Florida Football: Report card for thrilling Week 0 win over Miami

The secondary was supposed to be a strength for the Florida defense, but they had the worst game imaginable against Miami. With a defensive line that was manhandling the Hurricanes, the defensive backs had an easy job. They just had to take away the quick routes so the pressure could get to the freshman quarterback. They somehow failed to do this.

Early in the game, it felt as if every play that Dan Enos called was effective. They ran simple screens and slants to nickel-and-dime their way down the field, and Florida’s secondary couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. Even when they got to the ball carrier, they failed to wrap up and make tackles.

This game looked like arcade mode on Madden 20. Receivers were breaking every tackle for huge gains. That simply can’t happen in the SEC, but Florida kept going for the turnover instead of the safe tackle. Part of it was because the secondary wanted to ring some bells against the rival, but you have to make the easy play before you go and try to force big turnovers.

At the end of the game, secondary play was at an all-time low. Miami was getting nowhere on defense. The quarterback had no time to find the open receiver.

However, the corners kept bailing out the offense with pass interference penalties. Two were called on the last drive for the Hurricanes, and a third one was picked up. If Florida had messed around and lost this game, it would be on the shoulders of the defensive backs.