Was that...Defense?
It certainly didn’t look this dominating –
In retrospect, when as Gator fans we were looking for an offensive explosion, the fact our defense had a breakout game got lost in our 3 quarters of offensive angst (at least for this Gator).
Whether the ‘Canes are back or not (and I think they look improved), 140 yards on offense was equal to their worst game in 2007, a 139 yard effort they lost 51-13 to Oklahoma.
In other words Florida may have turned the most important corner we could – a much improved defense.
We know the offense will be OK (345 yards on offense is decent by any standard, especially against that quick Miami defense). And although the season is young, I see great prospects from our D, currently ranked 12th nationally.
It will make all the difference as to where the 2008 Gators end up.
Whether the ‘Canes are back or not (and I think they look improved), 140 yards on offense was equal to their worst game in 2007, a 139 yard effort they lost 51-13 to Oklahoma.
In other words Florida may have turned the most important corner we could – a much improved defense.
We know the offense will be OK (345 yards on offense is decent by any standard, especially against that quick Miami defense). And although the season is young, I see great prospects from our D, currently ranked 12th nationally.
It will make all the difference as to where the 2008 Gators end up.
Mentioned in Austin Murphy's book 
5 comments:
It sure as hell felt like their offense was doing better. Our defense looks amazing after their first two drives (on which they had zero total yards). Afterward though, it seemed like we couldn't stop them running up the middle, but seeing as they were still forced to punt, I guess our bend-don't-break defense did exactly what it was supposed to. Also most of Marve's completions I remember being screens.
Well, to look at another way... their only points came on a 50 yard FG in which they had to drive for 8+ minutes and convert a 4th and 6 to even get that much.
The furthest they made it on the field was our 39 yard line I think. That's impressive. If we can keep holding people to 3 or 10 points in a game, we'll be just fine in SEC play.
I don't think our SEC opposition is going to start Redshirt freshman QBs with ZERO colleges snaps. We won't know what our defense is until we get a few more games in.
For myself, the game was painful to watch because of the slow methodical pace of Miami's offense and the lack of production for UF's offense. The numbers don't necessarily tell the whole story, but they aren't completely lying either...
As the game ground on, it was clear that UF's D was in control...but for so much of the game it was 1 play away from being a disaster. As a fan, that doesn't give me tons of confidence for the long haul...
We have yet to see what the D is really made of. What we have seen, however, is obvious improvement from a year ago. The Gators have a ways to go to be champs, but it's hard to believe they don't have the pieces.
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