A 24-point fourth quarter for the No. 4 Florida Gators (11-1) turned around what looked to be an epic collapse and clinched a 37-26 win over the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles (10-2) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL.

Florida senior running back Mike Gillislee led the way for the Gators offense, rumbling for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. That unit got plenty of support from the defense and special teams, which combined to recover five turnovers on the afternoon. Redshirt senior kicker Caleb Sturgis was also clutch for UF, making all three of his field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards.

Florida opened up the game throwing, completing two of its first three passes and tossing the ball eight times on a 14-play, 54-yard drive that lasted 5:47 and ended with a 39-yard field goal Sturgis. Florida State took the kickoff at the 35-yard line after Sturgis booted it out of bounds and got down to UF’s 27 in just two plays. However, a third-down interception thrown by FSU quarterback E.J. Manuel and caught by junior safety Matt Elam ended the possession without any points going on the board.

The Gators looked to be stalled at their own 34-yard line on their next drive, but a 31-yard scramble by sophomore QB Jeff Driskel extended the possession, which wound up going 62 total yards. Faced with 3rd-and-1 at the Seminoles’ 26, Driskel threw incomplete on a play action and junior running back Trey Burton missed brother and sophomore tight end Clay Burton on a muddle huddle play attempted on fourth down.

A few possessions later, Florida put together another long drive but stalled short of the end zone. The Gators converted two third-down tries but settled for a 45-yard field goal to take a 6-0 lead after gaining 54 yards in 10 plays.

Florida got another big play from its special teams on the ensuing kickoff as junior linebacker Darrin Kitchens forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive back Jabari Gorman at Florida State’s 21-yard line. Three plays later, Gillislee rumbled nine yards down the left sideline for a touchdown, giving UF a 13-0 lead with 5:26 left in the first half.

The Seminoles were able to hold on to the ball on the next kickoff, but Manuel threw his second interception of the game on the opening play from scrimmage, tossing a bullet right into the hands of redshirt junior Will LB Jelani Jenkins. The Gators would waste the possession by getting called for two penalties and suffering a big loss on third down.

Florida State finally made some offensive gains on its last possession of the first half as Manuel completed three passes and scrambled for 23 yards to put his team in field goal range. The Seminoles reduced its deficit to 13-3 at the half as K Dustin Hopkins knocked in a 50-yard field goal.

UF won the time of possession battle 21:58-8:02 in the first half and nearly doubled up FSU on offense but had a bigger advantage before the home team’s final possession as it sported a 192-53 advantage through the first 27:50 of the opening half.

Read the rest of the Florida-Florida State game story…after the break!
Continue Reading » No. 4 Florida Gators chomp No. 10 Florida State as Mike Gillislee rumbles for two touchdowns

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Bjoern Werner, Caleb Sturgis, Clay Burton, Darrin Kitchens, Doak Campbell Stadium, Dominique Easley, E.J. Manuel, Florida State Seminoles, Jabari Gorman, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Kyle Christy, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, Matt Elam, Mike Gillislee, Quinton Dunbar, Trey Burton

When head coach Will Muschamp chose sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel to start for the Florida Gators over classmate Jacoby Brissett back in September, he stressed that the team could win with either player and that Brissett was just “one snap away” from having the starting job to himself.

That was not meant to be an indictment of Driskel’s ability to hold on to the job, which he has done for nine games over three months, but rather the fact that a player can go down with an injury at any time and his replacement will need to step up and fill in.

Driskel going down with an injury is exactly what happened on Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette when, trying to avoid the rush on Florida’s second possession of the third quarter, he seriously injured his ankle. Brissett came on immediately to complete the series, not knowing how long Driskel would be out of action.

“I think it’s very difficult to come in the middle of a series for a quarterback,” Muschamp said after the game. “I think he did a fantastic job. … I think he handled it very well.”

Though the starter would wind up not returning to the game, Brissett entered the contest with a thin 13-10 lead. One play later, sophomore punter Kyle Christy had his attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown, meaning the back-up was suddenly put in a position where he would have to engineer a come-from-behind victory.

“You have to practice and play like that, knowing it’s one snap away like what happened [Saturday],” Brissett said. “It’s bad that it happened to Jeff at this point of time in the season but with Coach installing that one snap away [philosophy], I had to make sure that when I got my chance I didn’t make a fool of myself and that I came out and did what I had to do.”

Brissett nearly did just that on the offense’s next possession, throwing incomplete on third down and nearly having the ball intercepted. He was sacked twice on the next offensive drive and overthrew a wide open wide receiver in redshirt senior Frankie Hammond, Jr. on the following possession. Then came his moment.

Read the rest of this story..after the break!
Continue Reading » “One snap away” mantra kept Brissett going

Tags: Brent Pease, Frankie Hammond, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Jordan Reed, Quinton Dunbar, Will Muschamp

No. 6 Florida Gators football (9-1) struggled mightily but eventually came away with a tough 27-20 victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (5-4) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday. Florida head coach Will Muschamp met with the media and provided some of his thoughts after the game.

HISTORY / STREAKS / STATS

» Florida is now 5-0 all time against Louisiana-Lafayette though Saturday’s win was its first since the school has adopted that name. Its previous four victories came against Southwest Louisiana.
» The Gators are 13-1 against unranked opponents under Muschamp, 10-0 when rushing for more than 150 yards (UF had 149 on Saturday), 10-3 when scoring first and 12-1 when leading at the half.
» Florida was 3-3 in the red zone and has scored on 30-of-36 trips (83.3 percent) this season, converting just 19 of those possessions (52.8 percent) into touchdowns.
» UF has converted a paltry 52-of-142 of its third-down attempts (36.6 percent) this season after going just 4-for-14 in such situations on Saturday.
» The Gators held the Ragin’ Cajuns to 2-of-12 on third down but allowed their visitors to continue drives with poorly-timed penalties. UF’s defense has held opponents to 38-of-144 on third down conversions (26.4 percent) in 2012.
» Louisiana-Lafayette was just the second team (Tennessee) to score 20 points on Florida this season. The Gators have held three teams to 17 points, two under 15 and three to a touchdown or less.
» Florida is +12 in turnover margin through 10 games after being -12 in 2011.
» The Gators are now 65-22-2 all-time on homecoming in The Swamp.

PLAYER NOTES

» Sophomore cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy blocked a punt for the second-straight game and continues to be a standout performer for Florida on special teams.
» Redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed bounced back from a tough performance against Georgia to register career-highs in receptions (five) and yards. He also matched a career-long with a 39-yard catch.
» Redshirt senior kicker Caleb Sturgis inched closer to Jeff Chandler’s school record of 67 made field goals. Sturgis connected on two more attempts and now has 17 on the year, putting him four away from tying Chandler. He is also six field goals away from tying the school single-season record of 23, which was set by Bobby Raymond.
» Redshirt junior linebacker Jelani Jenkins not only had the game-winning touchdown on a punt block return, he also led the defense with seven tackles.
» Sophomore quarterback Jacoby Brissett saw his most extensive action of the season and made the most of it, leading the Gators to a game-tying touchdown on a three-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Quinton Dunbar.

OPENING STATEMENT

“We certainly make it interesting. It’s a football team that is finding ways to win games. We certainly shot ourselves in the foot enough in the game to put it in that situation. I thought we managed the game very well late in the game as far as field position was concerned and time was concerned in what we wanted to do and then our players going out and executing it. I credit our football team. I know one thing: There’s nobody questioning that character in that room and the resolve and the fight. Sometimes our decision making could be questioned, but I think our guys have continued to believe in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and the way we’re going to get it done and they have a strong belief in that. That’s a hard thing, I know in a coaching perspective, I’ve been on the other end when you’re, ‘Oh no, here we go again’ mentality instead of embracing the station, the adversity, handling it and finding a way to do it. It ain’t just been one time this year; it’s been a bunch. I really credit our kids’ resolve in this situation.

“Obviously the penalties just killed us in this game, and they were [legitimate] penalties. We’ve talked about it. We’re going to reemphasize it again. We’ve emphasized it every day in every situation we could. We’ve benched guys and we’ve done everything we can do. I’m going to find another way. I don’t know. We’re going to meet as a staff [Sunday] and figure out what we need to do to continue to move forward and improve our team. That’s where it really hurts.”

A few minutes later, Muschamp continued speaking about the team’s resolve.

Read the rest of what Muschamp and the players had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 11/9: Florida vs. Louisiana-Lafayette post-game

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, Ian Silberman, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jessamen Dunker, Jordan Reed, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, Neiron Ball, Quinton Dunbar, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp, Xavier Nixon

No. 2 Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Monday to review the team’s big 44-11 win over the then-No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks and preview Saturday’s game against the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs.

INJURY UPDATES

Muschamp said that junior cornerback Cody Riggs (foot) and redshirt junior tackle Matt Patchan (pectoral) are once again out for Saturday’s game. Freshman wide receiver Latroy Pittman (ankle) will return to practice Monday before being evaluated again, and junior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs (hamstring) will sit on Monday but return to practice on Tuesday (probable for Saturday).

PLAYER AWARDS

Offensive Player of the Game: junior running back Trey Burton
“Trey does a lot of things for our football team offensively, special teams, really a lot of things go through him. We have a package for him in every game, and we certainly were able to use it Saturday and it was very efficient.”

Big Plays: redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed, redshirt sophomore WR Quinton Dunbar, junior WR Solomon Patton

Scrap Iron: redshirt sophomore right tackle Chaz Green

Defensive Player of the Game: junior defensive end Dominique Easley

Ball Hawks: Burton (two), Patton, sophomore CB Loucheiz Purifoy (two), redshirt senior Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray, junior DT Sharrif Floyd, sophomore CB Jabari Gorman, sophomore RB Chris Johnson

Special Teams Player of the Game: Purifoy and sophomore punter Kyle Christy
* Christy was also named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Big Plays: Burton, Patton and Johnson

Scout Team Players of the Week: Special Teams – freshman LB Jeremi Powell, Defense – freshmen DL Alex McCalister and Quinteze Williams, Offense – freshman walk-on RB Mark Herndon

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 10/22: Muschamp on injuries, awards, turnovers

Tags: Alex McCalister, Chaz Green, Chris Johnson, Cody Riggs, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Dominique Easley, Georgia Bulldogs, Jabari Gorman, Jeff Driskel, Jeremi Powell, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Kyle Christy, Latroy Pittman, Lerentee McCray, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mark Herndon, Matt Patchan, Quinteze Williams, Quinton Dunbar, SEC, Sharrif Floyd, Solomon Patton, South Carolina Gamecocks, Trey Burton, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

A hard-fought Southeastern Conference battled turned into a one-sided blowout on Saturday when the No. 2 Florida Gators, led by a career-high four touchdown pass performance by sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel, trampled the No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks 44-11 in Gainesville, FL.

On a day in which ESPN’s College GameDay emanated live from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida (7-0, 6-0 SEC) proved that it is a new team in year two under head coach Will Muschamp, preventing head coach Steve Spurrier and South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) from winning a third-straight game in the annual series.

The Gators turned three fumble recoveries into 21 first-half points and went five-for-five in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on every trip as they put the SEC East crown within their grasp pending the outcome of next week’s game against Georgia.

Florida started the game on fire as sophomore cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy forced a fumble that was recovered on the South Carolina two-yard line by redshirt senior Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray on the first play from scrimmage. Faced with a third down, Driskel hit redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed for a short touchdown to give UF a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.

Read the rest of the game story and watch video highlights…after the break!
Continue Reading » No. 2 Florida chomps No. 7 South Carolina 44-11

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Chris Johnson, College GameDay, Connor Shaw, Dante Fowler, Earl Okine, Frankie Hammond, Jabari Gorman, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jordan Reed, Kyle Christy, Lerentee McCray, Loucheiz Purifoy, Matt Jones, Mike Gillislee, Omarius Hines, Quinton Dunbar, SEC, Sharrif Floyd, Solomon Patton, South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Spurrier, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp, offensive coordinator Brent Pease and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn all met with the media on Wednesday to discuss the bye week and the team’s upcoming game against LSU on Sat., Oct. 6.

INJURY UPDATES

Junior running back Trey Burton (back spasms), redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed (concussion), redshirt sophomore tackle Chaz Green (sprained ankle) and junior defensive end Dominique Easley (knee inflamation) are all “doing very well,” according to Muschamp, and are expected to be able to play against LSU.

Additionally, redshirt junior Will linebacker Jelani Jenkins (broken thumb) will see a specialist on Friday and have the surgically-inserted pin removed from this thumb. Muschamp said team trainers are “optimistic” about him being able to play next Saturday, but he will have to do so initially in a cast. His pain and comfort levels, should he receive doctor approval, would determine if and how much he plays.

“I certainly hope [he can play],” Quinn said. “He provides some real speed for us on the field. I think the guy’s a terrific blitzer. He can certainly match up, tight end-wise, covering when we get into our nickel package. And then just his experience playing linebacker, I don’t think you can overlook that.”

Redshirt junior tackle Matt Patchan (pectoral) and junior cornerback Cody Riggs (foot) will both sit out vs. LSU as they are expected to each be out a couple more weeks.

WAITING FOR DEBOSE…

Redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Debose has yet to put forth the consistent effort that the coaching staff expects. After touching on their issues with him a bit last week, Muschamp and Pease were asked about him again Wednesday. Muschamp, responding specifically to a question about Debose as a punt returner, said he needs to field the ball better but it is really up to the rest of the players on the field to block better for him. Pease had this to say on Debose’s performance up to this point:

“He’s got to get comfortable and do it consistently with what we’re doing in the offense. And there’s a trust. There’s a trust factor there. You go out there, you’re going to run the right route. You’re going to do it hard, whether you’re covered or not. Because sometimes running a route, it isn’t always built for you. Depending on what the coverage does, you’ve got to open it up for other players if they double-team you or play a cloud coverage over the top of you and you’ve got to stretch the safeties. If you don’t do that, you hurt your teammates. So it’s just a combination of being consistent, understanding, playing effort all the way through because as a receiver, you’re covered at times. You have to compete. You have to continue to try and get yourself open. You can’t say, ‘Oh, I’m covered. I’m done running my route,’ and stop running. That’s unacceptable.”

DRISKEL PROGRESSING NICELY

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Tags: Andre Debose, Brent Pease, Chaz Green, Cody Riggs, Dan Quinn, Dominique Easley, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jordan Reed, Matt Patchan, Quinton Dunbar, Trey Burton, Will Muschamp

There are plenty of reasons why a particular player may or may not see the football field on any given Saturday. For the Florida Gators and head coach Will Muschamp, consistency in effort during practice leading up to the game is of paramount importance in determining how many opportunities one might see on the gridiron.

Such is the case for redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Debose, who looked to have turned a corner in 2011 from a playmaking standpoint while leading the team in receiving yards (432) and touchdowns (4). Yet Debose, the primary kick returner, has barely played on offense in 2012 and does not have a single reception on the year (he has two carries out of the back field for a net of one yard gained).

Asked specifically about Debose on Monday for the second-straight week, Muschamp once again noted that he will see the field more as soon as he becomes a consistent performer in practices throughout the week.

“Anybody that’s in the coaching profession [knows] there’s a key to every kid. And we’ve got to find that key to motivate any young man, not just Andre, day-in, day-out to consistently perform well, to consistently do it the right way,” he said.

“Generally your practice habits do carry over to your game. I am young, but I’m old-fashioned and I believe that. Guys that don’t go out and consistently perform well at practice, generally it carries over to the game.

“As coaches, we want guys to consistently do it well and do it right. We promote that within our program and we’re going to practice what we preach around here to our football team. Effort as much as anything [is important] but consistently doing it the right way. It’s consistently doing it the right way. Consistent effort is different.”

Not every player is dependable from the get go as far as his production during practice is concerned. For most there is a major transition period, especially in their first year or two playing college football.

Read the rest of this story…after the break!
Continue Reading » Time for Debose to improve effort, consistency

Tags: Andre Debose, Quinton Dunbar, Will Muschamp

It may have taken a few possessions for the No. 14 Florida Gators to get rolling, but the end result was yet another dominating victory over the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Florida (4-0, 3-0 SEC) picked off Kentucky (1-3, 0-1 SEC) three times in the first half on their way to a 38-0 thrashing that extended the Gators’ winning streak over the Wildcats to 26 games dating back to 1987.

Florida enters the bye week with a 4-0 record for the fourth-straight season, earning their fourth victory by shutting down Kentucky offensively (303-219 in total offense) and being extremely efficient on third down (12-of-17). The Gators out-passed the Wildcats 203-60 on the afternoon, dominated time of possession 37:41-22:19 and shut out a Southeastern Conference opponent for the first time since Sept. 29, 2001.

Failing to move the ball on their first two offensive drives, Florida found the red zone on their third possession. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel took a bootleg 38 yards down to Kentucky’s 20 on the first play with the ball moved to the 10 after Driskel was taken down by his facemask. Senior running back Mike Gillislee ran to the three with a seven-yard carry, but UF concluded the drive with an incomplete pass, false start and bad snap, settling for a 27-yard field goal by redshirt senior kicker Caleb Sturgis.

A missed 54-yard field goal by UK gave the ball back to the Gators, which put together a 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive to take a 10-0 lead with 12:04 left in the first half. Driskel hit redshirt senior wide receiver Frankie Hammond, Jr. for a 24-yard reception on third down to extend the drive, and Gillislee carried six times for 31 yards on the possession (including his one-yard touchdown run).

Read the rest of the Florida-Kentucky game story…after the break!
Continue Reading » No. 14 Florida starts slow, rolls Kentucky 38-0

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Caleb Sturgis, De'Ante Saunders, Frankie Hammond, Jacoby Brissett, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jordan Reed, Kentucky Wildcats, Mack Brown, Matt Jones, Michael Taylor, Mike Gillislee, Quinton Dunbar