UGA's headache

The Florida D hounded Matthew Stafford all game long in Jacksonville on Saturday. Sacking him twice and forcing three picks. Here, Brandon Spikes and Terron Sanders make it a little harder for Stafford to see the field. Early in the game, the Gators hobbled Stafford, who was noticeably limping the rest of the way.

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.