1 » No. 1 Florida Gators and No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide are on top of the college football mountain – both literally and figuratively. While a meeting between the leaders of the East and West in the SEC Championship game seems inevitable, it is not the teams’ high-powered offenses that will take them there. Instead, it is defense that separates Florida and Alabama from the pretenders. Dave Curtis of the Sporting News may have put it best to Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated: “You know how in the NCAA tournament you have those years where the Final Four has two No. 1 seeds on one side and a four and a six on the other?” he said. “Well, if the Dec. 5 SEC Championship were a national semifinal, Florida and Alabama would be those dueling No. 1 seeds.”

2 » The Gators top-ranked defense has only given up 6.4 points per game, five less than their average last season. In fact, Florida’s defense is so dominant that its players may finally earn defensive coordinator Charlie Strong the head coaching gig he so richly deserves (and has for years). After I posted this, I came across a new article by the New York Times stating that a previously snubbed Strong is making a major case for himself. “It’s time for college football to make a statement,” writer Lenn Robbins says.

3 » With the LSU Tigers in the books as a 13-3 win, the Gators look ahead to the Arkansas Razorbacks next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in The Swamp. But before kickoff can commence, Florida’s annual Gator Growl homecoming event will be taking place Friday night. Featuring comedian Dana Carvey, band O.A.R. and dance group the JabbaWockeeZ, the largest student-run pep rally looks to be as entertaining as always. And if that wasn’t enough, former Gators star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel will be hosting the festivities instead of Albert and Alberta. 2009′s show theme is “Legends of the Swamp,” and the students plan to honor one of the best senior classes ever to run out onto Florida Field.

4 » It was not just the Gators that won on Saturday night as Florida Congressman Adam Putnam won a friendly bet with Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s First Congressional District. Putnam, a UF graduate, won a case of root beer produced by the Abita Brewing Company of Louisiana from Scalise, who would have received some of Florida’s Natural Orange Juice should LSU have been victorious.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Albert, Alberta, Arkansas Razorbacks, Charlie Strong, Danny Wuerffel, Florida Field, Gator Growl, Heisman Trophy, LSU Tigers, SEC, The Swamp

Each week following the conclusion of a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive will grade the team position-by-position on how it performed in that match-up. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the LSU Tigers in Death Valley.

QUARTERBACK: A
Tim Tebow was asked to tone it down and be a game manager, something that is not necessarily in his nature. Nevertheless, knowing the significance of the injury he came back from and the wishes of the coaching and medical staff, he did exactly that. An inexplicable interception late was Tebow’s only flaw on the night, and the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback made good throws when they were called.

RUNNING BACKS: A
No huge game-breaking runs from the Gators attack Saturday, but that is not something you can expect against the Tigers. Running back Jeff Demps was a madman, gaining 86 tough yards on 16 carries while Emmanuel Moody took some of the power rushing load off Tebow with six carries for 42 yards of his own. Moody showed up when he was needed the most, and that is what counts.

Continue Reading » Grading the No. 1 Florida Gators game at LSU

Tags: A.J. Jones, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Deonte Thompson, Emmanuel Moody, grading, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Jordan Jefferson, LSU Tigers, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » Sun Sports announced on Thursday that the Nov. 21 game between the No. 1 Florida Gators and FIU Panthers will be aired live on pay-per-view at 12:30 p.m. throughout the state of Florida. A taped presentation of the game will air that Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and the next Tuesday at 11 p.m. “Per Southeastern Conference television contracts, when an SEC team does not have its game selected for live TV by one of the SEC’s television partners (i.e. CBS, ESPN, SEC Network, etc.), it is permitted to offer that game live on a statewide basis on pay-per-view,” the University of Florida said in a release. Outside Florida, the game will be offered via ESPN GamePlan.

2 » Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy led the way for the No. 6/6 Florida Gators volleyball team (12-2, 6-1 SEC) as it defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-23, 25-15) Wednesday night live on ESPNU from Columbia, SC. Murphy had her NCAA-leading fourth triple-double of the season, outside hitters Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward combined for 36 kills and the Gators out-blocked the Gamecocks 12-5 in the victory. Florida returns to action Sunday in Baton Rouge, LA, following in the football team’s footsteps by taking on the LSU Tigers at 7 p.m. The match will also air live on ESPNU.

A little extra is no big deal » Associate head coach and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong forced his unit to watch tape of the 2007 Florida Gators vs. LSU Tigers game – the last time the teams played in Tiger Stadium. Seeing the defense painfully falter in the waning minutes provided extra motivation for the players this week.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Colleen Ward, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, volleyball