Florida Football: Report card from tough loss to LSU in Week 7

Offense

Like I said, the Gators offense was really solid most of the game. Kyle Trask has proven himself as an upgrade to Feleipe Franks, and the offense found a lot of wholes in the passing game. Here’s how everyone graded out:

Quarterbacks: A-

I’ve mentioned before how impressed I was with Trask in a tough, road environment. His completion percentage was just 59 percent, but he found a lot of open space in the middle of the field, and did a great job for this offense.

Trask has put any Feleipe Franks worries to rest, with Franks out for the season. He’s clearly the better passer, and better suited to help the Gators succeed. Big time performance from in his first road start.

The other quarterback who got playing time in this game was Emory Jones. Using Jones in a wildcat based set, where he had moments of dynamism, including a one yard touchdown pass, and big plays with his legs, and almost had another great touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts that Pitts couldn’t hang on to.

Jones showed a real ability to make plays, and will be a great quarterback for the Gators next season, the only thing I question is when Dan Mullen used him. One series really puzzled me was late in the third quarter. Florida got the ball with 3:15 on the clock, right after LSU had scored to take a 35-28 lead, and Jones came in. The first two calls were running plays that got three yards, and then a third and seven throw by Jones forced the Gators to punt.

The decision to keep Jones on the field on a third and long didn’t make a lot of sense, especially as LSU just regained the lead, and that far down the field. He’s a dynamic player, but Mullen will have to find out where the best spot is to deploy Jones.

Running Back: C+

It was a fine performance from the running backs, but nothing game changing like the Gators were hoping. Lamical Perine had a big breakout performance last week against Auburn, but struggled to find a lot of space in this one, gaining just 65 yards on 17 carries. Perine also had a short touchdown catch in this game.

The running game continues to struggle to find big plays, but Trask has been good enough most weeks that it hasn’t really mattered.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B+

If this grade was just for Van Jefferson and Kyle Pitts, two players I highlighted in my three reasons Florida would win, then it would be an “A” grade. Pitts was a monster in the first half, he had four receptions in the first half, and was the big time player for the Gators offense.

LSU was able to slow him down, and he dropped a touchdown throw from Jones later in the game, and was held to just one catch in the second half. It was a great performance from a really dynamic tight end player.

Jefferson, meanwhile, was great for the Gators in the red zone, making two catches inside the 20. He continues to be a great go-to option on the Gators offense.

The rest of the Gators pass catchers struggled to find big plays, with Trevon Grimes the only other player to find the end zone. They needed one more playmaker to find a big play in this one, as the Tigers defense was able to slow down Florida in the second half.

Offensive Line: C+

The Gators offensive line was solid in this one, doing a good job of getting Trask time to throw downfield. It was just a few moments of lapse that allowed the Tigers defense to take advantage.

LSU ended up getting two sacks and four QB hurries, but where they really did a good job was filling the gaps in the middle. Tyler Shelvin, the Tigers nose tackle, caused the Gators fits in the middle of the defense, and K’Lavon Chaisson had three tackles for loss and a sack. LSU’s pass defense didn’t have as much success, but the Gators offensive line didn’t create enough holes for the running attack to be successful in this one.