No. 10 Florida ready to restart season against Mizzou
For the first time in four weeks, No. 10 Florida will be back in the Swamp on Saturday night against Missouri.
The Gators haven’t played at home since Oct. 3 and their last game came three weeks ago at Texas A&M. Three days later, a COVID-19 outbreak forced UF to pause team activities.
It was frustrating for the coaches and players to be sidelined immediately after their loss to the Aggies, but quarterback Kyle Trask saw the layoff as a silver lining.
“I think it's just how you look at it,” he said. “Obviously it’s frustrating after a loss. You want to get back out there and get a victory.
“But on the other hand, it gives you time to reflect on what you did wrong and what you can do better going into your next game. That's what we did.”
There’s not much the Gators can do better offensively.
They rank No. 10 in the country in both scoring offense and passing offense with Trask behind center. He’s ranked in the top 10 nationally in four statistical categories and still leads the SEC with 14 touchdown passes.
“I think it certainly helps,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said of having Trask. “I really don’t want to not be playing for three weeks at a time and no practice for two weeks, to be honest with you. But if you have to do that, it’s not bad having a quarterback who’s played in games.
“He’s got the experience of having been out there on the field. You just look at his career of being able to come off the bench and be prepared for those moments. With him it’s just, ‘Hey, let’s get back and get ready for a game.’ He’s going to be ready to go on Saturday.”
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His go-to target, Kyle Pitts, has been equally impressive from the tight end spot. He ranks second in the FBS in receiving yards per game (91.3) and third in touchdowns (7), which is tied for the single-season school record for TD receptions by a tight end.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz had high praise for Pitts and the way Mullen features him on offense.
“They split him out, they use him like an NFL (tight end) and I think that’s why you hear so much about Coach Mullen eventually being a head coach in the NFL because of the way he utilizes his players,” Drinkwitz said. “He utilizes Pitts like they do [George] Kittle (of the San Francisco 49ers) and they do Travis Kelce (of the Kansas City Chiefs) and some of the other great ones, where they line them up single receiver to the weak side and create four by ones, and make you isolate him with no underneath coverage.”
Coverage has been a major issue for Florida’s secondary, which will be without three starters Saturday. The Gators rank No. 95 nationally in pass defense, giving up 300-plus yards to both Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond.
Mullen vowed to reevaluate the unit after losing to the Aggies, but defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said this week he “really hasn’t changed anything” and his players need to play with more consistency, effort and physicality.
UF has allowed opposing offenses to convert 58.7 percent of third-down attempts this season, which ranks second to last in the FBS.
“It’s pretty simple. You gotta be able to get off the field,” Grantham said. “I don't think it’ll be any different this week, as we’ll have to understand what the situations are and go make plays and get off the field. I think it's a mindset that we’ve addressed, so we’re looking to other challenges on Saturday.”
That includes Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak, who threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in the win over LSU. But according to Grantham, the biggest challenge will be trying to defend Tigers running backs Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie. He called them the strength of Missouri’s team and said his unit must play more aggressive.
“We have the dudes,” Florida linebacker James Houston said. “We’ve got dudes that can go get the passer. We’ve got dudes that can create turnovers. We’ve got dudes that’s gonna go back there and lay the wood.
“We have the players. That’s not an issue. It’s just the execution factor of getting to it and playing the way we know each individual player can.”