What we learned: Michigan beats down Florida in Texas

By Adam Silverstein
September 2, 2017
What we learned: Michigan beats down Florida in Texas
Football

Image Credit: Michigan Football

Anyone expecting to see a changed No. 17 Florida Gators football team on Saturday got their wish — it’s just that Florida has not changed for the better. In a 33-17 loss to the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines, the Gators looked about the same on offense as they have the last few seasons but were obviously much more porous on defense, giving up chunk plays in major moments that played a large role in the defeat.

OnlyGators.com breaks down Florida’s loss below.


It was over when: Redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks fumbled at Florida’s 37-yard line with 11 minutes left in the third quarter. Michigan responded by kicking a 50-yard field goal — its third score in less than three minutes — and took a nine-point lead. Considering the Gators’ offense was basically nonexistent in the contest, that lead was insurmountable and also resulted in Franks being replaced by graduate transfer Malik Zaire.

Exceptional effort: With Florida failing on both offense and defense, it should come as no surprise that redshirt senior punter Johnny Townsend produced another star-making effort. Townsend averaged 54.7 yards per punt, dropping two inside the 10 (though one got returned out) and taking all six of boots at least 50 yards.

Important injury: Sophomore safety Chauncey Gardner went down in the third quarter with what looked like cramps. However, he never returned to the game and ESPN reported near the end of the contest that Gardner was on the sideline wearing crutches.

Odds and ends: Florida saw its streak of 27 straight wins in season openers end as it dropped its first since 1987 … the Gators are now 0-4 all-time against the Wolverines … UF dropped its sixth game in the month of September since 2005 (42-6) … Florida is now 3-7 against ranked opponents under McElwain but fell to 16-4 when scoring first and 15-2 when leading at the half … UF found its first blocked punt since 2013 … all three of senior cornerback Duke Dawson’s career interceptions have been returned for touchdowns … Michigan outgained Florida 433-192 (215-11 on the ground, 218-181 in the air) … UM converted 6-of-18 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down, often gaining well more yardage than it needed … UF was 2-for-13 on third down and 1-for-2 on fourth … the Gators averaged just 3.6 yards per play (compared to 5.8 for the Wolverines) … Ty Issac picked up 114 yards on 11 carries for Michigan

What it means: Year 3 of McElwain looks the same as the first two. The Gators’ offense, while it may prove to have taken a step forward in future contests, was pathetic against a solid Wolverines front. Florida did not find the end zone on offense, scoring five on special teams (field goal, two extra points) and 12 from its defense. That may be good enough to beat some teams but not a program like Michigan, which exposed all of Florida’s deficiencies on both sides of the ball for a solid albeit unspectacular win.

By the quarter

First: Florida was able to grumble about the referees on the first play of the game after sophomore wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland was hit late on a sweep but a relatively obvious targeting penalty was not called after review. Franks completed the first pass of his career, a 34-yard dime to sophomore WR Josh Hammond, but miscues forced UF to settle for a 46-yard field goal by redshirt junior kicker Eddy Pineiro. On the ensuing possession, Michigan had three third-down conversions, including a 36-yard rush on 3rd and 13, but settled for a field goal as UF burned two of its timeouts in seven minutes. The Wolverines then went up 10-3 as the Gators blew coverage and allowed a 46-yard touchdown pass one play after redshirt senior safety Nick Washington injured his shoulder.

Second: The sluggish play continued for Florida’s offense, but Michigan shot itself in the foot twice. After a 15-yard celebration penalty negated another third-down conversion for UM, Dawson nabbed a tip drill interception on the next conversion attempt, running it back 48 yards for a touchdown. The Gators’ defense stepped up again as freshman CB CJ Henderson intercepted the third-down pass from Speight on the ensuing possession, bringing it back 41 yards for a second pick six. Florida nearly tripled its fortunes when redshirt senior defensive back Garrett Stephens blocked a punt, but the offense was unable to move the ball and Pineiro missed a 47-yard field goal. Michigan responded with a 37-yard pass to set up a 55-yard field goal following two UF sacks.

Third: The Gators’ defense failed on the half’s opening possession, giving up 18 yards on a 4th-and-1 conversion attempt as part of a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown-scoring drive for the Wolverines that gave them a 20-17 lead. Cleveland then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Florida forced its first three-and-out of the game to trail by six. Faced with another third down, Franks attempted to run for it but was stripped, giving Michigan another shot in UF territory, though the defense held it to another field goal. This brought in graduate transfer QB Malik Zaire.

Fourth: After a lot of back-and-forth action through the first half of the quarter, Michigan struck with a 48-yard bomb that put it inside Florida’s 10 with seven minutes to play only for it to miss another field goal keeping the lead at single digits. The Gators remained unable to muster anything offensively and succumbed to a good defensive effort from the Wolverines. Florida even gave up a defensive touchdown late when Michigan sacked Zaire and forced him to fumble on consecutive plays, first inside the five and then again inside the end zone.

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