Here's a quick 30-minute breakdown of the UGA-Florida showdown, with the Bulldogs possessing a 13-7 lead at halftime.
1. It's difficult to imagine Florida winning this game mainly on the shoulders of quarterback Feleipe Franks.
a) His first-quarter overthrow on the flea-flicker play was an inexcusable gaffe, since the Gators receiver had already garnered separation from the momentarily stunned Dawgs secondary.
b) His crucial interception in the first half could have been avoided, if Franks had just opted for tailback Jordan Scarlett running unfettered in the flat (same plane of reading the defensive coverage).
c) Yes, Franks rushed for a keeper touchdown, but he's been rather shaky in the pocket all day. In fact, his two best throws occurred after scrambling away from pressure.
2. On paper, UGA has more athleticism and power in its backfield; and yet, Florida posted better numbers with yards per carry (4.8 to 4.1), total rushing yards (110-73) and rushing touchdown (the QB Franks).
3. UGA quarterback Jake Fromm (8 of 11 for 97 yards, 1 TD) had a productive and efficient first half, completing 76 percent of his throws and hitting Jeremiah Holloman for a back-end-zone touchdown toss.
That's the positive news.
On the meh front, it took a final-minute flurry (late second quarter) to bait the Dawgs coaches into forcing the issue downfield; and Fromm responded with five straight completions (four to Isaac Nauta, one to Mecole Hardman).
Which brings us to this ...
4. Don't expect five-star freshman Justin Fields to garner substantial playing time in the second half, minus the occasional one-or-two play cameo.
We posited this theory two weeks ago in the LSU game:
The UGA coaches might love Fields' long-term potential, but they're not ready to throw him to the wolves against high-grade SEC defenses.
4b. Let's address the elephant in the room here:
If head coach Kirby Smart had been more organized in the final minute, in terms of maximizing his timeouts, UGA would have at least two more at-close-range shots near the goal line.
Instead, the Dawgs settled for a solid, but unspectacular field goal from kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
The chatter inside the 11Alive newsroom wasn't overly positive during that sequence; and I must concur:
In this day and age, there's no excuse for head coaches having poor time-management skills. It's one of the few components of a game, where these hyper-focused leaders still maintain total control.
