This lede for this wrap-up was going to be “Welcome to the SEC, Florida.” Sadly, the Gators weren’t going to have any of our tacky shenanigans.
So, we’ll reach into our bag of tricks and pull out a “50 Shades of Mike Sherman” reference to recap No. 24 Florida’s come-from-behind victory over the Aggies by a final score of 20-17.
A&M, which did not play Louisiana Tech last week thanks to Hurricane Isaac, got off to a good start and led the Gators 17-10 at halftime, highlighted by some awesome truck sticking and a Devin Smith-ish one-handed grab. But that’s when things started to fall apart. Quarterback Johnny Manziel, making his first start ever in college, couldn’t sustain a drive longer than seven plays. In fact, Florida’s defense held the Aggies to 49 yards in the second half and zero points.
Florida’s offense may have been equally so-so, but credit Will Muschamp and his coaching staff for making good second half adjustments on defense. This Gators team did not look good against Bowling Green last week and was knocked around early today in a tough environment. And they responded well.
There will be one or two more games this season -- maybe more -- where the defense is going to have to win the game for Florida because that offense doesn’t look like it’s going to get the job done.
UF has a huge game next weekend at Tennessee, which might be the best team in the East right now; the Vols are definitely playing the best football in that division (we’ll see how Georgia plays on the road against Missouri tonight). Getting a win on the road in a chaotic environment helps Florida heading into next week.
As for A&M, it’s a tough loss for what promises to be an even tougher year, but at least Kevin Sumlin can tell media hacks alike *ahem* that the Aggies can, in fact, compete in the SEC.