The Good
Quarterback Play
Florida QB Kyle Trask posted 356 yards and six touchdowns in another performance that should earn him some Heisman votes. As usual, Trask spread the ball around. Five receivers had multiple catches and five receivers exceeded the 30-yard mark on the stat sheet.
Instead of allowing Trask to run up his numbers, Mullen gave QB Emory Jones some reps. Jones gave Gators fans a glimpse into the future by showing off his arm on a nice touchdown pass in the red zone. Mullen even allowed halftime tweeter Anthony Richardson to get on the field.
The first starting quarterback of the Mullen era made his way back to Gainesville and Feleipe Franks put up good numbers before exiting late with an injured wrist. Florida’s former quarterback went 15/19 for 250 yards and hit on two touchdown passes from 47 and 82 yards out. He missed on another surefire touchdown on a fourth down conversion attempt on the Hogs’ second drive. Arkansas was competitive throughout the first half thanks to Franks and the offense.
No Pitts, No Problem
Trevon Grimes posted one his best days as a Gator in the absence of TE Kyle Pitts. The senior wide receiver out of Fort Lauderdale exceed the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career (first was 2018 FSU) on his way to a two touchdown day.
Kadarius Toney once again seemed like he had a quiet game, but he posted a solid seven catch, 57-yard output on the stat sheet. Freshman Xzavier Henderson hauled in the first of what will likely be many touchdowns in his Florida career. Jacob Copeland and Justin Shorter each made their one catch count with leaping touchdown grabs.
Sophomore TE Keon Zipperer caught two touchdowns on three receptions. After Pitts left the game against Georgia last week, junior TE Kemore Gamble flashed a few times. The future at tight end is bright for the Gators.
For the first time all season, Florida ran the ball more than they passed it.
Running back Dameon Pierce led the way with 12 carries for 69 yards, freshman RB Nay’Quan Wright put up 50 yards and a touchdown on 9 attempts, and RB Malik Davis had eight carries for 37 yards. The Gators finished the day with 208 yards rushing.
Defense comes up with some big plays
An active Gators defense was led by LB Mohamoud Diabate’s seven tackles. Florida recorded eight tackles for a loss and four sacks. DT Zachary Carter provided the highlight of the night when scooped up a botched handoff between Franks and RB Rakeem Boyd and rumbled his way to a 35-yard touchdown return.
The Bad
Defense gives up some big plays
Arkansas’ 458-yard effort was aided by some miscues by the Florida defense.
We’re at a point in the season where it’s time to pick at this team’s warts in the build-up to the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. Florida is good enough to beat the Tide this year, but the Gators have to continue to cut down on the number of big mistakes they make on defense.
The Hogs hung around early thanks exclusively to big plays. Franks found wide receiver Mike Woods for a 47-yard touchdown pass to cap off their first drive. A few drives later, RB Trelon Smith bolted up the middle for an 83-yard touchdown run. Franks and Woods connected for an 82-yard score in the second half.
That’s three out of five scores from 47-yards or more out.
Florida has the offensive firepower to take the Tide, but the defense needs to do its part. Perfection is not required on this side of the ball. The offense is good enough to clean up after a few mistakes. If the Gators can limit the number of big plays over the final few weeks, this team can win the SEC.
The UGAly
The Victors and the Harbaugh dilemma
All is not well in Ann Arbor.
Wisconsin marched into the Big House fresh off of a three week hiatus and stomped the life out of Michigan in a game that may later be recognized as the beginning of the end of the Jim Harbaugh era for the Maize and Blue.
Harbaugh returned to his alma mater before the 2015 season. Michigan had spent the early part of the 2010s floundering under near Alabama hire Rich Rodriguez and former Lloyd Carr assistant Brady Hoke. Harbaugh couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
It was said that Harbaugh understood and respected the culture at Michigan. He was a much better fit than Rodriguez. Rich Rod was not a Michigan Man. Unlike Hoke, a true Michigan Man, Harbaugh could handle the big time and slay the beast in Columbus. Finally, a Michigan Man who can win big.
Ohio State had just won a national title in the first College Football Playoff in 2014 and the Buckeyes had won 12 of 15 against their rivals to the north. Harbaugh arrived with much fanfare. Much like Meyer and later James Franklin, he would help increase the intensity of recruiting throughout the Big Ten and drive the league to play at a higher level (I hope you were able to concentrate on finishing that sentence over Will Miles’ laughter).
Harbaugh’s classes have consistently landed in or close to the Top-10 of the Rivals Team Rankings. Those classes have built Michigan back into a consistent winner, winning 10 games in three out of five seasons (something Rodriguez and Hoke did a combined once in seven years) and have produced five first round drafts picks. Under Harbaugh, the Wolverines have exclusively appeared in no worse than a New Year’s Day bowl.
Coming into the 2020 season, Harbaugh had posted a .723 winning percentage through five seasons. For comparison, Michigan legend Bo Schembechler, the gold standard to which all is compared, had a .797 wining percentage in his 21 seasons; his successor, Gary Moeller, won at a clip of .758 in five years; and Lloyd Carr, the only Michigan coach to stake any claim to a national title since Bennie Oosterbaan in 1948, finished with a .753 mark over the course of 13 seasons. Harbaugh is in the vicinity.
Though Harbaugh is close to being as successful as the most successful head coaches in recent Michigan football history on paper, his time in Ann Arbor has been considered a disappointment for one simple reason: Michigan overpromised and under-delivered. Time-and-again, his teams have fallen short on the biggest stages.
To add insult to injury, the Buckeye juggernaut continues to roll. Unlike Auburn and LSU, which have traditionally served as bridesmaids to Alabama, Michigan still holds a seven game lead in the series against Ohio State despite only three victories over the Bucks since 2000. The Wolverines have not won a Big Ten title since 2004 and still have four more all-time conference titles than Ohio State, which has won nine Big Ten titles in that same stretch of time.
The well-compensated Harbaugh fits into almost any point a critic or a defender can make:
- He is the 10-game winner who will consistently keep Michigan ranked in the Top-15.
- He may wear on people and have an occasional down year.
- He needs more time to chip away at an Ohio State program currently in the midst of one of their best runs in school history.
- He has no excuse for being oh-for-Ohio State.
- He will never lead Michigan to a playoff spot.
- He’s been an Ohio State win away from a likely playoff berth two times in five seasons.
Michigan has always wanted to hire the next Bo. Nobody will be closer to Bo than Jim Harbaugh.
If Michigan is ready to move on from that line of thinking, name a coach who will raise the school’s profile more than Harbaugh? Who will out-recruit and out-coach him?
Will the Wolverines drop a truckload of money on a proven head coach like Texas A&M did with Jimbo Fisher?
Didn’t they just do that with Harbaugh?
Will the Wolverines hire the hottest name in coaching like a Matt Campbell from Iowa State?
Didn’t they just do that with Rich Rodriguez?
Will the Wolverines hire a successful, up-and-coming head coach with ties to the school?
Didn’t they just do that with Brady Hoke?
This is not the type of program that will hire a Hugh Freeze.
Sometimes fire [insert name here] is the easy solution, but not always the best answer.
Michigan fans have ample reason to be frustrated with the state of their program. Patience is easy advice to prescribe, but difficult advice to follow. However, in this case, being patient may be the right move in Ann Arbor.
Harbaugh has been close at times.
Be honest and look in the mirror, Michigan. You are a capable of winning national championships, but you’ve claimed half-of-one since the Truman administration.
Harbaugh currently has zero national titles. Just like Bo.
Patience would be easier if Harbaugh didn’t make $8 million/year, but if the goal is to compete at a high level, Michigan’s best move is to hang in there and wait.