Respect Earned
Kyle Trask is typically soft-spoken and mild-mannered. Shortly after Florida’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game, he said:
“No one gave us a damn chance.”
He’s right and Trask, truly, was speaking for the whole locker room. Nobody gave Florida a chance against the behemoth Crimson Tide. The Gators should just be happy to share the same field with such a good football team — one of the best football teams Nick Saban has had in Tuscaloosa.
They heard it all week and used it.
There was no fear. They weren’t in awe of Mac Jones, Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, or anyone they shared the field with. Kyle Trask and the Florida offense looked at the Crimson Tide defense and did exactly what they had done to every single defense this season — they moved the ball when they wanted to. They scored 46 points, the second-most the Tide had given up all season. Trask threw for more yards (408) than any quarterback threw for against Alabama this season. The Gators, as Trask said, just ran out of time.
The Gators outscored Alabama 29-17 in the second half, the problem is they went into the locker room at the break down 18.
Florida showed they belonged on the field with Alabama and if they belong on the field with Alabama, that means they belong on the field with any team in the country.
They earned Nick Saban’s respect.
“I can’t say enough good things about their team,” he said. “They certainly showed a lot of competitive character to come back in the game, keep fighting to get back in the game, give themselves a chance to win.”
Shoot yourselves in the foot
Florida needed to be perfect. Trey Dean intercepted Mac Jones by literally wrestling the ball out of a receiver’s hands but fumbled when tackled by John Metchie. You can live with that, Dean was trying to make a play, he had already made one and Metchie hit him harder than Dean has probably ever been hit in his life. What you can’t live with is an illegal hands to the face on third down, giving Alabama an extra 15. Alabama scored on the very next play. The next drive Florida got a stop on third down again but had 12 guys on the field. Alabama’s drive continued and they scored.
The Gators’ season will be bookended by 600-yard performances from the opposing offense but a lot of those yards, and subsequent points, could have been erased with just a little more disciplined on the field.
The Heisman
Kyle Trask became the first Florida quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He now owns the single-season passing yard and passing touchdown records at Florida. Mac Jones diced the Gators’ defense up for more than 400 passing and five touchdowns but he wasn’t the best player on the field. Neither quarterback was. The Heisman probably should go to a different senior, Alabama running back Najee Harris. Harris, who earned the MVP of the game had 245 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. He was the best player on the field filled with unbelievable players.
Kyle Trask’s season is incredible. I’m not trying to take away anything he has done. He holds records at Florida, he’s going to win awards, and he has cemented his place in the history books at Florida and college football in general. He’s been the MVP of the team but he wasn’t the best player on the field Saturday night.
Take a step back to appreciate a few guys
Changing course from the least popular thought of the night to something we need to do. This season, as trying as it was on the players with COVID, and despite how the last two weeks went on the field, has been special.
Starting with Kyle Trask. Not only this season but since taking over for Feleipe Franks in Lexington, everything. He has done and overcome to get to a point where his name now sits ahead of Danny Wuerffel and Rex Grossman in the Florida record books can’t be ignored. Trask went from a career backup to a meet quarterback in 2019, to a leader both through his play and through his words on and off the field. The year that he has had should be celebrated, honored, and remembered for a long time to come.
It doesn’t end there. The complete evolution of Kadarius Toney has been remarkable. The senior from Mobile, Alabama went from a gadget guy to a go-to guy in four years. Toney put up 211-yards of total offense and 153 receiving yards. In his last two games, Toney had 335 receiving yards and he posted three-consecutive 100-yard games to end his senior season.
Kyle Pitts continued his dominance over every other human that shares a football field with him. The junior had seven catches for 129 yards and a ridiculous touchdown grab. He’ll soon be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
This Florida offense has been so much fun to watch. It’s been a pleasure to cover them and a joy to watch them work.
Heading in the right direction
Dan Mullen has the Gators heading in the right direction. We’ve noted every reason they didn’t win on Saturday Night but what you did see in Mercedes Benz Stadium was the foundation of a program that expects to be in this game and expects to win its fair share of these kinds of games.
The quarterback room has two guys in Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson that will compete for the job and push each other. The running back room should return everyone, along with adding former five-star Demarkcus Bowman. The defense will be better, the receiver room is stacked.
The Gators watched Alabama players make confetti angels on the ground and then hoist a trophy they so badly coveted but they can go to sleep tonight knowing that they’re not far off from being the team on that podium and playing in confetti in Atlanta.
