Last week Carl Moore said the receivers were having a hard time getting yards after the catch because of the routes they were running and where quarterback John Brantley was throwing the ball.
Saturday, the passing offense had its most productive game of the season, totaling 290 yards through the air, and the receivers finally did some running with the ball in their hands.
“What you saw last week was (Moore) went up and got those catches, but then he knifed the defense, he got vertical up the field,” offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said. “I thought that was significant, both he and Deonte [Thompson] did that.”
As a result, Thompson led the team with five catches for 86 yards, and Moore hauled in four passes for 72 yards. Each of Moore’s catches went for first downs on third-and-long.
At 6-foot-4, Moore is an ideal possession receiver, tall enough to catch the ball at its highest point and provide a big target for Brantley on third downs and in the red zone. Against the Wildcats, Moore showed he’s capable of picking up tough yards after moving the chains.
“We definitely got the ball in situations where we could do something after the catch, and I think we made the most of the opportunities that we had,” Moore said.
Burton not just a goal-line threat: True freshman Trey Burton did his best Trick Daddy impression on every one of his runs against UK, taking it to the house on all five of his carries out of the wildcat formation.
None of his runs were longer than 11 yards, and Burton already had a pair of two-yard touchdown runs to his name prior to Saturday, but offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said that Burton’s wildcat role is not going to be limited to goal-line situations.
“We’re going to gradually increase that, grow with that,” Addazio said. “That will continue to go and continue to grow in all forms.”
Coach Urban Meyer said after the game that UF is in its base offense when Burton is in the game, meaning running isn’t the only option.
Burton showed that when he rolled to his right and hit Omarius Hines for a 42-yard completion in the fourth quarter.
“I think you saw a component of option back in our offense both with John and with Trey, so we’re creating really great balance in how we’re going to attack a defense,” Addazio said. “We’re creating many more things for them to have to worry about now.”
Ingram and Richardson G.O.A.T.?: Defensive lineman Duke Lemmens knows UF is going to have its hands full with Alabama’s running back duo of 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and super sophomore Trent Richardson.
“Not only is that probably the best running back corps maybe in the history of college football with those two, but they have a great O-line, and it’s a great test for us,” Lemmens said. “This is why you come to Florida, for games like this.”
Richardson has 482 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns for the Tide this season, and Ingram has 335 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in two games.
