Florida’s offense so far this season has been top notch. Between the Gators’ first two victories, they have scored 89 points and put up 990 total yards of offense.

Their defense? Well, that’s a different story.

In the first two games, Florida has had some struggles, giving up 59 total points between its wins over Ole Miss and South Carolina. The Gators gave up 613 total yards to the Rebels, then 329 total yards against the Gamecocks.

And if Florida is going to be a contender to reach the College Football Playoff this season, former Gators quarterback and current ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer believes the defense needs to improve.

“It’s an explosive offense,” Palmer recently said on ESPN’s College Football Countdown (h/t Nick Kosko of 247Sports.com). “My question is: is this a playoff-caliber defense? You think about the Florida Gators, for years that’s been their identity but we haven’t seen that dominance through the first two games this year. …

“They have some alphas, they’ve got some early-round draft picks. They need to be a little bit more consistent week in and week out.”

Florida’s defense could have a tough task this week, though, as the No. 4-ranked Gators are set to go on the road to take on No. 21 Texas A&M. The game is set to kick off on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN.

Jake Rill

Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.