After Tennessee’s loss to Florida on Saturday, there was much discussion about Florida’s success on third down in passing situations. I decided to go break and break down the 11 12 plays where the Gators faced third down with at least five yards to go.
I don’t claim to be a brilliant football tactician. Some of my observations and assumptions may be incorrect. That’s where you can help. I’d like for this to be a feature where many of you will add your own thoughts and insights. If you see or remember something differently than I do, please point it out in the comments and we can discuss it. I think it could be more fun and educational than continually trying to determine who the true fans are.
Let’s get started. Update: I’ve added video at the bottom so this should be easier to follow. All of the third down plays are combined into one video.
#1. 1st quarter, 11:17 remaining. 3rd and 15 from the UT 46.
Brantley completed a pass to Jeff Demps for 16 yards.
Florida: 5WR 0TE 0RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, two left.
Tennessee: 4-3.
Lathers lined up 7 yards off the line. Thompson and Reveiz are close to the line, but when the ball was snapped, both fall back. Jeff Demps was the inside of three receivers on the right side. As the ball was snapped, the linebacker on the right side (Thompson) dropped into coverage. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s left end (Malik Jackson) bumped Demps off of the line then attempted to cover him across the middle, which left the Vols with only three players rushing Brantley. With no pressure on the quarterback, Demps had time to run across the field and gained separation from Jackson. He caught the ball 10 yards downfield, and gained six more yards before he was tackled.
Commentator: “The fastest back in the country against a defensive end. I like that matchup.”
Conclusion: Florida had too much time and was able to find a beneficial matchup.
#2. 1st quarter, 8:49 remaining. 3rd and 13 from the UT 33.
Botched snap for a loss of 15 yards.
Florida: 5WR 0TE 0RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, two left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Tennessee had five men in the box: two were in a three-point stance and the other three were standing. All five came after Brantley: Reveiz, Jackson, Sykes, Walker, and one other. I believe it was Montori Hughes. Pouncey’s snap was low and rolled past Brantley, who fell on the ball for a 15-yard loss which knocked the Gators out of field goal range and forced a punt.
Conclusion: Mistake by Florida.
#3. 1st quarter, 0:26 remaining. 3rd and 11 from the UT 43.
Brantley completed the pass to Thompson for 16 yards.
Florida: 4WR 0TE 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, one left, and one back.
Tennessee: 4-3.
Linebackers shifted left toward the three receivers. The Vols rushed four down lineman and blitzed Reveiz around the left end. None were able to get any pressure on Brantley. Thompson ran a 15-yard route and cut in, right in front of Teague. It appeared Waggner was in good position, but was two yards behind the receiver when he caught the ball.
Conclusion: Good play by Florida, who had time to find the open receiver.
#4. 2nd quarter, 12:59 remaining. 3rd and 6 from the UT 12.
Brantley completed a pass to Clark for 8 yards. Janzen Jackson and Nick Reveiz made the tackle.
Florida: 5WR 0TE 0RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, and two left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
The Vols only rushed four on the play and it was clear Brantley was looking to the right half of the field. The outside receiver on that side ran to the corner of the endzone and appeared to be covered well. However, the two inside receivers seemed to cause some confusion for Tennessee. The inside receiver ran some type of stop-and-go route, while the middle receiver ran a square-in underneath. With two receivers in the area, Reviez chose to drop back in defense of the middle receiver-even though it appears J. Jackson and Evans had him covered. That left Clark open to make the catch.
Conclusion: Likely a mistake by Nick Reveiz.
#5. 2nd quarter, 5:01 remaining. 3rd and 8 from the UF 42.
Brantley threw an incomplete pass.
Florida: 5WR 0TE 0RB. Shotgun, three receivers left, two right.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Demps was lined up as the inside receiver on the left side. As he released out into the flat, J. Jackson raced up from his safety position and Reveiz also cheated that way. Meanwhile, Tennessee once again dropped a lineman into coverage; Chris Walker dropped back from the left end, leaving a 3-man rush. Brantley focused on the two receivers on the right side: one underneath and one deeper. Malik Jackson was able to get in the passing line and bat down the pass. Lucky for Tennessee, because the Florida receiver (Hines) was absolutely wide open down the middle of the field. Not sure what Eric Gordon was doing on the play (in a zone maybe?), he continued to back-peddle once Hines cut the route inside, even though there were no other receivers in the area. Waggner was so deep, he had no chance of breaking up the pass.
Conclusion: Great play by Malik Jackson.
#6. 3rd quarter, 10:36 remaining. 3rd and 7 from the UT 27.
Brantley threw an incomplete pass.
Florida: 4WR 0TE 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers left, one right, and one back to the left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Tennessee had pretty good coverage (Evans and Teague) but Florida had two receivers that nearly ran into each other and that’s were Brantley threw the ball. The Gator quarterback appeared to do a pretty good job of surveying the field most of the day, but this wasn’t the best read on his part. The Vols rushed four and weren’t able to get any pressure on Brantley.
Conclusion: Good coverage by Tennessee, but likely a mistake by Florida.
#7. 3rd quarter, 7:41 remaining. 3rd and 6 from the UF 39.
Brantley threw an incomplete pass.
Florida: 4WR, 0TE, 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, one left, and one back split left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Tennessee rushed four down lineman. Rae Sykes and Chris Walker got a hand on Brantley’s jersey just as he released the pass (Sykes received the official credit for a quarterback hurry even though it looked like Walker actually was in better position to make a play). Eric Gordon had great coverage on the single left-side receiver heading to the sideline and Brantley threw the ball over his head and out of bounds. This may have been one of Tennessee’s better third and long efforts of the afternoon. Of course, we all know what happened on the next play.
Conclusion: Solid play by Tennessee.
#8. 3rd quarter, 6:11 remaining. 3rd and 8 from the UT 23.
Brantley completed the pass to Moore for 14 yards. Eric Gordon and Janzen Jackson were credited with the tackle.
Florida: 4WR, 0TE, 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers left, one right, one back split left.
Tennessee: Nickel
On this play, Tennessee blitzed both linebackers (Reveiz and Lathers) up the middle. As Florida’s tailback released out into the left flat, Chris Walker picked him up from his defensive end position. Moore was the single receiver split right. After running 10 yards downfield, he cut inside of Eric Gordon on a square-in. Brantley made a nice play to get him the ball right down the middle of the field. Jackson was cheating toward the receivers on the other side and was in no position to make a play on the ball.
Conclusion: Good play by Florida, with time to find the open receiver.
#9. 4th quarter, 8:42 remaining. 3rd and 9 from the UT 39.
Brantley completed the pass to Moore from 12 yards.
Florida: 4WR 0TE 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, one left, single back split left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Lathers and Reveiz both dropped into coverage as Tennessee rushed four. Moore, the single receiver on the left side, ran an out pattern. Eric Gordon was in single coverage but didn’t react quickly enough to make a play on the ball. It was pretty decent coverage, just a good throw and catch by the Gators.
Conclusion: Good play by Florida.
#10. 4th quarter, 4:19 remaining. 3rd and 8 from the UF 42.
Brantley completed a pass to Thompson for 8 yards.
Florida: 4WR 0TE 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, one left, single back split left.
Tennessee: 4-3.
Tennessee blitzed all three linebackers and rushed three lineman. Chris Walker dropped from his right end position into shallow coverage on the outside. The pressure wasn’t able to get to Brantley in time. Thompson, who was the single receiver on the left side, ran one yard past the first down marker and stopped in front of Eric Gordon, where Brantley was able to get the ball to him for the first down. Once again, Gordon was in position but wasn’t able to make a play quickly enough to overcome the strong-armed Florida quarterback.
Conclusion: Good play by Florida to pick up Tennessee’s blitzing linebackers.
#11. 4th quarter, 3:32 remaining. 3rd and 9 from the UT 49.
Brantley sacked for a loss of 8 by Gerald Williams.
Florida: 4WR 0TE 1RB. Shotgun, three receivers right, one left, single back split left.
Tennessee: Nickel.
Reviez faked a blitz up the middle but backed off. Brantley, again appeared to be looking to the side of the single receiver, but Tennessee was finally able to get pressure before he could deliver the pass. Gerald Williams put a stutter-step type move on the right tackle, blew right around him, and sacked Brantley for the loss.
Conclusion: Great play by Gerald Williams.
***Edit: [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][I missed this one initially. Thanks to Incipient for pointing it out.]
#12. 3rd quarter, 4:39 remaining. 3rd and Goal from the UT 7.
Brantley completed the pass to Hammond for a touchdown.
Florida: 5WR 0TE 0RB. Shotgun, three receivers left, two right.
Tennessee: Nickel.
The Vols rushed four and appeared to have this play well defended. But once again, g
iven enough time, Brantley was able to find the open receiver. On this play, the action was focused on the three receivers on the right side. As the inside receiver breaks to the outside, he has a couple steps on Reveiz. Evans, leaves his man to cover down. In addition, J. Jackson also bites down on the inside receiver. The end result is three defenders covering one receiver while Hammond roams the back of the end zone unguarded.
Conclusion: Clearly a mistake by J. Jackson.
Florida, didn’t vary much in their formations in these situations. The only question was really whether Tennessee would be defending against four wide receivers or five. The Vols tried different approaches to stopping the Gators, but mostly, it was lack of pressure by the front four that ultimately led to Florida’s conversion success.
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4 responses to “Tennessee vs Florida: Breaking down third down”
I was sitting with someone who said we were better than UF in every category except 3rd down conversions. That ended up being the category which killed us. The combination of our secondary being terrible and our inability to get ANY kind of pressure Brantley is what did us in. People can complain about the QB play all they want but in the end, these 3rd and longs that were converted lead to our demise. The defense HAS to be able to get off of the field. Especially when their offense can’t stay on the field.
Thanks for the comment OWB.
It’s clear those who say Wilcox didn’t blitz, don’t know what they are talking about. We tried different blitzes throughout the game. Some were effective against the run, but no matter what we tried we weren’t able to get to Brantley.
I think our secondary is very talented but they lack experience and are prone to make mistakes. One mistake in the secondary on single coverage is likely a touchdown. It happened to Florida twice and we scored on both plays.
I think our secondary has been a disappointment so far,