Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive grades the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Miami (OH) RedHawks in the first game of the 2010-11 season, which took place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL.

QUARTERBACKS: C+
Starting off with perhaps the most difficult position to grade after Saturday, we have redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley, who did some things right but also had a role in a number of miscues throughout the game in regard to the team’s snapping issues. If you look strictly at his numbers, going 17-of-25 for 113 yards and two touchdowns is a pretty solid day, but a few of his incompletions were bad misses and his second touchdown was basically a wounded duck he threw up on a fourth down that was luckily brought down by redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Rainey in the end zone. Though it is tough to tell not being on the field, Brantley did not seem to show much leadership and even mishandled some bad snaps that he certainly could have corralled in. The offensive play calling did not help him either.

RUNNING BACKS: B-
Speaking of not getting a lot of help, the offensive line seemed unable to open up a single hole for the running backs at the start of the game. Aside from his 72-yard TD run, junior Jeff Demps carried the ball seven times 26 yards. The same goes for sophomore Mike Gillislee, who only notched 14 yards on five carries if you take away his 41-yard breakaway. But the truth is, both players did have those nice long runs and the rushers showed flashes as the game went on. We will also include freshman QB Trey Burton’s Wildcat snaps here, one of which went for a TD. Overall, the unit could have played better, but you have to give them some credit for putting the game out of reach.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the season opener after the jump…
Continue Reading » Grading the Florida Gators vs. Miami (OH) game

Tags: A.J. Jones, Ahmad Black, Andre Debose, Armand Robinson, Caleb Sturgis, Carl Johnson, Carl Moore, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Defensive Lineman of the Week, Deonte Thompson, James Wilson, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, Joe Haden, John Brantley, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Josh Evans, Lorenzo Edwards, Marcus Gilbert, Matt Elam, Miami RedHawks, Mike Gillislee, Mike Pouncey, Moses Jenkins, NFL, Omarius Hines, Scot Loeffler, SEC, Steve Addazio, Teryl Austin, Trey Burton, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, Zac Dysert, Zach Azzanni

Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 88,548]
Weather Forecast: 91°F, 30% chance of precipitation
Time: 12:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPN/ESPNHD
Sirius/XM: 220/199
Online Video: ESPN3.com
Online Audio: Yahoo!
Live Updates: @OnlyGators

Odds: Florida -38; O/U 54

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida is returning 43 letterwiners and 11 starters from the 2009 season – six on offense (junior running back Jeff Demps, redshirt junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson, senior center Mike Pouncey, sophomore left tackle Xavier Nixon, redshirt seniors guard Carl Johnson and right tackle Marcus Gilbert) and five on defense (senior safety Ahmad Black, junior cornerback Janoris Jenkins, redshirt seniors linebacker A.J. Jones and defensive tackle Terron Sanders, redshirt sophomore DT Omar Hunter).
» The Gators have a SEC-best opening day winning streak of 20 games and are 76-27 all-time to start the season (62-6 in Gainesville). Teams coached by Meyer at any point in his career are 18-5 to begin the season; he has 16-straight opening day victories.
» Florida is also sporting a 10-game home winning streak and has won 20 consecutive regular season games. The Orange and Blue has a .897 (113-13) winning percentage at Florida Field since 1990, good for best in the nation.
» Miami (OH) leads the all-time series against UF 1-0, defeating the Gators 16-7 in The Swamp in the 1973 Tangerine Bowl; Florida is 10-3 all-time against the MAC.
» The Gators are the only team in the nation to finish the season in the top three in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls in three of the past four years; Florida is also the only school in the country to be ranked in the top five of the preseason coaches’ poll in each of the last four years.
» The RedHawks’ passing offense and passing defense each ranked 23rd in the nation in 2009, respectively throwing for 273.2 and giving up 190.4 yards per game.
» UF committed a nation-low 81 turnovers since 2005 and has had 23 games in which they did not give up a single turnover (best in the nation).

KEEP AN EYE ON…

» Redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley…who will be starting the first game of his Florida career. In 2009, he went 36-of-48 for 410 yards and seven touchdowns. Brantley tossed 75 percent of his balls for completions and finished the year with a QB rating of 194.9. He has thrown 61 consecutive passes without an interception and has a 10-1 TD/INT ratio for his Gators career.
» Florida’s veteran offensive line…which has combined for 87 career starts and is led by Pouncey (32). That total is the highest among returning offensive linemen since Meyer’s first season as coach in 2005.
» Redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Rainey…who is moving to the slot after playing running back for two seasons. Rainey will be explosive while playing a modified “Percy Position” and could very well be the team’s best offensive weapon this season.
» Linebackers sophomore Jon Bostic and redshirt freshman Jelani Jenkins…who are each trying to win the starting role in the middle but will likely split snaps Saturday. The same goes for cornerbacks redshirt sophomore Jeremy Brown and senior Moses Jenkins, each of whom hope to win the job opposite junior Janoris Jenkins.
» Redshirt freshman WR Andre Debose…who missed the entire 2009 season with a hamstring injury but remains a five-star recruit expected to make an immediate impact.
» Junior kicker Caleb Sturgis…who set a UF record for field goal attempted in a season (30) in 2009 and had the second-highest total of field goals made in school history (22).
» Freshman QB Trey Burton…who has been receiving extra attention at tight end during practices and is one of Meyer’s favorite youngsters. With other TEs injured and developing, Burton may see action early and often.

INJURIES and INACTIVES
Injuries (All out)
Senior defensive tackle Terron Sanders (knee), redshirt freshman TE Jordan Reed (knee) left tackles redshirt sophomore Matt Patchan (wrist), sophomore Xavier Nixon (knee), sophomore LB Dee Finley

Inactives
Redshirt sophomore WR Frankie Hammond, Jr. (indefinite suspension), junior S Will Hill (team decision)

FLORIDA ON ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY

The host of the first game to air Saturday on ESPN, Florida will be profiled in part during the network’s College GameDay broadcast beginning at 9 a.m. on ESPNU (hosted by Erin Andrews) and continuing from 10 a.m. until noon on ESPN. The main feature on the Gators will be a report from Tom Rinaldi focusing on Meyer’s decision to unretire one day after resigning from his job before the 2010 Sugar Bowl. Additionally, ESPN will feature a sound bite from Meyer talking about Florida’s offense, which will then be discussed by analysts Desmond Howard and David Pollack.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Miami RedHawks preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » Week 1: No. 3 Florida Gators vs. Miami RedHawks

Tags: A.J. Jones, Ahmad Black, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Caleb Sturgis, Carl Johnson, Chris Rainey, College GameDay, Debose, Dee Finley, Deonte Thompson, Erin Andrews, ESPN, Florida Field, Frankie Hammond, Janoris Jenkins, Jeff Demps, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, John Brantley, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, MAC, Marcus Gilbert, Matt Patchan, Miami RedHawks, Michael Haywood, Mike Pouncey, Omar Hunter, Sugar Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Terron Sanders, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Trey Burton, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, Xavier Nixon, Zac Dysert

1 » When out-of-conference opponents speak about the Southeastern Conference or the Florida Gators specifically, speed is usually one of the factors that noticeably separate them from the pack. Miami (OH) RedHawks head coach Michael Haywood has noticed it on video, calling the Gators’ speed “unbelievable” and a major factor on Saturday. “Most people look at it as skill positions,” Haywood said, “but when you watch their defensive front and you watch their defensive ends come off the ball, I mean they are exploding off the ball, dipping and ripping and turning that corner, and that poses a problem for you. You get less people out in the passing game because you have to [block] with backs, you have to leave the tight end in to help out.”

Miami sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert adds that even watching Florida on film is scary. “We don’t really get a chance to practice [against that kind of speed] out here,” he said. “You’ve just got to be ready for everything they’re doing. If you know everything they’re doing, you know where they’re going to be. Speed’s going to be a factor and you’ll have to make quick decisions. You can’t be late on anything.”

2 » Featured on the front page of ESPNU.com the No. 6 Gators volleyball (2-0) are set for three matches (Albany, Bowling Green and Colorado State) in two days this weekend after defeating two top-10 opponents (No. 9 Iowa State, No. 2 Nebraska) last week. “We’re encouraged by how hard the team played in that atmosphere,” head coach Mary Wise told ESPNU, “but we know we have a long way to go. The words ‘a work in progress’ were stated before the weekend and that hasn’t changed after the weekend.” Florida’s two victories were led by junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy, the AVCA Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week, who shined even though the Gators playing in front of a large group of people. “We’ve had some great wins, but we’ve never played in front of a crowd like that before,” Murphy said. “It definitely gives us a lot of convidence. It reassured us that everything we’d been doing over the summer and everything we’ve been doing so far in preseason has been working.”

Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Tags: AVCA, Kelly Murphy, Mary Wise, Miami RedHawks, Michael Haywood, Player of the Week, SEC, volleyball, Zac Dysert