“Saving Private Muschamp – Redemption”

On a cloudy Saturday in Gainesville, FL, the Florida Gators (6-5) defeated the Furman Paladins, also 6-5 in season play, in a 54 to 32 victory securing Bowl eligibility. In all actuality, this game was a football fanatic’s dream. The seemingly outmatched Gators coming back to win after their largest point deficit of their season sustained in the 1^st quarter (22 Paladins-7 Gators); if this had been against an Alabama, LSU, or even a formidable out of conference opponent like Oregon or (Should I say it?) Boise State, this victory would have been cause for a much needed victory celebration in Gainesville. However, this game was undoubtedly a far cry from the outcome anticipated and expected by UF football fans. Given the Gator’s dismal conference record of 3-5 in the SEC, many Gator fans were looking to HC Will Muschamp, OC Charlie Weiss, and DC Dan Quinn to deliver a stellar performance against a seemingly “lesser” team. Furman came to the Swamp with a clear “David vs. Goliath” mentality, and after watching the game, it was strikingly clear that the Paladins had come to play some serious football.

The 1^st quarter began with the Paladins kicking off to the Gators, and a return to the 27 yd. line by Andre Debose. By the 6^th play of the initial drive, much to the dismay of Gator Fans, Chris Rainey was limping towards the sideline injured. After Rainey’s injury, Gator QB John Brantley got the ball to Freshman Hunter Joyer for a 4^th down conversion, earning the Gators a first down. Florida’s drive ended with a missed field goal attempt by Kicker Caleb Sturgis. Furman’s first drive was an unbelievable output of athleticism. Furman’s first snap was accompanied by a fantastic block that resulted in some great yardage, a precursor to what would be the Paladin’s first score of the game. In the end, the Paladin’s drove up the field for a total of 67 yards, but missed the extra point. The Gator’s next possession resulted in a return to the 50-yard line being called back half the distance to the goal. What ensued was a high snap to John Brantley, the ball ending up in the end zone and being recovered by the Paladins, resulting in a safety. With their newfound momentum, the Paladin’s continued to romp the Gators defense by completing a great pass and outflanking Gator Safety Josh Evans for a touchdown. Fortunately for Gator fans, Chris Rainey was put back into the game, apparently healthy again, to receive the kick off. After several relatively unfruitful plays, Brantley was able to complete a pass to Jordan Reed for the Gator’s first score of the game, and the extra point was good. The 1^st quarter closed with the Paladin’s out manning the Gators, driving 47 yards up the field resulting in a touchdown.

The 2^nd quarter began with some signs of life from the Florida Defense who forced Furman to punt to the Gators again. Florida’s offense seemed to come back alive with the Tight Ends making some huge plays resulting in a 65-yard drive and a Hunter Joyer touchdown. At the 6:40 mark, the Gator Defense seemed to be onboard with the recent success and completed the first Florida sack of the game, accomplished by J. Howard, removing Furman from field goal range and forcing them to punt. Florida took advantage of the team’s newfound confidence and rallied to score 7 more points on a catch made by Andre Debose. The Gator defense stopped the Paladins and forced a punt. The punt was blocked by Easley and recovered by the Gators at the 35-yard line. Brantley and the Gator offense made the scoreboard tick 7 more points in their favor with a 29 yard pass to Quinton Dunbar, giving the Gators their first lead of the game. Stopping the Paladins offense once more, Chris Rainey completed a 39-yard run placing Florida just outside of the Redzone. The Gators have been exceptionally unsuccessful in the Redzone this year. This fear was made apparent by several failed pass attempts leading to a 4^th down scenario, where Kicker Kaleb Sturgis missed another heart-breaking field goal.

Halftime Score: Gators – 27 (SEC)    Paladins – 22 (Southern)

The 3^rd quarter started with UF kicking off to Furman. The Paladins seemed to be unscathed by the success of Florida in the latter quarter and showed little respect for UF’s defense by converting on 4^th down. This lead to a drive up the field stopped by Tackle Matt Elam. Furman, facing a 4^th down, kicked a 23-yard field goal. With 7 minutes left in the quarter, Chris Rainey limped to the sidelines after a great Gator drive. The final outcome was Florida being in a 4^th down situation and, once more, calling upon Kaleb Sturgis to put points on the board. Kaleb managed to nail the 33-yard field goal. Florida and Furman battled it out for several more possessions, finally culminating into a score for the Gators via a magnificent catch by Andre Debose in the endzone. This moment of victory was short lived, because, with 40 seconds left on the clock, the Paladins answered, showing their true speed, with a 77-yard touchdown run, ending the 3^rd quarter.

Getting the football back in the 4^th quarter the Florida Gators showed that they controlled the gridiron. The Gator’s first drive resulted in a 55-yard field goal made by Kaleb Sturgis who was clearly seeking redemption for his earlier misses. Furman’s next possession resulted in an interception for a touchdown completed by Gator, De’Ante Saunders. Florida’s defense finally began accurately stopping Furman’s pass routes allowing UF to control the game. However, the success of the Florida defense was continuously inhibited by silly penalties. In fact, the Gators had a total of 6 penalties, for 60 lost yards by 7:40 in the 4^th quarter. The Paladins last stand was made at 7:37 in the 4^th quarter; Furman faced another 4^th down and decided to go for it. Their attempt was crushed by a 5-yard penalty, and the team was forced to punt. Florida finally sealed their hard fought victory when J. Jenkins intercepted a Paladins pass and ran for a touchdown. It wasn’t until there was only 1:30 left on the clock when Florida finally put their 2^nd string Quarterback, Jacoby Brissett. He only ran one legitimate play; his last, was the victory formation. The Furman Paladins fought a hard battle until the very end… however, in the end, the Florida Gators prevailed, exiting the Swamp with a much-needed victory. Perhaps this is the catalyst needed by the Gators to emerge victorious in next week’s game against their bitter rivals, The Florida State Seminoles.

FINAL SCORE:

FLORIDA GATORS (SEC) – 54

FURMAN PALADINS (SOUTHERN) – 32

Re-Cap Written By: Brian A. Arnett

The Florida Gators (5-5, 3-5 SEC) return home this week to face the Furman University Paladins ( 6-4, 3-5 SoCon). The last time these two schools met was in1990. Florida leads the series with a 6-2 record that dates all the way back to 1922.

It will be nice for the Gators to return home and play an opponent that they can actually defeat. According to Wikipedia Furman University only enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduates and 525 graduates. That is roughly the same size of a Macroeconomics class at the University of Florida. Needless to say, this game should be a cake walk and to be honest I’m kind of happy this game was scheduled for the week before we face out biggest rival, FSU. Hopefully the Gators will be able to put this game out of reach quickly so that some of the backups can get some much needed playing time and some of the starters can get some rest.

If the Gators offense struggles early, it will be safe to say that Charlie Weis should be put out of his misery and replaced. I know he hasn’t even been here for an entire season, however the offense’s production against real teams, has been pathetic. You may be able to put some blame on the offensive line, who by the way is atrocious, but that only goes so far. A great coach needs to adapt his offense to his personnel. He needs to create scenarios and situations for his playmakers and not rely on running a 5 foot 7 inch scat back up the middle.

We have some of the top recruits in the nation playing on our offense and Weis can’t seem to get them involved. Andre Debose was supposed to be the answer to losing Percy Harvin. Weis has done little to get him involved. Jordan Reed is a phenomenal athlete that stretches the field as a tight end. Last week was the first time he was truly targeted for more then two attempts. Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps should be spread all over the field. There breakaway speed is unmatched and they only truly excel when they get outside the tackles. However we continue to see the same poor performances.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed, praying as hard as I can, practicing Voodoo, sacrificing chickens and anything thing else I can think of to try and turn the Gators season around and win these last two games. Something has to give or else it will be Weis who will be giving, back his office that is so the new offensive coordinator can get going for 2012.

(note: no animals were harmed or sacrificed, I don’t practice Voodoo, and I don’t believe in crossing my fingers, except if it’s behind my back to get out of a promise to a friend)

Homecoming 2011! Win or lose we booze! 4-4 baby, Outback Bowl still a possibility? Ok, so one and half of those things sound great. The rest are just frightening. The Florida Gators have lost the last four consecutive games and all of them have come against SEC opponents. Florida hasn’t lost four in a row since 1988. But what about five in a row? We don’t want to know the answer to that one. With Vanderbilt coming into to the swamp, with the same record at 4-4, we better be victorious. This is a must win for Muschamp, cause quite honestly if we lose this game, he may internally combust on the sideline. This is a school that we have typically faired well against and have an 8-1-1 record when facing Vanderbilt during Homecoming.

The Gators come into this game with a chance for some redemption, however the road there won’t be easy this year. The Gator D has to contain Vanderbilt’s Quarterback Jordan Rodgers and  running back, Zac Stacy.  Over the last two games Rodgers has ran for 162 yards and thrown for 426 yards and two touchdowns. Stacy has rushed for 707 yards this year with an average of 7.3 yards per carry. It will be critical to contain Stacy, because if he starts breaking off 7 yard runs one after another, watch out, everything else will open up and the next thing you know we will be down by 14. Vanderbilt is ranked 50th in the nation in rushing yards averaging 167.6 per a game.

On the offensive side for the Gators, John Brantley has to get it going on offense. Last week was his first week back since his injury, so we can write some of that performance off to rust. But this week, no excuses. He has to bring back that early season Brantley who looked comfortable and poised in the pocket (“God…please don’t let that be an aberration or be due to the fact that the first four teams we played this year were terrible.). When the season first started i really thought that just maybe, just maybe two little scat-backs could lead this team to some victories. Unfortunately I was wrong. Its all about John Brantley. We saw this when he was out and our duo of freshman wonder boys managed to put on two of the worst offensive performances I’ve ever seen.

This game is critical. The Gators need to come away with a “W”. Hopefully that W stands for “Win” and not “WTF”

Oh Florida–Georgia weekend. How I remember those days and those sweet southern belles (Lady Bulldogs) that manage to wear black/red dresses all day long for a 3:30 game, and then continue to wear the same dresses that night after the game as well. It’s a wonderful sight and often quite amusing after several cocktails have been consumed. The annual battle between the Georgia Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1 SEC) and the Florida Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) is always set to take place the weekend before Halloween. Unfortunately, this match-up is a little bit less critical than both teams are used too as Florida isn’t even ranked in the top 25 and Georgia is towards the back at #22 . Nonetheless, it should be exciting. Both teams are coming back from a bye week and had some time to get healthy. We have been told that John Brantley will be making the start this weekend and is good to go. Thank God, because if we had to endure another offensive display like we witnessed during half of the Alabama game and all of the LSU and Auburn game, I may start trick or treating a day early.

Okay, so here is where my ADD kicks in…I love Halloween. It is a fun time for kids and adults. If you are a parent of a young child, then you are very lucky, because you get to witness something great during Halloween. A complete and utter shocking display of emotions that are all kick started by a sugar induced rage that usually ends with the kid passed out on the couch with a half eaten laffy taffy sticking out of their mouth and the dog licking their fingers hoping for an extra treat. It’s both amusing and frightening. How could something that small inhale so much sugar and not go into a coma or diabetic shock? How great it is to be young. Nonetheless, here is where we come back to football. Most Gator and Bulldog fans will be in similar positions Saturday night after a long day of consuming beverages and rooting for their teams. The only difference is it will be a half a piece of pizza hanging out of their mouth and a random person trying to lick the remnants of food from their stained clothing. Ok, I know that sounds totally creepy and weird, but if any one of you have been to a Florida/ Georgia Weekend in Jacksonville, you would agree that stranger and weirder things can happen.