The Day After Breakdown

QB

Going into the game I thought Austin Appleby would play well and matched-up better against Tennessee than did Luke Del Rio. For the most part, that looked to be the case as he went 23-of-39 for 296-yards and 3 touchdowns. He stood in the pocket and hit three deep passes - two of which were on the money. He did have the one interception, while under intense pressure. He certainly did more to win the game than any other offensive player.

B+

RB

Jordan Scarlett led the way with 44 yards very well earned yards on 10 carries while the other three backs all averaged under 3.2 ypc. Jordan Cronkrite only 14 yards on the ground, but added 26 yards receiving on 5 catches. Neither Mark Thompson or Lamical Perine contributed much.

C

WR

Once again it was the Antonio Callaway show. He caught 4 passes for 134 yards while the remaining receivers combined for 6 catches for 102 yards. Three freshmen (Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain and Josh Hammond) caught passes while Brandon Powell was targeted but once. Another receiver or two needs to step up.

B

TE

The tight ends combined for 7 catches for 34 yards. The longest gain on the day from the position was a mere 7 yards. Neither player is a factor down the field, but rather are dump off options. C'Yontai Lewis had two outright drops and had a third pass hit his hands near the endzone.

D-

OL

The line looked as if it should receive a passing grade in the first half, but that is skewed somewhat by the fact that Scarlett was able to carry defenders and bull his way for considerable yardage after contact. They fell completely apart in the second half. For the game, though Florida topped the 100-yard mark, the Gators only averaged 3.4 yards per carry. The line gave up 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries (more than that if you watched the game) and 7 tackles for loss.

D

DL

We knew heading into the season that Florida didn't have a premiere pass-rusher, but through the first three games they were able to step up as a group, and in a collective effort led the nation in sacks. They were able to get to Josh Hobbs somewhat, the problem is he responded well. While they started out playing solid, by the second half the wheels had fallen off against what had, up until this game, looked like a below average Tennessee line.

C-

LB

Alex Anzalone and Jarred Davis combined for 19 tackles, but no impact plays. Enough said.

D

DB

Apparently ducks can pull trucks and being a big talker in itself doesn't get the job done once the ball is kicked off. Yes, both Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor recorded interceptions, but the bad significantly outweighed the good. The emphasis is on the 35 points given up in the second half, but the coverage issues began well before that. If not for a handful of drops (including one in the endzone), this game would have been a toss-up at the half. Other than Marcus Maye, no one looked particularly good, but Duke Dawson did look particularly bad.

F

ST

What can be said about Callaway's day? To be clear, this grade is just for this game and doesn't take his past return heroics into consideration. Having made that distinction, that was the worst punt return performance I have ever witnessed. The punt returner should put his heels on the 10 yard line and anything that isn't in-front of him or right to him, he should let roll - chances are - into the endzone. He inexplicably attempted to fair-catch three balls (2, 7 and 1 yard lines) inside the 10 yard line. That is unacceptable. Johnny Townsend had a solid day while Eddy Pineiro, who many thought would carry the day, never attempted a field goal.

F

Coaches

After having incredible success going down the field in the first half on first and second down (Florida's three long pass completions came on a 2nd & 5, 1st & 10 and 2nd & 3) not only did Florida strictly run on early downs, the Gators only attempted three passes in the third quarter, two of them screen passes behind the line. The Florida coaching staff appeared to be channeling their inner Will Muschamp, choosing to go into a shell offensively in order to let the defense carry the day. They came out of it too late though. At times, Jim McElwain looked almost like a dispassionate observer on the sidelines rather than an active participant in the game

F