In perhaps the last game between the two rivals, Miami upset No. 12 Florida 21-16 on the heels of five Gator turnovers, the last of which doomed the Gators' chances.
Florida's defense kept it in the game, but there's not much you can do when your opponent has to travel less than five yards for a touchdown. Facing third and seven on the Gator 17, quarterback Jeff Driskel was sacked and fumbled. Miami recovered at the 4, and three plays later, Miami running back Duke Johnson waltzed in for the decisive score and a 21-9 lead.
Before making the game close after Johnson's touchdown, Florida's second half drives totaled 44, 8, 6, 18, 30 and -10 yards. Chicago Bulls' forward Joakim Noah, who was part of two national title winning basketball teams at Florida, summed up Florida fans' frustrations very succinctly.
Perhaps nothing exhibited the impotence of the offense more than when Florida got the ball with 28 seconds left at its own 20 with a last-gasp try for the win. On the first play from scrimmage -- and with the Gators out of timeouts -- Jeff Driskel took a sack. And then on what ended up being the final play of the game, Florida committed a false start penalty.
Miami was just 1-11 on third downs, and after Stephen Morris found Phillip Dorsett for a 52 yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, was absolutely stifled. That play was longer than any of the Hurricanes' possessions the rest of the game, including six three-and-outs. After running for 186 yards on 19 carries against Florida Atlantic, Johnson was bottled up Saturday, tallying 59 yards on 21 carries.
But the attention moving forward will be about Driskel and the offense. Yes, he ended up throwing for a career-high 291 yards, but the offense looked out of sync throughout the entire day, like Driskel's second interception, which was a result of a miscommunication between him and Trey Burton. After running for 112 yards against Toledo, Mack Brown had 10 carries for 29 yards while Matt Jones wasn't much better, carrying 18 times for 29 yards.
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