UF
committed just three penalties, shut out the Aggies in the second half
and rallied from a 10-point deficit to win a game for the first time
since 2006.
But
Florida's balance offensively could be considered the biggest
accomplishment, because it was a brand new system with a young
quarterback in his first start on the road.
Although
the Gators had just 307 yards of total offense and were outgained by
A&M, they passed for 165 yards, rushed for 142 net yards and won the
time of possession battle by more than 10 minutes.
“Balance
in the offense is critical in our league,” Florida coach Will Muschamp
said during his radio show Thursday. “You cannot be one-dimensional with
the defensive linemen we face week in and week out. If you become an
all-throw team, those guys will come off the edge and become very
difficult for offensive linemen to block.
“Same
situation in the running game, if you're not able to stretch a team
vertically down the field teams will outnumber you in the box. So you
gotta be balanced in what you do and we love to be 50-50.”
Muschamp said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier understood that concept when he was at Florida.
“Being
an opponent of coach Spurrier when he was here, he was 50-50 run and
pass,” Muschamp said. “Everybody gave him credit for the throwing game
and he did an outstanding job with that, but Errict Rhett, Fred Taylor
and some of the other backs he had made him successful. He was 50-50 and
that's what makes you effective.”
This
weekend at Tennessee, the Gators will look to establish the ground game
early with senior running back Mike Gillislee, the SEC's leading rusher
in 2012.
But for
Florida to walk away with the win, Muschamp said sophomore quarterback
Jeff Driskel must play his part in the passing game and keep the Vols'
defenders honest.
“We will play better defenses as the year continues, starting Saturday with Tennessee,” Muschamp said. “So we need be able to spread the field and throw the football. I've got all the confidence in Jeff to be able to do so. He made some big plays for us against A&M and we'll continue to get the ball down the field vertically and challenge (defensive backs) to stretch the defense out.”
