5 biggest takeaways: Gators a long way from where they want to be

In what amounted to be a 21-point loss for Will Muschamp and his squad, the Florida Gators fought valiantly for about three quarters before wearing down against the physicality of Alabama.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Gators’ 42-21 defeat in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Jeff Driskel is not a good quarterback right now– The redshirt junior signal caller may develop over the course of the season and play well enough to win some games for the Gators, but Jeff Driskel won’t be the guy to lead this team right now. He’s simply just doesn’t have the ability right now to perform well against tough, aggressive and physical defenses. For Driskel, it’s been two straight weeks of poor decisions against pressure and a very inaccurate arm (completed just 32.1 percent of his passes against Alabama). Muschamp continues to believe Driskel gives the Gators the best chance to win, but if he continues to struggle over their next few games, it may be appropriate to consider a change at quarterback in hopes of sparking the offense.

Florida’s run defense is top notch – Yes, the Gators gave up 196 rushing yards yesterday. So on the surface is looks bad, but if you dig a little deeper I believe you’d see a different side of the story. For much of the game, Alabama’s running attack was stopped in its tracks. The Gators collapsed on the middle to keep the Tide from gashing the front seven and it’s clear that the Gators’ defense have has much speed as anyone, which makes them incredibly tough to run outside on. It wasn’t until the latter parts of the game – after the defense had been on the field for way too long – that the run defense began to falter, obviously wearing down after a long, physical game. If Florida’s offense can control time of possession better down the road, it’s tough to see any remaining team on the Gators’ schedule putting up big rushing numbers.

Secondary breakdowns becoming a trend – Muschamp explained earlier in the week the secondary communication breakdowns that occurred against Kentucky were “easily correctable.” Unfortunately for the Gators, they weren’t corrected and it cost the Gators big time against Alabama. On the first play of the game, linebacker Antonio Morrison ended up in a mismatch against Alabama running back Kenyan Drake on the outside. Drake burned Morrison on a double move and safety Jabari Gorman failed to provide any help over the top, leading to a 87-yard touchdown for the Crimson Tide. Another breakdown in the secondary led to essentially a 79-yard pitch and catch between Blake Sims and Amari Cooper. Simply put, these kinds of breakdowns just can happen if the Gators want to be successful in SEC play.

Where was the pass rush? – Surprisingly, the Gators’ defensive line and linebackers got little to no pressure all game on Blake Sims. Going into the game, this was thought to be a huge advantage for the Gators, with a strong, experienced and aggressive defensive line against a first-year starting quarterback and an offensive line that hadn’t developed much consistency and was starting a true freshman. The Gators accumulated just one sack all day and Sims had way too much time to throw the football out of the pocket, which is probably a big reason why he put up 445 passing yards against the Gators.

Florida still has a long way to go – There’s no doubt that the Gators are an improved team from a year ago, but they still have a long way to go before competing with the likes of Alabama and possibly other top SEC schools. Despite being competitive in the game, the stats showed Alabama was a much better team than the Gators and probably more than 21 points better if it hadn’t been for some sloppy turnovers on the Crimson Tide’s part. The Gators may get there by the end of the season, but it’s clear at this point in the season they aren’t to that level. Florida’s next game against Tennessee will be very telling for just how much progress the Gators have made this season.