Saturday’s game against Alabama will be one of the toughest match-ups for the Gators all year. Alabama is coming of an impressive victory over Arkansas last week, which was led by one of the most talented running backs in the league, Trent Richardson. Richardson torched the Razorback Defense for 126 yards on 17 carries and 85 yards receiving on 3 receptions. Alabama will look to establish the run early and it will be up to the Gator defensive line to bring their “A’ game if they want to stay in this ball game. If Trent Richardson is allowed to run wild, the Gator Nation will be in for a long evening. However, most football games are never just one sided. The Gators offense is led by one of the best backfields in college Football. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey have totaled 731 rushing yards (7.5 yards per a carry) and 6 touchdowns. With those statistics and the way Demps and Rainey have been playing, I can share the same sentiment with the Crimson Tide as I did for the Gators a couple of sentences above. If Demps and Rainey are allowed to run wild, the Crimson Tide will be in for a long evening. The Crimson Tide averages 456 yards per a game and the Gators average 461.8 yards per a game. In reality, it is up to the defenses to decide the outcome of this game.

Alabama’s defense is ranked nationally in three separate categories. The Crimson Tide is 2^nd in total defense, 3^rd in rushing defense and 2^nd in scoring defense. However the rankings aren’t one sided. Florida’s defense is ranked nationally in the same three categories. The Gators are 5^th in total defense, 5^th in rushing defense and 4^th in scoring defense. The Gators are led by Linebackers Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins, however it is the Gators defensive line that really needs to step up this game. Jaye Howard, Ronald Powell, Omar Hunter, Sharif Floyd, and several others all need to come to play. They will be the deciding factor in this game.

The Matchup: No. 12 Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) vs. No. 3 Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

When: October 1, 2011

Where: Gainesville, Florida – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Game Time: 8:00 PM

TV: CBS

Radio: Sirius 220 / XM 199

The Florida Gators (4–0, 2-0 SEC) didn’t look so good on the first offensive series of the game. They went 3 and out. Thankfully that was the only time the. For the rest of the game the Gators dominated with one big play after another on both sides of the ball. The Gators defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 48 – 10. The Gators first score of the night came off of a perfectly thrown ball to tight end Gerald Christian to put the Gators up 7 – 0. It was a 45-yard touchdown strike and the first for Gerald Christian. John Brantley played efficiently the entire game managing 8 – 14 completions, 115 yards passing and 1 touchdown. But Brantley isn’t the story of this game, senior running backs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps are.  Demps finished the game with 10 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns. More than half of his yards came from an 84-yard sprint into the end zone. Chris Rainey finished the game with 15 carries for 105 yards. The Gator offense tallied over 400 yards rushing, the most rushing yards for a Florida team since Emmitt Smith was on the roster. Coach Muschamp summed it up rather poignantly. “We have that quick strike ability to flip the field and score…all those things are deflating to a (opposing) team).”

The offense can’t get all of the credit though. It was the Florida defense that recorded four turnovers (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles). Although the Wildcats did manage to edge out the Gators in the amount of time they held on to the ball, it didn’t seem to help. The gators front line controlled the game for the most part, although it was the young Gator secondary that really did some damage. They held Kentucky’s Morgan Newton (QB – Jr.) to 124 yards passing, and two interceptions. Newton did throw a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter which should have been called back for offensive pass interference as the receiver clearly pushed off.

Overall, it was a great victory for the Gators and their 35^th consecutive win over the Wildcats. However the Gators aren’t getting caught up with this victory. According to some of the postgame interviews, The Gators are well aware of who their next opponent is.

Florida Hosts Alabama next week at home and is looking forward to a rematch of last years defeat (Alabama 31 Florida 6).  Florida Coach Will Muschamp summed it up after getting asked several questions on how talented Alabama is; “We just worry about Florida…At the end of the day, we’re going to take care of the University of Florida. We’re going to be fine versus everybody we play. Starting with Alabama.”

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.

This Saturday the Florida Gators will host the UAB Blazers (University of Alabama-Birmingham) in the Swamp. The Gators are coming off of a 41 – 3 victory over FAU in week one which looked impressive. The NCAA recently published their first week power rankings and the Florida Gators are number one. Let me first say that these rankings are solely based on statistics and in no way does these rankings assure another Florida Gator Championship. However, it is nice to see the Florida Defense stepping it up as one of the major factors in this ranking was due ton their performance last Saturday. I will take holding a team to 28 yards rushing every week. It just goes to show you how dominant our front line is, even without one of their biggest play makers (Shariff Floyd, So.) available. Unfortunately the NCAA is investigating Floyd for recruiting violations and they have determined that he will miss a second consecutive game. Look for the defensive line to have an impressive performance against UAB this week. 

The Blazers are opening their season against the Florida Gators and look to improve on their 4 – 8 record in 2010. The Blazers will be playing in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the second time in ten years. They opened their 2002 season in Gainesville. UAB has one of the most experienced offensive lines in college football boasting a combined 118 starts. It will be nice to see how the Florida D- line handles the experience of UAB.  

The Matchup: No. 18 Florida vs. UAB

When: September 10, 2011.

Where: Gainesville, Florida – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Game Time: 7:00 PM

TV: Fox Sports Florida / FS South

Radio: Sirius 220 / XM 199

The Florida Gators jumped 4 spots, from No. 22 to No. 18 on Tuesday in the Associated Press Top 25. Florida wasn’t the only SEC team to make a significant jump. Mississippi State Bulldogs jumped four spots as well from No. 20 to No. 16 (good for Dan Mullen). There were four additional SEC teams that are in the top 25. LSU jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 after they thrashed the Oregon Ducks 40-27. Alabama dropped from No. 2 to No. 3. South Carolina and Arkansas didn’t move in the poll and stayed at No. 12 and No. 14. Two SEC teams ended up being ousted out of the AP Top 25. Georgia and Auburn were dropped from the group after their poor performances. Auburn needed a last minute onside kick and a touchdown to squeak out a victory over Utah State, clearly showing that they are not the same championship team as last year. Georgia lost to No. 4 Boise State 35 – 21, which jumped from No. 5 following their victory.

Yes, it is just week 2 and the Gators only beat FAU. However it is a good start and we witnessed some great strides during that season opener. Looking forward to UAB. GO GATORS!!