Dan Mullen backs Todd Grantham despite defensive collapse at LSU

The Florida Gators had a day to forget on the defensive side of the ball. After giving up 49 points to LSU,  42 on defense, it is understandable that fans would point to that as one of the key reasons they lost. Todd Grantham is the Gators’ defensive coordinator and play-caller, which means he is who everyone is pointing the finger towards for the defensive shortcomings.

Mullen stands up for his coordinator

Head coach Dan Mullen defended Grantham in the team’s postgame news conference. Mullen also gave his point of view on the situation as the Gators head into their bye week.

“Nothing changes my perspective on [Todd Grantham], we’re always evaluating things throughout the course of the season in everything we do. It’s a long season, we’re at the middle point of our season going into the bye week.”

The Gators had one of the best run-stopping defenses in the SEC. In their loss two weeks ago at the hands of Kentucky, they held the conference’s leading rusher, Chris Rodriguez, to under 100 yards rushing on the game. Giving up 321 yards on the ground to an LSU team who has struggled to find a run game is beyond comprehension. The leading rusher for the Tigers, Tyrion Davis-Price, came into the game with 220 yards rushing on the season. He left the game with more than double that as he rushed for a new school record of 287 yards. LSU did show signs last week of the running game heading in the right direction but nothing signaled that they would run over the Florida defense so easily.

The Gators’ offense needs some work, too

The Florida Gators failed to slow down the Tigers’ offense. LSU did not commit a single turnover but forced four interceptions on defense, winning the turnover battle 4-0. Starting quarterback Emory Jones and backup Anthony Richardson both threw a pair of interceptions. Neither’s productivity through the air in terms of yards was anything of note, but Richardson did throw three touchdowns on the game. Making matters worse for their turnover problem was the absence of the Florida running game. As a team, the Gators rushed for 138 yards. However, they did not have a single player rush for more than 50 yards in a game for the first time this season.

The Gators need to turn things around in their bye week because after that they will face the Georgia Bulldogs. And while the Bulldogs’ defense is their calling card this season, their offense has a bite to it, too.