It shouldn’t be a surprise when two 6-6 teams meet after a month off, there’s going to be bad football. With that said the Gator Bowl provided fans of both teams plenty of wincing moments. Ultimately, Florida made two huge plays on special teams, which resulted in two touchdowns. That was the deciding factor as the Gators beat the Buckeyes 24-17.
For the Buckeyes, this was a fitting end to what has been a terrible season.
The special teams were awful. It began with an opening kickoff that went out at the one and set up nice field position for the Gators. Then a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Andre Debose and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown gave Florida a 21-10 lead and basically sapped whatever life was left in the Buckeyes. In both instances, mental breakdowns by each unit lead to these huge plays. In many ways, these plays cost Ohio State the game.
The offense wasn’t much better.
One thing Braxton Miller will have to work on in the off-season is his pocket presence. Too often, he held onto the ball hoping something would develop when the pocket collapsed. This stifled many drives. It wasn’t all his fault though. Florida did an excellent job containing Miller and not allowing him to use his greatest asset, his running ability.
There were some bright spots as the defense played well enough to keep the Buckeyes in the game.
Ohio State played well defensively. Even though Florida’s John Brantley was able to knife some nice passes through the secondary, for the most part, the Silver Bullets were able to hold the Gators in check.
Additionally, the Buckeyes fought to the end. A late score gave Ohio State a shot at an onside kick in hopes of tying the game. While they couldn’t recover the kick, it showed their resolve in not giving up.
Ultimately, this game exemplified the Buckeyes’ season. Ohio State had the talent to win yet their mistakes preventing them from doing so.
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