#24 Florida Gators 21, NR Texas A&M 17

The #24 Florida Gators dug deep and hung on to spoil the Texas A&M Aggies’ SEC welcome party

The Gators came into this game with quite a few question marks based on their mysterious outing against Bowling Green last week. Texas A&M came in with more question marks given the fact that nobody had seen them play this year under the new head coach, new offense, and new defense. Most experts predicted A&M to win by 1.5 to 2.5 points with an over/under of 45 to 50 points, which implies a 24-21 score. I predicted this game to be 21-20, Gators, which was not far off from the outcome of 21-17.

Like most Gator fans, I am spoiled and I expected a more convincing win. The Gators looked great on defense for the first couple plays, until they let penalties drag them down, and then injuries made them look like sissies. Texas A&M should have won this game. They were stronger on the offensive line, their QB played better (until the second half), their running backs attacked the holes better (until the second half), and they had a better playbook. I am not sure if the Aggies lack second half conditioning or if the Gator second half defense is that good. Either way, I think A&M is a good addition to the best conference in the land. Welcome to the middle-to-bottom tier of the SEC, home of the entire SEC East except maybe Georgia.

Here is how I grade the mighty Gators:

• Quarterback: B+. Sophomore Jeff Driskel got the win in his first start, but he was outplayed on the field by a redshirt freshman named Johnny Manziel. Driskel needs to respect “the QB clock” and make a decision at 4 or 5 seconds. His throws were usually crisp.
• Running back: B+. Mike Gillislee is the key to the Gator offense, but he still lacks the skill or size to run up the gut. With the large offensive line that Florida has, he should be breaking some runs up the middle. For the most part, he is showing that he does well at the edges, and in certain plays up the middle. Unfortunately, he was injured and he may not be at 100% against Tennessee next week. Mack Brown is not the answer as his backup. Hunter Joyer is surprisingly ineffective as a fullback given his size.
• Offensive line: F. Given the size and experience of this line, the running backs should have a lot more room to run and the QB should have a cleaner pocket. No excuses here. They should be ashamed that they let the QB get sacked 8 times in a game. They should be embarrassed that cannot protect the QB against a smaller, less experienced defensive line.
• Overall offense: C. This is a mediocre offense. The Brent Pease motions and shifts have limited effect on the defense if the Gator receivers are not getting open and the supposedly faster, stronger athletes are getting beat at the point of attack.
• Defensive front: C-. No excuses here. The defensive front was manhandled, and this is supposed to be a strength.
• Linebacking corps: C-. I am not sure which I am more disappointed in, the defensive front or the linebacking corps. Both are a bunch of sissies that get injured a lot. Crocodile tears? Maybe Gator tears?
• Overall defense: C. The first half defense gets a D- for surrendering 250 yards. The second half defense gets an A- for being disciplined and only yielding 65 yards.
• Special teams: A. Hey! K Caleb Sturgis is awesome! P Kyle Crofoot will be exposed as a weakness in close games.  KR Andre Debose is once again a non-factor. The fake field goal and pass from the holder, 150-pound John Crofoot, was the best pass of the day.
• Coaching: A. Either the coaches made great adjustments at the half, or the Aggies pooped out early.
• Toughness: D. What a bunch of sissies.
• Execution: C. This level of execution will get the Gators to a bowl game, but not above UGA or SC.
• Discipline: B. They had fewer penalties. Great.
• Overall: C+. A win is a win, but this was an unranked team. Florida showed that it might be better than last year, but is still a middle-tier SEC team. My MVG: Mike Gillislee.

Overall verdict:

NAME	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	RAT
J. Driskel	13/16	162	10.1	0	0	166.3

NAME	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	LG	FUM
M. Gillislee	14	83	5.9	2	24	0

NAME	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	LG	FUM
J. Reed	5	59	11.8	0	30	0

Compare Jeff Driskel’s debut against the recent Gator QBs. I have him ranked 7th in recent Gator history. Keep in mind that my #6 led the #10 Gators to an upset over the #2 FSU Seminoles in 1997, along with victories over #4 Tennessee, #6 Auburn, and #11 Penn State. The key losses were #14 LSU and #16 Georgia. My guess is that the Gator’s trajectory this year under Driskel will be somewhere in between the 1997 squad and the 2010 squad.

1. Rex Grossman 1st career start in 2000 against LSU, 18-for-28 for 276 yards, 3 TDs. #Gators won 41-9.
2. Danny Wuerffel went 19 of 38, 267 yards with 3 TDs, 1 INT in his first career start in 1993 against Tennessee.
3. Chris Leak was 20-for-35 for 268 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs in 2003 vs. Kentucky.
4. Eric Kresser‘s first career start (HC in ’95 vs. Northern Illinois), 26-for-42 for 458 yards, 6 TDs, 96-yarder Green. W 58-20.
5. Terry Dean was 16-for-22, 237 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT and at one point completed 14 straight in 44-6 win over Arky State in ’93.
6. Tim Tebow‘s first career start, he was 13-for-17 for 300 yards, 3 TDs in 49-3 win over Western Kentucky in 2007
7. Doug Johnson in his first in 1997 vs. Southern Miss: 17 of 34 for 231 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs. Gators won 21-6.
8. Jeff Driskel was 13-for-16, 162 yards. Gator spoiled the Texas A&M SEC opener 21-17 in Kyle Field.
9. John Brantley‘s first career start, he was 17-for-25 for 113 yards, 2 TDs in 34-12 win over Miami Ohio in 2010 opener
10. Jacoby Brissett was 8-for-14 for 94 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs in last season’s 41-11 loss at LSU

2012 Florida Gators Football Schedule Current Record: 1-0, 0-0 (SEC)
Date		Opponent	Time/TV	Rank
Saturday 09/01/12		Bowling Green Falcons  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	Won 27-14	24 vs NR
Saturday 09/08/12		at Texas A&M Aggies  Kyle Field, College Station, TX	Won 20-17.	24 vs NR
Saturday 09/15/12		at Tennessee Volunteers  Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN	6:00 p.m. ET ESPN
Saturday 09/22/12		Kentucky Wildcats  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 09/29/12	—	Open Date	—	—
Saturday 10/06/12		LSU Tigers  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 10/13/12		at Vanderbilt Commodores  Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN	TBA
Saturday 10/20/12		South Carolina Gamecocks  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 10/27/12		Georgia Bulldogs  EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL	3:30 p.m. ET CBS
Saturday 11/03/12		Missouri Tigers  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 11/10/12		Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns (HC) Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 11/17/12		Jacksonville State Gamecocks  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL	TBA
Saturday 11/24/12		at Florida State Seminoles  Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL	TBA

Cubicle Warrior’s Analysis of the #16 Florida Gators Win over Tennessee Volunteers, 33-23

Earlier I had predicted that the Gators would win 27-17 by running against the Vols weak run defense to control the clock, and smother the passing offense with an aggressive defense. The Vols did rack up more passing yards than I had expected. Tyler Bray entered this game completing 78.5% of his passes for 350 yards, almost 12 yards per attempt, and 3.5 touchdowns a game with a 213 passer rating.  Against the Gators he completed 54% of his passes for a respectable 288 yards and 3 touchdowns at only 6 yards per attempt and a 112 passer rating. This tells me that either Tyler Bray is pretty good or that the Gator secondary is a bit suspect. Matt Elam and Josh Evans each recorded an interception, but the Gator defense dropped five potential INTs. The secondary was also responsible for 6 pass interference penalties, and a few offsides calls. The defensive front did harass Bray, sacking him 3 times, hitting him a dozen times, and knocking down a couple passes. On the offensive side, super stud Chris Rainey once again carried the team with 223 total yards of offense (108 yards rushing, 104 receiving, and 21 yards in punt returns). Tennessee did manage to slow down Shake and Bake, Rainey and Demps, as both of them only managed 5 yards a carry as opposed to their normal 7-8 yards per carry. Burton managed to get open for short yardage, but showed that he could be stopped before breaking free into open field. Rainey exploded for 20 and 80 yard receptions, but it was Demps who was able to break a 20-yard run into open field. John Brantley did not outgun Tyler Bray, but he did out-manage him with a 14-23 (60.9%), 213 yard, 9.26 yard per attempt, 2 touchdown effort, including an 83-yard touchdown pass to Chris Rainey.

Gator Offense. A-. I had hoped to see some more vertical passing, but Brantley did have a respectable 167 passer rating to show that he can manage the game effectively. Rainey, Demps, and Burton all helped to improve the offense’s grade.

Gator Defense. A-. The defensive front finally got some pressure and a couple sacks. The secondary is going to hurt against pass-happy teams. The run-stopping capabilities have not really been tested, but they look pretty good so far.

Gator Special Teams. A+. The kicking game was a perfect 4/4 on field goals with a long of  46 and 3/3 on extra points, the punting was okay at 40 yards per punt, Solomon Patton and  Andre Debose averaged 20 yards on kick returns, and Rainey averaged 7 yards per punt return.

Overall. In the grand scheme of things, there is little to complain about. The Gators got a win, extended a winning streak over a rival Tennessee, and showed constant improvement on all fronts. The Gator Nation is a little antsy about the lack of a vertical passing game once again, and there is concern about the secondary. The good news is that the offense is capable of being methodical and controlling, and the defense is capable of being animalistic and downright nasty when needed. I give them an A.

Related articles

• Cubicle Warrior Preview of #18 Florida Gators vs Tennessee Volunteers (walterkilar.wordpress.com)

Cubicle Warrior analysis of #22 Florida Gators vs Florida Atlantic Owls, 41-3

Florida Gators entered this game as 32-point favorites over the Florida Atlantic Owls in Will Muschamp‘s first game as head coach, and Howard Schnellenberger‘s last opening day game. I expected Florida to not crack open its offensive playbook very much as it preserves the element of surprise for later games, but for the defense to not hold back as it irons out some wrinkles in its hybrid 4-3/3-4. I had predicted a score of 45-10 with John Brantley IV passing more than 30 times for over 300 yards. Looks like I fell a little short. I had also assumed Jeff Driskel would have looked better in his first outing.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

——-
1st Quarter
——-
- 28 Jeff Demps opens up the Will Muschamp Era by returning the opening KO 58 YDS for a TD, but called back for penalty on 13 Dee Finley.
- First play of the Muschamp Era, handoff to 1 Chris Rainey for 12 yards and 1st down
- Rainey stuffed running to the right edge
- 5 YD swing pass to the edges seem to work. This is a good way to attack the edges out of a pro style.
- 8 Trey Burton nice grab for 11 YDS, 1st down
- Single back set 28 Demps stuffed on strong side, -4 YDS. Yeah. Demps needs a blocker.
- Dual back set, 28 Demps blocks for 1 Rainey, 13 yard gain. Demps blocks well for a little guy.
- 12 John Brantley can run! 2 YDs, 1st down on a QB sneak. Calls his own number. Quite a difference from last year.
- 28 Demps 1 YD run up the gut.
- JB4 once again nice pass in the flats to Rainey 10 YDS 1st down.
- WTF! Bad snap sails 15 yards over JB4′s head. NOT AGAIN!
- That should have been PI on the incompletion 12 Brantley to 11 Jordan Reed.
- 9 Quinton Dunbar great 14 YD pitch and catch, even though short of the 1st down. Gives the kicker more room to kick.
- 1st points of the Will Muschamp era, 51-yard FG by 19 Caleb Sturgis. Welcome back, Caleb Sturgis!
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
3-0 at 8:28 of 1Q. Scoring drive 12 plays, 47 yards, 6:32. 0:32 per play, 3.92 YPP.

- Smothering defense by Florida. FAU does not look too snappy.
- 3 Jelani Jenkins, Marcus Roberson, swarm to the ball. Good defense out of the 4-3.
- 4-3 defense is like a tornado! Strong side push, weak side follow up. FAU getting overpowered from the front and back.
- SS LB 34 Lerentee McCray quick at stopping the up the gut run, but needs help to stop 6-yard run

- 1 Rainey no chance at punt return. This punter sucks. Maybe this is to prevent punt return.
- Dude, I am falling in love with Muschamp. No homo.
- JB4 goes deep for 9 Quinton Dunbar, nice throw, but incomplete.
- 28 Demps run right stuffed, -1 YD. Needs to be shiftier. 3rd and long. Demps will either gain 9 yards or lose 1 on any run.
- Charlie Weis timeout to think of the next play.
- Deep left 85 Frankie Hammond 15 yard reception. Nice touch.
- 28 Demps 1 YD underneath pass from no huddle. Nice command of the huddle from JB4, but would like to see him gain confidence to go deep from time to time.
- Flare-out to 1 Rainey 14 yards. This may become a staple play for dependable yardage.
- Incomplete quickout to 4 Andre Debose.
- 11 Jordan Reed goes upstairs and takes a sweet draw play roll out from Brantley for 15 YDS and 1st down. Good play from both.
- 12 Brantley rolls out, chased, throws ball away. Smart move.
- 12 Brantley missed in the end zone to 32 Gerald Christian. Double post – receivers too close.
- 84 Quinton Dunbar makes the 12-yard REC for 1st down on the out route weak side. JB4 finally has a dependable weak side Y-receiver.
- 28 Demps up the gut, loss of 1.
- Flare out to 1 Rainey 14 yard TD REC at 2:41 of 1Q.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
10-0, good guys at 6:10 of 1Q. 12 plays, 67 YDS, 3:29.

- 3 Lerentee McRay great stuff on the FAU RB Morris.
- LB corps a little iffy on transition to pass coverage. Definitely look built for LOS attack
- DL great push up the middle, DB 26 Pop Saunders good stop

- 85 Hammond kick return 6 YDS, shifty, good cut, no help. Penalty on kicking team.
- Gators in the I, Rainey avoids his blocks and goes to the outside for 6 YDS.
- 28 Demps takes the draw play HO for 22 yard gain. Great opening by OL. Saw a few pancakes in there, and I ain’t talking about IHOP.

——-
2nd Quarter
Notes on 1st Quarter: Offense is clicking on limited playbook. CW attacking the perimeter with Rainey, testing Demps up the gut to show he can handle it. Good use of Reed as receiving TE and Burton as blocking TE. I would have expected to see the reverse.
——-

- 28 Jeff Demps goes around the corner 35 yard TD run. I had just stated that Demps cannot run as the single TB in the I, and he proves me wrong. Boy, that was fast. 18th career TD for Demps. Great block by Xavier Nixon. Good kick out block by Jordan Reed.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
17-0, Florida. 14:52 of 2Q. 3 plays, 63 yards, 1:01.

- FAU 33 yard return to midfield. Florida ST still looking quite soft.
- Lerentee McCray swallows the FAU offense for 3 YD loss.
- Poor FAU. Switched QBs and now the Pensacola Catholic grad gets to meet 7 Ron Powell. Ouch. 13 and 6 Howard from Florida nearly attacked each other meeting the QB!
- FAU net on this drive: -15 YDS. Great job, defense!

- Strange ST formation. No attempt to attack the punter. I guess I miss Urban Meyer’s attacking special teams.
- 1 Rainey runs around the strong side for 16, bouncing off defenders along the way for a 1st down.
- Burton shifts from FB to slot. Rainey’s rush as lone TB did not work. Loss of 2. Note: Demps is better at lone TB than Rainey.
- 6 Deonte Thompson takes an ugly pass, short for 4 yards.
- 11 Reed great separation 13 YD REC, 1st down. I like this very confident JB4.
- Strange audible and formation change. 28 Demps fumbles after hitting his own man, but gains 1 on FUM REC by Matt Patchan.
- 85 Frankie Hammond 12 YD REC. Great jump catch on check down from the Y-receiver.
- Play fake, great roll out pass to Gerald Christian 9.5 yards.
- Penalty on Florida. Illegal substitution for breaking huddle with 12 men.
- 14/19 147 1TD so far from Brantley. Looking good.
- 6 Deonte Thompson great catch in the flats 1st down after take end around. Penalty on defense for late hit out of bounds.
- 1 Rainey easily runs left 14 YDS for the TD.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
23-0 at 8:34 of 2Q. 9 plays, 91 yards, 4:35.

- FAU returns Sturgis kick 68 yards. Really?
- FAU QB David Kooi trips, loss of 9
- Florida defense swarms to the strong side and stuffs the edge runner. Why would anyone want to attack Florida’s perimeter? These guys are fast.
- Moses Jenkins hits Kooi short of the 1st.

- Bad punt hit 31 Cody Riggs in the back, and he falls on it. Yuck. I think FAU punts ugly on purpose to avoid the return.
- The first snap by freshman phenom, 16 Jeff Driskel, results in 5 YD rush, as expected.
- 16 Driskel avoided the sack, cannot see the openings(?). 3 YD gain. Mixture of good and bad on that play.
- 16 Driskel lucky to have that penalty. Delay of game erases the fact that the ball slipped out of his hands and was recovered by FAU.
- 16 Driskel fizzles by throwing a ball that was 10 feet too high to 11 Reed on crossing route. Okay. Difficult throw for a first pass.
***DRIVE SUMMARY***
3 plays, 3 yards, 1:38.

- FAU junior rookie fares no better as his pass hits the ground.
- FAU tries a screen and 52 Jon Bostic stuffs runner for loss of 4.
- FAU completes pass in front of 22 Matt the Mohawk Elam. I imagine he won’t be tweeting this tonight.
- FAU QB ugly pass incomplete.
- Funny to see Driskel sitting next to CW.
- Uh oh. FAU moving the sticks, 1st down.
- FAU incomplete, good coverage by secondary, great 1st step by Easley as he disrupts QB
- Great swarm by Florida defense, 6 yard loss, plus penalty
- Florida defense being “tested”, but FAU offense too inept to take advantage.
- All-out blitz by Florida worked.
- FAU scores 27 YD FG 24-3 1:22 2Q

- Brantley back in at QB, pass tipped way back for INT. I do not think that was Brantley’s fault. Great tip by defense, bad blocking by strong side.

- FAU moving the pocket to avoid the rush, 15 YD REC
- Florida weak side LB 3 Jelani Jenkins stuffs the run up the gut
- 22 Matt Elam looks lost in lineup
- Howard and Easley stuff the run up the gut.
- That hybrid 4-3/3-4 seems to be working
- FAU bad pass again. FLorida did not even bother to cover. Might be a concern unless this was by design.
- FAU misses 34 YD FG

- 7 Ron Powell personal foul. Dan Quinn chewed him out. Powell was retaliating and was caught with push and swipe at opponent.

——-
3rd Quarter

Halftime analysis: The Gators look mighty sharp with JB4 under center on offense. On defense, the DL looks mighty scary. some concern with the secondary leaving the field open. Demps and Rainey are rock solid. JB4 is confident. Reed is dependable. Bostic, Howard, Jenkins, Powell, and Jenkins all looking good. It is good to have Sturgis back. ST looks different from past few years, but livable.
——-

- Caleb Sturgis 70 YD kick for touchback. What’s this? The NFL?
- FAU changes QB and is chipping away.
- PI on 31 Cody Riggs. Sprained thumb affecting his judgement? He got beat.
- FAU still trying to run between the tackles? Idiots. Easley and Powell stuff the run.
- Florida good swarm on FAU’s screen. Note: do not try screens or running between the tackles. Passing over the top if you want to beat Florida. Could spell danger against FSU.
- Great sack by Green, Howard, et al.
- 1 Rainey 22 YD RET TD off 83 Solomon Patton blocked punt. XP by Sturgis.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
Punt block recovered and returned for TD. 31-3 Florida. 10:13 of 3Q. Together, Rainey and Demps averaging 7.5 YPC. CW looks to be adapting his philosophy to adapt to these guys, including leaving Rainey on ST for these kind of plays. We sure missed Rainey in those five games last year.

- FAU gets 65 YD KO return to 25 YD line. Soft KO coverage by Florida again. Don’t like the soft ST coverage.
- 44 Leon Orr great pursuit of FAU RB Morris.
- Penalty on 2 Dominique Easley. Muschamp pissed. Now he is cramped.
- FAU goes for it and gets the 1 YD QB sneak for 1st down, exploiting Easley’s injury. Looks like we need him at that gap.
- Florida defense still playing well, forces FAU to punt.

- Hammond loses a yard on the punt return and lands at the Florida 14.
- 12 JB4′s pass tipped and knocked back. WTH?
- 1 Rainey 19 YD scamper between the tackles. Nice 1st down!
- Demps squirts through for a 7 YD scamper. Loving this 1-2 punch of speed.
- JB4 to Rainey 5 YD with some extra shake and bake, 1st down. Speaking of shake n’ bake, I propose that we refer to Rainey and Demps as Shake and Bake. Rainey is shifty, and Demps is just plain fast!
- JB4 to Demps 8 YD.
- Back to the running game! Demps 7 YD gain off play action.
- 28 Rainey takes it around the back to the right side behind 41 block for 20 YDS. Great blocking at the edges.
- Demps 1 YD rush.
- Good rollout by JB4 to Demps 12 YDS. We might need this play against an aggressive FSU defense. Mark my words.
- 12 JB4 intercepted into the back of the end zone on a very bad throw. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad pump pass to #6. Too low. Should have been thrown to the crossbar.
***DRIVE SUMMARY***
10 plays, 80 yards, 4:09, intercepted in the end zone. 0:24 per play, 8 YPP. Would have been nice if we had scored.

- Florida defense still swarming.
- FAU still throwing well to the middle of the field and move the chains.
- 14 Jaylen Watkins good coverage. I like this kid.

——-
4th Quarter
Notes on 3rd Quarter: 344 total yards, 3 TOs, 6.7 YPP vs 2.2 OYPP. Muschamp must be happy that the offense is average nearly 7 yards per play and that the opponent is being held to only 2 yards per play, but those turnovers cannot continue when we face harder opponents. The Gators actually looked better in the no-huddle. Why did we not put Driskel back in? We do not want the memory of his first start to be the interception.
——-

- Another quarter, another incompletion by FAU.

- Florida still being bashful on punt returns. 36 yard punt, no return.
- 1 Rainey off tackle run strong side 3 YDS
- 12 JB4 missed to Gerald Christian on a rollout. Come on, man!
- JB4 audibles, but play clock forces time out.
- 6 Deonte Thompson makes the tricky low catch, gets hit and loses helmet. At least he didn’t drop. 1st down.
- 1 Rainey slips one tackle around the right side.
- 1 Rainey 13 YD gain 1st down, zigging and zagging from the 2 hole, in front of the LB, and around
- 4 Andre Debose 8 YD quick out, taken down at sideline, defender gets flag for late hit. Tack on 15 YD penalty. We really need to get him the ball more often.
- 28 Demps 3 YDS
- 28 Demps scampers up the right 20 YD TD run 37-3 Florida at 11:18 of 4Q.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
Great blocking from the receivers. 8 plays, 78 YDS, 3:23. JB4 showing great command of the offense. Weis must really trust him to run this offense. Shake and Bake are really carving up that defense. Good to see Debose get the ball.

- Sturgis’ kick goes 67 yards, and once again, soft ST coverage lets FAU return the ball 38 yards.
- Blah, blah, blah. FAU starting to find some running lanes, or Florida’s defense is going easy on them.
- 51 Michael Taylor TFL on FAU RB Fortner
- 14 Jaylen Watkins stops the FAU receiver after letting him haul in 11-yard pass.
- 93 Kendrick Johnson shoots the gap and stuffs the run for 4-YD loss. Turnover on downs at the Florida 36.

- Jeff Driskel comes out and makes the easy pitch and catch for 7 YDS.
- 23 Mike Gillislee 7 YD rush to midfield. Good to see him get the ball.
- Gillislee gets 9 YDS on another north-south run.
- False start. Penalty on Solomon Patton.
- Patton redeems himself with an 11-yard snag. 1st down.
- Gillislee stuffed for loss of 3.
- Jeff Driskel to Debose for 4. Meh.
- That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout! Debose 20 YD snag from Driskel!
- WTH? Why can’t Gillislee pound in more yards? 2 YD gain.
- Gillislee 4 YD gain.
- False start again, this time on T 63 Kyle Koehne.
- Driskel misses Debose. Sigh. Maybe I bought into the hype and am expecting too much too soon.
- Caleb Sturgis 29 YD FG. 41-3 with 1:46 to go.
*******SCORING SUMMARY*******
10 plays, 52 yards, 6:15 for a field goal. Definite drop off in production with the 2nd-team in. 0:37 per play. 5.2 YPP. The youngster Driskel looks hesitant to make reads and fire away, but looked good when throwing.

- FAU does not even look like it is trying to mount any offense. Run, run, run for a total of 15 yards. Game over.

- Brantley 21/30 (70%), 229 YDS, 7.6 YPA, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3.33% TD%, 6.66 INT%, 131.8 RAT
- Driskel 4/6 (67%), 42 YDS, 7.0 YPA, 0 TD, 1 INT, 16.66% INT%, 92.13 RAT, 2 RUSH/ 8 YDS, 4 YPC.
- Rainey 11/79 7.2 YPC 1 TD, 16 LG
- Demps 12/105 8.8 YPC, 2 TD, 35 LG
- Rainey 6 REC, 67 YDS, 11.2 YPC, 1 TD, 19 LG
- Thompson 3 RED, 34 YDS, 11.3 YPC, 17 LG

Florida
- 30 1st downs
- 70% 1st Down efficiency
- 468 YDS TOT
- 271 YDS passing, 25/36 (58.3%), 1 TD, 3 INT, 7.52 YPA, 2.77% TD%, 8.33% INT%, 114 RAT
- 197 YDS RUSH, 33 ATT, 6.0 YPR
- +3 TO ratio
- 31:21 TOP, 0:27 per play, 6.78 YPP, 36/33 pass/run

DISCUSSION

1. Quarterbacks – A-. Last year, Brantley started year of the Post-Tebow Era by going 17/25 (68%) for 113 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT, 132.37 RAT. That did little to erase the memory of the first Tim Tebow start, which was 13/17 (76.4%) for 300 YDS, 17.65 YPA, 3 TD, 0 INT, 282.9 RAT. If it were not for the two interceptions from Brantley, his output today would have been a respectable 156.12. This could be a reality check that Brantley is good, but he will never live up to the high standards set by Mr. Tebow. Jeff Driskel was expected to be the next coming of Tim Tebow, but even without that interception his rating would only be 125.47. All this was against a rather weak defense, so be careful with the “Florida is back” commentary. Whomever is under center at Florida needs to throw the ball downfield more and not throw so many interceptions.

2. Running backs – A+. Wow! Shake and Bake really like the I-formation. Demps likes to go north-south, like Hershel Walker, and Rainey likes to be shifty, like Percy Harvin. Put those two in the same backfield, and I see great things happening. Both average over 7 yards per carry. Rainey has shown that he can run between the tackles and bounce off a few defenders. Demps is so fast that he runs right past the defenders. Both have great vision in the I-formation being 7 yards behind the center, versus 5 yards back in the spread.

3. Wide receiver – B. This is looking to be a run-oriented offense. None of the receivers will reach 100 yards per game like this, but they block very well. Then again, it is possible that Charlie Weis was holding back his offensive playbook so he can unleash it later. We will find out soon enough.

4. Offensive line – A. Wow! These guys have come together nicely. They really create some good holes for the scatbacks to run through. These guys need to stay healthy, for we have little depth here.

5. Defensive line – A+. ****! These guys are good! Not only do they manhandle the opposing OL, they also disrupt the middle of the trenches and seal the edges. My only concern is how they transition to pass coverage.

6. Secondary – C. I am a little concerned that the secondary did not shut anybody down, even a weak opponent. Lack of depth and experience are killing us here. On several plays, the corners and safeties were trying to hit hard instead of make the tackle.

7. Special teams – B. The punter is the MVP here. Why? We never had to use him! Just kidding. Welcome back, Caleb Sturgis! We missed you! Caleb was 2/2 on FGs, 5/5 on XPs for 11 points with a long of 51 YDS. I am not very happy with the punt and kick coverage. On kickoff and punt returns, it looks like the plan is to let Rainey return it, or down it there. When kicking and punting, it appears that we do not care if the other team makes 30-yard returns. No rush on the kicker/punter, and a lackadaisical coverage scheme. Maybe this is to prevent injuries to our playmakers???

8. Overall – A-. Yes, the Gators won. They played like the #22 team in America against a vastly overmatched FAU team. Compared to last year, this is an A+. The team shows flashes of brilliance, but enough weaknesses to make me believe they will finish the season around the #20 position. This team looks better than last year, so there is a possibility of finishing around #15. There is a lot of football to be played before anyone can proclaim that the Gators are back to their former glory, but they appear to be well on their way. Go Gators!

Orange and blue debut notes

Quick summary

Blue (Brantley) 13, Orange (Murphy) 10

Highlights

10 Tyler Murphy (Wethersfield, Conn.) went 7-for-11 for 68 yards with a long of 22 yards to lead all passers. Murphy connected on a 10-yard pass to sophomore running back 37 Ben Sams (St. Petersburg, Fla.) for the game’s first touchdown and put the Orange team up, 10-6.

Sophomore running back (originally defensive back) 20 Malcolm Jones(Fleming Island, Fla.) led the Gators in rushing with 13 carries for 68 yards

Sophomore quarterback 17 Christian Provancha (Cocoa, Fla.) threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver 7 Robert Clark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.). The 7-play, 72-yard drive was the longest drive of the game.

To open the third quarter, freshman quarterback 16 Jeff Driskel (Oviedo, Fla.) led the Blue team down the field setting up a 33-yard field goal by 19 Caleb Sturgis (St. Augustine, Fla.) to put the Blue team back in the lead, 6-3. Driskel shows great lateral movement and great zip on short to medium passes. He needs to work on the deep ball. Perhaps he is too strong.

Play-by-play notes:
1st pass wobbly from 12 John Brantley IV (Ocala, Fla.) to 84 Quentin Dunbar (Miami, Fla.). Should have been caught.

3 Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) brought down early despite great vision with deep handoff. I like the new running back launch point.

Pass by JB4 deflected. Brantley needs to move in the pocket, step up into the lane, or drop back more.

Great punt by 41 Kyle Christy (Brownsburg, Ind.). Yeah, we do miss Chaz Henry, but we will be fine.

Good run by Tyler Murphy. He sure looks good throwing on the run or evading the defensive onrush. Note: Brantley had better pick up on this if the offensive line continues to struggle.

Overall, defense looks a lot stronger than offense, even with the vanilla package. 58 Dominique Easley (Staten Island, NY) 73 Shariff Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) and 7 Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, Calif.) are definitely going to be in beast mode this year!

Rainey accelerates around the corner for 8 yards.

Power trap inside run Rainey 1 yard. Believe it or not, this is nearly identical to a play that Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio used in 2010. The difference is either a better o-line, or more acceleration from the deeper launch point. This may go to show that just the little things that make the difference.

No timing from deep pass by JB4.

Pass batted down by Floyd. Come on, Brantley!

Missed wide open pass to 85 Frankie Hammond, Jr. (Hollywood, Fla.)

Good pocket presence by JB4. He has more mobility when he is not worried about pitching the ball last minute and taking a hit.

Murphy hits 81 A.C. Leonard (Jacksonville, Fla.) on the run. Again, this seems like a necessity based on the porous o-line. Or, maybe our defense is that good.

Toss sweep left by Malcolm Jones. Remember, he is a walk-on and former DB.

Nice pass broken up by 9 Josh Shaw (Palmdale, Calif.) (slightly behind and slow).

Murphy’s laser caught by 89 Steven Alli (Toronto, Ontario).

Draw play Jones 2 yards. Hmmm. Play-action. What a concept.

Timeout: Summary – Murphy looks sharp on the run, but needs to set his feet and fire when in the pocket. Rainey looks sharp without traffic.

Jones runs through blitz 3 yards.

Murphy avoids sack and gains 2. Smart movement in the pocket.

AC Leonard 1st down catch with flanker screen, or was that just two receivers too close together? We will find out later if that was intentional or not.

Should have been a sack, but quick thinking by Murphy again saved the play.

Jones slashes left behind WR block.

Jones 2 yards up the gut.

Jump toss by Murphy, loss of 1 yard.

Welcome back Sturgis! 40-ish yarder splits the uprights.

Reed barrels over defender for the first down. Note: he does look lost on complex plays.

Rainey rips left 1st down for JB4 first completion of the day.

Rainey swing pass zero gain.

Rainey swing pass 6 yards.

JB4 misses post in the end zone.

Tebow catches missed pass.

Sturgis again makes FG.

Moses Jenkins almost intercepts due to late delivery from Murphy.

Robert Clark minimal gain outlet pass.

Murphy 2 minute drill 1st down.

96 William Green (Hoover, Ala.) sack. It’s about time!

Steven Alli crossing route with great pass from Murphy, 10 yards plus 6 YAC

31 Cody Riggs (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) picks off tipped pass.

Wow. JB4 can run! 8 yard scramble plus evasion.

JB4 flushed right, holding on offense.

Dunbar nice reel after low snap on JB4. Brantley is the expert on reeling in bad snaps.

Ugly jump ball takes us to half time.

Halftime summary: Brantley still struggling with new offense, but surprisingly better on the move. Rainey looks sharp. Great push from defense. 2nd team outshining 1st team. Great to see PK Sturgis come back. PK Christy looks okay at kickoff and punts.

Halftime ceremony honoring Heisman ’66 Spurrier, ’96 Wuerffel, and ’07 Tebow Statues show the players as they looked in their respective years

1st look at 16 Jeff Driskel, zips short pass to Dunbar, 20 YAC after breaking tackles.

JD runs like Tebow, covers for 5.

Zip to Hammond, dropped. Good anticipation and zip, bad catch attempt.

JD breaks left, whistled dead. Good escape from pocket. I like how QB is given control of the play, not sideline.

Shariff Floyd TFL on Jones.

JD pass sails high intended for Frankie Hammond.

Dunbar peelback block on Kitchens for JD.

JD fires 10 yards at 86 Josh Postel (Atlanta, Ga.)

JD overthrows Hammond, but safe incompletion. By “safe incompletion”, I mean that he is throwing the ball where only the receiver can catch it but not where it can be intercepted.

Floyd and Easley crush entire backfield.

JD too high back corner to Dunbar. Just take a bit of mustard off that one and it would be a touchdown.

Sturgis 3/3 on FGs.

Draw play Jones 4 yards.
28 RB Deandre Goins (Dunedin, Fla.) stuffed by 99 Omar Hunter (Buford, Ga.)

Postel across the middle 1st down.

Murphy ugly run, but saved the sack.

Goins long run popped up the middle.

Goins through traffic minimal gain.

Jump pass to walk on 37 Ben Sams after block from Postel.

Botched reverse with penalty and injured Easley.

66 James Wilson (St. Augustine) back to back penalty.

JD too deep to Dunbar, but smooth delivery. Needs to lead WR away from safety Jones run left out of bounds, chased by 51 Michael Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.)

17 Christian Provancha at QB. Lots of handoffs so far, no gain.

Provancha misses Schoonover, but receiver should have turned and burned. Nice lead and delivery.

18 Ryan Parrish walk-on QB. 5 yard run by Jones.

Deep pass broken up. Slow delivery by Parrish.

Provancha 50 yard TD to 7 Robert Clark.
—

6c:4f:4f:2f:53:74:33:64:33:64:30:66:49:6c:78:79:45:58:38:49:52:6c:2b:4f:58:36:77:3d

Change of Command in the Gator Nation

The Gator Nation is swarming with rumors about the next Gator Head Ball Coach (HBC). Athletic Director Jeremy Foley has stated that it will take about two weeks to secure a replacement. Rather than spout out my personal favorite, I will list all the viable candidates I can think of from A-Z and grade them on my personal, Cubicle Warrior scale. My grades are independent of the likelihood of that coach coming to Gainesville. I have no say on the matter, so I will only weigh in on whom I think would be a good fit.

Steve Addazio, Florida (AHC, OC, OL Coach) – B. Yes, I give him a higher grade than most. Addazio does not know Xs and Os, but he knows recruiting and he could keep the ship afloat. He would probably promote Loeffler or Azzanni to OC and there would be little difference between the 2010 and 2011 teams. That could be bad, but it could be good as well. I am not as quick as most others to say that the 2010 team sucked and we should delete this year from the history books. It is still a talented team that just needs to find its way. The Dazzler may “suck” as OC, but the Sugar Bowl showed he could function well as HC as long as he delegated the Xs and Os. I doubt Jeremy Foley offers the job to Addazio, since this is a high pressure job better suited for someone with head coaching experience.

Zach Azzanni, Florida (WR Coach). B-. Sure, he is the de facto offensive co-coordinator for Florida, but he lacks HC experience. He does have a lot of experience with Meyer, having served with him at Bowling Green. I like this guy a lot and I hope he lands a good job as OC somewhere, but I doubt it will be at Florida.

Kerwin Bell, Jacksonville State (HC, OC) – A-. What he lacks in Tier 1 HC experience he makes up for in Gator Pride, Gator ties, and mojo. What are really after is mojo. Urban Meyer had it. Steve Spurrier had it. Bell turned a nobody Jax State into a lower division powerhouse, going 9-4 and earning a share of the Pioneer League championship. Why not come home, Coach Bell? On a side note, I grew up watching Kerwin as a Gator QB in the 1980s and as Orlando Predators QB in the WLAF. He also has playing experience in the CFL, which may have helped him develop a unique pro-set/spread hybrid. Sounds like the offense that Meyer tried to install for John Brantley. This is becoming my favorite option, but it may not be the wisest option for Jeremy Foley. This is why he gets paid the big bucks.

Gene Chizik, Auburn (HC) – A+. He graduated from UF in the 1980s, but he would not leave Auburn when they are on the cusp of building a new orange and blue dynasty. He could change his mind if Auburn winds up getting NCAA sanctions between now and New Year’s.

Stan Drayton, Florida (RB Coach) – C. He is too low on the Meyer pecking order.

Larry Fedora, Southern Miss (HC) – D. He was an OC for Ron Zook. Need I say more? Don’t like it.

Billy Gonzales, LSU (WR Coach) – C. He left after frustration over not being promoted within Meyer’s system. He is good, but not good enough to be HC of the Gators.

Jon Gruden (ESPN) – A. Sure. It would be nice, but I doubt Chuckie leaves his cushy job in the office for the Swamp. He knows how to win, but this is a high stress job close to his Florida home. Second thoughts, Chuckie?

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford (HC) – A. Everybody wants Harbaugh. It won’t happen. Florida is too far from his home. It won’t happen.

Chuck Heater, Florida (DC) – C+. Other than Addazio, Heater is the only one left from Meyer’s original staff. He has performed well during all this turnover and he deserves a good job, but it won’t be as HC–at least not at Florida.

John Hevesy, Mississippi State (OL and Running Game). B+. He served well under Meyer, but he would work better in tandem with Dan Mullen. Nope.

Brady Hoke, San Diego State (HC) – B-. He knows Bernie Machen. His brother coached for Spurrier. He is up-and-coming. It won’t happen.

Dana Holgorsen, Oklahoma State (OC) – A. Rumor has it that he has been talking to UF about a job. He vehemently denied talking to UF about an OC job. Perhaps he was interviewing for the HC job? Brilliant offensive mind. His coaching will help John Brantley immensely. There are question marks on his ability to HC and gather a coaching staff. I like this option.

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (HC) – B. He was okay with talent at Cincinnati and Notre Dame. Imagine what he could do at Florida with this talent.

Chip Kelly, Oregon (HC) – A+. Chip runs an offense similar to Florida’s. This guy is rather busy now for an interview, so this won’t happen. Florida could pay him more, but Chip Kelly is a stand-up guy that would not abandon Oregon now. He really is a nice guy and he deserves a chance to build up the Oregon dynasty. As much as I like the guy, I think he should stay in Oregon.

Mike Leach, CBS College Sports – A. He certainly would boost the Florida offense, but most of his former coaches are gone now and I have seen no signs that Leach is interested in coaching anytime soon. He would be good, but this probably will not happen.

Scot Loeffler, Florida (QB Coach) – A-. I actually like him a lot, but more as OC than as HC. He helped put together a great game plan at the Sugar Bowl last year, and he has coached some great QBs, but I doubt he has enough experience now to be the head Gator. I hope this guy lands a good job as an OC somewhere.

Gus Malzhan, Auburn (OC) – A. He runs a similar spread as Meyer. Brantley would struggle mightily under Malzahn, but a dual-threat QB would be great. I have mixed feelings on this guy. Is he that good, or is Cam Newton that good? Either way, he turned Cam into something that Dan Mullen could not. I would welcome him to Gainesville.

Greg Mattison, Baltimore Ravens (DC) – A+. He lacks HC experience, but he has been exposed to some great HCs and could have learned a lot. He worked under Urban Meyer, including the 2006 National Championship team. He would be a nice change from our normally offensive-mind coaches, but he would need to bring a good offense or keep the status quo. I like this option as long as Addazio goes.

Urban Meyer, Florida (HC) – A+++. Come baaaaaaaack! Just kidding. I do understand his reasons, and I wish him the best. I was not on the “Fire Coach Meyer” bandwagon and I thought he would come back strong in 2011. This was a total shock to everyone, but I commend him for making a decision that was best for himself and his family. Heck, if I got his paycheck, I would quit and spend time with my family as well.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State (HC) – A. Not an A+. This is everyone’s obvious choice. Since there are a million blogs touting this guy I will just leave my assessment as such: “No.”

Will Muschamp, Texas (DC) – A-. I am sure he is tired of being referred to as Mack Brown’s replacement-in-waiting. He is the only Texas coach I would consider, because he has real experience. In the SEC. He will probably stay with the Short Horns.

Gary Patterson, TCU (HC) – A. If it were not for TCU moving to a BCS AQ division, he would be a hands-on favorite to jump ship for a BCS AQ team loaded with talent. The latest move pretty much obligates Patterson to build the TCU empire.

Chris Petersen, Boise State (HC) – A. Certainly a Gator fan favorite, Petersen would not even have to change his colors. I would ask that he not paint our field blue. One day he will get tired of winning a lot of games but being excluded from the Big Dance, but I think he is stubbornly stuck to BS U. Also, he is waaaay too introverted to be the Florida HBC. I like him, but I do not see him leaving. He is a family guy, and he can see what happened to the last family guy that moved to Florida.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas (HC) – A. Yeah, he would do well here. I am tired of seeing his name on these lists. He would be a flight risk–win a few seasons and leave. Besides, Arkansas will pony up cash to keep him. Petrino even signed a contract extension recently. No dice.

Gary Pinkel, Missouri (HC) – B+. He can win with nobodies. He would do well with these recruits. I do not know much about the guy, but he pops up on everyone else’s radar so I gave him a cursory look. He would do well, but not as well as the ones I have personally rated as an A.

Brian Scottenheimer, Jets (OC) – A-. He walked on as a QB under Spurrier. This guy is more of an NFL coach. Rumor has it that Foley is not going after an NFL coach.

Mike Shanahan, Redskins (HC) – A+. He was the Gator OC about a hundred years ago. He would work well here, but we can’t pay him enough, and he is old enough to be everyone’s grandfather, maybe great-grandfather. Speaking of being old, don’t think Kyle Shanahan will come here either. He is not much older than some of the players on the team.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma (OC) – A+. Bobby was a DC on the 1996 Gator’s national championship team. He has a home near G’ville, but he also has a mansion in Norman. He has been turned down twice by Florida, so I don’t see him leaving Oklahoma. I cannot recall the last time I saw a coach lateral directly from a Tier 1 school to another Tier 1 school, at least not cleanly.

Charlie Strong, Louisville (HC) – A-. Sure, he has strong Gator ties as a graduate assistant at UF in the 1980s and as assistant in the 1990s and 2000s, but Louisville fits him just fine.

Kevin Sumlin, Houston (HC) – B+. Nice offense, and nice head coaching. He has impressed Jeremy Foley. I don’t see it happening.

Kyle Whittingham, Utah (HC) – A+. Former DC under Meyer at Utah. He knows how to take over for Meyer. He has a strong background in defense, and he knows some of the current Gator staff. Nice fit. I would take him in a heartbeat as my second choice.

Ron Zook, Illinois (HC) – Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Ha.

More than likely Bob Stoops, Chris Petersen, and Kyle Whittingham are atop the list. More than likely Foley’s top picks will refuse for one reason or another and we will get a second-tier choice. With all the rumors flying around, it is anybody’s guess as to whom that might be.

Before I sign off, I do want to say that I wish Urban Meyer the best in all his future endeavors. He has served the Gator Nation well and he deserves our respect and our support as he transitions into the next phase of his life. Go Gators!

History is not on Johnny Brantley’s side

Just for kicks and grins, I compiled the statistics of all the Gator starting quarterbacks from 1983 to today. In my search for “the answers” as to why the Gators look so bad on offense, I looked for statistics on offensive lines, wide receivers, and offensive coordinators. It turns out that other than perusing each and every media guide since the dawn of time there would be no way to compile those stats, so I focused on the quarterback. This makes sense. Other than the coaches, the quarterback is solely responsible for the performance of the offense. What do the numbers show? Well, they tell me that as of week John Brantley IV does not compare well against the other Gator starters, and that history is not on his side in terms of final win-loss record and season statistics.

As a starter, JB’s passer rating is third from the bottom. Only Kyle Morris in ’88 and Kerwin Bell in ’86 have a lower rating. Note that in ’86, Bell led the Gators to a 7-5, 4-3 record with four consecutive losses in October/November, three losses at home, and a 14-10 victory in the All-American Bowl. That was the last year that Florida lost to Vanderbilt. In ’88, Kyle Morris led the Gators to a 6-5, 2-4 record that also included four consecutive losses and three losses at home. That was the last year we lost to Kentucky. What does this mean? Apparently there is a strong correlation between quarterback performance and team performance. I will not go into all the numbers, but trust me, history tells us that 2010 will rank as one of most disappointing years if I have to post this sentence as my end of the year commentary on Brantley, “In ’10, Brantley led the Gators to a X-Y, 4-4 record with three consecutive losses in October, X losses at home…” I sure hope this does not happen, but history shows us that it if JB cannot improve his performance, the Gator team will not be able to improve its performance.

		RAT	CMP	ATT	INT	PCT	YDS	YPA	INT R	TD	R ATT	YDS	YPA	R TD
1983	Wayne Peace	128.0	186	292	10	63.7%	2079	7.12	0.03	10	59	11	0.2	0
1984	Kerwin Bell	148.0	98	184	7	53.3%	1614	8.77	0.04	16	40	-5	-0.1	2
1985	Kerwin Bell	159.4	180	288	8	62.5%	2687	9.33	0.03	21	54	-218	-4.0	0
1986	Kerwin Bell	112.1	131	242	10	54.1%	1515	6.26	0.04	10	37	-148	-4.0	2
1987	Kerwin Bell	124.8	140	239	10	58.6%	1769	7.40	0.04	9	42	-184	-4.4	0
1988	Kyle Morris	101.9	84	167	13	50.3%	1217	7.29	0.08	3	35	-11	-0.3	0
1989	Kyle Morris	132.0	63	131	6	48.1%	1098	8.38	0.05	9	25	-5	-0.2	1
1990	Shane Matthews	139.9	229	378	12	60.6%	2952	7.81	0.03	23	72	-27	-0.4	4
1991	Shane Matthews	148.8	218	361	18	60.4%	3130	8.67	0.05	28	0	0	0.0	0
1992	Shane Matthews	127.0	275	463	16	59.4%	3205	6.92	0.03	23	73	-29	-0.4	2
1992	Terry Dean	76.9	13	35	1	37.1%	174	4.97	0.03	1	22	46	2.1	0
1993	Terry Dean	146.4	118	200	17	59.0%	1651	8.26	0.09	17	43	24	0.6	2
1993	Danny Wuerrfel	146.1	159	273	10	58.2%	2230	8.17	0.04	22	40	-89	-2.2	0
1994	Terry Dean	155.7	109	180	20	60.6%	1492	8.29	0.11	20	0	0	0.0	0
1994	Danny Wuerrfel	151.3	132	212	9	62.3%	1754	8.27	0.04	18	36	-45	-1.3	0
1995	Danny Wuerrfel	178.4	210	325	10	64.6%	3266	10.05	0.03	35	46	-141	-3.1	0
1996	Danny Wuerrfel	170.6	207	360	13	57.5%	3625	10.07	0.04	39	63	-100	-1.6	0
1997	Doug Johnson	135.0	148	269	12	55.0%	2023	7.52	0.04	21	9	38	-185.0	1
1998	Doug Johnson	145.2	154	274	8	56.2%	2346	8.56	0.03	19	10	29	-66.0	1
1999	Doug Johnson	132.4	190	337	13	56.4%	2574	7.64	0.04	20	0	0	0.0	0
2000	Rex Grossman	161.8	131	212	7	61.8%	1866	8.80	0.03	21	27	-76	-2.8	0
2001	Rex Grossman	170.8	259	395	12	65.6%	3896	9.86	0.03	34	34	8	0.2	5
2002	Rex Grossman	121.5	287	503	17	57.1%	3402	6.76	0.03	22	58	-65	-1.1	1
2003	Chris Leak	132.9	190	320	11	59.4%	2435	7.61	0.03	16	68	-53	-0.8	2
2004	Chris Leak	145.0	238	399	12	59.6%	3199	8.02	0.03	29	61	79	1.3	2
2005	Chris Leak	136.5	235	374	6	62.8%	2639	7.06	0.02	20	105	81	0.8	6
2006	Chris Leak	145.1	232	365	13	63.6%	2950	8.08	0.04	23	77	30	0.4	3
2006	Tim Tebow	201.7	22	33	1	66.7%	358	10.85	0.03	5	89	469	5.3	8
2007	Tim Tebow	172.5	234	350	6	66.9%	3286	9.39	0.02	32	210	895	4.3	23
2008	Tim Tebow	172.4	192	298	4	64.4%	2746	9.21	0.01	30	176	673	3.8	12
2009	Tim Tebow	164.2	213	314	5	67.8%	2895	9.22	0.02	21	217	910	4.2	14
2010	John Brantley IV	117.4	172	282	7	61.0%	1746	6.19	0.02	8	45	-101	-2.2	0

Brantley does not even compare favorably to his fellow Gator QB, Jordan Reed or other QBs running similar offenses. Granted, Reed had fewer plays at QB and the other teams do not have our atrocious offensive line. Regardless of the rationale, on Game Day, Brantley just does not stack up well to any starting Gator QB, or QB running a similar offense.

		RAT	CMP	ATT	INT	PCT	YDS	YPA	INT R	TD	R ATT	YDS	YPA	R TD
2010	John Brantley IV	117.4	172	282	7	61.0%	1746	6.19	0.02	8	45	-101	-2.2	0
	Jordan Reed	125.17	14	26	1	53.8%	166	6.38	0.04	2	29	115	4.0	2
	Chris Relf	120.25	78	147	4	53.1%	996	6.78	0.03	12	136	514	3.8	3
	DeAndre Presley	150.7	158	252	4	62.7%	2066	8.20	0.02	17	124	727	5.9	11

Today’s game will be a good sign of how far the Gators have fallen or how well they can band together in adversity. With a loss against Appalachian State, I would lay that blame on Brantley. With a victory and a great day passing, Brantley could avoid the ignominious fate of being ranked at the bottom of our Gator QBs and help restore pride to a team that is struggling to find a leader. Johnny Brantley needs to step up and take charge of history.

Banzai + Three-headed monster = fixed Gator offense?

Yay! Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio fixed the Florida Gator offense! We are on a roll, ready to right the ship and take the SEC! Right? Not so fast. That was Georgia, a rival team. Anything can happen in a rivalry. Besides, we had to go to OT and depend on our kicker/punter in order to win the thing. The following week we handily defeated the mighty Vanderbilt Commodores, the number 100 ranked team in a nine-team division.
How about that three-headed QB monster (3HQBM)? That’s a good thing, right? Newsflash: “Rotating quarterbacks are always a sign of a struggling offense.” It’s a temporary fix to a bad QB situation.
I agree with that sentiment. Besides, when did the three-headed monster start to click against #100-out-of-9 Vanderbilt? The mojo was created due to a trick play.
But, but, but…the Banzai works wonders when coupled with the 3HQBM! Shut your face and just enjoy the offensive explosion! When has Addazio shown that he can exploit an opponent’s weakness?
Quit yer yapping! With the three-headed rotation, we are three times less predictable than before Georgia! It’s still predictable, but harder to defend. Besides, watch the offensive linemen. They give away the play by their posture. Duh!
So, the Gamecocks have never won the SEC East and have only once beaten the Urban-led Gators. Well, our defense still surrenders big plays and the newly-wrinkled Gator offense looks great half the game. Half. What about the other half? And it’s not even a solid half that we look good–it’s 2nd and 4th quarter. Okay, it’s a team sport. The offense wakes up after a great special teams play (Rainey blocked punt), but maybe not after a great defensive play (Jenkins interception). It likes to sleep in the first quarter, or warm up in the tundra of Nashville, Tennessee. We are playing against an injured Lattimore and a weak secondary. True. What is our greatest weakness? We can debate that all day long, but I think it’s the offensive line. What? THE offensive line that graded out a CHAMPION the past few weeks? That one? Yes. That one. SC has a vicious defensive line that eats quarterbacks. Johnny Brantley looks delicious to the SC sack monsters. Yeah, try exploiting the SC secondary when you are curled up like an armadillo.
How will SC beat Florida, despite the six-point underdog status? Sack Brantley with the #3 NCAA QB-eating defensive line. Stuff the run with the #1 SEC run-defense. How did SC beat Bama? Six sacks in one game. Stop the two-headed rushing attack.
How can Florida win? I get it, UF is a six-point favorite. It’s not the 3HQBM that will win. Nor will it be the Banzai. It will be the playmakers. Put the playmakers in a position to make plays, and they will win it for the Gators. We cannot fix the offensive line overnight. We have shown the world the extent of our innovation in play calling already (short of more trick plays, or *gasp* letting Burton throw the ball downfield). The offense still sputters in the first quarter. It can lull you to sleep in the third or fourth quarter once the defense has mapped our playbook. Is this offense fixed? I don’t think so. We may find out that we were a little over-confident about the Banzai offense and it may turn out to be the bonsai offense.

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• Florida Gators Football: Is Jordan Reed the Best Option at QB? (bleacherreport.com)

College Football Week 11: Another Visit with the Ol’ Ball Coach

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The Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, won 122 games as Florida Gator head coach in the 90′s and 00′s. He has never won in Gainesville while donning the South Carolina garnet and black. The ‘Cocks are on a downward slide, and the Gators are just now climbing out of their toilet of a season. Let’s see where those two trajectories intercept. I won’t get too cocky about the Gators, but I have a good feeling that with a fired up Urban Meyer, great team chemistry, a three-headed monster at QB, good run defense/ sometimes-good pass defense, and healthy playmakers, that the University of Florida is a sure bet to win the SEC East.

Let’s see how they line up statistically. The ‘Cocks do have one of the worst secondaries, so look for John Brantley to have a field day throwing on SC while Jordan Reed and Trey Burton to pound the ball up the middle and make room for the home run ball from Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey, with some Mike Gillislee on occasion. The ‘Cocks also have a devastating QB sack attack to match up against our porous offensive line that never seems to give the QB time to throw. If SC exploits the Gator o-line, they will upset the Gators.

Matchup	Gators Offense	Gamecocks Offense
Points/Game	31.3 (59)	29.4 (78)
Rush Yards/Game	158.8 (97)	146.7 (129)
Pass Yards/Game	200.4 (138)	248.7 (58)
Total Yards/Game	359.2 (126)	395.3 (79)
Third Down Pct.	39.8% (97)	52.7% (5)
Fourth Down Pct.	56.5% (83)	66.7% (39)
Sacks	17 (122)	22 (175)
Sack Yards	-112 (125)	-114 (130)
Rushing TDs	23 (28)	17 (75)
Passing TDs	9 (180)	15 (89)
Carries/Game	349 (89)	330 (128)
Yards/Carry	4.1 (117)	4.0 (132)
Completion Pct.	62.0% (94)	67.6% (10)
Yards/Pass Attempt	6.6 (149)	9.1 (12)
Pass Rating	122.4 (142)	154.1 (22)
Avg. NCAA Football Ranking	74.8	52.8

The Gators possess a pretty good rushing attack, but the ‘Cocks field the #26 rushing defense.

Matchup	Gators Defense	Gamecocks Defense
Points/Game	19.6 (45)	21.9 (84)
Rush Yards/Game	121.2 (53)	104.6 (26)
Pass Yards/Game	171.3 (43)	264.7 (228)
Total Yards/Game	292.6 (19)	369.2 (143)
Third Down Pct.	35.5% (70)	42.6% (186)
Fourth Down Pct.	62.5% (204)	56.3% (169)
Sacks	19 (97)	32 (4)
Sack Yards	-107 (139)	-200 (9)
Rushing TDs	7 (20)	8 (33)
Passing TDs	12 (98)	14 (135)
Carries/Game	314 (67)	304 (55)
Yards/Carry	3.5 (55)	3.1 (25)
Completion Pct.	52.0% (48)	67.0% (237)
Yards/Pass Attempt	6.0 (33)	8.0 (213)
Pass Rating	104.7 (23)	146.6 (217)
Avg. NCAA Football Ranking	46.1	80.2

The Gator defense looks a lot better than the SC defense, but SC appears to have one thing that bothers the Gators–an aggressive, sacking defensive front. Look for the SC defense to make life miserable for Brantley, but look for the stingy Gator D to intercept the ‘Cocks early and often.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the Gators win by my original prediction from September of 32-13.

Gators keys to the game:

- Let JB fire the laser. Expose that SC secondary. Give Jordan Reed and Trey Burton a shot to let ‘er rip.

- Pound the ball up the middle with Reed, Burton, and Gillislee.

- Keep Jeremy Brown on a short rope–yank him for Cody Riggs should he falter.

- Stop Marcus Lattimore, the only SC offensive weapon.

- Most importantly: Urban Meyer. He needs to be fired up. Beating the ghost of Steve Spurrier should help Urb’ sleep better at night.

The ‘Cocks can pull the upset if they do the following:

- Get to John Brantley. Force him to make high passes by blitzing and sacking him. Sack the QB.

- Run Lattimore and throw at Jeremy Brown when the passing lanes open up.

- The Ol’ Ball Coach always has a trick up his sleeve, even against his beloved alma mater.

Related Articles

• College Football Week 11: Picks and Predictions (bleacherreport.com)
• Gators coast into SEC East showdown with 55-14 win (washingtonpost.com)
• Gators Welcome Winner-Take-All Game for SEC East (nytimes.com)

Quick comparison of recent Gator quarterbacks

I saw a discussion on a forum about Johnny Brantley and how he stacks up against other recent Gator QBs. Brantley has been described as a classic, NFL-style QB. He even broke Tim Tebow‘s high school record for passing yardage. I think Brantley will do fine in year 1 of the post-Tebow era as long as he has an offensive line to protect him. Brantley has trained behind good O-lines and has not had to scramble or rush a lot, so nobody is certain how he will do behind a bad line. Rather than compare Brantley to Tebow, I would rather compare him to Chris Leak even though they are not that similar at all. Brantley is about as athletic as Leak, has better defensive reads, better accuracy, and better mechanics. Other than that, there simply is not enough information to assess Brantley as successor to Tebow. As the next season progresses we will see how this plays out.

Cam Newton (2007 HS)

Code:

Height: 6-5.5Weight: 22540-Yard Dash: 4.75Short Shuttle: 4.44Vertical Jump: 35.0"Pos Rank: 14

Tim Tebow (2006 HS)

Code:

Height: 6-2.5Weight: 21840-Yard Dash: 4.71Short Shuttle: 4.56Vertical Jump: 32.5"Pos Rank: 3Areas for Improvement: mechanics

John Brantley (2007 HS)

Code:

Ht:6'3"Wt:190 lbs40:4.64 Shuttle:4.41Vertical:29 inchesAreas for Improvement: mobility

Chris Leak (2007 NFL Combine)

Code:

Height: 5'11"Weight: 21040: 4.66 Vertical jump: 31 inches 4.24 20-yard shuttle8/12 Wonderlic scoreAreas for Improvement: size, strength

Walt Kilar, Cubicle Engineer