MIAMI GARDENS — The Florida defense’s ability to resuscitate the Gators from the brink and keep alive their hopes is straight from an emergency room drama.
The latest episode, a 26-7 loss to No. 4 Miami on Saturday night, featured Cormani McClain’s interception and the ability of his comrades to force Miami quarterback Carson Beck into his worst night with the Hurricanes.
Once again, the Gators D did enough once again for Florida to win. However, the offense failed to carry its weight and capitalize.
“Yeah, look, we have a good defensive unit,” coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got good personnel. Our staff does a great job. We played the early downs. I do think that he did a nice job on third down, in particular, in the first half. But in general, our defensive staff and players did a great job of executing the plan.”
The defense kept Beck, an early Heisman candidate, on his toes. He finished 17-of-30 for 160 yards and an interception, and without a touchdown pass for the first time for Miami (4-0) as the Hurricanes managed their lowest point total this season.
McClain’s interception of Beck following UF’s scoring drive to open the third quarter positioned the Gators, trailing just 13-7, for a stunning comeback that never happened.
“I’ve seen the hard work [Cormani] put in … just the extra little detail that he really dialed in on,” defensive back Devin Moore said.
Freshman Jayden Woods, another UF defender on the rise, sacked Beck to start the second quarter. The 8-yard loss forced Miami to settle for a field goal and a 10-0 lead.
A series later, freshman defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud broke up a throw to force a punt.
No Gator, though, harassed the Hurricanes like sophomore linebacker Myles Graham, who recorded seven tackles, including one for a loss, and had a quarterback hurry.
“Just made some adjustments, guys started making plays,” Moore said. “We cleaned up the few mistakes we had on the sidelines, and just trusted each other, trusted the coaches to put us in the right position and trusted that you better go make that play.”
The Gators held up at the point of attack much of the night, but eventually wore down.
Hurricanes running back Marty Brown ran up the middle of the field for a 12-yard gain with three minutes left in the first quarter. His rush gave his team a new set of downs within Florida’s 32-yard line, continuing a drive that resulted in a field goal.
Miami finished the game 8-of-16 on third downs, but started 5-of-5.
“We’ve got to generate some points. We’ve got to get more first downs,” Napier said. “We’ve got to find some rhythm on offense. That’s the bottom line. We’ve got a good group in the kicking game, and our defensive guys continue to show up and play. We’re lacking consistency, we’re lacking detail, and we’re struggling to stack plays.”
The Gators’ effort was costly.
Florida played most of the game without defensive back Aaron Gates, who injured his left arm late in the first quarter. During the second half, junior cornerback Dijon Johnson went down grabbing his knee.
George Gumbs Jr., Caleb Banks and Michai Boireau also missed the game with injuries, hampering the defense’s ability to pressure Miami from the interior.
Napier’s first win against a ranked team away from the Swamp was briefly within the Gators’ grasp because of their defense. But Florida’s offense flatlined to send the Gators into a bye week 1-3 for the first time since 1986.
