Take Two: What is wrong with Florida's offense?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

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Here are some numbers and stats to consider when it comes to Florida’s first two games of 2017: Two touchdowns from the offense. Three touchdowns from the defense.

Florida is averaging only 286 yards per game.

No Florida receiver has double-digit receptions. Quarterback

Feleipe Franksis second to last in the conference in passing yards per game. Running backLamical Perine, who leads the Gators in rushing attempts, is 33rd in the SEC in yards per carry (3.5).

On and on we go. Where Florida’s offense starts playing well, no one knows.

There are a bunch of suspensions to deal with and that could be playing a significant factor to the malaise, but Florida just can’t seem to do anything right on that side of the ball. Did a Hail Mary victory over Tennessee last weekend spark things?

Maybe. But there are certainly recruiting ramifications when it comes to the Gators being so average on offense and the question needs to be asked when will things start looking up on offense. Can Florida once again win the SEC East with poor offensive showings or do the Gators need to figure it out – and quick before other conference schools take that next step over them?

Think about this: Florida is only a two-point favorite at Kentucky this week.

“If I could answer the question of what ails the Florida offense, I would be on the sidelines calling plays as a coach rather than in front of my computer screen critiquing calls made by the current coaching staff. It all comes down to consistency, or in Florida's case, a lack of it. As we talked about in the last Take Two, Florida's offensive ineptitude goes back seven seasons, covering three football staffs featuring five different offensive coordinators.

Each time a new staff has taken over, it brought its own offensive philosophy and of course, there were some players who left, thus the incoming staff had to build its own roster.

The same can be said to a degree with what Jim McElwain had to deal with when he arrived. While the defense was stacked, the offense was barren of proven quality playmakers, not to mention being so woefully short on numbers along the offensive line that Florida couldn't hold a traditional spring game.

That was then though, and this is now. Heading into his third year, any roster deficiencies are the fault of McElwain & Co. and them alone. Why are the Gators still struggling? It is a mixture of a lack of talent up front, a proven quarterback, play-calling and offensive philosophy. So, more like you name it, Florida suffers from it.”

“The fourth quarter was better than the first three against Tennessee, but they still look anemic. The only reason they won the game was because of a complete breakdown of every facet by Tennessee’s defense. I just don’t see that offense progressing. Some people say the fourth quarter could be the tipping point, to take it to the next gear.

There’s just not a lot of talent there. There are guys like

Tyrie Cleveland who are good, they have some talent here and there, but the skill positions are very thin, the quarterback is still learning and the conservative play-calling because of the lack of talent is what’s keeping them down.

Can they win the SEC East? It’s there for the taking. It’s going to come down to what looks like Georgia and Florida, but does that matter? They’re not making progress offensively and that’s the main criticism of McElwain.”

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