Last night’s game against UAB was very similar to last weeks game against FAU. The game was at night, the defense was missing Sharrif Floyd and the offense had the same boring plays called (expect for the fleaflicker). Yes there were a couple bright spots on offense, however what frightens me the most is the lack of depth in the offensive scheme. I know that it is only week two, but there has to be better ways to utilize our star players other than throwing a swing pass into the flats and then watch them take on 4 defenders. Of course I am oversimplifying it. The Pro-Style offense Charlie Weis wants to run is much more complicated and it will take more than the first two weeks to work through some of the kinks and implement new plays, however I just hope they figure out something sooner than later as Tennessee is coming to the Swamp next week and you better believe they are going to be ready for the swing pass.

Out of the first four series of the night, three of them ended with field goals. Caleb Sturgis connected on a 23 yard, 35 yard, and 28 yard field goal in the first half. The Gators looked sloppy on offense. They committed 7 penalties in the first half and couldn’t really convert in the red zone. The score should have been 37 – 0 at halftime, not 25 -0. As Muschamp was interviewed while walking to the locker room at halftime, he had this to say: “This makes me sick”. Needless to say, he was less than thrilled by his team’s performance in the first half.

Now with that being said, lets talk about some of the bright spots. Chris Rainey was in prime form on Saturday night, rushing for 119 yards on 16 carries. He had some more of his trademark spins that eluded defenders and displayed the burst of speed that is unparalleled in the NCAA (except by Jeff Demps). Muschamp said “He does everything you want a football player to do for your team…He is extremely electric with the ball in his hand.” On top of his stellar rushing performance, Rainey also caught three passes for 43 yards. With those two stats, Rainey now leads the team in Rushing (198 Yards) and Receiving (110 yards). Pretty impressive for someone who is listed as 5’9” and 180 pounds in the Gator media guide this year. On the same side of the ball was Gator quarterback John Brantley. He completed 12 of 19 attempts for 195 yards. He had no touchdowns and no interceptions. Although he did throw a good amount of swing passes, there were a couple of longer balls that he threw with precision. It was nice to see the moments of perfection when our QB finally slung a rocket down the field to a crossing Jordan Reed that was timed and placed perfectly.

The defense played pretty well, even without star defensive tackle, Sharrif Floyd, who was forced to sit out a second consecutive game by the NCAA. Good news is Floyd will be ready for Tennessee next week. They held the Blazers to 70 yards rushing on 23 attempts and 140 passing yards. The Gator D recorded their first shutout since 2006. Although the Blazers didn’t have the most potent passing attack in the NCAA, it was clear to see that our young secondary is going to need to step up rather quickly as their were some big holes that opened up last night.

All in all, it was a good tune up game for next week’s matchup against Tennessee. The Gators are going to face their first SEC opponent of the year and need to come out and make a statement. It doesn’t get any easier for the Gators from there. The Gators will be running the gauntlet for the next 8 games as they are all against SEC teams.