GAINESVILLE, Fla.— No. 10 Florida remains perfect on the year after beating No. 7 Auburn 24-13 in a game that saw some ugly moments for both teams, but also some toughness from the Gators side.
Here are a few things we learned in the win on Saturday.
This Florida defense is legit
Coming into this game, we said it was going to be a defensive showdown, and the Gators defense came to play.
The Florida defense held the Tigers to only two first downs in the first half, 12 in the game.
Todd Grantham’s men held Auburn to just 269 of total offense (had over 500 against Mississippi State last weekend), and held the nation’s 14th best using attack to just 125 yards on the ground.
Although coming into the game, the Gators have struggled on getting off the field on third downs that was not the case on Saturday. Auburn went 2-for-14 on third downs, and only managed six points from three Florida turnovers.
And when Auburn did manage to move the ball in the third quarter, Donovan Stiner picked off Nix in the endzone to help kill any momentum.
Box Nix finished the game 11-of- 27 for 145 yards yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Jon Greenard once again wrecked havoc up front. He recorded six tackles and three quarterback hurries, while David Reese did his part in stopping the Auburn run with a team leading 13 tackles.
Shawn Davis is a beast
Can we please talk about Shawn Davis? The Florida safety had both his ankles taped, however, did not miss a step when his team needed a big play for Florida.
Two plays after Kyle Trask’s fumble, Davis picked off Bo Nix and just took it to another level. He ran back 41 yards, breaking some tackles along the way.
The Gators continued to rotate safeties for the rest of the game, but has the South Florida native made an argument for more reps?
Freddie Swain have yourself a day
On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers just did not have an answer for Freddie Swain.
Swain came into the season,and honestly last season as well, as an underrated prospect, however, he is probably one of Florida’s most consistent playmakers on the field.
Swain was a favorite target of both Trask and Emory Jones in the win over the Tigers. He was often left uncovered and was able to finish with 146 yards and a touchdown on six catches.
No one can cover Kyle Pitts one-on-one
Pitts was menace once again. Just like with Swain, the Tigers could not cover the tight end, who finished the game with 65 yards on eight catches.
The Kyle Trask/Kyle Pitts bromance continues.
Kyle Trask needs more pocket awareness
Speaking of Trask, the signal caller needs better pocket awareness. In the first half you can point to a few dropped passes by receivers and bad protection as issues, but in the end, Trask held on to the ball a little too long on a few of his sacks - something that can't happen against a side as talented as Auburn.
Trask finished the game passing 19-of-31 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. But he also was sacked four times and fumbled the ball three times.
However, we need to give the quarterback props for returning to the field after spraining his MCL.
Up and down day for the offensive line
It was an up and down day for the offensive line.
The group was hit with some bad timed penalties, including a hold right after Florida recovered a muffed punt by Auburn in the redzone.
Some of those penalties were drive killers, not to mention the run blocking is still a work in progress. UF only managed 132 yards on the ground, 88 of those yards coming on Lamical Perine's touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
