COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M led the nation with 51 sacks last season, and Florida failed to slow down the Aggies. The Gators surrendered eight sacks in a 20-17 victory in their Southeastern Conference opener on Saturday at Kyle Field.
"We'll correct it,” right guard James Wilson said. “We don't know who it's on really. Whatever it is we'll get it right so it doesn't happen again."
In his first career start at quarterback, Jeff Driskel completed 13 of 16 passes with two drops for 162 yards. However, Driskel tended to hold onto the ball too long in the face of an oncoming pass rush. On multiple occasions, he scrambled out of bounds for a loss.
“I do think he could’ve gotten rid of the ball at times, but there were some protection issues,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “They have two good edge rushers. They led the country in sacks last year. They do have some guys that can rush the passer. We had a busted route on one sack.”
Perhaps the instance that spelled the most trouble for UF was on third-and-7 at the Texas A&M 28-yard-line during the second quarter. Chased by Aggies defensive end Spencer Nearly, who had two sacks on Saturday, Driskel was forced out of bounds for a 5-yard loss.
As a result, Gators kicker Caleb Sturgis had a 51-yard field goal attempt on his hands.
Sturgis’ first try hit the right upright for a miss, but fortunately for Florida, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin called a timeout before the play. Sturgis made the second kick to cut the Aggies’ lead down to 17-10.
After the game, Muschamp said Driskel would need to work on getting the ball out more quickly with oncoming rushers approaching.
“No, I’m not going to live with that,” Muschamp said. “He needs to get rid of the football.”
Sacks killed Florida’s momentum on multiple offensive possessions. On third downs, Driskel had five rushes for minus-29 yards, including four sacks. Driskel took sacks on back-to-back plays to end two drives.
"It's on us,” Wilson said. “Obviously, that's what it came down to, and that's what it's going to be a lot. If you want to be dominant in the SEC, you have to have a solid offensive line. We're ready to take on the challenge."
The Gators averaged 3 yards per carry on the way to 142 yards in the ground game on Saturday. They lost 48 yards on eight sacks and 9 yards on two kneel downs.
Subtract the sacks, and Florida averaged 6.2 yards per carry for 249 yards.
Despite the loss of significant yardage on Saturday, Muschamp did not condemn sacks.
“He took care of the ball,” Muschamp said of Driskel. “He didn’t try to make a throw. He ate the ball. There’s good sacks, too. There’s nothing wrong with ending a series with a punt. I know that’s not allowed to be said at Florida, but there’s nothing wrong with that, all right? There’s some positives in that.”
UF will try to minimize sacks against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., next weekend. Last season, the Volunteers ranked last in the SEC and 107th nationally with just 15 sacks.
“Don’t put it on one guy for a sack,” Muschamp said. “There’s a lot of different things that go into a sack.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Gators sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel tries to evade Texas A&M defensive lineman Damontre Moore at Kyle Field Saturday. UF defeated the Aggies despite surrendering eight sacks.
