Florida vs. Texas A&M - Quick Postgame Thoughts

This was a tough one to swallow. Another second half lead was squandered in a very winnable game. We'll have in-depth analysis in the next couple days, but here are a few takeaways I had:

• Johnny Football is much faster than I realized. I was aware of his athleticism coming out of high school, but he displayed why Oregon and Chip Kelly valued him so highly. He was able to create with ease in the first half, but credit to Florida for making sound defensive adjustments that kept him in the pocket for the entirety of the second half.
• The offense is going to have to find a vertical passing game to fully utilize the talents of Manziel, Trey Williams, and Christine Michael if only to keep the opposition's front seven honest.
• Conditioning was a positive. We are all aware of the shortcomings in this area under the Sherman regime, but yesterday A&M was the better conditioned team. The Gators were hobbled by cramps all day, but were able to shoulder the challenge with superior depth. Meanwhile, I was very pleased with the play of our defensive line and linebackers. I saw good burst and they were all over Driskel for most of the game.
• It would have been nice to have that Louisiana Tech game to establish some offensive rhythm prior to facing a well above average defense in Florida.