I don’t even know where to start when writing this game recap. The Gators just played so horrible. There is not one player or one specific play that caused the Gators the loss. The defense was horrible, giving up big plays in both the passing and rushing game. They couldn’t pressure the quarterback and didn’t force any turnovers. They gave up 490 total yards of offense – those numbers make me want to puke.

On offense, things weren’t any better. The gators had some impressive drives and plays, but they couldn’t quite convert them into points. The Gators were shut out completely in the second half and turned the ball over in the 4th quarter on a Tim Tebow interception. Florida was very limited in their rushing attack as well – Rainey, Demps and James accounted for only 4 total rushing plays. 4!!!!

Tim Tebow was OK at best in this game. He hit some receivers, but other times he was throwing behind guys. The interception he threw was completely his fault – I’m not sure if Tim just didn’t see the defender or if he just severely under threw that pass. Of course the WRs didn’t help all that much. Hernandez dropped a ball on the 1 yard line and Demps dropped a wide open pass on the opening series that he might have been able to take the distance.

The play calling for Florida was suspect, but really there’s nothing Urban could have done. The Gators were trailing the entire game and the players were outmatched on both sides of the ball. Nick Saban coached a hell of a game for the Crimson Tide though.

From here the Gators will probably go to the Sugar Bowl to play undefeated Cincinnati. There’s no telling which team will show up. Will the be deflated or will the be pumped up for a BCS Game?

The game wasn’t aired on cable television, so I’ll try to paint the best picture I can. The game opened with an FIU possession. The Gators held them and forced a punting situation on fourth down. However, during the punt, the Gators roughed the kicker and received a 15-yard penalty. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because on the very next play Brandon Spikes intercepted the ball and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Great way to start the game!

From here through the rest of the first half it was Gator dominance. On the Gators second drive of the game, Tim Tebow hit Riley Cooper for a couple of passes then he rushed for a 55-yard touchdown. Sturgis missed a field goal on the next drive, but it was 53 yards so we don’t really count that. He’s been solid on 50+ yarders – but you can’t expect college kickers to make those.

In the second quarter, Chris Rainey scored two touchdowns and Jeff Demps added another. I was impressed with their ability to score, but thought the Gators should have rushed for more yards than they did. Demps only had 46 yards on the ground and Rainey only had 30.

Tebow opened the third quarter with a touchdown pass to Riley Cooper. John Brantley was in at quarterback on the next series. Brantley looked great – going 9/13 passing for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brantley connected with Justin Williams and Frankie Hammond Jr. in the fourth quarter for touchdowns.

It was nice to see the Gators start the game strong and the underclassmen come in in the second half and finish it. The Gators will play their final home game of the season on Saturday against FSU. With it being Tim Tebow’s final game there is going to be a lot of emotion. Hope to see you there!

The Gators are currently 10-0 and the number one ranked team in the country. There is a lot of pressure on them to go undefeated for the first time in school history. That would entail a win this week, then wins again vs. FSU, Alabama and a final BCS team. Luckily some of that pressure is lifted this week – FIU just isn’t that good. They are 3-7 overall and 3-4 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Tomorrow’s game will be a lot like the first two games of the season vs. Charleston Southern and Troy. You won’t see the started play much more than a half of football, and certainly not more than 3 quarters. Coach Urban Meyer will get the starters some game action, then make sure to get everyone out healthy and ready for FSU next week.

I expect the Gators to come out hot, scoring 21 points in the opening quarter. Urban Meyer talked about Tim Tebow for the Heisman this week, so don’t be surprised if he has Tim sling the ball around a lot in the first half to pad those stats. I’m not saying he’ll do it – just don’t be surprised if he does. Tim could finally throw for 300 yards for the first time this year if Meyer opens it up. A more likely scenario is Demps and Rainey getting a lot of action. They could both go over 100 rushing yards. I also think the defense will score a touchdown on an interception return.

How do you think the Gators will do tomorrow vs. FIU? Log in to Gator Envy and let us know. Since the game is on PPV, Gator Envy is a great place to visit during the game and chat with other Gator fans about what’s going on.

The Gator defense stepped up big in this game. South Carolina was driving the ball at the end of the third quarter until Gamecock QB Stephen Garcia threw an interception to Justin Trattou on the Florida 21 yard line. Trattou returned the interception 51 yards before he got tripped on on the sideline. From there, the Gators ran three plays and then Tim punched it in for the score. In all, the Gator defense had 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery and 5 sacks. With the amount of pressure they Gators were getting I’m not surprised they didn’t create more turnovers.

The Gator offense was a little slow, but there were a few big plays missed by inches. Tim Tebow threw for 199 yards and only 1 touchdown and the team rushed for only 140 yards. The Gamecocks have a good defense, but the Gators should have put more points on the board. Tebow missed Riley Cooper by inches on two deep balls. The Gators also didn’t get any long rushes. The longest run of the day came on a 17-yarder from Moody (touchdown).

Some key notes from the game:
- Riley Cooper had 3 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.
- Chris Rainey had 10 rushes for 46 yards
- Jermaine Cunningham had 2 sacks
- Joe Haden had 1 sack and 1 interception

If you missed the game, here are some highlights.

Earlier this week, Meyer spoke to the media about some of the pressures mounting on the Gators and the scrutiny they’ve been under for not lighting up the scoreboards.

“Have you ever gone 19-0?” Meyer said. “It’s not ho-hum, I can assure you that. If it’s ho-hum for someone, you’ve got to really reflect to say, ‘Where am I headed in this life right now?’ If 19-0 in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Florida is ho-hum, then you’ve got one exciting life, man, you’ve got a lot of good stuff going for you.

“I don’t ever want to take anything away from what those cats have done. Two out of three times we’re going to go play in Atlanta for the SEC championship in the best conference in college football. There’s absolutely nothing ho-hum about what this team is doing.”

The Florida Gators should be very happy to be where they are. They don’t need to score 60 points every week they play. The Gators control their own destiny no matter how many points they score.

A loss to South Carolina would be devastating for the Gators National Title hopes, but it doesn’t put them out of the SEC Championship Game. They will be playing Alabama on Dec. 5 no matter what.

I think the Gamecocks are going to play tough football – but ultimately they just aren’t good enough on offense to score points. The Gators have the best defense in the country and South Carolina will struggle to score a touchdown on them.

I like the Gators in this game by a score of 31-10. Post a comment and let me know you’re score prediction.

Urban Meyer had a response to some members of the media and “experts” that think Florida is just getting by… that maybe the Gators aren’t as good as everyone says.

“Have you ever gone 19-0?” Meyer said. “It’s not ho-hum, I can assure you that. If it’s ho-hum for someone, you’ve got to really reflect to say, ‘Where am I headed in this life right now?’ If 19-0 in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Florida is ho-hum, then you’ve got one exciting life, man, you’ve got a lot of good stuff going for you.

“I don’t ever want to take anything away from what those cats have done. Two out of three times we’re going to go play in Atlanta for the SEC championship in the best conference in college football. There’s absolutely nothing ho-hum about what this team is doing.”

In just over three quarters of play, quarterback Tim Tebow was very efficient. He was 15/20 for 208 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 27 yards rushing and a touchdown. Brantley came in at the end of the game to close things off: he went 3/3 for 19 yards.

Jeff Demps showed the world his blazing speed on a 25 yard touchdown run. Demps had 7 carries total for 57 yards. I don’t think he took it lightly when the announcers said he was the “second fastest” guy in the SEC (losing out to Holiday of LSU). I’ll match Demps up with anyone, any time, anywhere.

Aaron Hernandez was once again the leading receiver. He had 7 catches for 120 yards. This is the fifth straight game now that Hernandez hasn’t found the end zone, but it is the first time he’s gone over 100+ yards in a game this year. David Nelson caught Tim’s lone touchdown pass of the day.

The Gator defense stepped up big. They held Vanderbilt to only 3 points, even without Spikes. One defensive stat that sticks out though is 0 sacks by the Gators. This might have been the first time they’ve gone all year without a sack. Tebow, on the other hand, was sacked 4 times. The offensive line is just doing a terrible job of protecting him. And the receivers can’t get open, so he’s holding onto the ball too long.

All-in-all, it was a great win by the Gators. They move to 9-0 and are still the No. 1 team in the country.

The Gators are coming off a very good win vs. Georgia last week. Both the offense and defense finally played a game in sync. The offense wasn’t scared to move the ball. The play calling opened up – it actually looked like the spread – and the defensive line was playing like a pack of wild animals. When you add in all the dirty plays and controversy from this week, the Gators are poised to play with a new sense of purpose. If the Gators had a few sparks lit under them before, there is now an inferno raging inside. I want to see energy, excitement, fight and domination tomorrow night.

There’s not much to say about this game – Vanderbilt just isn’t very good. Their two wins came against Western Carolina and Rice. Vandy did put up 31 points on No. 11 Georgia Tech last week, but that was uncharacteristic for them. The only time Vandy put up more than 30 points in games this year are in their two wins. Their quarterback Larry Smith has more interceptions than touchdowns and their leading receiver John Cole has yet to find the endzone.

The Gators historically play Vanderbilt very well – like I said, 18 in a row. They’ve scored 40+ points in 3 of the last 4 meetings and Tim Tebow has combined for 10 total touchdowns in their last two meetings. Tim hasn’t exactly been lighting up the box score this season, so maybe this is a week he finally puts up big stats. Though, if the game gets out of hand early… Meyer might pull Tebow in the 4th to get Brantley some work. The Gators will be without Brandon Spikes though, for an entire game now. Stamper has really stepped his game up this year, so they’ll be fine at the LB spot.

I’m predicting a 49-13 victory for the Gators. What do you think?

When of the best moments of the game came in the second quarter when Tim Tebow scrambled for a 23-yard touchdown run. It wasn’t just any ordinary run though, this was his 50th career rushing touchdown. It moved him into first all-time on the SEC rushing touchdown list – passing former UGA Hall of Famer Herschel Walker. Tebow added another rushing touchdown to that list in the 3rd quarter on a 5-yard run.

What impressed me the most was the Gators ability to dominate on both sides of the ball for the first time in many games. The Gators put up 374 yards of total offense and score 28 points. The defense was able to get three sacks and snag 4 interceptions, one of which Spikes took back for a touchdown. The Gator linebackers in general had huge days. In addition to Spikes, Stamper and A.J. Jones (2) both had interceptions. Jones also added one sack and two tackles for a loss.

Before I get to the highlight video, I also want to give props to the Gator special teams… and not just the coverage units. Chaz Henry punted a hell of a game and I was totally impressed when Sturgis nailed a 56-yard field goal. The guy misses 20 yarders, but nailed 44 and 56 yard field goals against Georgia.

And now for the highlights. Find out what you missed!

I love the annual Florida. vs. Georgia game… partly because I live in Jacksonville and get to go to the game every year. But I also love the rivalry and the gameday experience. The entire city shuts down on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Downtown is lined with orange/blue and red/black as far as the eye can see. There are tailgates everywhere and people having a good time. And generally, the fans on both sides are pretty respectful. I’ve only seen 1-2 fights in the past 4 years.

I am excited because the Gators will be getting a ton of key players back from injury. Jeff Demps is 100% and will be back running the ball after he suffered a neck stinger last week. Brandon Spikes will be roaming the middle of the field again, looking to make some big 3rd down stops. And the defensive line is expected to welcome back tackles Lawrence Marsh (ankle) and Jaye Howard (knee), as well as end Justin Trattou (shoulder). It’s great to have all these starters back on the field.

I’m expecting a 14 point victory for the Florida Gators. I know they’re favored by 16, but I don’t think they’ve covered all year. I think we’ll see a final score of soemthing like 24-10. Of course if the Gator offense can move the ball downfield, then I don’t see why they can’t put up 40+ on this Bulldogs defense.

If you aren’t going to make it to the game, check out this video to help get you pumped up:

Go Gators!

The Gator defense, without Spikes and Marsh, dominated the Bulldogs allowing only 237 yards on offense. The Gators intercepted Bulldog quarterback Lee three times and had 4 sacks as a team, 3 of those sacks coming from Carlos Dunlap. One of the key defensive plays of the game came on a Dustin Doe interception return for a touchdown. He was showboating and the ball was stripped right around the goal line. The refs reviewed the play and called it a touchdown in favor of the Gators. But if I take my Gator goggles off, I swear that ball was stripped before it crossed the endzone. If the Bulldogs got the ball back there it was have been a huge turn of events. All-in -all though, I think the Gators proved once again they have the best defense in the country, and they’ll only be better when Spikes returns.

The offense on the other hand is a different story. They played horrible, failing to move the ball downfield and failing to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Tim Tebow only threw for 127 yards and didn’t have any touchdowns in the air. He did score a rushing touchdown on a 26 yard scramble. That touchdown tied him with Herschel Walker for the most all-time in the SEC.

Other notes from the game:
-Chris Rainey led the team in rushing yards. 12 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
-Aaron Hernandez led the team in receiving with 5 catches for 32 yards.
-Jeff Demps sprained his neck and left the game.
-Sturgis was 3/4 in field goal attempts. He missed a 37 yarder.
-Miss. State did not score an offensive touchdown.

Here is a highlight video from the game.