South Carolina dose that make FLORIDA for real? Florida is good team but in in reality all the teams I just outlined would defeat you, I know, I know SEC is the a power start lobbying now in the end Florida or Bama are phoneys like LSU was last year. Playoffs will come one day then what?
12-02-2008 @ 5:53PM
Caitlin said...
first off Esther, i would like to let you know that the author is not a r. Not in the least. Ever been on Orange and Blue Hue? Also, the point of the article is to help identify problems with the offense, which it indeed has. I agree with others, though, that the team is one entity, and you can't truly divide it up and criticize part of it. Oh, and to uscsteve: what are you talking about?! The SEC has proven time and time again that it is one of the best and toughest conferences in the nation. Give us another chance in the National Championship game, and we will prove it again. We won't talk our way into it, like you claim LSU did last year. We will prove it on the field, like we did in 2006.
11-20-2008 @ 9:51PM
ron said...
mississippi 31 florida 30 wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are great!!!!!
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11-21-2008 @ 3:19AM
Michael said...
Is this guy serious? The Florida Gators are going to beat bama and then who ever else they play in the bcs bowl. its a no brainer. but i cant believe this guy. does the special teams win games. they help. but its the offensive that is wat wins games. the defense is number 3 in the country if i am not mistaken. so they dont get enough credit? you are sorry man
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11-21-2008 @ 4:41AM
Esther said...
Come on USCsteve, I didn't say one thing about the SEC. All I said is that Florida is not overrated? Oh and by the way Steve, the one big win that USC has, is against Ohio State--the same team we thrashed for our second National Title. And if I remember correctly, we thrashed them far worse than you did. So how is it that you are saying that USC would beat us? USC is a great team, there is no denying it, but I haven't seen anything that would remotely make it clear that they would beat us. The same goes for Texas, Tech and Oklahoma. I would have loved for Florida to play all those teams so that we could finally shut you naysayers up--but alas, I will have to settle for one of those teams--that is if we take care of our last three games. As for the SEC, I believe it still is the nation's toughest conference, however, the Big 12 is the best this year.
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11-21-2008 @ 6:15AM
skip said...
THIS GUY SOUNDS LIKE THE GUY A FEW YEARS AGO WHO USED A LONG STRING OF GAMES TO SHOW HOW SLIPPERY ROCK STATE WOULD HAVE BEEN FAVORED OVER THE TEAM THAT WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP---BY USING THIS TYPE OF ILLOGIC, YOU CAN PROVE ALMOST ANY THEORY.I WANT THIS GUY TO WRITE THE ARTICLE AGAIN AFTER THE GATORS WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP----NOBODY HAS THE SPEED TO MATCH THE GATORS
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11-21-2008 @ 8:37AM
Steve said...
Florida has a great team but it is no better than any of the other one loss teams in the country. Heck...there are quite a few undefeated teams. Who does Florida play this week ? Citadel ! WOW...way to boost your stats vs strength of schedule. Notice the SEC never plays any tough road non conference games. My hat is oss to Ohio State for playing at USC and at Texas 2 years ago.
OBTW..the Vegas books list USC as a favorite against any SEC or Big 12 matchup.
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11-21-2008 @ 9:54AM
Jim said...
The guy that wrote this story is nuts. He is a Gator hater preiod. The Gators are a complete team, maybe the best of the century.
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11-21-2008 @ 10:56AM
briezygator said...
I always find it funny how people say the SEC never plays "tough" out of conference opponents. Speaking for the Gators, yes, the Citadel is a cupcake game, but so what? Just about every team has a cupcake in their schedule. And btw, there's significance to why that game is our last home game this season (go look up Mr. Two Bits). So let's take a look at the other teams that we play out of conference (excluding our yearly FSU matchup). We started the season with Hawaii, a team that was the toast of the NCAA talking heads last year, who many were screaming for them to have a shot at the BCS title because they were undefeated and a "phenomenal team"... until they got crushed by the SEC. Our other OOC matchup? Miami, who was in contention for the ACC championship until their stumble agains GTec. The same Miami that was a national powerhouse not too long ago.
Who did Texas play? FAU (5-5) and UTEP (5-5). Oklahoma? A Div-2 Chattanooga (1-10) team. Texas Tech? TWO Div-2 teams, Eastern Washington (5-5) and Massachusetts (6-5). So please, explain to me how those teams' schedules aren't getting scrutinized the same way ours is???
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