COLUMBIA - It was a forgettable trip to Columbia for the Florida Gators in 2017. They were trounced 45-16 by Missouri on a brisk and rainy afternoon. But it wasn't all bad for quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Franks didn't get into the game against the Tigers until the result had long been decided after losing his starting spot that week to Malik Zaire. In the final two Florida drives, he completed 7-of-10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.
As a freshman quarterback, Franks and senior Notre Dame transfer Zaire split snaps as starters, and in Franks' first season as a Gator, he finished 125-of-229 passing for 1,438 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Part of his struggles came because he was a freshman, but he was also thrown into the fire by an offensive line that struggled to protect him. Franks was sacked 29 times, and Florida allowed 37 sacks total in 11 games a year ago, one of the worst rates in the nation.
Things have changed with the introduction of former Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, as Franks and the No. 13 Gators (6-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) get set to host Missouri (4-4, 0-4 SEC) at 3 p.m. today on SEC Network.
Franks was sacked nearly three times per game in his freshman season and has been brought down just nine times in eight games so far this season.
The results speak for themselves. He's completing passes at a slightly better rate and for more yards, and as a result Franks has already surpassed his yardage total from last season. He's also making better decisions with the football, throwing for 16 touchdowns and six interceptions so far.
"To me, it's a lot of the why," Mullen said on the conference's weekly teleconference. "When he makes a bad play, he understands why, which I think is important. He's understanding of what it means to be an SEC quarterback."
Franks didn't make many mistakes against Missouri a year ago, and the Tigers' task today will be to confuse and harry a quarterback who has looked more comfortable this season and has stepped up in big wins against LSU and Mullen's former team. Franks was shaky in losses against Kentucky and Georgia, but against SEC competition is averaging a 56 percent completion rate and just under 200 yards per game.He faces off against a pass defense that has had trouble slowing anybody down. Missouri has held just two opponents, Tennessee-Martin and Wyoming, to fewer than 200 yards through the air this season, with a per-game average allowed of 288 yards (125th nationally) and 8.3 yards per attempt (109th nationally). The Tigers are allowing SEC quarterbacks to pass for 296 yards per game and to complete 61 percent of their passes for an average of 9.3 yards every time they throw.
What's concerning for Missouri is those numbers have gotten worse, both overall and against conference opponents, since last season. Some of that has to do with the pass rush also declining. Through eight games in 2017, the Tigers had 21 sacks. They've generated 14 so far this season.
The team is still young at the back end, and working through how to fit together the different pieces after gaining players because of transfer and recovery from injury. Missouri has also played some undoubtedly talented teams, and no one could fault them for failing to shut down Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm or Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But the Tigers have also allowed David Blough, Michael Scarnecchia and Terry Wilson to have career games. Franks' career-best was 284 yards, which he did against Vanderbilt three weeks ago.
While the pass defense has struggled, Missouri's run defense has made impressive strides, particularly in stalling drives. The Tigers have shaved a whole yard per carry off of SEC running backs, from 4.5 in 2017 to 3.5 this year, despite a slight uptick in opponent carries.
Kentucky power back Benny Snell Jr. was held to his second-lowest yardage total (67) and per-carry average (3.53) this season last week, and Missouri has held half of its opponents to fewer than 100 yards per game while allowing just one opponent, Memphis, to get to 200 yards on the ground long after that blowout was decided.
The Tigers have made these improvements while generating fewer tackles for loss or no gain. Missouri had 60 tackles for loss through Week 8 a year ago and finished the season with a stuff rate (percentage of runs for no gain or a loss) of 25.7 percent, per Bill Connelly's S&P+ numbers, which was seventh nationally. The Tigers have 49 tackles for loss so far this season and are stuffing opponent runs just 20 percent of the time to rank 58th in the country.
Some of that may have to do with the team's depth along the defensive end. Missouri doesn't have Marcell Frazier or Jordan Harold winning one-on-one matchups alongside Terry Beckner Jr., but the ability to rotate in a consistent level of talent keeps the Tigers fresher than opposing offensive lines or running backs.
Related Media: Missouri Tigers Football Podcast [Florida preview, Nov. 3, 2018]