It’s tough to go into a bye week on a loss. That’s what coach Jim McElwain said after UF dropped its second straight home game to the Aggies, 19-17, on Saturday.
McElwain has a lot on his mind over the next 10 days before the Gators travel to Jacksonville to play No. 3 Georgia. So I'm going to do him a solid and be his video coordinator for the week. After rewatching Florida's last game, I catalogued 25 mistakes, missteps or blunders that weighed down the UF offense against the Aggies. Some of these mistakes are excusable as they were a result of poor execution. But as the game went on, it was evident that UF had several costly mental errors.
First quarter: 12:51 — Tight end C’yontai Lewis draws a false start penalty on UF’s third offensive play to turn a second-and-2 into a second-and-7.
11:30 — Quarterback Feleipe Franks has Dre Massey open deep over the middle. Massey trips and Franks overthrows him anyway.
9:20 — On second-and-10, Franks throws to running back Malik Davis who is behind the line of scrimmage, picking up 2 yards and setting up a long third down.
9:00 — Florida is penalized for having 12 men on the field, turning a third-and-8 into a third-and-13.
8:34 — Franks’ third-down pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage, relying on Brandon Powell to pick up 13 yards. He gets 8. Florida settles for a field goal.
6:05 — On first-and-10, Franks scrambles out of bounds for a 4-yard loss instead of throwing the ball away and taking the incompletion.
4:55 — On third-and-9, Franks has time and has Powell wide open on the left side of the field for a would-be touchdown, but instead looks right and throws an incomplete pass at receiver Josh Hammond’s feet.
2:00 — UF calls three straight run plays and is forced to punt on fourth-and-1 after a three-and-out.
Second quarter: 12:25 — Franks rolls to the right and throws an interception into the end zone intended for double-covered receiver Freddie Swain. Franks had a tight end streaking down the left side of the field for a would-be touchdown but doesn’t see him since he already ran to the right.
11:05 — On third-and-3, Franks throws to tight end DeAndre Goolsby who is behind the line of scrimmage. Goolsby is tackled for no gain, bringing up fourth down.
8:25 — Florida’s offensive line lets an Aggies defender into the backfield right away. Franks takes a sack.
7:45 — UF calls a run up the middle on second-and-12 for no gain.
7:20 — On third-and-12, Franks leaves the pocket right away, rolls right and has a pass deflected to center T.J. McCoy, bringing up fourth down.
2:39 — On third-and-1, Franks scrambles to the right and is sacked when he had two receivers open in front of him. Franks also could’ve dove for the first down, but he hesitated while looking at receivers.
0:16 — UF doesn’t call a timeout after a long run sets the offense up at the Aggies 46-yard line.
0:10 — Franks has an open receiver over the middle but throws to the right for an incompletion.
0:06 — Florida can either throw a deep ball to the end zone or throw a quick sideline pass to pick up yards for a field goal. Franks does neither and lobs a ball 20 yards downfield for an incompletion and time expires in the second quarter.
Third quarter: 13:50 — On third-and-6, Franks throws to the left and the ball is caught behind the first-down marker to bring up fourth down. Franks never saw his tight end open on the right side of the field.
10:05 — Franks has Hammond open for a would-be touchdown, but waits too long and underthrows the ball. A defender catches up and breaks up the pass.
8:20 — On second-and-8, Franks has a man open on a slant pass but offensive lineman Fred Johnson lets a defender beat him right away and Franks is sacked.
7:20 — On third-and-14, Franks throws a pass that’s caught just beyond the line of scrimmage, and UF is 9 yards short of the first down.
4:14 — On first-and-10, Franks immediately rolls to the right, even though there is little pressure. An Aggies defensive end follows Franks to the right and sacks him.
3:39 — On second-and-13, Franks throws an inaccurate pass into heavy coverage.
Fourth quarter: 11:10 — On third-and-6, Franks moves around the pocket for five seconds and is sacked before he’s able to hit one of two open receivers on crossing routes.
5:30 — On third-and-1, UF calls a pitch play to the weak side where Davis is constrained by the sideline and is tackled for no gain, bringing up fourth down.
0:58 — On first-and-10, Franks stares down his tight end and is intercepted by an Aggies linebacker, effectively ending the game. Even if the linebacker wasn’t there, the pass was low and behind the intended receiver.
Matt Brannon is the Alligator’s sports editor. You can follow him on Twitter @MattB_727 or contact him at mbrannon@alligator.org.
UF quarterback Feleipe Franks looks to throw the ball during Florida's 19-17 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
