Florida's running game seems to be living by the motto, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
That type of thinking will get them in trouble, though.
If your roof has a crack in it, are you going to leave it until the whole thing caves in on you?
The Gators' running game has a crack in it, and it is a matter of time before it gives way unless changes are made.
Florida's rushing attack has carried it so far this season, and with a trio of backs and Tim Tebow at quarterback, there's no reason it shouldn't be counted on to take this team to the national championship.
However, the ground game hasn't looked as explosive as it did early on, and it seems to be getting predictable.
UF offensive coordinator Steve Addazio doesn't agree with that statement.
"We're pretty creative with the run game," Addazio said. "We were the No. 1 rushing team in America."
The key word in that statement being "were."
Florida has dropped out of the top spot and moved down to ninth and has Auburn and Alabama nipping at its heels for best in the Southeastern Conference.
The Tigers already have better rushing numbers in conference games than the Gators, averaging 269 yards in their four SEC games compared to the Gators' average of 224.8.
Early in the year, UF was successful running between the tackles, but it appears opponents are scheming to take the inside run away.
Addazio said the inside runs are not dive plays but options, where Tebow can either hand it off or pull it and run.
If the handoff option is open, Tebow should be giving it away every time, so Tebow having to run more shows that the inside run is being taken away by defenses.
As great as Tebow is in short-yardage situations, if he leads the Gators in carries, they aren't as effective.
In their four conference games, Tebow has two fewer rushes than Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Moody combined. In his 84 rushes, Tebow has totaled 306 yards for a 3.6 average. The trio has run the ball 86 times for 524 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Also, when they touch the ball, there is always the big-play potential that Tebow lacks.
All three have blazing speed, especially Rainey and Demps, so getting them to the outside could always result in a huge run.
Running to the outside isn't easy because outside linebackers have a head start to the corner and defensive ends need to be hooked to clear that corner. Both are tough tasks for offenses, which is why it is important to have an inside run game to rely on.
If teams are making it a priority to stop runs up the middle, there is a better chance outside runs are open and could force teams to defend them as well, taking some of the pressure out of the middle.
Arkansas made it a point to stop the inside runs and succeeded by holding the running backs to a 2.3 average on their nine runs between the tackles and forcing Tebow to keep the ball more on those option reads, which was a big reason for his 27 carries.
The running backs had six designed runs outside the box. They averaged 5.2 yards and broke off runs of 20 and 10 yards.
Addazio has an excuse for why the run game may have look inside-run heavy.
"We were balanced this past week, which gives you a lot less run calls," Addazio said.
That seems logical - except the Gators ran the ball 46 times and threw 27 times, and in only two games - LSU (52) and Kentucky (48) - did they run more.
The Gators are going to need to change it up. Maybe a new blocking scheme for the inside game or a new look to run it out of, anything to keep defenses guessing.
Addazio may want to look into getting some fix-it-yourself books to correct the problem before it gets too big and Florida needs to call for someone to come work on it.
