Blown fourth and long dooms Florida Gators' upset bid over Missouri

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•11/18/23•

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Florida Gators were a double-digit underdog on the road against the No. 9 Missouri Tigers but held a 31-30 lead with just 38 ticks left to pull off the upset. The Tigers faced a fourth down and needed 17 yards to go — a country mile and only one play to keep the game alive.

The Gators’ defense had been a mess the last three games. Florida had allowed 134 points during a three-game losing streak. They allowed a program-worst 701 yards of offense a week ago at LSU. This 4th and 17 was a chance to make up for those struggles. The defense could play hero and secure a road win over a top-10 team.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz called the Tigers’ last timeout to talk about their play call. Florida went into a zone defense, which made sense given the down and distance. All you need to do as a defense is keep the play in front of you and allow 16 yards or less.

Somehow, Florida lost track of Luther Burden, Missouri’s best receiver, the one player you needed to make sure wouldn’t beat you found a soft spot in the coverage and picked up 27 yards.

“We were in weak rotation. We’ve got multiple players in the area and we’ve got four rushing and he found the soft spot in the zone there,” Florida head coach Billy Napier said after the game. “Those are things, we’ll look back at a number of plays in this game and we’ll say, we could have done a little bit better. We had our opportunities for sure.”

Florida Gators still had a chance

The fourth down conversion was back-breaking but it wasn’t game-ending. The pass brought Missouri down to the 40-yard line. Kicker Harrison Mevis has been great this season but if Florida could hold the Tigers where they were now, it would be a kick that neared the end of his range.

The Gators’ defense folded. Brady Cook found Mekhi Miller for an 11-yard gain on second down. Cook connected with Mookie Cooper for 16 more yards two plays later to get the ball down to the Florida 13-yard line, which set up a 30-yard chip shot that Mevis drilled to give Missouri a 33-31 lead.

“Ultimately you’re coaching a bunch of guys that had zero experience prior to this year. That’s what it is. We’re teaching football while we’re competing at a high level. I just think you’ve got to continue to compete. I mean, ultimately we know what the issues are,” Napier said after the loss. “Whether it’s communication, alignment, eye discipline, fundamentals. You know, we know what the issues are. We just ultimately got a hunch of guys out there that are playing college football, it’s the first time they’ve done it. So, we’re not going to give them excuses, right? We’re going to keep coaching them hard, keep giving them feedback.”

“We have to all take ownership of this, right? It’s my leadership, it’s my organization in terms of everything that we do. It’s our defensive staff, it’s each position coach. I mean, everybody contributes to what we see out there. I know we’re all quick to zero in on very specific things, but I think it’s what makes it a great game, is it requires a team effort to play.”

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