Initial Thoughts: Game 6 - LSU.

Well, this team is going to have to grow up real quick. Because giving up 33 points to LSU should not have happened. Missed tackles (looking at you Will Hill) and penalties (Omar Hunter again, really?) lead to the defeat. Also, I want to point out, that I don't believe the fake field goal pass that LSU pulled was a forward pass. It looked parallel to me, and I would have ruled as the refs ruled.

As I mentioned here in my season predictions and expectations FanShot, I thought this game was going to give us a lot of trouble. I caught quite a bit of grief about it, but hey, it's not about being right or wrong, it's all about the Gators. I just figured this game would be a loss because the Gators are a young team, don't really have a very good offensive coordinator, and apparently blitzing has become an issue.

First off, what is wrong with the defense? This makes two games in a row in which they didn't preform near the level talent wise they should have. Will Hill has to be one of the biggest disappointments the Gators have had in a long, long time. It seems that every single time the Gators blitz, it is at the wrong time and is beaten rather easily for some sort of big gain. I like how they are a ball-hawking defense turnover wise, but maybe that is leading to some of the missed tackles that are becoming a bigger issue as the season goes on.

The offense is another issue entirely, and the bad thing about it is, is that it shouldn't be. How many dive plays have to be run before the coaching staff realizes it isn't going to work? 5? 10? 15? Whatever the number is, it needs to be lowered quite a bit. One of Carl Moore's best days are ruined by players on offense having their worst days, Emmanuel Moody for example. Wait, that is actually a bad example because we all know Moody isn't anything worth writing about anyway, so what did we actually expect? Nothing. Turns out we got nothing.

On another note, the one offensive "weapon" the Gators have couldn't play tonight. Jeffery Demps probably could have made a difference in tonight's game, it's tough to speculate, but I would like to think he could. Carl Moore did his best to step up at the WR position and I think he did (4 catches for 95 yards), and Omarius Hines had a nice TD run called back by a block in the back penalty on Frankie Hammond Jr.

The QB play was about what we have come to expect thus far in the season. John Brantley ends up going 16 of 24 for 154 yards with an INT. Now, it is up for debate on whether or not that INT is his fault or just bad luck. I'm going to chalk it up to bad luck.

The RB and WR play has somewhat been discussed already in this article, but the stats are...

Trey Burton: 9 rushes for 35 yards, and 1 TD, Emmanuel Moody: 8 rushes for 34 yards, Mike Gillislee: 6 rushes for 20 yards and a TD, Omarius Hines: 1 rush for 10 yards, Andre Debose: 1 rush 9 yards, Jordan Reed: 2 rushes for 0 yards and a TD, and finally John Brantley: 5 rushes for -11 yards.

When looking at the RB numbers or better yet, the overall rushing numbers, it is clear that without Jeffery Demps, the Gators are in serious trouble.

The WR stats were as follows....

Carl Moore: 4 catches for 95 yards, Deonte Thompson: 2 catches for 20 yards, Mike Gillislee: 3 catches for 17 yards, Jordan Reed: 1 catch for 11 yards, Emmanuel Moody: 3 catches for 9 yards, and finally Trey Burton: 3 catches for 1 yard.

It is clear that other than Carl Moore, the passing game was vastly ineffective against LSU. The only true WR's that caught a ball were Carl Moore and Deonte Thompson. It is clear the Mike Gillislee's catches as well as Emmanuel Moody's catches were that of a check-down/bail-out type that were just dump off passes.

The special teams, were either hit or miss. A missed FG, a semi-botched fake FG coverage, and not really the best kickoff coverage as seen clearly during the final drive of LSU. However, the one bright spot (and it is blindingly bright), was that of Andre Debose's kickoff return for a TD. It appeared that he was struggling to find the various lanes, but when he did, wow, that is the kind of explosion the Gators (and fans) have been waiting to see. Well done Andre, you and Carl Moore deserve the game balls.

Well, as the song goes, again..."In all kinds of weather"

Mississippi State to Gainesville next week, and it is the homecoming game, so let's beat the cow bells out of them. Here is hoping that John Brantley throws for his first 300 yard game against them.

Go Gators!