Questions for Florida football coming off Charlotte win

The final tune-up for Florida football before seven straight SEC games didn't go as smoothly as planned.

The Florida Gators (3-1, 1-0 SEC) were bottled up in the red zone and unable to put away Charlotte until late in a 22-7 win at The Swamp decided by five Trey Smack field goals.

"The disappointing thing about games like this, these are the ones where maybe the average fan anticipates it getting out of control, and a lot of our young players didn't have an opportunity to play because we didn't get it under control," Florida football coach Billy Napier said.

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UF will head on the road next Saturday at Kentucky (noon, SEC Network or ESPN) looking to snap a two-game losing streak against the Wildcats. Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 SEC) beat Vanderbilt 45-28 in its SEC opener on Saturday.

"It's an SEC game," Florida linebacker Shemar James said. "We've got to bring it 110 percent every single game, especially an SEC game."

Here are three questions for the Gators coming off the Charlotte win heading into Kentucky week.

Can Florida football fix its third down problem on offense?

Last season, Florida had a third down problem on defense. This year, it has shifted to the offensive side of the ball. The Gators went 1 for 9 on third down conversions against Charlotte. In fact, UF has gone 1 for its last 15 on third down attempts since going 7 for 8 on third downs in the first half against Tennessee.

"We played some of those were two-down approaches, right, and I think that affected a little bit," Napier said. "But yeah, there's no question. Ultimately -- and they're in the red area, right. Got to get it better, there's no doubt. That's one of the stats that's going to stand out."

Can the Florida Gators get Trevor Etienne more touches?

Etienne remained in a timeshare with Montrell Johnson Jr. for carries after his career-high 172-yard rushing performance against Tennessee. After carrying the ball 23 times against the Vols, Etienne carried it just 8 times for 48 yards against Charlotte. That led to some grumbling from Etienne's older brother, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne.

Johnson rushed 16 times for 63 yards against Charlotte. The split backfield is keeping both backs fresh, but as some point, Napier may need to realize that Etienne's home run potential as a running back warrants the majority of carries for every game.

Can the Florida defense continue to generate a pass rush?

Florida finished with 4 sacks and 6 tackles for loss as its aggressive scheme was able to get home and affect the quarterback. The Gators are going to need more of the same this week against strong-armed Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 3 questions for Florida Gators followng win over Charlotte 49ers