Billy Napier addresses Gators' third down defense
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators came out hot against the Missouri Tigers on homecoming. Florida’s defensive unit forced three punts and had a pick-six in the first four drives.
The fourth quarter was a different story, however. Florida gave up 100 yards and allowed Missouri to convert 75% (3-4) of their third down attempts. All of those attempts came on third-and-long, with conversions on 3rd-and-15, 3rd-and-22, and 3rd-and-18. The Gators haven’t been great on third down this season, to put it nicely.
Florida is ranked dead last in the SEC and 125th in the country allowing opponents to convert on third down 50.59% of the time (43-85).
“I think it’s all very correctible. Some of it’s missed tackling, some of it is pass-rush lane integrity. Some of it is leveraging coverage. And then some we’re just not — maybe we’re not in a great call here or there. So it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Napier said on Monday. “I don’t necessarily know that there’s one thing we can pinpoint, but it’s certainly something we have done really well at times week to week, and Saturday was an area where we struggled a little bit. We’ll go back to work there and evaluate it objectively and try to put our players in better position and then try to get the players to execute much better.”
Gators struggle on winning downs for the defense
More troubling than the total number is how bad Florida was on third-and-long. The defense works to win on first and second down in order to create On third-down attempts of eight or more yards, Missouri was 5-for-8 against the Gators.
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“Any time it’s third and long, if you know the numbers, you’re anticipating you’ve got a good percentage chance to win. But I also know that it comes down to execution,” Napier said Monday. “Missouri had well-designed stuff at times. Their players made plays at times. So it’s a combination of a lot of things, but when you get 11-plus, those are the ones you anticipate winning. For me as a head coach, those are the ones you struggle with a little bit.”
There may not be one single fix and it’s not all on defensive coordinator Patrick Toney. The Gators had players in a position to make plays on third down. An open-field missed tackle was the culprit on 3rd-and-22. There needs to be accountability throughout the program, coaches and players.
“It’s very high,” defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen said of the frustration level. “That’s an area that I feel like we’ve got to emphasize getting better on this week because last week we had too many instances where we had them in third and ten or longer and they converted. That’s a big thing that help helps you win a lot of games. You’ve got to get off the field on third down. This week we’ve got to really focus on getting better on that.”
This week, the Gators face an LSU opponent that is fourth in the league and 33rd in the country converting on third down. The Tigers also have a quarterback in Jayden Daniels who can make things happen with his feet. Setting an edge and keeping him in the pocket will be critical, especially on third down.