Call it the "dread zone."
One of the main reasons No. 1 Florida has fallen off the blistering scoring pace it set last season is its lack of production in the red zone.
The Gators are No. 76 in the nation for red zone scoring (80 percent), and in Southeastern Conference play, they've come away with just seven touchdowns on 25 red zone trips.
Fixing UF's offense near the goal line has been a focal point for coach Urban Meyer following a 29-19 win against Mississippi State in which the Gators managed one touchdown on six visits to the red-zone.
Meyer said after the game he'd start working on it during the flight home, and he and the other offensive coaches spent a rare late night in the office Sunday.
"We watched every red-zone snap of the year, evaluated every snap," Meyer said. "What we're finding is, in our opinion, it's not the play-calling. We have to hold to the plan. Sometimes we're making a call that's not on the call sheet, and that's my fault. We're going to stick to the call sheet and do a better job."
Breaking away from the call sheet did produce the Gators' lone red zone touchdown, though. Using the I-formation for the only time during the game, UF got an eight-yard touchdown run from running back Chris Rainey, fueling speculation that the package will be used more often.
"I doubt [MSU] practiced that one time all year in thinking about us, seeing us do a fake counter play to Rainey under center," quarterback Tim Tebow said. "You could see as the play developed that they were like, 'What? What is this?'"
The I-form may have worked well with the element of surprise, but that may be the extent of its use.
Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said the Gators still work from under center in practice, but they're reluctant to use it in place of their usual spread attack.
"I've been an I-formation guy most of my life, so I think it's terrific," Addazio said. "We just don't do it a lot. When you get down there, you want to do what you think you do best. In that game, we made a decision at that point that we wanted to have a change."
What the Gators did best in the red zone in years past was run Tebow up the middle and get the ball to receiver Percy Harvin. Ten of Harvin's 17 touchdowns last season came in the red zone, and without him in the lineup, UF has struggled to impose its will near the goal line.
Five-receiver formations have just left the passing lanes too crowded, and Tebow hasn't been able to either find open wideouts or scramble for scores.
Timing routes like the five-yard quick slant to Riley Cooper that iced the SEC Championship last season haven't been used at all, and running back Emmanuel Moody-the toughest inside runner among UF's backs-has hardly touched the field inside the 20-yard line.
On the positive side, it's clear to the coaches that the red zone has been a problem, and after plenty of time seeing what doesn't work, Addazio is confident they'll straighten it out.
"The obvious phases that aren't where they need to be are turnovers and the red zone," he said. "We haven't gotten it corrected yet, but we're working really hard at it. Trust in that, right there."
