The Florida Gators took the field wearing their orange helmets, orange jerseys and white pants. It was a look that is seen every now and then. It was something fresh and new. Hopefully a sign of things to come! John Brantley looked very comfortable in Charlie Weis’ pro-style offense. Completing 21 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown. He did throw two interceptions, although one of them really wasn’t his fault. For the most part he had a pretty solid game. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey were amazing. Demps rushed the ball 12 times and had 105 yards. He had two rushing touchdowns and had 21 yards receiving. Rainey had 79 yards rushing and 67 yards receiving. Rainey scored on a 14 yard run, had a 14 yard reception and a 22 yard return from a blocked punt. According to ESPN, Rainey is the third player to have a receiving touchdown, rushing touchdown, and a return for a touchdown since 1996. Florida’s offense had 468 total yards. That’s a pretty good start to the season!

On the other side of the ball is a similar story of domination. Will Muschamp’s defense was on a terror. They dominated the entire game and were missing one of their best defensive linemen. Shortly before game time it was announced the DT Shariff Floyd would be ineligible. That didn’t make a difference. The Gator defense finished with 11 tackles for a loss. Sophomore Ronald Powell and Senior Jaye Howard dominated the line of scrimmage and created havoc all night. FAU’s first four series were three and out. The Owls finished with 137 total yards of offense (30 rushing, 107 passing). The Gator defense needed the D line to step up and take pressure of the young secondary and that’s exactly what they did. The Gators started two true freshmen on defense, Pop Saunders at safety and cornerback Marcus Roberson. I’m sure they’ll be tested very soon.

Last night the Florida Gators did exactly what they couldn’t do last year; Score points in the first quarter. In 2010 the Gators didn’t score more than six points in the first quarter of six of their first seven games. Yesterday was a good start for Charlie Weis, Florida’s offensive coordinator. It was nice to see several different Florida receivers get in to the mix, with Jordan Reed, Frankie Hammond and Quinton Dunbar all playing a role.
This year’s team looks different, but a good different.

There is a new offense, a new head coach that exudes excitement and ferocity and a young group of Florida Gators that want to show the world they can compete. They will have that chance again next week when the Gators host UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7:00PM. If nothing else this year should be very exciting!

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The University of Florida will be opening up their 2011 season in Ben Hill Griffin stadium against Florida Atlantic University (FAU) at 7pm. And the first game under a brand new coach.

With a few new coaches and a new pro-style offense, the 22nd ranked Gators are looking to send out a message tomorrow to the entire country. Senior quarterback John Brantley (Sr.) will be in action using the new offense. Gator fans around the country are curious to see how it will work out. The reason I say this, is because he struggled a little bit last year but shifting to a pro-style offense might solve the problems he had with the spread style offense and hopefully he will feel a bit more comfortable. Brantley though has been battling a back injury throughout the past few weeks which has kept him sidelined but hopefully it will have no affect on his performance. If so, Jeff Driskel, the freshman beast will have to take over.

Looking on the defensive side for the Gators, they look pretty young this year. They have only two seniors starting on defense. Look for the young defense to be carried by their defensive line, which may be one of the best in the Southeastern Conferences (SEC). I mean look at who they have on the line: Jaye Howard (Sr.), Shariff Floyd (So.), Dominique Easley (So.) and Ronald Powell (So.), that’s brutal for their opponents.

College football fans are going to be in for such a surprise this season. Coach Mushcamp closed the spring practice for the first time so little information is floating around on how good the Gators wll actually be. Under former coach Urban Meyer and when Tim Tebow played, you could predict, but now its very different.

Lets take a look at FAU. They entire offensive line returns this year, however they lost their starting quarterback for the second consecutive season in a row. A plus is that Alfred Morris returns in the backfield for the Owls. Morris was the first back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Last year they were ranked 107th in the Nation averaging 16 points per game.

Just because its FAU and its the first game of the season, it doesn’t mean its going to be easy. Florida will have their hands full if they do not come out and act like they want to play. I don’t think Muschamp will let that happen though.

The Matchup: Florida Atlantic vs. No. 22 Florida

When: September 3, 2011

Where: Gainesville, Florida – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Game Time: 7:00 PM

TV: ESPNU

2011 University of Florida Football Schedule

Last Season John Brantley was all over the place. His confidence was
low, accuracy was off and his stats were not impressive, nine
touchdowns and ten interceptions. Most of the Gator faithful was
caught soul searching, asking themselves, Where is John Brantley, the
2006 Gatorade National Player of The Year and the guy who broke Tim
Tebow’s high school record for career touchdown passes (99)?  Well we
had the entire off-season to ask those questions and ponder the future
of our Florida quarterback. Some reports mentioned that Brantley was
considering transferring. Other reports discussed how Jeff Driskell,
the incoming phenom, would supplant Brantley as the first team
quarterback within the first couple of weeks of camp. And finally
there was the report of fans booing Brantley during his first public
appearance with the 2011 squad. Needless to say all of those things
are in the past. What’s important now, is “His swag, his confidence is
just higher than it’s been the past couple of years,” wide receiver
Deonte Thompson said.

As soon as Charlie Weis stepped into the role of Offensive Coordinator
for the Florida Gators, there was excitement surrounding the program.
Lets be honest, its pretty easy to recall Weis’ head coaching stint at
Notre Dame and wasn’t pretty. But don’t forget that this is the coach
that is responsible for bringing Tom Brady into the limelight and
several other prominent NFL quarterbacks. This is the man that won
three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. And this is a man
that knows football and offense. With that being said, Charlie Weis
has begun to instill confidence in John Brantley and turn him back
into the player he was in high school. “I learn something new everyday
in that film room” says Brantley, “It will be the same play, but he’ll
pick out something new to teach us with and that’s what makes it
interesting and fun to go in there and keep learning.” As you can see,
Brantley is learning, adjusting and getting better everyday. With Weis
at the forefront of his Brantley’s fresh new start, Gator fans should
be excited as the 2011 season rolls in.

The Florida Gators are fortunate to have 2 of the most prominent and prolific running backs in the country on the same side of the ball in Jeff Demps & Chris Rainey. Since the 2007 season, Demps & Rainey have coincidentally averaged a staggering 7.1 yards per carry! Demps, a track champion runs a sub 10 second 100 meters, an exclusive club among worldwide track champions. Rainey is close with an unofficial 10.4. The 2 players are truly considered half backs and are high on draft boards for the 2012 NFL draft. Both players changed their numbers this off-season, Demps from 2 to 28 and Rainey from 3 to 1. Demps currently has a higher total career yards at UF with 2,601 total yards, while Rainey has earned a respectable 2,497 total yards.

In Weis’s pro style offense, the 2 will line up further back from the line of scrimmage in the new Gator pro style offense. Most people think that the 2011 Gators will be run first, pass second, Brantley scramble for his life third.

Will Muschamp, the new Florida Gator football head coach, comes to Gainesville most recently from the University of Texas where he served as defensive coordinator & linebacker coach from 2008-2010. In 2009, he led the Texas defense to the Fiesta Bowl and in 2o10 the Longhorns played in the BCS National Championship game. Prior to coaching at Texas, Muschamp coached at Auburn, Miami (Dolphins- NFL), LSU, Valdosta State, Eastern Kentucky, & West Georgia.

Muschamp is now the 2nd youngest coach in the SEC  at 39 years old (Dan Mullen – Miss. State – 38). Over 20 years ago, Muschamp visited UF with the hopes of walking onto the football team, he instead ended up redshirting at Georgia, later receiving a scholarship from the Bulldogs. At his high school, Will lettered in football, basketball, track and baseball (quite a feat). Muschamp now lives in Gainesville with his wife Carol, and 2 sons, Jackson & Whit.