3-2-1: Sunday thoughts on Florida's loss to South Carolina
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* Notebook: Shannon saw more fight in Gators, emotional Zaire pushed to play
* Instant Analysis: Florida drops fifth straight
* Alley: Florida vs. South Carolina game thread
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Following a tough loss to South Carolina, Inside the Gators now reviews the past week with a 3-2-1 report. We provide three observations, present two questions and make one prediction as the Gators return home to face UAB.
Three things we learned this week:
1. The offensive line has a serious depth problem.
Many would say that the most infamous quip of the Jim McElwain era was his introductory press conference boast that he felt he could win with his dog at quarterback. Proclaiming the offensive line a strength of the 2017 team might be a close second.
For much of the season, Florida was lucky when it came to injuries up front. In practice and in games, it was clear that the coaching staff only trusted six offensive linemen: the five starters and utility backup Tyler Jordan. Now that the injuries are piling up, offensive line is being exposed as one of the thinnest units on the team in terms of talented depth.
Florida entered the game without starting left guard Brett Heggie, who is out for the season with a lower leg extremity injury. In Heggie’s absence, Jordan and Kavaris Harkless worked at left guard. Later, Jordan had to take over at center when T.J. McCoy left the game. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was also mentioned in the post-game injury report.
With multiple starters out, South Carolina’s defensive line was able to dominate the line of scrimmage. Harkless looked completely lost at left guard. Jordan is a serviceable center at best.
One can only wonder what McElwain saw this offseason to give him confidence in the unit.
2. Good effort isn't enough to make up for being a bad team.
The good news Saturday was that Florida players showed up and fought hard against South Carolina. Granted, that’s to be expected, but after a lousy effort at Missouri, it was actually a noteworthy development. Unfortunately, more often than not, the other team is also going to put together an admirable four-quarter effort to try to win as well.
The Gators showed more fight on Saturday than they did against Georgia and Missouri, two games which were clouded by off-field distractions. Effort alone, however, cannot make up for the fact that UF is a bad team.
Of 14 teams in the SEC, Florida is undoubtedly in the bottom four. As injuries pile up, misses on the recruiting trail are getting exposed. With many of the team’s most talented players sidelined due to injury or suspension, the product on the field has suffered as talented athletes are not being developed into SEC-caliber athletes.
A lack of development is a reflection of poor coaching. No amount of effort can mask that.
3. Brandon Powell has been Mr. Consistency.
Few will remember Powell as a great Gators wide receiver, but over four seasons he has been remarkably consistent. With five catches for 58 yards on Saturday, Powell extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 23. Florida communications also shared a surprising statistic. With 116 career receptions, Powell has the most catches by a UF receiver since Percy Harvin (133, 2006-08). Not bad for a former three-star prospect recruited as an athlete, all-purpose back and cornerback.
Though Demarcus Robinson, Antonio Callaway and Tyrie Cleveland have been the go-to wideouts over the last four seasons, Powell has proven to be a reliable pass-catcher.
Two questions heading into the week (and onward):
1. In case of injury, will Gators go with the walk-on or the wildcat at quarterback?
Back in August, Florida appeared to have solid depth at the quarterback position for the first time in years. The Gators opened fall camp with five scholarship quarterbacks on roster. The injury bug had other plans.
Before the season started, however, redshirt freshman Kyle Trask had surgery on his foot. In September, redshirt junior Luke Del Rio broke his collarbone. Freshman Jake Allen has not traveled the last two games due to a back injury. On Saturday, graduate transfer Malik Zaire suffered an apparent leg injury.
If Zaire’s injury is as serious as it looks, redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks may be the only available scholarship quarterback for the final two games of the season. If something happens to Franks, interim coach Randy Shannon will be faced with either playing a walk-on or a wildcat quarterback.
The walk-on would be redshirt freshman Nick Sproles from Winter Park, Fla. Sproles, who joined the team in 2016, is listed at 6-2, 211 pounds. In his high school senior season, Sproles was 144-226 for 2,006 yards with 15 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores.
The other emergency option, according to Shannon, is redshirt junior wide receiver Dre Massey, a former high school quarterback who has yet to throw a pass at Florida. Last season, Florida coaches talked about having a package of plays for Massey as a wildcat quarterback. Massey, however, suffered a season-ending injury in the 2016 opener.
2. At 5-6, would a bowl game be worth it?
Florida entered the season with goals of defending its SEC East crown and getting back to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship Game. With no chance of winning the division, the Gators have embraced the goal of trying to get to a bowl game. While the team can no longer finish the regular season with a winning record, a bowl game could still be in Florida’s reach.
With so many bowl games, the NCAA has begun to allow five-win teams to go bowling if there are spots to fill. The bowl bids are handed out based on Academic Progress Rate scores, which range from 998 to 853. With a score of 980, Florida would likely be in line for a bid if the team finishes 5-6. The question, however, is would the Gators even want to go to a bowl game?
The new coach will certainly be more concerned with recruiting than the result of a glorified exhibition game. Assistants who are not retained by the new coach will be more interested in finding a new gig than coaching up the current Gators. There are 15 practices, but one stands to wonder how much the players would benefit from practicing schemes that will likely be thrown out as soon as the bowl game is over.
This year, it might be better for Florida to treat FSU as its bowl game and close the book on the 2017 season in November.
One prediction: Florida will finish with single-digit passing touchdowns for the first time in decades.
In 1988, Florida recorded only three passing touchdowns. From 1989 forward, the Gators have always managed at least 10 passing touchdowns in a season. Through nine games, UF has a total of six passing touchdowns this season. With two games left, it's hard to see this team scoring four more touchdowns through the air.
The last time Florida recorded multiple passing touchdowns was against Kentucky on Sept. 23. The Wildcats had a problem that night remembering to cover Florida's receivers.
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