1 » One reason for senior quarterback Tim Tebow’s struggles? A porous Florida Gators offensive line. Tebow has taken 21 sacks on the season, eight more than he did in 2007 and six more than 2008…and he still has five games left to play. Some of that can be blamed on Tebow holding on to the ball too long, but the majority of the fault falls on the men supposed to be protecting the Heisman Trophy winner. “We don’t take pride in giving up sacks,” redshirt junior left tackle Carl Johnson said. “We try our best to protect him, try our best to make sure he has time in the pocket. Teams are just blitzing a lot – sometimes they bring more than we actually can protect.” Could offensive line coach and new offensive coordinator Steve Addazio be in over his head? It is a common theme going around, even if players and coaches don’t admit it.

2 » While everyone is going seemingly off the deep end about Florida’s offensive struggles, I took a minute and checked out the nine wins so far this season. Here are the margins of victory: 59, 50, 10, 34, 10, 3, 10, 34, 24. Now look at the numbers through the first nine games in 2006: 27, 42, 1, 19, 15, 13, -10, 7, 6. Not counting the preseason non-conference games, the Gators are averaging a 17.4-point margin of victory in 2009 compared to 7.3 in 2006. Now obviously one team is coming off a National Championship season while another was trying to find its footing for much of the year. But in comparing the two teams, which has been done defensively all season, you see a group that has won by double digits in every game they have played except for the squeaker against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Not bad.

3 » No. 9/11 Florida volleyball (20-3, 14-2 SEC) continues to roll in Southeastern Conference play, sweeping the Auburn Tigers (14-12, 6-9 SEC) 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-13) on Sunday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Sophomore outside hitters Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward combined for 22 kills and 15 digs as the Gators went on to score their 20th win of the season. It has swept eight straight SEC opponents and next faces the LSU Tigers on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The match will air on Sun Sports.

4 » Gators tennis had a busy weekend, but nobody played better than junior Alexandre Lacroix, who won the singles consolation final at the ITA National Indoor Championships on Sunday. Lacroix, the No. 23 player in the nation, defeated No. 46 Ed Corrie of the Texas Longhorns in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Now that the fall season is complete, tennis will next play in mid-January at the SEC Indoors.

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Carl Johnson, Colleen Ward, Ed Corrie, ITA National Indoor CHampionships, Kristy Jaeckel, LSU Tigers, O'Connell Center, SEC, SEC Indoors, Steve Addazio, tennis, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow, volleyball

Friday was a tale of two outcomes for University of Florida sports teams, with soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and volleyball all in action across the country. The most important game of the day was No. 8 Florida Gators soccer (15-5-2, 8-1-2 SEC) taking on No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (17-3-1, 7-3-1 SEC) in the semifinal round of the Southeastern Conference Championship Tournament in Orange Beach, AL.

After winning the regular season and defeating the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round, the Gators fell 1-0 to the Gamecocks. Ironically enough, Florida defeated South Carolina 3-0 one week ago in Gainesville, FL, to clinch the SEC regular season title. The Gamecocks scored their lone deciding goal off of a penalty kick at 10:36 in the first half, the first to be successfully scored against the Gators all season.

Also in action were players from the school’s tennis teams. Freshman Allie Will dropped a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision to Pichittra Thongbach of the Boise State Broncos in the round of 16 at the ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships. Considered the second leg of the collegiate Grand Slam, Will was the lone Florida female to earn a spot in the event and now holds a 20-3 singles record and 13-3 doubles mark on the season. The men’s doubles team of junior Alexandre Lacroix and redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau, who were previously undefeated, lost an ITA quarterfinal match 8-6 to Tennessee’s Boris Koncic and Rhyne Williams. Lacroix, who was also competing in singles consolation action, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 over Patricio Alvarado of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Last but certainly not least on the evening was No. 9/11 Gators volleyball (19-3, 13-2 SEC), who earned their seventh consecutive sweep of a league opponent by taking down the Georgia Bulldogs (14-11, 5-9 SEC) 25-16, 25-20, 25-14. Four Florida players hit better than .500 and sophomore hitters Kristy Jaeckel and Kelly Murphy combined for 23 kills on the night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Volleyball will be back in action on Sunday against the Auburn Tigers in Gainesville at 1:30 p.m. The match will air live on Sun Sports.

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Antoine Benneteau, Auburn Tigers, Boise State Broncos, Boris Koncic, Georgia Bulldogs, ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, O'Connell Center, Patricio Alvarado, Pichittra Thongbach, Rhyne Williams, SEC, SEC Championship, soccer, South Carolina Gamecocks, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, University of Florida, volleyball

No. 5 Florida Gators women’s cross country won the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship meet on Saturday, the team’s first conference title since 1997. With all five scoring runners placing in the top 10, redshirt sophomore Rebecca Lowe took first place. Lowe’s victory (20:57.35) was the first time that Florida has had an individual champion since Becki Wells won back-to-back titles in 1995-96. It was also the ninth-best SEC Championship time in school history.

“This title means a lot to us,” Lowe said. “It’s been a long time coming for the Gators and we are proud to bring a championship back to Gainesville. It was also a step forward for us as we look toward Regionals and Nationals. It’s so amazing to win both the individual and team titles today.”

The Gators have advanced to the NCAA South Region Championships where a first- or second-place finish will earn them an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Florida will have a week off before heading to Tuscaloosa, AL, for the meet.

In other Gators news… Men’s cross country fell short of the SEC title, finishing in fourth place … No. 10/12 Florida volleyball (17-3, 11-2 SEC) notched another win Friday with a 3-0 shutout (25-20, 25-22, 33-31) of Alabama Crimson Tide (6-17, 4-9 SEC). Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy had her sixth triple-double of the season while sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel recorded a match-high 16 kills.

Image courtesy of GatorZone.com.

Tags: cross country, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, NCAA, Rebecca Lowe, SEC, SEC Championship, South Region, volleyball

Friday night, senior libero Elyse Cusack registered 11 digs and became the first player in school history and just the third in Southeastern Conference history to achieve 1,900 digs for her career. Combine that achievement with an outstanding performance from sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel – who had a team-high 10 kills – and you can understand how the No. 10/11 Florida Gators volleyball team 15-3, 9-2 SEC) swept the Arkansas Razorbacks (10-12, 4-7 SEC) 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-16) in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Jaeckel’s had 12 digs of her own along with 10 kills on .500 efficiency to record her sixth double-double of the season. Florida is next in action on Oct. 25 when the Ole Miss Rebels come to Gainesville, FL, for a match set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

In other news… The University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 161-123 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. The Gators improved to 2-0 this season in dual meets after being led to victory by strong freestyle performances. Florida is 2-0 against the Atlantic Coast Conference this season and will open SEC competition against the Georgia Bulldogs at home on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. from the O’Connell Center Natatorium.

Tags: ACC, Arkansas Razorbacks, diving, Elyse Cusack, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Kristy Jaeckel, Natatorium, O'Connell Center, Ole Miss Rebels, SEC, swimming, University of Florida, volleyball

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