Florida - S.O.W. Preview

It's time for the annual Florida - Florida St. game. Thanks to both schools victories over Miami earlier in the season, this will be a true battler for the esteemed Seminole War Canoe trophy.

Finally, FSU is playing with a full roster and no suspensions. Unfortunately for them, this Gators team is possibly playing the best football in the history of the Florida program. Florida St. D's may actually be talented enough to keep up with the Gators on Saturday. Then again, we said the same thing about South Carolina.....



5 Keys to a Gator Victory


1. Score Early.

Florida has been absolutely dominant in the first half of their recent ball games. Playing in a hostile environment like Doak Campbell, it will be all that more important to get out in front early and shut the FSU faithful up. I don't know how effective scoring early will be at quieting the crowd though. I've seen FSU fans do their stupid little spelling thing after their team just picked up a first down in the fourth quarter of a 45-12 losing effort!



2. Instill Fear With Tebow.

Last year, the Seminoles seemed to give up once Tebow started running wild. I'd like to see if a feeling of deja vu came over the FSU D if Tebow started to repeat last season's performance. With all the NFL talk lately, this may be Tebow's last shot at FSU. You know he'll be fired up for this one!








3. Run Percy Harvin

Before there was Geno Hayes calling out Tebow only to get steamrolled. There was Myron Rolle calling out Percy Harvin only to get run right by. Two years ago, Rolle sated that Harvin didn't scare anybody on their D. He also said something to the effect that once he caught Harvin he would lay the wood on him. Harvin responded with something like Rolle couldn't catch him anyway so he wasn't too worried about it. Of course Harvin was correct. I wonder if FSU players are sick of eating crow?




4. DB's Make A Play

You bet your ass that's a picture of Avery Atkins making a play against the 'Noles. That happened to be the best game of Atkins' life. Someone from the Gators' secondary is gonna have to play that type of game on Saturday. Our cornerbacks are tiny compared to FSU's receivers, although that wasn't much of a problem against Georgia. Ahmad Black could be the key in our secondary. It would be a long day for the Noles offense if our secondary provided support for Mr. Spikes and company.






5. Invite UF's chapter of Phi Beta Sigma to Tally

Imagine if you will. You're a Florida St. receiver. You're running your route, hoping Ponder looks your way. Out of your ear hole you hear a blood curdling sound, "SIGMA!!! YOU KNOW!!!!". You immediately turn your head to see this:





You immediately give up on the play and charge into the stands to "take care of ya buness."


5 Players that need to step up


1. Louis Murphy - Murphy had a huge game last season. Plus he's a senior this year. Dallas Baker and Bubba Caldwell both had big games against the Seminoles in their final season. Time for Murphy to continue that tradition.

2. Percy Harvin - I expect Harvin to come close to the 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving feat again. He'll probably be the go to guy out of the backfield, and I look for Tebow to throw to him more often than not.

3. Joe Haden - Haden will probably draw the assignment of Greg Carr this weekend. Carr has Haden dominated size wise. However, Haden is a rockstar, and if he plays like the ALL-SEC corner that he should be, Carr should be shut down.

4. Will Hill - With every game that asses, Will Hill sees more and more playing time. This can only be a good thing as Hill is a bona fide superstar. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a pick this weekend.

5. Emmanuel Moody - Of course I had to put Moody on this list. He finally got over 100 yards last week. Albeit against 1-aa Citadel.


Here's some highlights from last seasons beatdown to wet your whistle.




Here's what some Florida and Florida St. fans are saying about the game over at Topix. It's amazing how some Nole fans are trying to play the character card. Really??? Florida St. Fan??? Character???? Wow, they get one bright light (Rolle) and all of a sudden they're the Ivy League of the South.


My prediction

Florida - 48

Florida St. - 15 (All Gano field goals.)

The Clincher!

The Gators clinched the SEC with their 42-14 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores last night. The game was over at the half with the Gators leading 35-0. Also of importance, Penn St. lost to Iowa before the Gators even hit the field. This ensures that an overrated Big Eleven team will not make the title game for the third straight season. Now, if the Gators take care of business for the rest of the season, they should earn a trip to the BCS National Championship.

Tebow also climbed back into the thick of the Heisman race last night. His 5 touchdown performance was the latest in a string of dominant efforts put together by the QB since his guarantee after the Ole Miss game.

Here's some highlights from Gator Gameday:






Player Stats

Passing
Tim Tebow 12-17 171 yards 3 tds
John Brantley 3-4 20 yards 1 int


Rushing
Tim Tebow 11 88 yards 2 tds
Percy Harvin 9 60 yards 1 td
Emmanuel Moody 7 48 yards
Chris Rainey 5 27 yards
Jeff Demps 4 19 yards


Receiving
Carl Moore 4 recs 31 yards
Louis Murphy 3 recs 39 yards 1 td
Percy Harvin 3 recs 32 yards
Aaron Hernandez 2 recs 23 yards
David Nelson 1 rec 41 yards 1 td
Deonte Thompson 1 rec 14 yards
Riley Cooper 1 rec 11 yards 1 td


Interceptions
Ahmad Black 1 int 0 yards


Tackles
Brandon Spikes 7
Ryan Stamper 7
Joe Haden 6
Major Wright 6
Will Hill 5



Player of the Game


Tim Tebow - QB, Bulldozer, Heisman Candidate

Timmy accounted for five Gator touchdowns against the Dores. His two touchdown runs were probably two of the better runs of his career. His 26 yards scamper in the first quarter was the play of the game. Timmy helped to put this game away by halftime. I was extremely impressed with the Gifted One's pocket presence as well. Vandy has been known to provide a lot of pressure on opposing QB's. I thought Tebow handled the pressure well to deliver another great game.

Florida-Vandy Preview

For some strange reason, I have never really done a preview for a Gators game. Last week, I mentioned a few players that needed to step up in the WLOCP, and as usual I was absolutely correct.

So I figure, why not do a preview from here on out? Here's this week's look to the historic Gators v. Vandy match-up.

Enjoy!

5 keys to a Gator Victory:

1. Show up.

I know the Dores are playing better than usual this season, but it's still freakin' Vanderbilt. Somehow, Vandy always seems to manage a way to give the Gators all kinds of problems. With the exception of last year's blow-out, this series has had a string of way too close games. With no real threat at the QB position, I think it will be pretty hard for Vandy to muster that kind of game once again. Then again, some strange things have happened in Nashville this season.

2. Avoid D.J. Moore

This guy is easily the best player on Vanderbilt's squad. He only has 3 picks this season, but that's mostly due to the fact that no QB in their right mind would throw the ball his way. He is the true definition of playmaker that should take away one side of the field on Saturday. Moore is also dangerous in the kick return game, so that's something else the Gators should be wary of.

3. Cuss like a sailor.

Bobby Johnson really hates curse words. Maybe if Louis Murphy dropped an F-bomb while running a go route along the sideline, he could seriously infuriate CBJ. Unless, of course, he thought Murphy was simply sending a shout-out to Vandy's TE. This could possibly lead to a Vandy coach/UF player throwdown, the likes of which we've never seen.

Well, almost never......

4. Give Moody the damn ball!

Supposedly, Manny is ready to go all out this week after coming off of an injury. Georgia fans know how healthy Moody is right now. He ran the ball 7 times for 73 yards against the Dawgs last week in his first game back from an ankle injury. I have been the biggest proponent all season long of Moody carrying the rock. Demps and Rainey should get good yardage due to their speed, but we need to start using Manny as a change of pace back more frequently.

5. Don't look ahead.

The OBC brings his Fighting Cocks to the Swamp next week. Looking ahead to that match up is probably the biggest challenge the Gators will face this week. Fortunately for us, we have Timothy the Great taking snaps, and I don't see him allowing this team to look ahead. We just need to gt to Nashville and take care of some business. Also, with a berth in the SEC title game on the line, I doubt Meyer and the rest of the coaching staff will really have any difficulty getting this team pumped up.

5 Gator players that need to step up:

1. Brandon James - The Gators D has played so good recently, that James hasn't been able to return that many kicks. BJ needs to make the most of his opportunities this week both in the kicking and running game.

2. Emmanuel Moody - I've already stressed the importance of Manny this week.

3. Markihe Anderson - The Gators are a CB short this week. Granted Jacques Rickerson didn't see the field all that much. Nonetheless, his departure means the rest of the secondary needs to put in a little extra work.

4. Louis Murphy - Aside from enticing a riot with his profanities, Murphy needs to play an important role in the passing game. His play becomes all the more important if the Dores play D.J. Moore on Percy Harvin all game long.

5. The Pouncey Boys - Vandy is very solid up front defensively. The Florida O-line, anchored by the Pounceys, will have to continue their run of great games to keep Tebow out of pressure.

Here's some Vandy fans perspective on the game.

My Prediction:

Florida 35

Vandy 13

Everything is back to normal

After last year's aberration, the Gators have resumed control of the WLOCP. I don't know if the celebration last year meant anything for last night. All I know is the Florida Gator football team hosted a nice little shindig for 3 1/2 hours on Saturday.

Tim Tebow threw his name back into the Heisman race after after an impressive 5 touchdown performance against the Dawgs. Those td's included 2 passing and 3 rushing. Percy Harvin was Percy Harvin once again as he caught a touchdown pass and ran for another one.

Despite the 49 points the seemingly unstoppable Gator offense put on the board, it was the Florida D that paved the way for victory. The Gators' defense held Mr. Moreno to only 65 rushing yards last night. This is the same man who had his coming out party against the Gators to the tune of 188 yards the previous season. The D also picked off the supposedly better passer in the game, Matthew Stafford, 3 times. Joe Haden, Ahmad Black and Dustin Doe all recorded an interception.

Earlier in the week, I listed a few Gators that were poised to step up this week. I'm glad to report that all of them, for the most part, had a big game against UGA. Terron Sanders recorded a sack and returned a fumble to the Georgia 9; Emmanuel Moody came in late to rush for 71 yards; Louis Murphy caught a long touchdown pass that helped break the game wide open; and Joe Haden provided perhaps the play of the game by picking off Stafford and running it all the way back to the 9.

Here are the stats for the super bad ass Florida Gators:


Passing
Tim Tebow 10-13 154 yards 2 tds
John Brantley 3-4 34 yards 1 tds


Rushing
Emmanuel Moody 7 71 yards
Tim Tebow 12 39 yards 3 tds
Percy Harvin 4 37 yards 1 td
Jeff Demps 7 19 yards
Chris Rainey 6 11 yards
John Brantley 1 6 yards
Brandon James 1 2 yards


Receiving
Percy Harvin 3 recs 52 yards 1 td
Deonte Thompson 3 recs 34 yards 1 td
Riley Cooper 2 recs 22 yards
Jeff Demps 2 recs 8 yards
Louis Murphy 1 rec 44 yards 1 td
Aaron Hernandez 1 rec 18 yards
Tate Casey 1 rec 10 yards


Tackles
Joe Haden 10
Brandon Spikes 7
Will Hill 5
Major Wright 5

Interceptions
Joe Haden 1 88 yards
Ahmad Black 1 64 yards
Dustin Doe 1 0 yards


Sacks
Carlos Dunlap 1
Brandon Spikes .5
Jermaine Cunningham .5


Player of the Game

Joe Haden - CB, Rockstar, Ears O' Plenty

Haden heeded my advice and stepped up in a major way against the Dawgs. Haden pick and subsequent return was the absolute biggest play of the game. Haden showed his athletic ability on the run back that allowed him to get all the way down to the 1 yard line, setting up a Tebow td run. Joey was also the only Gator to record double digit tackles in the game. I'm really liking Haden and Janoris Jenkins patrolling the corners for this D.

Time to step up!

Here's a group of Gators (not named Tebow or Harvin) that need to step their game up this weekend against the Dawgs. If we can just get a couple of these guys to produce on Saturday we should reclaim the WLOCP.




Joe Haden - CB

Up until this point, true freshman Janoris Jenkins has outplayed Haden at the corner position. Rockstar did come through last week with a couple of near interceptions, but he is not playing up to his ability. I still think Haden has the ability to be an All-SEC type player. Perhaps a breakout game against UGA will get him on track.

Brandon James -RS

Brandon James was easily the Gators' MVP during the earlier part of this season. After the Ole Miss game, however James hasn't had an outstanding game. Winning the position battle against Georgia will go a long way for the Gators on Saturday. If James can return to his early season form, the Gators could possibly dominate.

Louis Murphy - WR

I don't really think it's Murphy's fault that he's not having that great of a season. Personally, I think Tebow locks on to Harvin way too much. If Timmy can stop undressing Percy for one second and through a god damn fly route to Murphy, I would be satisfied.

Terron Sanders - DT

Knowshon Moreno is gonna get his on Saturday. There's really nothing the Gators can do to stop him. The key to the game defensively for Florida will be getting pressure on Matthew Stafford. I really like the way Sanders has come on as of late. I look for him to continue that trend and provide some pressure up the middle. It doesn't hurt that ends Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham will be getting double teams all game long.

Emmanuel Moody -RB

Even with the emergence of Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey, I still believe Moody is the best all around back we have. The Dawgs have a very speedy linebacker corps. Demps and Rainey might not get the chance to reach the second level too often. This game could be a trademark moment for Moody. I have never seen Moody go down after first contact. Those extra yards will be huge this weekend.