I’ve finally managed to watch the game tape. Wasn’t easy; that’s a pretty ugly looking home football team out there on Florida Field.

But with knowledge comes understanding. I’ve come away feeling better about the loss than I did initially.

Why? Because although Auburn outplayed, outcoached, and outscored the Gators, Florida was a few mistakes away from winning a game they had no business losing.

Total respect to the Tigers, but this shouldn’t have happened. The advantage of the Swamp coupled with one of the SEC’s best offenses should not have allowed Auburn to stay in this game. But after watching the tape, I see a team which is getting better and will give LSU a serious run for their money next week.

You heard me correctly: whatever the line is against LSU, the Gators will cover, and stand probably a 40/60 chance of winning the game.

3 reasons we lost, after the jump.

Reason #1: Offensive line took plays off

This is a new one. In Meyer’s first year, the offensive line was filled with seniors who were not particularly good. In 2006, a bunch of inexperienced players came in and showed a dramatic improvement at the position. In ‘07 we have Drew Miller now at center, doing a good job. And we have a couple of freshmen rotating in to cover an injured Phil Trautwein. Overall, this unit has a lot of experience. The line has looked pretty good this year… until the Auburn game. Why? What changed? I don’t know. Auburn is unquestionably the best defense Florida has yet played, but the line should not be so flat. Florida did not control the line of scrimmage which is why every facet of the running game looked so anemic. For one reason or another, either the o-line was not ready for Auburn, or they took plays off. While this is definitely a major concern, as it’s something we haven’t seen for two years… these are correctable issues.

Reason #2: Youthful misakes

Florida has long been one of the most penalized countries in the nation, which tends to happen when you field a fast, aggresive team. Penalties do not correlate to lousy play. Many heavily penalized teams have great overall records.

The difference in this game was that seemingly all of Florida’s mistakes led directly to points for the Tigers or kept Gator points off the board. A false start by Carlton Medder killed Florida’s first drive, which started at their own 48-yard line thanks to a fantastic kick return. Jamar Hornsby was called for running into the kicker when Auburn punted on 4th down, allowing the Tigers to continue a drive which put up seven of their twenty points. Outside of penalties, Auburn blocked a chippie field goal by first year starter Joey Ijjas. Tim Tebow and Riley Cooper were not on the same page for only interception thrown by Tebow in this game, and word is that Cooper ran the wrong route (again). And perhaps the worst error occurred when Chas Henry shanked a critical punt late in the 4th quarter when the score was tied.

Reason #3: Defensive confusion in first half

The defense didn’t play particularly well in the first half, but stormed back with a vengeance to hold Auburn to a pair of field goals in the second. It’s easy to blame the defense when an offense which has been pretty terrible to date rolls into town and connects on almost all of their passes, but remember, even in 2006 when the Gators fielded one of their best defenses in history, Florida tended to allow the short passing game, refusing the deep ball and stiffening in the redzone. For the most part, they did that on Saturday as Auburn had only four scoring opportunities, two of which were TDs. The defense did its part to win this game.

Conclusion

It took a perfect storm of Gator miscues, flat play from both sides of the ball, defensive and offensive errors, special teams breakdowns, a not-particularly good showing from Tim Tebow and some difficult-to-understand play-calling in the Gators’ final possession to give Auburn a chance to win this game as time expired. Auburn played conservative football, hoping for the Gators to make their own mistakes, which they did.

One issue which hasn’t been mentioned much is the officiating. This will not, repeat, will not be a whine/rant about the officiating. But when reviewing the tape — where are the holding calls against Auburn’s offense? It seems DE Derrick Harvey was held on every other play. There was an obvious facemask infraction on the Gators’ final possession which wasn’t called and could have made a huge difference. The calls may have been a little one-sided, but with all that Florida did to lose this game, it’s a little weak to blame the officiating. Would have been nice if they’d caught that facemask on 2nd and 16 with just a handful of minutes to go, though.

This is a team which is very potent on offense. They will continue getting better. There are many bright points of light on defense, as well. Joe Hayden is turning into a top-flight cornerback. LB Brandon Spikes is containing the perimeter runs with great speed and devastating hits. At free safety, Major Wright is not always playing with perfect position yet, but as a freshman he’s granted that time to learn. His hits are massive and his speed is incredible. He will be a big-time player in the Gators’ defensive backfield. The defensive line is starting to put pressure on the quarterback (but more is needed.)

I also like the fact that this team, like last year’s, can adjust at halftime. That is a quality which we take for granted as fans, but it’s a huge indicator of the high level of coaching we have at Florida.

2007 may or may not be the Gators’ year to repeat as SEC champions. The national title, like last year, is a long shot but not an absurd dream. But allow yourself to think ahead one year to the 2008 season. Who will be able to stop this team? They’re lightning fast and play very physically as freshmen and sophomores. There are only 10 seniors on this squad, and some of them aren’t even starters (I think Kyle Jackson has lost his job for good.) This will be the last year Florida has to contend with such a dramatic chasm between its frosh and seniors. Meyer’s recruiting Top 1 or Top 2 classes year-in and year-out, and the Gators are going to be one scary team for as long as Meyer sticks around.

It’s an old football cliche, but it applies. Games like this one teach a young team and help it grow up. You never want to lose a game, but this kind of loss will pay many dividends for our fuzzy-faced football team.