2 » After starting the 2009 campaign 8-0 including wins over the Florida State Seminoles and then-No. 2 Michigan State Spartans, the Florida basketball team rose to No. 10/11 in the AP and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls, respectively. Consecutive losses to the No. 5/5 Syracuse Orange and unranked Richmond Spiders (both at neutral sites) have since dropped the Gators down to a No. 18 ranking in both polls. Florida has returned home to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and will take on the South Alabama Jaguars Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 88,548]
Time: 3:30 p.m. (EST)
Weather Forecast: 60°F – Partly Sunny

TV: CBS / CBSHD
Online: CBSSports.com.
Sirius: 218; XM: 201

Odds: Florida -24.5, O/U 56
Head-to-Head Stats: Gainesville Sun

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Florida’s 2009 senior class…who set the Southeastern Conference record for winningest class with their 46th win last Saturday and will be honored on Senior Day. 25 seniors will be playing their last game in The Swamp, and the University of Florida has set aside 10 minutes prior to the game to recognize each player.
- Senior quarterback Tim Tebow…who has already broken the SEC rushing touchdown record (Herschel Walker, Georgia) and touchdowns-scored record (Kevin Faulk, LSU) with 54, set the SEC career record for rushing yards by a QB with 2,743 and has a 169.3 career rating good for No. 1 in conference history.
- Senior defensive end Jermaine Cunningham…who leads the team with seven sacks.
- Senior linebacker Ryan Stamper…who is tops on the Gators with 64 tackles.
- Senior kick returner Brandon James…who set the SEC record for kickoff return yards last week with 2,538 yards on 105 returns. He has also set the SEC all-time kick return mark (combined) with 3,930 yards and all-time punt return mark with 1,339 yards.

STREAKS:
- The Gators are in the middle of the longest winning streak in school history with 21 consecutive victories. They also hold the longest active winning streak in the NCAA and the best in the nation in the last 15 years. 20 of Florida’s 21 wins have been by a double digit margin. The team is also 11-0 for the second time in school history.
- The Gators lead the SEC in rushing offense (229.9) and third-down efficiency (.475). They also come in No. 2 in total offense (442.8) and scoring offense (36.5). Florida’s offense is one of two teams nationally that has posted at least 2,500 rushing yards and 2,300 passing yards (TCU).
- On defense, the Gators have only surrendered ten touchdowns all season (fewest of any team in the nation). The unit has also only allowed 13 field goals for a total of 108 points (9.8 points per game) – this also leads the nation.
- Florida has held three straight opponents and seven this season under 100 yards rushing.
- The Gators lead the all-time series against the Seminoles 32-19-2 with a 19-8-1 record in Gainesville, FL. UF has also won the last five consecutive meetings between the schools with a 90-27 combined margin of victory over that time span.

SENIORS:
The Gators 2009 senior class is the winningest class in SEC history with a 46-6 record in their time in the Orange and Blue. However, that is not the only accomplishment the class has made in the last four years. The senior class has:

Three All-Americans – Five All-SEC Members – 12 SEC Academic Honor Roll Members – Two SEC Championships – Three SEC Eastern Division titles – Two National Championships – 27-5 SEC record – 25-2 record at The Swamp – 14-3 (.823) vs. ranked teams, the top winning pct. for a UF senior class – 11-1 vs. rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State and Miami) – National Defensive POY – Heisman Trophy Winner

* Markihe Anderson – #14 – CB – Fort Myers, Fla.
* Jim Barrie – #68 – OL – Tampa, Fla.
* Andrew Blaylock – #14 – QB – Durham, N.C.
* Rick Burgess – #48 – FB – Jupiter, Fla.
* Christopher Coleman – #84 – TE – Lake City, Fla.
* Riley Cooper – #11 – WR – Clearwater, Fla.
* Dustin Doe – #32 – LB – Jasper, Fla.
* Jermaine Cunningham – #49 – DE – Stone Mountain, Ga.
* Troy Epps – #98 – DT – Union, S.C.
* John Fairbanks – #59 – LS – Celebration, Fla.
* Michael Guilford – #46 – QB – Quincy, Fla.
* Corey Hobbs – #79 – OL – Oviedo, Fla.
* Cade Holliday – #22 – WR – Gainesville, Fla.
* Brandon James – #25 – ATH – St. Augustine, Fla.
* Dorian Munroe – #20 – S – Miami, Fla.
* David Nelson – #83 – WR – Wichita Falls, Texas
* Jonathan Phillips – #38 – K – Wellington, Fla.
* Wondy Pierre-Louis – #4 – CB – Naples, Fla.
* Chris Pintado – #30 – LB – Miami, Fla.
* Christopher Scott – #29 – RB – Englewood, Fla.
* Joey Sorrentino – #39 – WR – Ocala, Fla.
* Brandon Spikes – #51 – LB – Shelby, N.C.
* Ryan Stamper – #41 – LB – Jacksonville, Fla.
* Tim Tebow – #15 – QB – Jacksonville, Fla.
* Mike Williamson – #53 – LS – Winter Park, Fla.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. FSU Seminoles preview after the jump…

QUARTERBACKS: A+
While his 17-of-25 completion numbers do leave something to be desired, it is tough to dock any points from senior Tim Tebow for his performance on Saturday. Piling up 102 yards on the ground including a career-long 55-yard touchdown run as well as 215 yards and two more touchdowns through the air, Tebow was his old self. Then again, he was playing against FIU. More impressive on Saturday was redshirt sophomore back-up John Brantley, who went 9-for-13 for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Tebow and Brantley combined to spread the ball around to nine receivers, seven of whom had more than one catch on the day.

RUNNING BACKS: B
Redshirt junior transfer Emmanuel Moody sat out the game, though his classmate Christopher Scott got to see action late in the game. Sophomore Jeff Demps and redshirt sophmore Chris Rainey started. Even so, there were only 22 carries dished out between the three, with Demps getting nine for 46 yards (5.1 average), Rainey taking four for 30 yards and a touchdown (7.5 average) and Scott running nine for 26 yards (2.9 average). Rainey, however, added 61 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. Nothing too impressive or surprising overall against a porous FIU defense.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the FIU game after the jump…

WIDE RECEIVERS: A-
Probably the best day for the Florida pass catchers this season, nine Gators caught balls from Tebow and Brantley, eight of whom are listed as receivers. Redshirt sophomore Deonte Thompson led the way with both five receptions and 66 yards, while redshirt freshman Omarius Hines proved he can hold his own with four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Others contributors included seniors Riley Cooper (48 yards, TD) and David Nelson (45 yards), redshirt freshman Frankie Hammond, Jr. (38 yards, TD) and redshirt junior Justin Williams (16 yards, TD).

TIGHT ENDS: F
“F” is for failure, and junior tight end Aaron Hernandez failed in head coach Urban Meyer‘s eyes. Hernandez did something get a cage in Meyer’s doghouse, and I believe he did not even step foot on the field until the second quarter. There is no other grade to give someone who barely played and had no impact on the game whatsoever.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
Neither Tebow nor Brantley was a victim of a sack, freshman left tackle Xavier Nixon looked solid and the line as a whole played quite well. Redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson (ankle) and junior center Maurkice Pouncey (leg) were both dinged up in the game but are expected to be ready for the Florida State Seminoles.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A-
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jaye Howard led the way for the Florida defense with seven tackles while the entire line held FIU’s rushing game to 53 total yards on 30 attempts. Howard shared a sack with redshirt junior DT Lawrence Marsh as the line paved the way for three total sacks on Golden Panthers’ QB Paul McCall who finished 9-of-21 on the day.

LINEBACKERS: A
Another dominating performance for the linebackers began with a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior Brandon Spikes on the first series of the game. Spikes added five tackles, while fellow seniors Dustin Doe (five tackles, sack) and Ryan Stamper (three tackles, sack) both had good games as well. Redshirt junior A.J. Jones went down with an MCL injury, but junior Brandon Hicks filled in admirably and will for the foreseeable future.

SECONDARY: A-
You may not have seen the secondary much on Saturday, but they were there doing their job by limiting McCall to an under-50 percent completion percentage. To be fair and balanced, though, FIU receivers did beat coverage a few times. On these instances, McCall was either pressured to throw the ball away or simply overthrew the route. Good performance by this unit, but nothing too spectacular one way or another.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Junior punter Chas Henry did not step on the field Saturday. Normally, his presence alone would have been enough to save this unit from OGGOA grading hell – not this time. Sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 53-yard field goal (his only attempt) and redshirt senior Jonathan Phillips had an extra point blocked (also his only attempt). That marks four consecutive missed field goals for Sturgis, three of which were from beyond 50 yards. While you cannot expect a kicker to nail every 50+ yarder, Sturgis had Gators fans expecting as much from his prior performances. He now has fans expecting the worst and must have a Chris Hetland-like renewal to get back in Meyer’s good graces. Senior kick returner Brandon James continued to be lackluster in his duties, earning a total of 25 yards on four punts and 53 yards on two kickoffs… vs. FIU.

COACHING: A
The team was prepared, the ball was spread around, the reserves got plenty of time on the field and injured players were rested. There is not much more you can ask for from the coaches. One has to assume plenty of time was spent game planning for FSU this week, meaning the staff used their time wisely.

OVERALL: B+
The Gators won the game, covered the spread and scored 62 points while only allowing three. Nevertheless, the performance was not perfect and left much to be desired on a few fronts. When evaluating a team of Florida’s caliber against a lesser opponent, you have to grade on a scale. The Gators did exactly what they needed to do – win and move on to the Seminoles.