Maybe the Anthony Richardson dissection can be put on hold for a week.
Even though Richardson had a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter, he wasn’t the problem Saturday at Tennessee.
Instead, it was a defense that changed the Heisman race on one afternoon.
Hendon Hooker destroyed Florida with 461 yards of offense as Florida lost, 38-33, in its first road game under Billy Napier.
And the Florida coach is certainly going to be second-guessed for some of his decisions, most notably going for two when it mathematically made no sense.
Still, Florida had a chance at the end to send Tennessee fans off the edge with a final Hail Mary after recovering an onside kick.
Alas, it was not to be.
1
So, when Florida scored to cut the lead to 38-27 with 4:49 to play…
Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel
… I was blown away that the Gators went for two. It made no sense. And because of that, Florida had to go for two again and failed. If the Gators had just kicked two extra points, they would have had a shot at a game-tying field goal at the end.
If Florida converted that first two-point play, it would only have cut the lead to nine. Which is why you don’t do it. That was just a bad decision, almost as bad as the 1965 Sugar Bowl.
2
Richardson did have two turnovers and the fumble was bad…
Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel
… especially because he ran away from the blocking. The last was a desperation pass. Richardson threw for 453 yards and Florida had 31 first downs. That should have been more than enough to win the game.
It looked like Richardson reverted to his Utah form after two games of a load of turnovers and bad decisions. Or, it could be that Tennessee doesn’t have a very good defense. On the other hand, neither did USF.
3
Hooker was really good…
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY…
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