Here it is. The game of the year for the mighty Gators. The Gators lead the all-time series at 33-20-2, but we can safely throw that record out the window. At 6-5 overall, 3-5 in the best darn conference in the land, the Gators have suffered through a disappointing season of injuries. In the last game of the season, the Boys from Old Florida have a chance at redemption in a game that nobody outside the Sunshine State cares about since neither team is ranked.
Here is how the 6-5 Gators may line up in their Charlie Weis, modified Patriot offense, which is currently averaging 182.3 YPG passing, 155 YPG rushing, 24.6 PPG (#82 in NCAA):
QB 12 J. Brantley, 6-3, 212, RSr, 2V
TB 28 Jeff Demps | 5-7, 191, Sr., 3V
TB 1 Chris Rainey | 5-9, 174, Sr., 3V
WR 4 A. Debose | 5-11, 191, So., RS
WR 85 F. Hammond| 6-1, 184, Jr., 2V
TE 11 Jordan Reed | 6-3, 239, So., RS
OT 73 X. Nixon | 6-6, 292, Jr., 2V
OT 75 Chaz Green | 6-5, 306, Fr., RS
OG 56 D. Wenger | 6-3, 294, Sr., TR
OG 67 Jon Halapio | 6-3, 324, So., RS
C 72 J. Harrison | 6-3, 295, So., RS
Here is how Dan Quinn's #20, hybrid 4-3/3-4 defense may line up:
DE 4 Sharrif Floyd | 6-3, 295, So., 1V
DE 7 Ro. Powell | 6-4, 248, So., 1V
DT 2 D. Easley | 6-2, 282, So., 1V
DT 6 Jaye Howard | 6-3, 303, Sr., RS
LB 34 L. McCray | 6-2, 246, Jr., 2V
LB 3 J. Jenkins | 6-0, 230, So., RS
LB 52 Jon Bostic | 6-1, 243, Jr., 2V
CB 5 M. Roberson | 6-0, 184, Fr., HS
CB 31 Cody Riggs | 5-9, 179, So., 1V
S 22 Matt Elam | 5-10, 206, So., 1V
S 26 Pop Saunders | 5-8, 192, Fr., HS
We say goodbye to these seniors, who have been a part of two national championships:
1 RB Chris Rainey 5-9 174 of Lakeland, FL
6 DT Jaye Howard 6-3 303 of Apopka, FL
6 WR Deonte Thompson 6-0 200 of Belle Glade, FL
12 QB John Brantley 6-3 219 of Ocala, Florida
28 RB Jeff Demps 5-7 191 of Winter Garden, FL
29 WR Solomon Schoonover 6-3 224 of Aventura, FL
31 CB Brian Biada 5-10 179 of Naples, FL
33 LB Minch Minchin 6-2 198 of Gainesville, FL
34 FB Jason Traylor 5-10 233 of Melbourne, FL
36 CB Moses Jenkins 6-3 186 of Ft Lauderdale, FL
40 P David Lerner 6-0 194 of Gainesville, FL
50 LS Cody Hampton 5-11 217 of St. Petersburg, FL
56 C Dan Wenger 6-3 294 of Coral Springs, FL
66 G James Wilson 6-4 334 of St. Augustine, FL
87 TE William Steinmann6-5 268 of Daytona Beach, FL
96 DE William Green 6-4 256 of Hoover, AL
98 K Zack Brust 6-1 191 of Jacksonville, FL
Now, scouting out the enemy:
QB 3 EJ Manuel | 6-5, 245, Jr., RS
TB 8 Devonta Freeman | 5-8, 200, Fr., 1V
FB 24 Lonnie Pryor | 6-0, 228, Jr., 2V
WR 83 Bert Reed | 5-11, 175, Sr., RS
WR 84 Rodney Smith | 6-6, 216, Jr., 2V
TE 88 Beau Reliford | 6-6, 270, Sr., 3V
OT 77 Zebrie Sanders | 6-6, 307, Sr., 3V
OT 51 Bobby Hart | 6-4, 283, Fr.,
OG 60 Jacob Fahrenkrug | 6-4, 315, Jr.,
OG 76 Garrett Faircloth | 6-7, 295, So., RS
C 2 Bryan Stork | 6-4, 295, So., RS
EJ Manuel is a scrambling threat, but rarely does he venture across the line of scrimmage. He gets his long passing yards and completes nearly 70% of his passes by scrambling outside the pocket and keeping the play alive. As long as the Gator secondary remains disciplined and sticks to their assignments until the whistle is blown, the Gators should be able to contain an error-prone Manuel. Manuel completes less than half of his passes when he is contained in the pocket and has to throw at his streaking receivers against equally fast defenders. The Seminoles tend to do well when they convert 1st downs early, and tend to lose games they are forced into 3rd and long. The Gator secondary does well when they are not tired from being on the field all day. Seminole WR Bert Reed will do his best to tire out the Gators and give Manuel a chance to beat us with the deep ball. Be on the lookout against a resurgent Seminole running game.
Here is the Seminole defense:
DE 49 Brandon Jenkins | 6-3, 267, Jr., 2V
DE 95 Bjoern Werner | 6-4, 273, So.,
DT 8 Timmy Jernigan | 6-2, 300, Fr.,
DT 93 Everett Dawkins | 6-2, 295, Jr.,
LB 13 Nigel Bradham | 6-3, 240, Sr., 3V
LB 7 Christian Jones | 6-4, 236, So.,
LB 11 Vince Williams | 6-1, 245, Jr.,
CB 5 Greg Reid | 5-8, 185, Jr., 2V
CB 27 Xavier Rhodes | 6-2, 215, So.,
S 4 Terrance Parks | 6-2, 218, Sr., 4V
S 20 Lamarcus Joyner | 5-8, 202, So.,
Sadly, this Seminole defense is well-matched against the Gator offense. They are every bit as fast as our offense, and every bit as undisciplined as our defense. Both teams will fight for the honor of having the most penalties in this game. I have a feeling that the Seminole defense is less afraid of being nasty and mean and using those penalties to frustrate the Gators. As is the case with most of these rivalry games, I would expect a few blatant fouls, and key injuries as opponents are targeted for pain. The Noles let it be known that they tried their hardest to hurt Tim Tebow years ago. Brantley had better watch out, as should the smaller Demps and Rainey.
Logic says that the Gators will continue their streak of losing to teams that have been ranked. Most would say that FSU can be compared to Georgia in terms of talent, speed, depth and rivalry factor, and Florida lost to Georgia 20-24. Some would even compare FSU to South Carolina, whom the Gators lost to 12-17. The difference is that these games are rarely close when the teams are closely matched. Who wants it more? The Gators who want to send out their seniors out with redemption. The Noles want to assert that "they are back" and gain a leg up at in-state recruiting with a win. The only ramifications to this game are bowl game selections. The Gators are seemingly destined for the Gator Bowl, but could get promoted to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl with an impressive win (unlikely for the bowl selection committee to do so, but it is remotely possible).
Wearing the orange and blue glasses, I think the Gators will win this one 17-10. I think Furman showed the Gators that they can get into a come-from-behind shootout and prevail by channeling their inner Tim Tebow.
My keys to the game:
Here is how the 6-5 Gators may line up in their Charlie Weis, modified Patriot offense, which is currently averaging 182.3 YPG passing, 155 YPG rushing, 24.6 PPG (#82 in NCAA):
QB 12 J. Brantley, 6-3, 212, RSr, 2V
TB 28 Jeff Demps | 5-7, 191, Sr., 3V
TB 1 Chris Rainey | 5-9, 174, Sr., 3V
WR 4 A. Debose | 5-11, 191, So., RS
WR 85 F. Hammond| 6-1, 184, Jr., 2V
TE 11 Jordan Reed | 6-3, 239, So., RS
OT 73 X. Nixon | 6-6, 292, Jr., 2V
OT 75 Chaz Green | 6-5, 306, Fr., RS
OG 56 D. Wenger | 6-3, 294, Sr., TR
OG 67 Jon Halapio | 6-3, 324, So., RS
C 72 J. Harrison | 6-3, 295, So., RS
Here is how Dan Quinn's #20, hybrid 4-3/3-4 defense may line up:
DE 4 Sharrif Floyd | 6-3, 295, So., 1V
DE 7 Ro. Powell | 6-4, 248, So., 1V
DT 2 D. Easley | 6-2, 282, So., 1V
DT 6 Jaye Howard | 6-3, 303, Sr., RS
LB 34 L. McCray | 6-2, 246, Jr., 2V
LB 3 J. Jenkins | 6-0, 230, So., RS
LB 52 Jon Bostic | 6-1, 243, Jr., 2V
CB 5 M. Roberson | 6-0, 184, Fr., HS
CB 31 Cody Riggs | 5-9, 179, So., 1V
S 22 Matt Elam | 5-10, 206, So., 1V
S 26 Pop Saunders | 5-8, 192, Fr., HS
We say goodbye to these seniors, who have been a part of two national championships:
1 RB Chris Rainey 5-9 174 of Lakeland, FL
6 DT Jaye Howard 6-3 303 of Apopka, FL
6 WR Deonte Thompson 6-0 200 of Belle Glade, FL
12 QB John Brantley 6-3 219 of Ocala, Florida
28 RB Jeff Demps 5-7 191 of Winter Garden, FL
29 WR Solomon Schoonover 6-3 224 of Aventura, FL
31 CB Brian Biada 5-10 179 of Naples, FL
33 LB Minch Minchin 6-2 198 of Gainesville, FL
34 FB Jason Traylor 5-10 233 of Melbourne, FL
36 CB Moses Jenkins 6-3 186 of Ft Lauderdale, FL
40 P David Lerner 6-0 194 of Gainesville, FL
50 LS Cody Hampton 5-11 217 of St. Petersburg, FL
56 C Dan Wenger 6-3 294 of Coral Springs, FL
66 G James Wilson 6-4 334 of St. Augustine, FL
87 TE William Steinmann6-5 268 of Daytona Beach, FL
96 DE William Green 6-4 256 of Hoover, AL
98 K Zack Brust 6-1 191 of Jacksonville, FL
Now, scouting out the enemy:
QB 3 EJ Manuel | 6-5, 245, Jr., RS
TB 8 Devonta Freeman | 5-8, 200, Fr., 1V
FB 24 Lonnie Pryor | 6-0, 228, Jr., 2V
WR 83 Bert Reed | 5-11, 175, Sr., RS
WR 84 Rodney Smith | 6-6, 216, Jr., 2V
TE 88 Beau Reliford | 6-6, 270, Sr., 3V
OT 77 Zebrie Sanders | 6-6, 307, Sr., 3V
OT 51 Bobby Hart | 6-4, 283, Fr.,
OG 60 Jacob Fahrenkrug | 6-4, 315, Jr.,
OG 76 Garrett Faircloth | 6-7, 295, So., RS
C 2 Bryan Stork | 6-4, 295, So., RS
EJ Manuel is a scrambling threat, but rarely does he venture across the line of scrimmage. He gets his long passing yards and completes nearly 70% of his passes by scrambling outside the pocket and keeping the play alive. As long as the Gator secondary remains disciplined and sticks to their assignments until the whistle is blown, the Gators should be able to contain an error-prone Manuel. Manuel completes less than half of his passes when he is contained in the pocket and has to throw at his streaking receivers against equally fast defenders. The Seminoles tend to do well when they convert 1st downs early, and tend to lose games they are forced into 3rd and long. The Gator secondary does well when they are not tired from being on the field all day. Seminole WR Bert Reed will do his best to tire out the Gators and give Manuel a chance to beat us with the deep ball. Be on the lookout against a resurgent Seminole running game.
Here is the Seminole defense:
DE 49 Brandon Jenkins | 6-3, 267, Jr., 2V
DE 95 Bjoern Werner | 6-4, 273, So.,
DT 8 Timmy Jernigan | 6-2, 300, Fr.,
DT 93 Everett Dawkins | 6-2, 295, Jr.,
LB 13 Nigel Bradham | 6-3, 240, Sr., 3V
LB 7 Christian Jones | 6-4, 236, So.,
LB 11 Vince Williams | 6-1, 245, Jr.,
CB 5 Greg Reid | 5-8, 185, Jr., 2V
CB 27 Xavier Rhodes | 6-2, 215, So.,
S 4 Terrance Parks | 6-2, 218, Sr., 4V
S 20 Lamarcus Joyner | 5-8, 202, So.,
Sadly, this Seminole defense is well-matched against the Gator offense. They are every bit as fast as our offense, and every bit as undisciplined as our defense. Both teams will fight for the honor of having the most penalties in this game. I have a feeling that the Seminole defense is less afraid of being nasty and mean and using those penalties to frustrate the Gators. As is the case with most of these rivalry games, I would expect a few blatant fouls, and key injuries as opponents are targeted for pain. The Noles let it be known that they tried their hardest to hurt Tim Tebow years ago. Brantley had better watch out, as should the smaller Demps and Rainey.
Logic says that the Gators will continue their streak of losing to teams that have been ranked. Most would say that FSU can be compared to Georgia in terms of talent, speed, depth and rivalry factor, and Florida lost to Georgia 20-24. Some would even compare FSU to South Carolina, whom the Gators lost to 12-17. The difference is that these games are rarely close when the teams are closely matched. Who wants it more? The Gators who want to send out their seniors out with redemption. The Noles want to assert that "they are back" and gain a leg up at in-state recruiting with a win. The only ramifications to this game are bowl game selections. The Gators are seemingly destined for the Gator Bowl, but could get promoted to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl with an impressive win (unlikely for the bowl selection committee to do so, but it is remotely possible).
Wearing the orange and blue glasses, I think the Gators will win this one 17-10. I think Furman showed the Gators that they can get into a come-from-behind shootout and prevail by channeling their inner Tim Tebow.
My keys to the game:
- Defensive front needs to contain EJ Manuel
- Brantley needs to air it out in order to open up running lanes
- The offensive line needs to keep Brantley vertical
- Demps and Rainey need to have career days
- Win the turnover battle
- Don't suck, despite getting blown off the line of scrimmage
