T Minus 1 Day: Its Finally Over!
Its finally over! In less that 24 hours, Urban Meyer will lead the 2010 Florida Gators into battle.
2010 will be a season of change. Not good or bad, but just change in general. There has been more turnover with…
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Florida Football: Ejections, Penalties, Interceptions…. Your Welcome Gators
Its really hard to say if there was one play that really lost Miami this game. Notice I said Miami lost the game. The Gators surely did not beat Miami (Oh.) today in the Swamp. They were given the game as Miami came close on many drives, but so far away, only being able to score on 4 field goals, despite having the ball for 34:44, keeping the Florida offense on the field. After the 1 st quarter …
Florida Gators 34 – Miami (OH) Redhawks 12
Many Florida fans left today’s game thinking “what the ____?!?” It’s a natural reaction. Over the years, we’ve been taught to love the blowout and accept nothing less against what we consider to be inferior opponents. That’s not a shot at Miami (OH), but when your team is favored by 36 or more and they win by 22, you leave a little less than satisfied.
That was the case today. The Gators won. Technically, they won big. 22 points is three scores. It’s not a close game. It means you handled your opponent and got your job done. You won and you won big.
But it wasn’t what you may have expected. You expected the wide-open passing offense to show you things you haven’t seen since Steve Spurrier walked the sidelines. The type of offense only a video game gives you. What you were looking forward to ended up producing 114 yards on 17 competitions. A deep pass was attempted here and there, but not what you may have wanted to see. If an early deep attempt to Deonte Thompson had been completed (and orange and blue bias aside, the Redhawk defender was a little early on his slash at Thompson’s arms), it may have been a different game. But it was incomplete and the game unfolded as it did.
Let’s get this out of the way right now, shall we? Mike Pouncey. I love Mike Pouncey. I love both of the Pounceys. It’s because of Maurkice that I’m even slightly interested in the Pittsburgh Steelers this year. Mike was a great guard. An All-American guard. He was that good. He can be a great center too. But he has to get out of his own head. Mike wasn’t the reason the game didn’t turn out how we as fans would have liked, but he definitely had his struggles. The center-quarterback exchange needs to be perfect. And whatever happened today, needs to get ironed out before even one more game. On the other side, we’ve heard for two years how good Sam Robey might be. If that’s the case, why not try him out? We all know Pouncey is a great guard. Why not let him be a great guard? If the reports we get are accurate, Robey is a more than capable center. There, done. I’m sure many are being much harsher than I am, but I’ve said my peace and that’s as far as I’ll go. Game number two is in one week. Get that fixed Gators.
The defense did its part, holding Miami (OH) to four field goals and 212 yards. What made the game interesting (is that the right world?) is that the Florida offense matched that. 212 yards. Jeff Demps had a nice, long run. Mike Gillislee too. Those two runs covered 113 yards, or more than half of Florida’s entire offensive output. In part because the Gators lost three fumbles. I don’t know if that has to do with whatever gloves Nike has given the team to experiment with, but if so, CHANGE THEM! The score could have easily been 41-12 or 48-12 if it weren’t for those fumbles. And that’s despite the passing game never getting into its grove.
There’s something I always say about games like this and it rings true. Just win. In sports, nothing is more important. But in college football, it’s taken to another level. You can’t lose. The Gators have gotten lucky during each of their championship seasons. Not to say they didn’t deserve those titles, but during each year, they had one loss. Sometimes you can sneak in with that loss. Sometimes it kills you. So in the end, just win. It may not be pretty. It may be downright ugly. But just win. That’s how Florida and fans have to feel today. It was a win. Fix what needs to be fixed and move on. There are 11 more games that we know of and one in only a week. Just win.
Florida Gators overcome sloppy start, beat Miami of Ohio
The Gators fumbled seven times, lost three of them, missed an extra point and produced just 113 yards in the passing game against a Miami team coming off a one-win season. GAINESVILLE - The Florida Gators defeated Miami of Ohio 34-12 on Saturday, but don’t let that fool you: this is not a performance the Gators were necessarily happy with.
No. 4 Florida Gators 34, Miami RedHawks 12
By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer Saturday, September 4, 2010 The Florida Gators’ offense was out of synch today in a sluggish 34-12 victory over Miami of Ohio in Gainesville. Miami took an early 3-0 lead before the Gators’ Janoris Jenkins intercepted a Zac Dysert pass and returned it 70 yards to help Florida take the lead for good at 7-0. Bad snaps and turnovers plagued the Gators …
Florida looks flat in close win over Miami (OH)
The No. 3/4 Florida Gators (1-0) pulled out a 34-12 win Saturday against the Miami (OH) RedHawks (0-1) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL, but not without raising plenty of questions about how prepared the team is to play this season.
Senior center Mike Pouncey had trouble with his snaps all day, tossing numerous balls past redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley right from the get-go; Brantley also had problems reeling in many of Pouncey’s snaps, letting one get by in the beginning of the first quarter which led to an early Miami field goal. There were a total of 13 “questionable” snaps experienced throughout the game by the offense and eight total fumbles, three of which resulted in turnovers after being recovered by the opposition.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Rainey coughed up the team’s second fumble in the first quarter, but Florida was able to negate the miscue with an aerobatic interception by sophomore linebacker Jon Bostic on the following drive.
After failing to score early, the Gators got on the board quickly just minutes into the second quarter when junior cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted RedHawks QB Zac Dysert and returned the ball 70 yards for a touchdown.
Seeing their first punt of the game blocked, Miami completed a fake punt on their next attempt but failed on another fake later on, allowing Florida to take over on their 21-yard line and score their first offensive touchdown of the season on a 10-yard pass from Brantley to sophomore WR Omarius Hines.
Florida’s defense stayed on their toes, leading senior safety Ahmad Black to the team’s second pick of the quarter, which he returned for 40 yards to the RedHawks’ two. Two plays later, freshman QB Trey Burton scored on a keeper, putting the Gators up 21-3.
Miami would then go on to score three-straight field goals against Florida, cutting the lead to 21-12 in the fourth quarter. On the first play following the RedHawks’ final field goal, Gators junior running back Jeff Demps propelled his team to a 27-12 lead by taking a hand-off 72-yards for his first touchdown of the season.
Looking for some positives late in the fourth quarter, head coach Urban Meyer allowed Florida to go for it on 4th and 15. Brantley completed a pass to Hines to get UF into the red zone, but sophmore RB Mike Gillislee fumbled the ball just one play later while fighting for additional yardage. After an interception by Gators redshirt sophomore CB Jeremy Brown (initially ruled incomplete but overturned), Gillisslee made up for his mistake with a powerful 41-yard run down the field.
Another bad snap forced Florida into a 4th and 21, which Meyer once again had the Gators attempt. Brantley, running out of bounds, threw up a prayer into the end zone that was luckily brought down by Rainey for a 25-yard score to put Florida ahead 34-12.
Adding to UF’s mistakes, junior kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 44-yard field goal early in the game and shanked the extra point on Demps’ TD.
Brantley finished the day 17-of-25 for 114 yards and two touchdowns, while Miami’s Dysert went 24-of-42 for 188 yards with four picks. Demps led the Gators with 97 yards on eight rushes; Gillislee posted 57 yards on six carries. Hines was Florida’s leading receiver, hauling in three balls for 48 yards; Rainey caught a team-high seven passes for 36 yards, and redshirt junior WR Deonte Thompson finished with only three grabs for 24 yards after dropping a TD early in the first quarter.
Florida looks to rebound from its shaky start next Saturday when they take on the South Florida Bulls at The Swamp. Kickoff is set for 12:21 p.m., and the game will air live on SEC Network (check your local listings).
Photo Credit: Rob C. Witzel/The Gainesville Sun
Gators avoid meltdown, beat Miami (Ohio) 34-12
Jeff Demps had a long scoring run, John Brantley added a fluky touchdown pass late and No. 4 Florida overcame an error-filled game to beat Miami (Ohio) 34-12 Saturday. The Gators used four interceptions, several red-zone stops and two late touchdowns to avoid a meltdown. The bigger story was Florida’s anemic offense — the one quarterback John Brantley had hoped to “keep rolling” after…
Florida survives self and RedHawks, 34-12
GAINESVILLE -- Don't allow the final score of the 104th season opener in Florida football history to fool you. 
Florida Gators overcome sloppy start, lead 21-9 after three
Still stuck in an offensive funk, the Florida Gators lead Miami of Ohio 21-9 after three quarters of play on Saturday.
Florida Gators overcome sloppy start, lead 21-6 at halftime
The Florida Gators are ahead 21-6 at halftime against Miami of Ohio, but the score really doesn’t tell the story of how the Gators have played thus far.