Grantham's Aggressive Style Pays Off Huge for Gators

Safety Donovan Stiner clinched Saturday's win with a sack. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Grantham's Aggressive Style Pays Off Huge for Gators

Sunday, September 30, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Florida defense was good to the last hit.

The Gators stepped onto the field at rowdy Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night knowing exactly what awaited. They faced a Mississippi State team steamed by last week's loss at Kentucky and if that wasn't ample motivation, the return of Dan Mullen turned up the heat even more. Mullen left the Bulldogs to hook up with the Gators at the end of last season.

The 10th-largest crowd (61,406) in school history turned out for the long-anticipated matchup, armed with those noisy cowbells and pumped to watch the Bulldogs spoil Mullen's return. It appeared Mississippi State might send the home crowd cheerful into the night in the final minutes, driving to the Gators' 45 and down by seven.

58063 — Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on Saturday. (Photo: Tim Casey)

And then Florida safety Donovan Stiner crushed Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and any hopes of a comeback, preserving a 13-6 victory.

"A big relief,'' quarterback Feleipe Franks said. "You've got to give props to your defensive coordinator for being gutsy right there."

Stiner's sack on an all-out blitz dropped Fitzgerald for a 10-yard loss and gave the ball to the Gators, who only needed to run out the clock and give Mullen the biggest win of his five-game tenure at Florida.

In a celebratory locker room afterward, the Gators lifted Mullen off the ground and then tossed his son, Canon, into the air to punctuate an emotional victory. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham watched with a grin and extra bounce in his step following a dominant second half for the UF defense.

"It was special scene," said defensive end Jabari Zuniga, who had three tackles and one of Florida's six sacks.

The Gators trailed 6-3 at halftime as Mississippi State racked up 159 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs managed only 43 yards in the second half as the Gators turned up the intensity.

There was no secret to the turnaround.

"Really, we just started playing harder,'' Zuniga said.

"It was a physical game,'' said linebacker Vosean Joseph, who along with defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson led the Gators with seven tackles. "We had to adjust. We just adjusted and it clicked. The whole team didn't like what was going down in the first half. We didn't feel like we could win the game that way."

Led by the dual-threat Fitzgerald, who owns 16 100-yard rushing games in his career and eclipsed 5,000 career passing yards Saturday, the Bulldogs controlled the pace in the first 30 minutes with 94 rushing yards and nearly a three-minute advantage in time of possession.

The message at halftime was similar to the one Mullen delivered after the loss to Kentucky. The Gators had to toughen up to win.

"We just had to be more physical,'' he said. "It wasn't like there were gaping holes everywhere and they were explosive play after explosive play. They were knocking us back a little bit."

That is where Grantham took charge, dialing up an aggressive attack that led to an uncomfortable night for Fitzgerald in the pocket. The Gators limited Fitzgerald to 98 yards passing and only 32 on the ground, an effort that overall that held the Bulldogs to 202 yards of total offense.

The Gators' final defensive play of the game showcased the risk-reward approach.

Facing fourth-and-10 at Florida's 45 with less than 1:30 remaining, Fitzgerald dropped back to pass. Before he could plant his feet or look around for an open receiver, Stiner draped over him like a table cloth.

Grantham's DNA is to attack, attack, attack, something he did in the same stadium last season as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator in a 31-24 loss to Alabama. With the Crimson Tide facing a third-and-15, the Bulldogs blitzed quarterback Jalen Hurts, who hit Calvin Ridley for a 31-yard gain. On the next play, Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith for a game-winning 26-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining, resulting in a heartbreaking defeat for Mississippi State.

Mullen told reporters after the loss that the attacking style was the team's identity and he had no regrets.

He did the same Saturday when asked about an all-out blitz with Stiner racing up the middle from his safety position.

"Todd and I, we've been through it before,'' Mullen said. "We've played coverage and made plays and we've blitzed and not made plays. He's got to get the feel, 'Hey, let's go after 'em.' I've learned one thing through the years – shut my mouth in that situation. 'Todd, I'm here if you need me.' He's the one who watched all the film and put the game plan together, put all the blitz packages together."

With the added familiarity of Mississippi State's offensive scheme and personnel, Grantham's adjustments hit home in Florida's first trip to Starkville since 2009. The Gators held tailback Kylin Hill to 41 yards and Fitzgerald finished 11 of 26.

Of Mississippi State's six second-half possessions, the Bulldogs punted five times and turned the ball over on downs when Stiner made his game-clinching sack.

Cornerback CJ Henderson said the team was prepared for a "60-minute brawl." Grantham's willingness to put on the gloves from the sideline suits Henderson fine.

"He's just like one of us, apply pressure and let the guys on the outside make plays,'' said Henderson, who also had a sack.

The performance was the best of the season for Florida's defense, one that was scorched for 525 yards rushing in the first two games of the season. Over the last three games, the Gators are allowing less than 300 yards per game of total offense.

Grantham's finger prints are all over the improvement, none more than on Stiner's big play Saturday.

"Coach Grantham, with his years of experience, we know that any game plan that he puts in front of us is going to work,'' Zuniga said. "We just have to go out and execute."