Happy Halloween Gator Nation! Gators 41 – Bulldogs 17

What a game! As Gator fans sat on their couches with family and stood with their buddies at the local bar, we all witnessed a Bulldog beat down in Jacksonville, Florida. The Gators were led by their dominant defense, who played their hearts out today. The defense forced 4 turnovers, with 3 of them coming from the arm of Georgia QB Joe Cox, who ended up being replaced by Logan Gray. The interceptions came from the linebacker core. Two of the four belonged to A.J Jones, while the other two were from Ryan Stamper and Brandon Spikes, who ended up taking his pick to the house. Overall, the defense was astounding, only allowing Georgia to 286 total yards and 17 points.

Now to the offensive side of the ball. Once again, the Gators were led by Heisman hopeful, Tim Tebow. His arm threw for 164 yards with 2 TD’s and no interceptions. The legs of Tebow gathered up 85 yards on 18 carries, and found the endzone twice. Tebow’s favorite target, Riley Cooper, had an outstanding game. Cooper hauled in 4 receptions for 78 yards, finding the endzone two times in the first quarter. Tight End Aaron Hernandez , and WR’s David Nelson and Deonte Thompson each hauled in 3 passes.

The rushing attack was brillant against Georgia. As mentioned above, Tebow talled up 85 yards and two scores. The biggest run of the day came from the Freshman, Mike Gillislee, who bursted through the defense for a 49 yard run on his first touch. Jeff Demps racked up 31 yards on 5 rushes, and Emmanul Moody finished with 26 yards on 7 carries. The biggest scare came when Chris Rainey was spun around, and nailed by an oncoming safety. Rainey sat out the rest of the game, and had his shoulder taped up. The injury could have a serious effect on his season, and possibly his career. GSN will continually keep track off the severeness of his injury.

The win puts Florida at 8-0 and 1st place in the SEC East. If South Carolina loses tonight against Tennessee (and as I am writing this article, Tennessee is currently up 21-0), then Florida will clinch the SEC East and a spot in the SEC Championship Game. As for Georgia, they fall to 4-4 and 3rd place in the SEC East.

GSN Player Of The Game

Congratulations A.J Jones, your 2 interceptions were critical and set the tone in the game. Keep up the good work!

(AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

The biggest question going into the upcoming NFL Draft will be regarding Tim Tebow. There may never have been another college player who has had such an uncertainty in his draft value. There are scouts he say he could land in the second round, even as high as the first round. But there are other scouts who say Tebow is a second day talent, maybe going undrafted. Though being undrafted is very unlikely, Tebow will get drafted, but we are just unsure of where and when.

I will attempt to break down some events that could help Tebow’s stock rise, and even fall. I will start with the positives, and explain what needs to happen for Tebow to have an increase in draft value.

• Though this is a minor issue in NFL scouts’ eyes, Tebow can certainly impress the scouts if he leads the Gators to yet another National Championship. If he does so, scouts will have no questions regarding his leadership and work ethic.
• With Sam Bradford done for the season, Tebow can now rise on the draft board. Bradford will most likely enter the NFL Draft if he has successful surgery, but his stock will drop. Tebow can bolster his stats the rest of the season, and if he can put up a good showing at the NFL Combine, Tebow will almost guarantee himself a second, even first round spot.
• The underclassmen QB’s (Jevan Snead, Jake Locker, Jimmy Claussen). If all three, or any of these players return for their Senior season, Tebow’s draft stock will quickly rise.

Reasons for Tebow’s stock to decline.

• Tebow fails to improve upon his current stats, and the Gators do not win the National Championship. The scouts are not always worried about the players’ stats, but concerning Tebow and his unorthodox style, his stats will speak a lot about him in the end.
• Of course this is an easy one, but if Tebow suffers an injury down the stretch. He already has had a concussion this season, which is one his only injuries while being a Gator, but as we have seen with Sam Bradford, an injury can cost you millions (literally).
• Tebow fails to impress the scouts at the NFL combine and workouts. This will be a very important event for Tebow, and if he does not live up to expectations, the scouts will pick him apart.

Tebow’s draft stock is unpredictable, and this merely was a look at what can affect his status on NFL Draft Day.

De’Ante Saunders, a five-star athlete, has verbally committed to the University of Florida. The DeLand High School product received his scholarship offer via fax, and once he found it, he committed as quickly as he could. Saunders will be a 2011 recruit, but it’s great to hear that the Gators have locked him up. He is also the first 2011 commitment for Florida. What a great way to kick off your recruiting by landing one of the nation’s best talents, and a 5-Star prospect.

Saunders played tailback and cornerback for his high school, as well as being a return specialist. Saunders already has 1,000 rushing yards this season, but besides being a dominant tailback, he is also a great defender. Gators’ Defensive Coordinator, Charlie Strong, is salivating after hearing about his commitment. It will be interesting to see how the Gators utilize him, whether it’s as a tailback or cornerback, or both for that matter. Gator Nation will have to wait a little to see this kid play, but in the meantime, let’s continue watching our beloved Gators make another National Championship run.

(Picture Source)

In what many people were calling a trap game, the Gators survived a major upset from the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Gators rallied late over the Razorbacks, and capitalized on a game winning drive led by Tim Tebow. Kicker Caleb Sturgis recovered after a missed field goal earlier in the game to eventually kick the game winner. The Gators’ 23-20 victory showed that there still is passion in Tebow and the rest of the team, and this could be the turning point of the season.

The game did not go the way Florida wanted it too. Turnovers were a common trend today for the Gators. The fumbles nearly destroyed Florida’s #1 ranking today, but the Gators’ will to win ended up overcoming these mistakes. The Gators were without their heart and soul on defense, Brandon Spikes, who suffered a groin injury during the game. The Gators were also without DT Lawerence Marsh today, but we all hope Spikes can recover quickly for next weeks game.

There is no doubt that the Gators would not have won this game if it were not for Tim Tebow. The man literally carried the team on his back in the 4th quarter tonight, and drove them down the field, as well as killing the clock. Tebow put up fantastic numbers, throwing for 255 yards and 1 TD strike. The touchdown pass to Deonte Thompson went for 77 yards, giving Tebow his longest career touchdown pass. Tebow connected with Riley Cooper for a critical first down on the final drive, and from that point on, Tebow carried the rock to set up the field goal. Along with his 255 yards, Tebow amassed 69 rushing yards, giving him 300 plus yards on the day. This game undoubtedly places Tebow at the top of the Heisman race, especially with Colt McCoy’s weak game against Oklahoma.

Besides Tebow’s dominance, Running Back Jeff Demps had a rushing touchdown that came in the 4th quarter on a 10 yard scamper to the outside with seven minutes remaining. Tight End Aaron Hernandez had a great outing as well, hauling in 7 receptions for 92 yards, with his longest catch coming in 22 yards. As mentioned above, Wide Receiver Deonte Thompson scored on a 77 yard touchdown pass, and gave the Gators’ the momentum.

The win against Arkansas is not just another win in the books. Of course, you can say that Florida “should have” won this game, and I will agree that they should have won, but with what they were faced with today, the Gators proved that they still are #1 in the nation. With a lot of Top 25 teams winning today by huge margins, it’s easy to say that Florida narrowly escaped with a win, but no other team can play like Florida, mainly because there is no one in the nation who resembles Tebow’s desire to win. You could tell on the final drive that Tebow was not going to accept failure, and the game winning 69 yard drive was what I like to call, “Tebow’s Heisman Moment”.

Expect Florida to remain #1 for this week, even if it was a narrow margin of victory over an unranked opponent. Florida now has an easier matchup next weekend against Mississippi State, and GSN will continue to track the progress of Linebacker Brandon Spikes and the rest of the injured Gators. But for now, let’s celebrate a HUGE win today!

(AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Defensive Tackle Lawrence Marsh will be held out of this weekend’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Marsh made an appearance last weekend versus LSU, a rather limited role, and didn’t contribute any statistics. Marsh’s sprained right ankle has been bothering him all week after the LSU game, and the Florida coaches will let him make a full recovery. Clearly, Marsh is not ready to play this Saturday, possibly not even the coming weeks.

Hopefully the Redshirt Junior will be able to suit up eventually this season, and make an impact in the later weeks of the season. If Marsh can get his ankle back to normal, the Gators’ defense will add another weapon to their already stout defense.

(Further news on Marsh’s ankle injury will be reported on GSN once the news breaks)

GSN Heisman Watch will become a weekly segment following all the action of College Football’s Heisman candidates. GSN will focus on the Top 5 candidates, while listing some Dark Horses too.

5. Tony Pike, Cincinatti

Pike has a surprising season so far, and has quickly rose on the Heisman board. He had a mediocre game yesterday, going for 273 yards and 2 TD’s. His chances to win the hardware are not very likely ( as of now ), but his sudden emergence is making him much more appealing to NFL scouts.

4. Case Keenum, Houston

Most of you probably have not heard of Keenum yet due to the fact that he plays in a mid major conference. But you can’t overlook his monster numbers that he has been consistently putting up this season. He threw for 536 yards and 5 TD’s against UTEP.

3. Jimmy Claussen, Notre Dame

This kid can straight up air it out, and he has been clutch in recent weeks. Yesterday, Claussen led Notre Dame to a late comeback victory in overtime over Washington. He racked up 422 yards and 2 TD’s, while completing 72% of his passes.

2. Colt McCoy, Texas

The Longhorns were off this week, but McCoy has been dominant thus far. Throwing for 1,145 yards and 9 TD’s puts McCoy at GSN’s #2 Heisman candidate, and just behind…

1. Tim Tebow, Florida

The stats may not be their ( 643 yards, 11 Total TD’s, 64.7%), but Tebow is still the most electrifying talent in the nation. His toughness can never be doubted after playing sick last week, and when he suits up against LSU next week, he will be coming off a concussion. Tebow will remain at #1 until he really messes up, which I don’t see happening.

Dark Horse

• Eric Berry, Tennessee
• Jahvid Best, California
• Jacory Harris, Miami
• A.J Green, Georgia
• Joe McKnight, USC

Gator Nation has been waiting to hear word on the seriousness of Tim Tebow’s injury. Luckily, Tim Tebow was released from the hospital after suffering a concussion in the 3rd quarter of yesterday’s win over Kentucky. Tebow was taken to a Kentucky hospital for precautionary reasons, and he was accompanied by Head Coach Urban Meyer.

At the hospital, dozens of Gator fans were awaiting word on Tebow’s condition. All the fans who were watching the game, saw a motionless Tebow lay on the ground after getting his bell rung by Defensive End Taylor Wyndham. After several minutes on the ground, Tebow sat up, while trainers and coaches were surrounding him. The former Heisman winner was also seen vomiting, which is a common symptom of a concussion. Before the game, Tebow and a few other Gators traveled to Kentucky a separate plane due to flu-like symptoms.

The only question remaining is when will Tebow be able to play, or if he will miss any action. The Gators are fortuante to have a bye week this upcoming weekend before facing off against SEC rival, LSU.

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

I guess losing to Florida was not good enough for Lane Kiffin to understand that he should just keep his mouth shut. The first year Tennessee coach has made more headlines for his verbal comments about the University of Florida, then the actual performance of his team. It’s been two days since Florida handed the Vols another loss, and Lane Kiffin has decided to speak out. So what did he say this time?

Before reading the comment, here is where the statement came from. Earlier today, Coach Urban Meyer was addressing the situation of the possible H1N1 flu spreading on Florida’s campus. With Aaron Hernandez, Jeff Demps, and Jermaine Cunningham all suffering from flu like symptoms, Meyer has said that Florida is a little concerned about the whole matter. But besides all that Meyer said, I guess that somewhere in Knoxville, Lane Kiffin was listening to the press conference. Hours after Meyer talked about the flu spreading through Florida, Kiffin made a comment on the situation that Florida is in:

“I guess we’ll wait and see, and after we’re not excited about our performance, we’ll tell you that everybody was sick,” Kiffin said.

Even though it is only a sentence, that is yet another shot that Kiffin has taken at the Gators. Basically, Kiffin is saying that Florida is blaming their lackluster performance on the flu on campus, and that Coach Meyer is using this as an excuse.

Man, I know that this season has just begun, but I already can’t wait for next year’s game against the Vols.