No. 6 Florida Gators women’s track and field captured their seventh conference indoor title and second since 2010 on Sunday, winning the 2012 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship in Lexington, KY with 132 total team points.
Florida took down the No. 2 LSU Tigers (109) and No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks (99) in the women’s competition for the school’s first league title of the 2011-12 season. The No. 1 Razorbacks (151) got a measure of revenge on the men’s side by topping the No. 2 Gators (137) and No. 24 Georgia Bulldogs for the other SEC Indoor title.
Despite Florida winning the women’s championship, only one Gators student-athlete won an individual title on that side of the competition. Sophomore distance runner Florence Ngetich captured the 5,000-meter title in 16:12.64.
The men, on the other hand, lost the overall championship but won three individual titles. Sophomore hurdler Eddie Lovett defended his 60-meter hurdles title with a time of 7.78 seconds, junior jumper Omar Craddock won Florida’s fourth-straight SEC Indoor triple jump championship with a distance of 16.44m/53-11.25, and senior thrower Kemal Mesic won the shot put title (19.89m/65-3.25) for the third SEC Indoor meet in a row.
One significant disappointment on the men’s side came as junior sprinter Jeff Demps failed to win the 60-meter dash for the third consecutive season, finishing his attempt in 6.64 seconds, 0.01 seconds behind the victor.
Florida has two more meets next month before competing in the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships from March 9-10.
The No. 14/17 Florida Gators earned another solid victory on Saturday by defeating the LSU Tigers 76-64 at home in Gainesville, FL. With sophomore center Patric Young (ankle) again out of the starting lineup and Florida set for two games in three days next week, head coach Billy Donovan had plenty to talk about after the win.
YOUNG GETTING BACK INTO THE GROOVE
Now having been held out of the starting lineup for consecutive games, Young is obviously anxious to get back to the spot he earned in the offseason. However, due to the fact that he missed plenty of practice over the bye week and is still experiencing some discomfort with his ankle tendinitis, Young came off the bench again on Saturday.
Donovan said after the game that one additional benefit of bringing Young in as a reserve is that it bucks his tendency to leave him in the game too long. He explained that he has previously been keeping Young on the court for long stretches and noticed that his energy level can go down a bit.
For Donovan, Young’s energy is more important than his offense. Saturday’s performance, in which Young was all over the court defensively and when shots went off the glass, is proof that thought holds some merit.
“Forget about the offense, I think there’s so much talked about him getting the ball and not getting the ball. It really doesn’t make a difference because right now our team is an efficient offensive team,” Donovan said. “We do have a balance. The thing that Patric brings to our team is when he plays at an incredible emotional level it opens up so many different things for our team.
“When he is running the floor as hard as he can and he is posting up, it draws so much attention that it opens so many things up on the perimeter. And when they try to shut down the perimeter, you can throw the ball inside to him.”
Once Young returns to the starting lineup, which could be as soon as Thursday in a road game against Ole Miss, Donovan may still reduce his minutes not only to help his ankle but also to assist in keeping his energy on full throttle.
“Right now he says he feels fine. Whether or not it will be prolonged or continue, I don’t know,” he said of Young and his ankle injury. “I just didn’t think [with him missing so much practice] it warranted him starting.”
NOTES AND QUOTES
» Donovan on what Florida can learn from the victory: “They’re eager to learn. They’re good guys. But the basketball IQ and the basketball experience for some of them needs to get better. Hopefully through experience they can get better. There are some things that we can learn from this game [like] making decisions and things that allow team to go on a run, how you yourself can break your own momentum.”
» Donovan on if practices have been much more difficult recently: “I’m working them hard. We are a great group of kids that sometimes get a little too easy going. We need to have a little more fire, a little more passion, and I think that probably needs to come from me as a coach.”
» Donovan on junior guard Kenny Boynton’s 34-game streak with a three-pointer ending: “I don’t even know if Kenny realized it during the game. I didn’t realize it.”
» Senior point guard Erving Walker on winning without hitting threes: “We believe we can win these games when we’re not shooting well. Maybe [the media] didn’t, but we thought we could.”
» Freshman G Bradley Beal on Donovan’s lessons in practice working in games: “He’s not one of the best coaches for no reason. He knows what he’s talking about. We just have to bear down and just listen to what he’s saying and buy in to everything he’s saying.”
A week off appeared to do the No. 14/17 Florida Gators (15-4, 3-1 SEC) plenty of good as head coach Billy Donovan squad looked focused and energized on its way to a 76-64 victory over the LSU Tigers (12-7, 2-3 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Saturday night.
Led by a standout performance from junior forward Erik Murphy, who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting (3-for-4 from downtown), the Gators shot 56.3 percent from the field and 74.1 percent (20-for-27) on two-point attempts on their way to winning their 16th game in a row at the O’Dome.
LSU took the early momentum in the game, taking an early 10-4 lead while hitting four of their first five attempts from the field.
Though Florida sophomore F Will Yeguete took his place in the starting lineup for the second-straight game, sophomore center Patric Young (ankle) entered the contest less than four minutes after it started and scored six-straight points to tie the game at 10.
The Gators began to get on the Tigers’ nerves with their press and the offense took advantage of the defense’s success. Three-pointers from Murphy and freshman guard Bradley Beal bookended a 13-4 run that gave Florida their first lead of the game, 23-16, with 8:44 remaining in the first half.
UF kept the momentum going through the end of the half, using a 7-0 run to take a game-high 38-26 lead into the break.
Consecutive treys by redshirt junior G Mike Rosario and sophomore point guard Scottie Wilbekin put the Gators ahead a game-high 16 points with 13:39 left, but LSU stitched together a 10-2 run to cut the Tigers’ deficit in half with 7:46 remaining.
Florida maintained its eight-point lead with three minutes left in the game and that’s when senior PG Erving Walker took over, scoring eight of UF’s last 10 points.
Murphy was one of five Gators to score in double figures. Walker posted 12 points but only hit 1-of-6 attempts from downtown, and three other Florida players – Beal, Rosario and junior G Kenny Boynton – added 11 points each.
Walker moved into seventh all-time at UF in career scoring by the end of the contest, passing Gene Shy, Matt Bonner and Eugene McDowell with 1,575 points.
Beal’s eight boards were a team-high, and Rosario played 15 solid minutes off the bench. Boynton went 0-for-4 from three, ending a 34-game streak of hitting at least one trey. The mark was second-longest in school history behind Lee Humphrey (39).
LSU F Justin Hamilton led his team throughout the entire game, scoring a career-high 27 points and grabbing eight rebounds (five offensive), but his sterling effort was simply not enough to earn the Tigers a victory.
In addition to outshooting LSU from the field and at the line, Florida outrebounded their opponent 30-29. The Tigers committed 10 turnovers in the first half but just one in the second, forcing the Gators to cough up the ball on one more occasion over the course of the evening (12). UF also outscored LSU 36-32 in the paint and 24-10 off the bench.
Florida will once again have a nice break before playing two games over the course of three days. The Gators will travel to Ole Miss on Thursday for a 7 p.m. game (ESPN2) before hosting Mississippi State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network).
1 » No. 23 Florida Gators soccer (17-7) advanced to the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a strong 3-0 victory over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (14-5-2) at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Senior midfielder/forward Tahnai Annis scored consecutive goals for the Gators in the 16th and 68th minute before senior F/MF Lindsay Thompson followed suit with a conversion of her own from 10 yards out at 80’. The Eagles only took three shots the entire game, and freshman goalkeeper Taylor Burke was only forced to make one save during the contest. Florida will take on Central Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. in second round action.
2 » Unranked heading into the season, Gators women’s basketball had an opportunity to pick up a solid win in their opener but fell just short on Friday. Florida (0-1) was defeated 69-66 by the Michigan Wolverines (1-0), which outscored their opponents 9-7 with less than three minutes left in the game to pick up the victory. Senior guard Jordan Jones led the Gators with a career-high-tying five treys for 21 points on 20 shots, and senior G Lanita Bartley added 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Florida took 27 shots from downtown in the contest, making just 10, and was outrebounded 42-36 by Michigan.
3 » No. 18/19 Gators volleyball (21-5, 14-3 SEC) concluded the road portion of their regular season in style over the weekend, picking up a pair of hard-fought victories to continue an impressive four-game winning streak. Florida topped the LSU Tigers (17-9, 10-6 SEC) 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-12) on Friday behind a career performance from sophomore middle blocker Chloe Mann, who hit .900 on the evening with 18 kills on 20 swing with no errors and five blocks. The mark is the second-best in NCAA history for a player with 20+ swings in a single match and helped earned Mann SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors as announced Monday.
4 » The Gators had a greater test Sunday against the Arkansas Razorbacks (18-10, 10-7 SEC), fighting back from a two-set deficit to win 3-2 (18-25, 30-32, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9). Mann and senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel each had a 19 kills. That mark was a career-high for Mann, while Jaeckel and senior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy each completed a double-double. Florida will face Georgia (Nov. 18), Auburn (Nov. 20) and South Carolina (Nov. 23) at home before beginning NCAA Tournament action in Dec.
1 » Once Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan reinstated junior forward Erik Murphyone month ago, it appeared quite obvious that he would make the same decision once redshirt freshman F Cody Larson‘s legal situation was settled. Now that Larson has received a longer probation period and a re-invoked 120-day suspended sentence after violating his probation, Donovan official decided he could rejoin the team after being indefinitely suspended since April. “I think both guys have been through a lot,” Donovan said on Monday, according to The Gainesville Sun. “I think both those guys are really, really remorseful. I don’t think the incident is a reflection of who they are as people. They come from great families. [...] I’ve seen a lot of growth from these kids since the incident. That’s encouraging.”
2 » According to a report from USA Today, Florida’s Jeremy Foley is the second-highest paid athletic director in the country, earning $1.55 million in pay. He only ranks behind Vanderbilt’s David Williams ($2.56 million), who holds multiple positions at the school including serving as a general counsel and a fully tenured law professor. The Gators paid Foley a retention bonus of $200,000 in 2011, but he will hit an even bigger one on Jan. 31, 2012 when he is owed $550,000. Additional retention bonuses include $150,000 in 2013, $250,000 in 2014 and $100,000 per year from 2015-18 (though he would likely receive a new contract well before then).
3 » If you were irritated that the LSU Tigers ran the jump pass play on Saturday, the team’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales may be to blame. Gonzales, who used to coach receiver at Florida before being overlooked for the offensive coordinator job in favor of Steve Addazio, left UF in a huff to take the same job at LSU. Gators redshirt senior defensive tackle Jaye Howard said after the game that he was a bit suspicious of the play call. “That was cold,” he said. “They did it against us. I looked at Billy on the sidelines, and he was laughing. I figured he had something to do with that.” According to some of the Tigers’ players, that play has been available all season. “”It was something that we always had,” tight end Mitch Joseph, who caught the pass, told the Times-Picayune, “but I couldn’t believe we called it this game. It just happened to be Florida.”
4 » One other tidbit stemming from the Florida-LSU game is a small war of words that has erupted between Gators sophomore running back Trey Burton and Tigers star cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. Asked to compare Alabama and LSU after the game, Burton said he would choose to face the Tigers’ defense again because the secondary was “not as good as advertised” while Alabama was stronger and more physical. Mathieu, learning of this, took offense and tweeted the following on Sunday: “I love the fact that Trey Burton from Florida opens his mouth and says OUR SECONDARY is not good, lol Boy you are Soft as cotton!” Burton wound up sharing Mathieu’s comments and subsequently changed his Twitter avatar – to this.
Extra BIT » Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow talks about playing but losing Sunday’s game, in which he replaced Kyle Orton behind center after the half.
Contrary to popular belief, Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp said Monday that he was not playing coy last week when not announcing who would start at quarterback for his team on Saturday against the LSU Tigers.
According to Muschamp, freshmen Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett were both up for the job. However, he insinuated that Driskel’s inability to practice at full strength was to be the main reason why Brissett was able to earn the gig. He also claims he was not trying to gain any advantage but not announcing a starter at any point during the week.
“I wasn’t sure until Wednesday night that Jeff was not going to play in the game,” he said. “There was no deception on my point from the standpoint that I didn’t know until Wednesday night after practice that Jeff was probably not going to be able to play in the game. We were holding hope through Wednesday, went out Wednesday and he didn’t feel good with his ankle.”
If Florida was “holding out hope” for Driskel to be ready, one can assume the plan was for the Gators to roll with their year-long backup quarterback on Saturday. His sprained ankle made that impossible against LSU, but Muschamp thinks he will be fine to compete head-to-head with Brissett this week.
“They both are going to practice through the week,” he said. “Based on the injury report that I got this morning, Jeff should practice [Monday]. How limited he’ll be, I do not know that. Those guys will work with Jacoby being the starter at this point, and we’ll work through the week and progress to see who practices the best.”
Muschamp said that how the snaps are split – and how much Driskel practices – will be solely dependent on his health at this point in time.
“It’s not like one guy is a different quarterback than the other guy. They’re both very similar skill set as far as that’s concerned. A lot of that is going to depend on Jeff’s ankle,” he said. “How many reps will he be able to rep in practice? I don’t know at this point. We’re going to have about an hour and 15-minute practice [Monday night]. We’ll move from there and, as we move further in the week, I’ll know more obviously about how much he’ll be able to go and compete for the job this week. That will determine the reps and then obviously determine the starter.”
If Driskel is unable to practice at full speed or Brissett goes out again and earns the start, Muschamp is confident in the latter can continue progressing and play better.
“I thought Jacoby did a good job [against LSU]. As far as comparing how each quarterback performed in totally different environments, I’d have a hard time doing that. I thought he managed our offense very well,” the coach said. “I thought what we asked him to do he did very well. He’s a very composed young man. He’s very intelligent. He’s athletic. He’s smart. He works extremely hard since he’s been here as far as learning the offense and learning what to do and how we want to do it and manage our football team. I’m very pleased with his progress.”
Muschamp is so pleased, in fact, that he said offensive coordinator Charlie Weis will open the playbook even more for him if Brissett returns behind center. “Certainly we’ve got to do some more – something else offensively,” he said. “If you continue to do the same thing, you’ll continue to get the same results.” Driskel has been working with a larger playbook considering he’s been involved in the offense since the spring.
One thing that will not change as long as a backup quarterback is in, however, are running backs sophomore Trey Burton and redshirt senior Chris Rainey taking direct snaps in certain packages. Muschamp feels that helps take some of the pressure off of the young signal callers and gives the team a different element in a running game that was completely stopped against Alabama.
Florida will know who is starting at quarterback by mid-week, but who the Gators will trot out under center may once again remain a question until just before kickoff.
NOTES AND QUOTES
» Muschamp said redshirt senior QB John Brantley is progressing well in rehab and slipped up a bit, mentioning that the injury is indeed to his ankle. “He’s working hard. He’s been in the training room a lot and went on the road with us to get all the reps he could get as far as rehabbing his ankle. We feel like he’s making good progress. We’ll continue to go forward with that.”
» He also said that there is a benefit to not disclosing the specifics about Brantley’s injury. “There are some teams out there that might want to get him in a pile. Not that anybody in our league would do that.”
» Florida will again likely choose their starting quarterback on Wednesday after two full days of practice because that is when the offense primarily focuses on red zone and third down plays. “As you start to work through Tuesday’s practice, you need to move forward,” Muschamp said.
» He also addressed why redshirt freshman QB Tyler Murphy has not had a chance to start for the Gators. “He’s done some good things. He’s managed our offense well, but those other guys have just performed better,” Muschamp said.
The No. 17/18 Florida Gators (4-2, 2-2 SEC) learned Saturday exactly why their opponent’s home field earned that nickname while being routed 41-11 by the No. 1/2 LSU Tigers (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA.
The Tigers jumped ahead 24-0 early on the back of a pair of touchdowns from running back Spencer Ware before the Gators got their first points on the board. Florida added a touchdown in the second half, but LSU ensured there would be no comeback.
The Gators entered the game without the first two quarterbacks on their depth chart after redshirt senior John Brantley (lower leg) and freshman Jeff Driskel (ankle) were both injured last Saturday against Alabama.
Florida went three-and-out on Brissett’s first series, and LSU quickly took advantage of the short field with QB Jarrett Lee throwing a 46-yard strike to wide receiver Rueben Randle for the first touchdown of the game. The Tigers scored again on their next drive, rushing the ball six times for 52 yards before Ware bounced into the end zone.
The offense opened up a bit for the Gators after that. Brissett completed four passes on Florida’s next possession and earned a first down, but a fake punt run by sophomore RB Trey Burton failed, handing the ball back to LSU on UF’s 49.
Stopped on the ensuing possession, the Tigers decided to punt the ball before it was called back due to an illegal formation penalty. LSU’s next attempt was a fake with punter Brad Wing taking it all the way down the left sideline into the end zone.
However, Wing celebrated before reaching pay dirt and the officials tacked on a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting at the spot of the foul, negating the score but allowing the Tigers to maintain possession. They wound up kicking a 35-yard field goal three plays later to take a 17-0 lead with 13:22 remaining in the first half.
Penalties suffocated the Gators’ next drive before it really got underway, and a deep interception thrown by Brissett turned the ball over once again. Two possessions later, the Tigers completed a two-play, 45-yard drive with an eight yard rush from Ware for his second touchdown of the day.
With time running out in the first half, Florida engineered its first scoring drive of the game with Burton and Brissett both playing quarterback. Brissett completed a pair of passes for third-down conversions and junior RB Mike Gillislee carried the ball six times for 35 yards on the drive before redshirt junior kicker Caleb Sturgis hit a 23-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
Each team failed in their first respective possession of the second half, but LSU added its second field goal of the afternoon to cap a 10-play, 51-yard drive that was helped along by three Gators penalties including a personal foul and two offside calls.
Florida responded quickly as Brissett connected with redshirt sophomore WR Andre Debose for a 65-yard touchdown on the very next possession. The Gators also succeeded on a two-point conversion when a fake high snap to Brissett was taken direct by redshirt senior RB Chris Rainey into the end zone, cutting their deficit to 16 points.
Taking a cue from their opponent, the Tigers answered right away as Lee hit Randle for 57 yards down the left sideline. Three players later, QB Jordan Jefferson threw a jump pass to tight end Mitch Joseph for LSU’s fourth touchdown of the game.
Starting from midfield, Florida hoped to replicate their downfield success. Brissett tried to find Debose in the end zone, but cornerback Tyrann Mathieu caught up just in time and intercepted the ball. Sophomore WR Solomon Patton got a hand on the Tigers’ next punt, but the Gators again failed to capitalize on good field position.
LSU RB Alfred Blue ran for a short touchdown with 1:27 remaining in the game, finalizing his team’s 30-point margin of victory.
Ware led the Tigers with 24 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Lee and Jefferson each threw a touchdown, and Randle caught four balls for 127 yards and a score.
Gillislee led the Gators on the ground with nine carries for 56 yards, and Debose’s 65-yard score was one of two balls caught by UF receivers on the afternoon. Brissett finished 8/14 for 94 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
LSU outgained Florida 454-213 offensively and held the Gators to 2-for-11 on third down conversions. UF committed 12 penalties for 89 yards in the contest and also lost time of possession to the Tigers 35:40-24:20.
Florida hopes to bounce back from consecutive losses (including their worst defeat since losing to Nebraska 62-24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl) as they take on Auburn on the road next Saturday. The game will air live at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.com.
Need to catch up on the Gators before week four action? No problem. OGGOA has been here all week compiling a ton of information so you can do your homework on the team before its next exam Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on the road.
» Florida leads the all-time series against LSU 30-24-3 and is 6-5 against the Tigers since 2000. The Gators are also 16-13 all-time in Baton Rouge (4-2 since 1999).
» Muschamp was a former defensive coordinator at LSU under now Alabama head coach Nick Saban, while Tigers passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales coached Florida’s pass catchers from 2005-09.
» Miles is 3-3 in his career against the Gators.
» Florida has half as many upperclassmen (17 seniors, 17 juniors) as they do underclassmen (36 sophomores, 35 freshmen) on the roster heading into the season.
» The Gators are outscoring opponents 64-13 in the first quarter and 106-44 in the first half this season. UF has also scored on their opening drive in four of five games.
» Florida ran the ball for 15 net yards on Saturday after the Gators rushed for 405 yards the week before, the sixth-best single-game performance in team history and the most since 1989. The team had a 100-yard rusher in four consecutive games, its second-longest streak ever, before failing to accomplish that feat against Alabama.
» UF’s offensive line has only allowed five sacks through five games, making them second in the SEC team and tied for 20th nationally allowing just one sack per contest.
» Though Florida is 19-for-21 (90.4 percent) in red zone conversions, the Gators have only scored touchdowns on 11 of those opportunities.
» Florida did not acquire a single turnover against Alabama after forcing four in their previous game and seven total over the prior three weeks.
» The Gators defense has forced the most turnovers in the SEC (311) since 2000. Florida also has the most interceptions in the nation (72) since 2008.
» UF’s defense is six in the nation in preventing third-down conversions, allowing just 27.7 percent of those attempted to be successful.
» Florida is No. 7 nationally and second in the SEC in total defense (258.6 yards per game). The Gators are also No. 13 nationally and third in the SEC in scoring defense (14.8 points per game).
» LSU is the only team in the nation with three victories over ranked opponents; they are looking for their second-straight 6-0 start to a season.
» The Tigers have won 13-straight games in their home stadium. LSU’s last loss in Baton Rouge was to Florida, 13-3 in 2009. They are also 4-0 against the SEC East since.
» LSU’s defense has held opponents without a touchdown in 15-of-20 quarters played.
» The Tigers have forced 12 turnovers in 2011 and have converted 75 percent of those into points (eight touchdowns, one field goal). They lead the SEC and are No. 4 nationally in turnover margin at +1.8 per game.
» LSU’s run defense has not allowed a rush of more than 17 years, and the Tigers have allowed just 13 rushing plays of 10 yards or more.
» Florida and LSU are split down the middle when it comes to the four major statistical categories. The Gators top the Crimson Tide in national averages of rushing yards 210.2-172.6 (21st-48th) and passing yards 203.6-177.0 (86th-100th), while LSU leads Florida in points scored 38.0-34.2 (18th-37th) and points against 12.8-14.8 (9th-13th). The teams both defeated Kentucky this year with UF winning 48-10 on the road and LSU earning the victory 35-7 at home.
LAST TIME OUT
Like this year, Florida started the 2010 season 4-0 before being routed by Alabama one week prior to taking on LSU. The Gators returned home to The Swamp and stuck around with the Tigers all night long, leading 29-26 with more than three minutes to play after Andre Debose returned a kick 88 yards for a touchdown and Mike Gillislee ran for a score late in the fourth quarter. LSU engineered a crazy final stand, using a fake field goal to continue their drive and end it with a three-yard passing touchdown with just six seconds remaining in the game. The Tigers accumulated 142 more yards in the game (70 more through the air and 72 additional yards on the ground) , and Jordan Jefferson scored twice on the ground while Jarrett Lee threw two touchdowns to Terrance Toliver.
ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY
Aside from the first hour of GameDay being hosted by Florida alum and ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, the Gators will be featured during Saturday’s broadcast from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Because the Tigers are the No. 1 team in the country and the game is at LSU, the focus will primarily be on them with video packages and discussions about the team. Andrews interviewed both Les Miles and Tyrann Mathieu this week. There will be talk about Florida’s quarterback situation and, of course, the three hosts along with a guest picker will make their selections as to who will win the game.
FLORIDA
» Inactive: Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley (lower leg)
» Unknown: Freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel (ankle)
PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
FLORIDA
» Freshman quarterbacks Jeff Driskel (#16) and Jacoby Brissett (#17)…either of whom would start their first career game in one of the most hostile environments in college football. Driskel, who has been the backup all season and has gone 7/16 for 73 yards with two interceptions, is expected to start but may be replaced by Brissett due to a bum ankle. Brissett has not seen action during the regular season and did not participate in the team’s spring game either as he was still in high school at the time.
» Redshirt senior running back Chris Rainey (#1)…who has 661 yards of total offense this season with five touchdowns (including a punt block return). Rainey is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 17.6 yards per reception and leads Florida in rushing and receiving this season. He became the first player in school history to have a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same game, achieved the school and SEC record for career punt blocks (five), and is the active leader in that category nationally. He also rushed for 100 yards or more in three-straight games, the first UF player to do so since Fred Taylor last accomplished that feat 14 years ago.
» Senior RB Jeff Demps (#28)…who has averaged 8.8 yards per carry so far this year including a career-high 157 two weeks ago. After sitting out most of the team’s second game, Demps now has 324 yards and four touchdowns on the ground this season. He also has the second-most receptions (10) on the team this year. Demps eclipsed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark against Florida Atlantic.
» Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose…who jumped to second on the Gators’ receiving list after posting a 65-yard touchdown last week on the first play of the game. Fans have been waiting for Debose to emerge for some time, and his 154 receiving yards are the second-best on the team through its first five games.
» Sophomore safety Matt Elam (#22)…who is the most valuable member of Florida’s secondary in only his second year. He is third on the team in tackles (22) and created turnovers in three-straight games (fumble-INT-INT) before failing to do so last week.
» Defensive tackles sophomore Dominique Easley (#2) and redshirt senior Jaye Howard (#6)…who have solidified the interior of one of the Gators’ strongest units. Howard is the team’s most experienced player on defense (22 starts), while Easley may be its most dynamic off the snap, with a first-step raved about by teammates and coaches alike. Howard and Easley have combined for 7.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks (Howard) through the first five games.
» Linebackers junior Jon Bostic (#52) and redshirt sophomore will linebacker Jelani Jenkins (#3)…who are 1-2 on the team in tackles. Bostic (29) and Jenkins (26) have each excelled in different areas for Florida. The former has four tackles for a loss and two sacks while the latter has one sack and four pass breakups on the year.
» Sophomore Buck LB Ronald Powell (#7)…who is tied for a team-high with 2.0 sacks and forced two interceptions via quarterback pressures against Tennessee. Powell has 13 tackles on the season including two for losses.
» Redshirt junior Sam LB Lerentee McCray (#34)…who is starting for the first time in his career and is third on the team in tackles for loss with 3.5. He also has two three breakups and three QB hurries on the season.
» Redshirt junior kicker Caleb Sturigs (#19)…who has returned for Florida after missing the final eight games of the 2010 season with an injured back. He is 12-for-13 in field goal attempts on the season (long: 51) and perfect with 19 extra points, leading the Gators with 55 points scored this season.
LSU
» CB Tyrann Mathieu (#7)…who is one of the most feared defenders in the nation this season due to his propensity for making game-changing plays. Mathieu leads the SEC in forced fumbles (four) and fumble recoveries (three). He also nabbed an interception this season, scored two defensive touchdowns and leads his team in tackles (35).
» QB Jarrett Lee (#12)…who torched UF for two touchdowns in 2010. He has thrown for 793 yards with seven touchdowns and just one interception in 2011 but is only completing 59.3 percent of his passes.
» QB Jordan Jefferson (#9)…who returned to action last week after missing the first four games due to suspension. Jefferson rushed for two scores against Florida in 2010 and is expected to be mixed into LSU’s offense this week.
» RBs Spencer Ware (#11) and Michael Ford (#42)…who have combined for 625 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Ware is the more powerful of the two, while Ford is elusive and averaging more yards per carry on fewer touches each game.
