What we learned from the first weekend of the SEC Football season
By Matt Green
Florida’s defense can’t carry them in 2017
Florida had about as mediocre of an offense as any good team I’ve ever seen in 2016. Between Luke Del Rio, Austin Appleby, and the last ranked rushing attack in the SEC, Florida would’ve been more like a 6-6 team without their dominant defense. Florida scored just 23.9 points per game, which was 107th in the nation. But the Gators allowed 16.9 points per game, which was 6th in the country.
Against Michigan in week one, the Gators’ defense scored 14 points by themselves when they had two pick-sixes in the second quarter. But that wasn’t even close to enough. The Gators allowed 128 passing yards and 215 rushing yards to the Wolverines.
Florida did not look like a team with a third-year head coach coming off back-to-back SEC championship game appearances. The Gators managed just 11 rushing yards, allowed six sacks, and Feleipe Franks and Malik Zaire combined to go 14-for-26 for 181 yards. Things are not looking good in Gainesville.