Saturday’sFlorida-LSU game promises to be a heavyweight showdown between two teams with Southeastern Conference Championship aspirations on the line.
But a few weeks ago, the Gators did not resemble the formidable foe that will enter Tiger Stadium. The Florida defense was rock solid, but the offense was a train wreck large enough to keep the entire team stuck in neutral.
After a sluggish season-opening win against Toledo, quarterback Jeff Driskel and company turned the ball over five times in the Gators’ 21-16 loss against Miami, despite the Florida defense allowing just 212 total yards.
Two weeks and another Driskel giveaway later, Florida faced an early deficit in Gainesville against lowly Tennessee.
Then, something changed. Driskel went down with an ankle injury and never got back up.
His injury was season-ending. It was a tough break for one junior quarterback, but it was an opportunity for another to inject life into an offense dying for a spark.
Enter unheralded backup Tyler Murphy. His touchdown pass to Solomon Patton recaptured the lead, his late touchdown run sealed the victory against the Vols and the Gators have been on a roll since.
Murphy has played solid since, combining with dominant defensive performances to lead Florida to easy victories against Kentucky and Arkansas in successive weeks. By no means are those elite opponents, but considering how much the offense was struggling with Driskel, Will Muschamp would settle for efficient victories.
It’s counterintuitive to think a team would improve when it loses its starting quarterback, but Murphy is a better fit for the way the Gators want to win football games.
In a season where good defenses have become an endangered species in the SEC, Florida has one. The Gators lead the conference in scoring defense, total defense, rush defense, pass defense and third down defense.
With that defense, Florida doesn’t need Murphy to go win games by himself; they just need him to not lose them.
So far, so good.
Murphy has only turned the ball over once since taking over. He’s completed 72 percent of his passes, thrown five touchdowns and ran in a couple more. He’s made smart decisions with the football and has the ability to move the chains through the air and on the ground.
After watching film on Murphy, LSU senior linebacker Lamin Barrow said Murphy reminded him of Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, who the Tiger defense had trouble containing early in the game last Saturday.
Barrow said Murphy was a little smaller and quicker than Prescott, and characterized the Gator signal caller as a “threat.”
“He’s a quick kid, you know,” Barrow said. “He’s very athletic and can make a lot of plays with his feet. Also, I think his arm is underrated. I’ve heard over time that he’s not exactly the thrower that Driskel was, but I’ve seen him make some throws to win games that have surprised me.”
So while all eyes will be on the Gators’ defense as it tries to slow down a high-powered Tiger offense, Murphy quietly makes the Florida offense good enough to come into Tiger Stadium and win.