Howard coming on for Gators ESPN (blog) It didn't take Howard long to make his presence felt in Florida's opener. He burst through the line and had a sack on the Gators' first defensive possession ...
Saturday, September 4, 2010Categorized under Florida News
A new era of Gators football is here. John Brantley will get his first start under center for Florida today against Miami (Ohio). Kickoff is in about 45 minutes.
Just learned before I arrived at the stadium that LB Dee Finley (groin) and S Will Hill (unknown) will not play today.
11:59: The Gators just ran out of the tunnel. The start of the season is minutes away. The RedHawks will be on offense first.
12:06 : The starting linebackers are OLB A.J. Jones, MLB Jon Bostic and OLB Jelani Jenkins. Brandon Hicks did not start the game. Moses Jenkins is at the second cornerback spot. DT Jaye Howard records a sack to force the RedHawks to punt.
12:09: Jeff Demps blocked the punt to give UF the ball at Miami (Ohio)’s 44-yard line.
12:10: On third down, Mike Pouncey snapped the ball, but John Brantley wasn’t ready for it. The ball skipped by him and the RedHawks recovered the botched snap at UF’s 24-yard line. Tough first series for the Gators.
12:16: The RedHawks grab the early lead with a 33-yard field goal after UF’s botched snap.
MIAMI (OHIO) 3, FLORIDA 0 (1ST QUARTER, 7:01 MIN REMAINING)
12:19: Gators take over at their 41-yard line.
12:21: WR Chris Rainey is busy early. He already has two catches and a rushing attempt.
12:23: WR Deonte Thompson just dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Brantley that would have resulted in a touchdown. Demps fumbled the ball the following play. Miami (Ohio) has the ball back at its 47-yard line. The Gators already have two turnovers. Ouch.
12:27: RedHawks QB Zac Dysert was forced out of the pocket and threw an interception to Gators MLB Jon Bostic. Bostic tipped the ball to himself before catching it. Already three total turnovers in this sloppy game. Gators will have the ball at their 41-yard line.
12:37 :On fourth-and-one, Emmanuel Moody fumbled a toss to give the Gators their third turnover of the first quarter. The RedHawks have the ball at their 47-yard line. The offense has not looked good.
12:38: That’s end of the first quarter. The Gators have three more turnovers than they do points. The RedHawks lead 3-0.
12:42: The Gators’ defense has looked good. It has allowed three points, but it was put into a tough spot after Pouncey’s bad snap.
12:45: Miami (Ohio) is pulling out everything. They just got a first down on a fake punt. The RedHawks are in UF territory.
12:48: CB Janoris Jenkins intercepts a pass and returns it 67 yards for a touchdown to finally give the Gators some momentum. Let’s see if the offense can stop the turnovers and do something.
FLORIDA 7, MIAMI (OHIO) 3 (2ND QUARTER, 13:14 MIN REMAINING)
12:55: The Gators’ defense forces a three and out to give its offense the ball at the opposition’s 21-yard line after the RedHawks fail to convert on a fake punt pass.
12:59: Mike Pouncey has struggled at center. He has had numerous low snaps and even caused a turnover because of a mistimed one.
1:01: Brantley picked up the blitz and found Omarius Hines for a 10-yard TD pass. UF is finally starting to look like a ranked team.
FLORIDA 14, MIAMI (OHIO) 3 (2ND QUARTER, 9:27 MIN REMAINING)
1:07: S Ahmad Black intercepts a pass and returns it 40 yards to the three-yard line. Gators in prime position to score another TD.
1:09: QB Trey Burton comes in and rushes for a TD from the two-yard line. The wildcat lives on.
1:28: Brantley takes a knee and just like that it’s halftime here in Gainesville.
1:50: Second half about to get underway.
1:54: The Gators are going for it on fourth-down-and-four.
1:55: UF failed to convert on fourth down after Rainey was tackled immediately after catching a three-yard pass. Miami (Ohio) will start its drive at its 38-yard line.
1:59: The Gators’ defense forced a three and out. UF has the ball back, but two bobbled snaps have pushed it back to its one-yard line.
2:05: The refs are reviewing whether Demps was tackled for a safety or not. But they rule that he was stopped at the one-yard line. The Gators will punt it away.
2:08: CB Moses Jenkins was just helped off the field after the punt by Chas Henry. The RedHawks will get the ball at the Gators’ 28-yard line.
2:12: Miami (Ohio) knocks in another field goal, this one from 31 yards away.
2:14: Mike Gillislee returns the kickoff for 50 yards to the RedHawk’s 31-yard line.
2:17: WR Deonte Thompson catches a six-yard pass on fourth down to move the chains. Gators are inching closer to a touchdown. They are now at the 17-yard line. The Sentinel’s Zach McCann and George Diaz discuss UF’s first half play in the video below.
2:22: UF kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a field goal. The offense failed to capitalize on good field position on that possession. The Gators have now accumulated 41 total yards today against a team that won just one game last season.
2:27: The RedHawks are threatening again as the third quarter comes to a close. They are now at the five-yard line.
2:33: Miami (Ohio) is on the three and it’s second down. However, an illegal shift penalty has pushed it back to the eight.
2:35: A personal foul erased what would have been fourth down at the one. Now the RedHawks have the ball at the 16 and will go for a field goal.
2:37: Miami (Ohio) tacks on another field goal. A personal foul killed its chances for a TD.
2:51: UF defense forces another punt. Based on the situations the Gators’ offense has put it in, the defense has played fairly well today.
2:58: The Gators are putting together a nice drive. They are now into Miami (Ohio)’s territory. Who thought the starters would be in this late before the game?
3:04: After a drive that put UF on Miami (Ohio)’s side of the field, RB Mike Gillislee fumbled the ball for the Gators’ fourth turnover.
3:09: CB Jeremy Brown looked to have intercepted a pass, but the refs called it an incomplete pass after ruling that Brown was juggling the ball as he went out of bounds. The play is under review.
3:12: The refs have overturned the call and have given Brown the interception. Gators take over on their 45-yard line.
3:14: Gillislee takes a carry for 41 yards on the first play of the drive. UF is now on the Miami (Ohio) 12-yard line.
3:15: Another bad snap from Pouncey gives UF a 13 yard loss. It is now fourth-down-and-21 and the Gators will go for it.
3:20: On fourth down, Rainey catches a tipped ball for a touchdown.
FLORIDA 34, MIAMI (OHIO) 12 (FINAL)
Saturday, September 4, 2010Categorized under Florida News
Florida Gators quarterback John Brantley arrives at the Swamp for the Gator Walk before their game against Miami (Ohio) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Saturday, September 4, 2010. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)
Florida coach Urban Meyer was relaxed and even cracked a couple of jokes Thursday in his final press conference before today’s opener against Miami (Ohio).
It was a much different tone than the one he took last week, when he said he was “hitting the panic button a little bit,” because his team looked so bad in a scrimmage.
Urban Meyer doesn't seem worried, but these are six immediate concerns. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Was he trying to motivate his players to give better effort in practice? Probably. Coachspeak? Definitely.
But there are some real concerns. Speed and talent cover a lot of sins, but not all. Maybe Meyer should be hitting his “panic button” a little. Here are six reasons why, although none of them will matter much against a lightweight like Miami:
1. Know what happens to the Gators if John Brantley gets hurt? The Chick-fil-a Bowl. Florida has no true back-up quarterback. These are the Gators’ choices after Brantley: two true freshmen and an injured tight end. Know how I know how good Trey Burton is at passing? He’s practicing at tight end. He’s also the wildcat
He can run. He can play tight end. Can Florida rely on Trey Burton as an all-purpose quarterback? (Doug Benc/Getty Images)
quarterback. Florida has not committed to him as the all-purpose back-up and it’s easy to envision him vacating the quarterback position altogether by next spring. The other freshman is Tyler Murphy. Recruiting rankings aren’t definitive, but this is Florida’s only two-star recruit. Everything coaches and players have been saying about these two is that they’re “getting better,” or “learning,” or “coming along.” That’d be fine if it was springtime. Choice No. 3 is Jordan Reed (knee). He’s a former quarterback turned tight end, who probably lost that starting job to Omarius Hines. So Brantley better be good. And healthy. All year.
2. Two left tackles have been out for a while and it’s unclear when they’ll return. Xavier Nixon (right knee) started the last five games of 2009 and should have owned this job, but somehow it became a competition between him and Matt Patchan (right wrist). Offensive line coach Steve Addazio thought back-up center Sam Robey was good enough to start and Florida could move Mike Pouncey outside, but Meyer squashed that idea immediately. Florida has five experienced starters for today’s game (LT Marcus Gilbert, LG Carl Johnson, C Pouncey, RG James Wilson, RT Maurice Hurt), but that’s not the same o-line some people were calling the best in the country this summer. Both tackles are playing out of their regular positions.
Preserving Jeff Demps is a top priority for Florida. (Athlon Sports photo)
3. RB Jeff Demps is the fastest player in college football, but can he survive a full season as the primary ball-carrier? In this conference? Demps has all-universe speed, but is only 5-8, 190. That’s his listed weight and seems generous. Meyer said Demps’ durability is his first or second priority this year and they have cut back on “nonessential running” because of it. “We’re very cautious, “ Meyer said Wednesday.
4. Defensive ends: Justin Trattou is pretty good. Is anyone else? As Meyer put it, Florida is “used to having freaks out there.” No one on the defensive line has Carlos Dunlap’s speed. He and Jermaine Cunningham accounted for 16 of the Gators’ SEC-high 39 sacks last year. Trattou, a former defensive tackle, is the seasoned veteran of the defensive ends with 18 starts and seven sacks in his career. Meyer predicted he’ll be one of the SEC’s best pass rushers this season. He’ll be steady, but he’s not a “freak.” As for the rest of the group: two starts, three sacks. Duke Lemmens is the other starter, but Gators fans are clamoring for Ronald Powell to supplant him. Lynden Trail has already been designated for red-shirt. Powell, Samuel Johnson and Kedric Johnson have yet to set foot on a college football field.
5. The Gators feel good about most, if not all, of their new starters, but the No. 2 starting cornerback spot is a big question mark. Junior Janoris Jenkins will take on the opponent’s No. 1 receiver and he is one good season away from the NFL. The other spot is vulnerable until proven otherwise. Jeremy Brown and Moses Jenkins both are listed as the starter there. Meyer thought Brown was on par with Janoris Jenkins when Florida signed him, but horrific back problems kept him off the field. He has been at Florida for 32 months and not played a down. It’s a cold question — especially considering what an uplifting story it is that he didn’t give up his dream of playing college football — but how can you count on him being healthy all year? The other contender, Moses Jenkins, is a senior who never played well enough to take the starting job.
6. As good as the freshmen are, they might be a
Ronald Powell is chasing quarterbacks and a starting job. What happens if he bumps a senior out of the line-up? (ESPN photo)
liability. In some ways, they already are. Matt Elam and Solomon Patton were cited over the summer for underage possession of alcohol. Leon Orr and Lynden Trail aren’t capable of playing “winning football.” More significant, as far as football is concerned, was DE Ronald Powell and DT Dominique Easley skipping part of a practice last week. They day they revolted was the same day Mike Pouncey said, “the freshmen need to shut their mouths and just come play … I hate when guys come in and talk too much and don’t show nothing on the field.” If dissension between the freshmen class (which ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com ranked No. 1 in the country) and older players was a problem in August, imagine how much worse it might get when those freshmen start taking playing time away from their veteran teammates.
