GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida nearly doubled its season total in sacks after taking down LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger four times in a 14-6 victory on Saturday.
Linebackers Jon Bostic and Lerentee McCray, safety Josh Evans and defensive tackle Damien Jacobs each recorded a sack. The Gators had only five sacks in their first four games, but UF coach Will Muschamp said that was more a result of the style of offenses the Gators faced in the first four games than a lack of production from the pass rushers.
Bowling Green and Texas A&M were teams that used short, quick timing passes that didn’t allow enough time for UF’s rushers to get to the quarterback. Kentucky used a rolling pocket to keep the rush off backup QB Morgan Newton. The only team that used a seven-step drop and wanted to throw the ball vertically down the field was Tennessee -- and the Gators sacked QB Tyler Bray three times.
"I think we’ve pressured pretty well but we haven’t faced a team other than Tennessee that throws the ball vertically down the field," Muschamp said. "We can talk about pressuring all you want, [but] you’re not going to get there [against those type of teams] in most situations. We’ve been pressuring them but we’ve been more effective this game."
Bostic and Evans’ sacks came on blitzes. McCray was able to beat the tackle around the edge, and Jacobs’ sack was the result of him helping collapse the pocket in the middle.
