My Takeaways from Florida’s 39-36 Overtime Loss to Arkansas

Florida’s 39-36 overtime loss to Arkansas

The Florida Gators fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 39-36 in overtime in The Swamp in what was a sloppy performance from Florida. 

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier spoke on the loss in his postgame press conference. 

“This game can teach you a lot…We had our opportunities. There’s no question about it. We had many opportunities throughout the day.” 

Florida’s 39-36 overtime loss to Arkansas

The Gators Need to Make a Change to Their Special Teams Coaching Staff

The Florida Gators special teams unit, also known as the “Game Changers,” changed the game for the Gators for the wrong reasons against Arkansas. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw, who had an excellent day punting the football, mishandled an extra point snap after Florida QB Graham Mertz found WR Ricky Pearsall for a 32-yard TD to make the score 23-20, resulting in the Gators’ lead being just a field goal instead of four points.

The failed extra point attempt ended up looming large.

Later in the game, Arkansas and Florida exchanged TD drives that resulted in the score being 33-30 Florida with 3:02 left in the game. Arkansas drove down the field and with 49 seconds to go, kicked a field goal to tie the game at 33. Had the Gators not mishandled the PAT attempt earlier in the game, Arkansas would have needed a touchdown to win the game, rather than a field goal to tie the game. 

On the ensuing Florida offensive possession, the Gators drove down the field and were able to get in field goal range, but a sequence at the end cost them.

Mertz completed a pass to TE Arlis Boardingham for 20 yards and then attempted to spike the football to stop the clock with eight seconds left. As that was happening, though, Florida tried to run their field goal unit on and then back off the field, resulting in an illegal substation penalty being called.

Because Boardingham’s catch resulted in a first down, the clock stopped momentarily until the ball could be snapped. Had Boardingham’s catch not gone for a first down, that penalty would have meant the end of regulation due to a ten-second runoff being issued.

That said, the Gators had a chance to win it, albeit from five yards further away, and Florida kicker Trey Smack missed the 44-yard kick, sending the game to overtime after an Arkansas kneeldown.

Napier commented on the penalty in his postgame press conference.

“A player felt like he heard that specific word, that scenario. We have a player that’s in charge of that,” Napier said.

“There’s no question that there was some confusion there, and we’re fortunate. We’re fortunate that we got away with that.”

The Gators have had a plethora of special teams errors affect them negatively this season, but the sequences that occurred against Arkansas ultimately lost them the game and a change should seriously be considered regarding the special teams coaching staff. The Gators do not have an official special teams coach, but they do have a “GameChanger Coordinator” named Chris Couch.

It’s far past time for the Gators to make a change and this game should cement why that change needs to be made.

The Gators Defense Couldn’t Contain Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson 

The Gators lost starting LB Shemar James to a season-ending injury earlier this week and were without defensive linemen Cam Jackson and Tyreak Sapp in this game. 

That being said, the Gators defense could not contain Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson, who looked great running interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton’s offense, which amassed 481 yards of total offense against the Gators.

Jefferson threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, but he did the most with his legs. Jefferson rushed 17 times for 92 yards, including a 20-yard scramble in OT that set Arkansas up in prime position to score the game-winning TD a few plays later.

Napier said of Jefferson in his postgame press conference, “We struggled to tackle the guy. We struggled to finish on the quarterback today.”  

The Gators did sack Jefferson five times, but more often than not Jefferson had enough time to either find an open receiver or scramble for a big gain. 

The Play of Florida’s True Freshman Ensures a Bright Future 

Not many Florida fans want to hear about the future after a brutal loss, but this game proved that the players the Florida coaching staff recruited can and will make a difference. 

Florida has a superstar in the making in true freshman receiver Eugene Wilson III, who caught 8 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns. 

On defense, true freshman safety Jordan Castell recorded an interception on a play that I haven’t seen a Florida safety make in years. The ground he covered to make the play was incredible and the interception itself was spectacular, keeping his feet in bounds along the sideline whilst undercutting the Jefferson pass. Along the defensive line, Kelby Collins, who forced a strip sack of Jefferson and recorded another half sack, looked great. 

The young players on Florida’s team made plays all game long and the future looks bright because of that.

The Road Ahead is Downright Brutal for the Gators 

The Florida Gators needed to win this game to secure bowl eligibility and now will have to try and secure it against (currently) one of three top-15 teams in the country, two of which being road contests. 

Next up for Florida is a road trip to Death Valley to take on LSU. After that is a road trip to take on the Missouri Tigers who have a stellar offense. And then to end the season, Florida hosts the Florida State Seminoles, who have looked like a College Football Playoff contender all season long.  

It doesn’t get any tougher than that if you’re Florida. 

Napier was asked about keeping the team “locked in” with those three teams ahead of them. 

“We won’t have that problem with this group, My message to them is be who you are, and I know who they are. I think we’ve got a group consistently that has showed up and put it on the line.” 

Final Thoughts 

Self-inflicted errors on special teams ultimately cost the Gators against Arkansas and now they stare down an absolutely brutal gauntlet of games to end the season with a road trip to LSU on deck next Saturday. 

These next three games will say a lot about the current state of the Florida program.

For More Gators Content

Arkansas at Florida: A Must-Win Game With an Incredible Cause Behind It