Good, Bad and Ugly: Looking closer at Florida’s Week 4 win vs Charlotte
Florida football earned its third win in four tries so far in the 2023 campaign on Saturday night inside the Swamp, upending the visiting Charlotte 49ers, 22-7, in a game that had far fewer fireworks than many expected.
It looked like the Gators were going to steamroll the opposition early on, but the offense began to sputter and ultimately stalled out in the second half. Fortunately, the defense was up for the task, keeping the visitors at bay for the most part while cleaning up after turnovers.
Following the win, the Gators Wire crew assembled to give their respective takes on what they saw on Saturday night. Take a look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Week 4 of the Gators’ 2023 season.
Adam Dubbin - Managing Editor
GOOD: The Gators came out guns-a-blazing and looked like they were going to blow the opposition out of the Swamp. While the first offensive possession was impressive, the defense showed some muscle despite turnovers putting their backs against the wall. Also, the special teams finally put together a clean-ish game, so they deserve a gold star for their performance.
Long story short, this game started out great but finished off…
BAD: The game got sloppy and the offense looked impotent after the opening touchdown. The running game was able to push and catches were made, but the Gators had to settle for FIVE field goals in multiple redzone appearances. Long story short, this was not the offense I was expecting when I made a 51-16 prediction.
UGLY: On that note: the final score. The voters, the fans, the coaches, the players themselves… they will all be down on the Orange and Blue this week heading into a tough road matchup with Kentucky. Sure, the second and third-team players saw some appreciable reps but one hopes that Napier would put his thumb on the throttle for the sellout crowd.
David Rosenberg - Assistant Editor
GOOD: I’ll continue to sing the praises of Graham Mertz each week because I think he’s playing well above the level most expected him to at Florida. He completed three deep passes (20+ yards) — including that stellar grab from Ricky Pearsall in the first half —which is something we haven’t quite seen from Mertz yet.
Once Tre Wilson is back in the fold, Mertz might be able to spread the ball around the field at will. He likes Wilson in the slot, and Pearsall is clearly more than a one-dimensional receiver. The future is bright for this offense, even if they didn’t click on third down and in the red zone against Charlotte.
BAD: I don’t think Montrell Johnson Jr. played badly, per se, but Florida’s running game was far more anemic than most expected after the outburst against Tennessee. Part of that seemed to be Napier forcing the ball to Johnson at ill-advised times.
Etienne is the most talented rusher on the team, and he should have gotten most of the carries on Saturday. Force-feeding it to Johnson might have exposed more of Florida’s weaknesses than it proved the two-headed monster still exists.
UGLY: Trey Smack solved the kicking problem, but the Gators are still lining up on special teams with 10 players at times. It’s embarrassing, and it should have been fixed by now. Was the home crowd too loud to figure things out against Charlotte?
Pat Dooley - Staff Writer
GOOD: Florida’s defense. Again. Maybe we need to start taking these guys seriously, but after the last three years, it’s kind of difficult. Nobody thought these guys would have to play well against this team, but they did and they did. There are a lot of dudes who have played the first third of this schedule at an elite level.
BAD: The biggest issue on this night was offense in the red zone. Florida only punted once and had a field goal kicker make five tries and still only scored 22 points. That won’t be enough to win a lot of games and the playcalling could use a jolt of creativity.
UGLY: Last week, Florida was able to convert 7 of 8 third downs in the first half against Tennessee. In the second half, the Gators were 0-for-5. On Saturday night they were 1-for-9. Those are not the kinds of percentages that you want to see ever.
Jesse Richardson - Staff Writer
GOOD: HOLY RICKY PEARSALL?? That was a fantastic one-handed catch in the first quarter and the senior receiver had himself a night, catching six passes for 104 yards. It was a nice comeback since the running backs took control in the win against Tennessee last week.
All hail the new place kicker Trey Smack. The sophomore from Severna Park, Maryland, went a perfect 5-for-5 when the Gators were unable to put the ball in the endzone numerous times tonight. It’s safe to say that this will be Smack’s gig for the rest of the year.
BAD: The second-half playcalling was way too conservative and the 49ers snuffed out the Gators every move. The scripted plays on the first two drives were perfect but it seems like Napier got a little too comfortable and started driving with one hand on the wheel and a beer in his hand, hoping to cruise along to his destination. The screen plays were too simple and the calls to running backs Montrell Johnson Jr and Trevor Etienne were ill-timed.
UGLY: The Gators made it to the red zone only five times and only scored 19 points (props again to Trey Smack). A statistic like this might be acceptable when you struggle against triumphant defenses like Georgia or Florida State, but struggling against the likes of Charlotte might be a bad sign for next week’s battle against Kentucky.
Read more
Pat Dooley’s Six Pack: Quick reactions from Gators’ weak win over 49ers
Five takeaways from Florida football’s victory over Charlotte 49ers
Sunday Hash: Breaking down Gators’ underwhelming win over 49ers
Twitter reacts to spectacular one-handed grab by Ricky Pearsall
PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida’s concerning win over Charlotte
PHOTOS: A look at Florida football ahead of Charlotte 49ers matchup
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