Meyer concerned about Florida's offensive miscues

He spent Sunday evaluating the other side of the win: the four turnovers, three dropped passes, six sacks and problems in the red zone.

Not surprisingly, he found reason for concern. So did poll voters, who dropped Florida to No. 2 in the latest Associated Press college football rankings.

"We kind of operate around here on urgency. That's not something we're ashamed of," Meyer said Sunday. "We can sit back and say, 'OK, we're the No. 1 scoring offense (in the Southeastern Conference), the No. 1 rushing offense, the No. 1 scoring defense, total offense, pass defense, pass efficiency offense, pass efficiency defense, third downs.'

"You're leading all these categories, but you still don't feel like we're operating at the highest level of efficiency."

Not even close.

The Gators (6-0, 4-0) struggled from the start against Arkansas (3-3, 1-3), which entered the game with the league's worst-rated defense.

Tim Tebow was sacked on the first two possessions. Riley Cooper dropped what looked like a sure touchdown pass on the next drive, then the turnovers cropped up.

Florida fumbled on three consecutive possessions, two of them inside the Arkansas 10-yard line. Tebow got stripped on a sack, giving the Razorbacks great field position that led to a 7-0 deficit. Tebow and Brandon James botched a handoff on the next possession.

Just when the Gators looked as if they were getting things turned around, tight end Aaron Hernandez fumbled following a short reception at the 5.

"Guys aren't going to touch the ball that we don't have confidence in," Meyer said. "We're not in some charity program where, 'Hey, let's try to get this guy the ball.' If you're not tight with the ball, you're not going to touch it. Guys make mistakes. ... We're going to point it out on film, coach it, and eventually if it doesn't improve, those guys don't touch the ball.

"I have great confidence our guys will."

Turnovers and dropped passes have been an issue all season. The Gators have 11 turnovers - all in the last five games - and dropped nearly as many passes. Deonte Thompson dropped two balls in the first two games, including a would-be TD. James let a TD pass slip through his hands in the opener, then dropped another in the end zone against Tennessee.

Cooper and senior David Nelson were the culprits Saturday.

The receivers might get blamed for the sacks, too, but Meyer said Tebow probably was holding the ball too long on many of them. The offensive line also could have protected better at times, he said.

Nonetheless, the Gators regrouped from all their mistakes and put together a 69-yard drive that set up Caleb Sturgis' 27-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining. Tebow threw for 30 yards and ran for 22 more on the drive. Cooper caught three passes, including a diving grab and a third-down reception in which he fell down before making the catch on one knee.

Tebow ran five straight times to set up Sturgis' kick, which allowed Meyer to celebrate - at least for a night.

"You have some great memories - the fourth quarter against Alabama, the fourth quarter of Oklahoma," Meyer said. "I don't want to say this was exactly like that, but you know what, after the way we played to go down and gather those guys on the sideline and see the urgency in their eyes and when they kicked that field goal and then in the locker room, that was a special time last night."