Lance Guidry states Miami knew what Florida was running offensively

Speaking to reporters on Monday Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry stated Florida ran four or five offensive plays the Hurricanes scouted from every game last season. Guidry and his defensive staff scouting for Florida's top five to seven plays from last season preparing for the Gators.

Guidry was specifically proud of how Miami played situational football. Florida was one for nine on third down, one for two on fourth down and had only one trip in the red zone. The Gators had 261 total yards, averaged 4.8 yards per play and an anemic 4.69 yards per pass attempt.

Florida did average 4.96 yards per carry, but that number was skewed by a Montrell Johnson Jr. 71-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. On their other 27 carries Florida averaged 2.52 yards per carry. Miami was never really threatened defensively. The 71-yard run by Johnson was Florida's longest drive.

Florida had only two other drives over 50 yards. One ended in the other TD for Florida and the Gators also added a field goal. Florida QB Graham Mertz who was one of the most efficient passers nationally in 2023, Miami held Mertz to 11 completions in 20 attempts for 91 yards, no TDs and one interception.

"Last week going against Florida of course we took like their five to top seven plays that showed up in every game. A reverse, the crossing routes, a tailback screen, and just certain things... Within the first 10 plays probably four or five of them showed up...I thought we did probably the best defensively, is we played situational football good. We were really good on third down and when we got in certain areas of the field we kind of sniffed out a lot of stuff that they were doing a lot of trick stuff."

- Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry

After Mertz was injured, Miami five-star true freshman D.J. Lagway replaced him. Lagway completed three passes in six attempts for 31 yards, no TDs and one interception. Miami is third nationally versus Power Conference opponents after holding Florida to a 77.88 passer rating on Saturday.

The most inexperienced and young Miami secondary held star Florida wide receiver Eugene Wilson to seven receptions for 50 yards. Wilson's longest reception for for 16 yards. Elijah Badger had the longest reception for Florida at 19 yards. Badger had three receptions for 43 yards.

Miami also had its way with the Florida offensive line. The Hurricanes had eight tackles for loss and three sacks. Miami transfer edge rushers Elijah Alston and Tyler Baron were dominant after 2023 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Rueben Bain was lost for the remainder of the game in the first series.

Baron had three tackles, two TFLs and a sack. Alston had three tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a 0.5 sack. Miami added five pass breakups and one QB hit. Florida had trouble generating offense for most of the game. The Gators punted five times and turned it over on downs once.

Miami made a statement with the win. Guidry's comments show Miami was far more prepared to play than Florida. The Hurricanes were clearly ready and able to frequently anticipate the predictable Florida offense. Miami will host Florida A&M in the home opener on Saturday at 7 PM Eastern time.