The No. 8 Florida Gators entered Week 5 as one of the hottest teams in all of college football. With a statement win against Ole Miss under their belt and an offense that was averaging 53.5 points per game through the first month of the season, it was fair to suggest that Jon Sumrall had already re-established a proud Florida program to its desired status of SEC title contender. With challenges left against Texas and Georgia, the job was far from done, but prior to Saturday, the belief around Gainesville was that this team could play with and score on almost anyone.
That context made Saturday's 45-17 loss at No. 25 Missouri not just a massive shock to those singing the praises of Sumrall and Florida's resurgence, but also a devastating reality check on this team's strengths and weaknesses against conference competition. "We did not play to our standard," Sumrall said after the game. "Embarrassing performance in every phase.
It starts with the coaching, it starts with me. I just told the guys in the locker room right now I expect everyone to be a man which means be accountable for your actions and own it. I'm going to start that way right now.
I'm not going to point fingers at anybody, but we have to play a lot better. "I'm sick to my freaking stomach with what we just did." Florida's superpower, it seemed, was the offense and the rushing attack helmed by Jaden Baugh. With 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in the first four games, Baugh was becoming a key figure in the Heisman Trophy race, and his electric running style was perfectly matched with the creative ways that offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner aligns the offense.
It could be blocked well or schemed up, but if Baugh could just get a little bit of space, he has the explosive ability to break a game wide open. Unfortunately, that space was hard to find against Missouri's defensive front, exposing real concerns about whether this is one of the best offenses in the country. The Tigers pushed Florida's front off the ball and filled running lanes, holding Baugh to just 13 total rushing yards on 12 attempts.
As a team, Florida was limited to 42 rushing yards on 25 attempts and had no runs of 20+ yards after totaling 10 such runs (most in the SEC) through the first four games. With struggles to run the football, Florida was left putting a lot more weight on quarterback Aaron Philo to make tough plays against a Missouri defense that could tee off on obvious passing downs. Philo was sacked three times and struggled to open things up with deep passing, leaving the offense to short completions and the hope that the Gators' skill could win in the open field.
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