Gators Beat Buckeyes, Two Miserable Seasons End

The Florida Gators defeated Ohio State in the Gator Bowl today, 24-17. Both offenses were poor, both defenses played well, and the difference came through two special teams breakdowns that led to touchdowns for the Gators.

Florida struck first on a 17-yard pass from John Brantley to Deonte Thompson late in the first quarter. The two teams had traded possessions before Brantley completed seven passes and orchestrated the 80-yard drive. The embattled Brantley, who received criticism for his tepid play this season, put together a solid final showing in a Gator uniform. He was not spectacular, or even very good, but he completed 12 of 16 pass attempts (75%) for 132 yards and a touchdown. His one real mistake, an interception by Tyler Moeller, came on a tipped pass that should have been caught.

Ohio State responded after recovering a botched snap by Florida center Jonotthan Harrison, which occurred two plays after Dan Herron had fumbled the ball and the Gators had recovered. Braxton Miller led an 8-play, 72-yard drive capped off with a crisp touchdown pass to Devier Posey. Ohio State overloaded the left side of their formation with receivers, leaving Posey singled on the backside, and Miller threw a bullet to Posey on a slant route, tieing the game at 7-7.

The score would not remain tied for long, however. On the ensuing kickoff, the right side of Ohio State's coverage unit broke down and allowed Gator speedster Andre Debose to break through for a 99-yard touchdown gallop. It was a deflating event, after the Buckeyes had scraped their way downfield for a touchdown only to fall behind seconds later.

Miller drove the offense into Florida territory late in the second quarter, but suffered a terrible sack at Florida's 19-yard line when Jaye Howard jumped the snap count and toppled into him immediately. It was a terrible outcome on third-and-six, denying the Buckeyes a chance to tie the game again. It was doubly frustrating, too, coming after Miller had missed a wide open Posey in the corner of the endzone on first down. Ohio State settled for 37-yard Ben Buchanon field goal, and the Bucks went in to halftime trailing 14-10.

Ohio State received the ball to begin the second half. A promising drive was derailed by a holding penalty and a sack, forcing the Buckeyes to punt from their own 45. Picking up right where it left off, the special teams unit failed again, allowing Chris Rainey to burst past the punt protection and block the ball. Graham Stewart picked up the bouncing ball on Florida's 14 and carried it into the endzone for a touchdown, widening the Gator lead, 21-7.

A series of non-consequential drives ensued, each team trying, and mostly failing, to gain first downs and move the chains. Florida tacked on a field goal early in the fourth quarter, with plenty of time left for Ohio State to respond, but the Buckeye offense could not muster a credible drive until only 3 minutes remained on the clock. It was then that the Buckeyes attacked downfield and Miller connected on a deep route to Devin Smith, who won a jump ball contest over the defensive back.

On second down at the Florida 11, Miller floated a pass to Jordan Hall in the flat, and Hall sidestepped two Florida defenders before stumbling into the endzone, shortening the gap to 24-17, which would be the final score following a failed onside kick.

Braxton Miller

Before the game, I thought Ohio State could stop the Florida rushing attack, and thus the Florida offense, which flowed through two players the entire season, Rainey and Jeff Demps. This proved true. Florida only had three rushes for ten yards or more, the longest being a 16-yard Wildcat run from Trey Burton. Demps was a total non-factor, running for 30 yards on seven carries. Rainey found more success, 70 yards on 16 carries, but failed to break any long runs or score any touchdowns.

Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, in his final game at Ohio State, put together a strong gameplan and had his unit ready. Florida gained 263 total yards, or 4.9 yards per play, and scored only ten offensive points. Without the special teams miscues, and with a little more help from the offense, Heacock leaves a winner. It's a shame he did not receive more help from his counterpart Jim Bollman, who was also in his final game as an Ohio State coordinator.

I thought it was reasonable to expect an aggressive gameplan from Bollman given the circumstances. A matchup between 6--6 teams in a meaningless bowl game is the perfect opportunity to have fun as a coordinator, the stakes being as low as they ever could be for Ohio State. Bollman has already lost his job, too, so there was no need to worry about blowback from taking risks.

I was mistaken, obviously, as what we saw today resembled the Miami or Purdue gameplans more than the Nebraska or Michigan ones. Too many deep passing routes, not enough short route combinations, too many quarterback draws and first-down runs, not enough early down aggression. This season, Florida fared about equally well on Passing Downs as Standard Downs, so they were an unlikely opponent to fold and give up big gains on third-and-long. It was an imperative that Bollman keep the offense ahead of the chains and avoid predictable situations; instead, we saw three-and-a-half quarters of predictability and one-half quarter of panicked aggression.

Thankfully, it is time to say good-bye to Bollman Ball. With good future coaching, Braxton Miller and the offense have a bright future. Devin Smith and Evan Spencer will form the core of the receivers over the next three seasons, and Urban Meyer could acquire more talent this Signing Day. Joel Caleb and Davonte Neal remain tantalizing possibilities for a position devoid of speed.

As Meyer heads into his first offseason in Columbus, he will also have to replace three offensive line starters and a steady tailback. The Buckeyes have plenty of talent at tailback, but Meyer must recruit and develop offensive line talent. Losing Mike Adams and Mike Brewster will hurt next season, but without a Big Ten championship to play for, it was a lost cause anyway. Take next year to develop the young players for a national championship run in 2013 when Braxton Miller is a junior. That is the goal now, and everything Meyer does this offseason will be working towards it.