Tag Archives: florida gators

Emmit Smith has ‘seen enough’ of Jeff Driskel

Well the hits keep coming for Jeff Driskel and I’m not talking on the field.

The unranked Florida Gators suffered a 42-21 beat down against No. 3 Alabama on Saturday. Former legendary Gator running back Emmit Smith tweeted for Driskel to be benched during the fourth quarter.

We all know Driskel had a bad game. He completed 9 of his 28 passes for 93 yards, two interceptions and once touchdown. Driskel attempted a career high of 13 passes for 15 yards or longer with just one completion.

He also led the Gators in rushing, carrying the ball 11 times for 59 yards and a touchdown.

If the Gators continue to struggle offensively, its going to be another long season and you can say good bye to Will Muschamp.

The Gators (2-1, 1-1) will travel to Tennessee next Saturday.

Demps, Patton signs with Tampa Bays practice squad

Former Gator running back Jeff Demps and wide receiver Solomon Patton have signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad just one day after being cut. Both had solid camps for the Bucs but were questioned whether or not they would make the official roster. Now with their second opportunity to impress the Buccaneers staff, they must give their all if they want to land a spot on the active roster.

According to Thomas Goldkamp of Gatorbait, the minimum practice-squad salary is $6,100 per week which turns out to a $107,100 for a full 17-week season.

LSU Makes Florida’s Offense Look Offensive

Six points. Six lousy points. That is all the Florida Gators could muster in four quarters of football against an LSU Tigers team that gave up 44 to the Georgia Bulldogs two weeks ago looked like the second coming of the Steel Curtain. Florida’s offensive line was just that. Offensive. The defense played well enough, holding a prolific LSU offense to 17 points. But with no time to throw, Gator quarterback Tyler Murphy was unable to put the Gators in the end zone.

This is really embarrassing for a school known for the high powered offenses of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. There is no Fun-n-Gun in Gainesville anymore. There are big plays out there to be made if this team would give Murphy as little time. Trey Burton was running free in the secondary on one play, but Murphy had a Tiger defender grabbing his leg and had to flip a left-handed wobbler to a running back.

Florida fans have no complaints about the defense under Coach Will Muschamp. They are very good. But at some point this team needs to concentrate on getting the ball across the goal line. They have been terrible in the Red Zone now for four or five years. Thee has been two areas where this team has been bad in those years. Those are the offensive line and wide receivers. When you are bad at those positions, it makes it difficult to score on a good SEC defense.

Florida has to get better at those two spots. But when you have the reputation of being a 17-14 type team, understandably the best receivers and pass blockers are not too thrilled about playing at your school. So they need to get better with the guys they have. The problem is, without putting the ball up, it is tough to get better. Will Muschamp does not want to put the ball up, especially when he is winning. So there is the vicious circle that will stop the Gators from being a championship caliber team as long as Muschamp coaches them.

SEC Battle in the Swamp

The Gators return home to face Arkansas this Saturday after a 24-7 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky. Head coach Will Muschamp said, on Monday, that he was “pleased with the win. Offensively we were very workman-like, very efficient…Defensively I thought we handled the tempo very well.” The Gators Defense stepped up in their first game without defensive tackle Dominique Easley. Easley underwent a season-ending knee injury during practice last Tuesday. The Gators had to start Dante Fowler and Ronald Powell on the outside against the Wildcats and repositioned Jonathan Bullard inside beside defensive tackle Damien Jacobs. Even with the injuries the gators have sustained on defense, the two-deep rotation is solid but untested.

Arkansas(3-2, 0-1) and Florida(3-1, 2-0) have not played each other since 2009, when the ranked #1 Gators kicked a field goal in the closing nine seconds of the game propelling the Gators to a win with a score of 23-20. The Razorbacks are coming of an impressive game putting up 33 points against Texas A&M in Fayetteville, AR. Although they fell short losing 45-33, Arkansas stayed close in points throughout the game, boosted by the return of quarterback Brandon Allen. Allen left the game early against Southern Miss, and missed the following Rutgers game due to a sprained shoulder. Allen started against Texas A&M and threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the impressive effort.

Florida’s defensive tackle Damien Jacobs anticipates a very physical game with Arkansas’s offensive line. “They’re real physical,” Jacobs said to the Orlando Sentinel, “I think they’re a little chippy. They’re a little dirty. So we’re going to have to be ready for it all this week.” Arkansas has an average of 237 rushing yards a game, ranking second in the SEC. In contrast, Florida through the first three games had only relinquished 214 rushing yards. Florida has been the best team in the country at preventing the running game, only allowing 53.5 yards per game. Even without defensive tackle Dominic Easley Arkansas had coach Bret Bielema said that the gators are still dangerous. According to the Arkansas News website Bielema stated,  “Obviously, they lost a real good player in (Easley), But across the board up front, they use their hands well. They’re powerful. Their linebackers run.” In my opinion, the key to winning this game is to win the battle on the line of scrimmage. Let the games begin. The game will be on ESPN2 at 7pm on Saturday.

Information from The Associated Press, Sbnation, GatorZone, The Orlando Sentinel and The SEC Network was used in this article.

Freshman Star Emerges In Florida’s DB

By: John Whitelow

In just four games, Florida’s corner back Vernon Hargreaves III has managed to produce seven tackles, four pass break ups and three interceptions for 39 return yards. Hargreaves is tied for No. 2 nationally in interceptions and is tied for No. 1 in the SEC.

Hargreaves was originally listed as a back up corner at the stat of the season up until they faced Kentucky this past weekend, he earned his first career start. In that game alone he racked up two tackles, an interception and a pass break up.

Yesterday Hargreaves earned the SEC Freshman player of the week award. Hargreaves intercepted a pass in the end zone from Kentucky’s Maxwell Smith and also leads the gators in interceptions. Hargreaves currently holds the most interceptions by an SEC freshman and the third-most nationally among freshmen.

Hargreaves is definitely a big impact on the SEC’s best pass defense. The group of guys around him will only push Hargreaves to get better and already seems to have good chemistry and trust with each other. Hargreaves has yet to face the tougher teams of the SEC but will only improve through the season. This rookie for Florida is the real deal and by the end of the season, he will be known as one of the best corners in the nation.

SEC Week 5 predictions

Well football fans, its Friday and just a matter of hours away until we kick off with week 5. But at least this week will be a little more exciting than week 4. LSU-Georgia and Alabama-Ole Miss should give the weekend some hype, but the Texas A&M-Arkansas’ rivalry should have everybody on their toes.

#12 South Carolina at UCF

– Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks better bring their A game tomorrow or UCF will take care of business. The Knights won’t lose without a fight. They are a much talented team than last year when Missouri beat them. I still have the Gamecocks though. South Carolina 28, UCF 17.

#6 LSU at #9 Georgia

– This is definitely one of the biggest games of the year and its going to be exciting to watch. My only concern with Georgia is can their defense show up and play good enough to stop LSU’s talented offense? I think LSU tames the Dogs today but not by much. LSU 28, Georgia 21.

South Alabama at Tennessee

– South Alabama beat WKU this year, who Tennessee killed. The Vols can’t expect to get a win handed to them but they shouldn’t have any problem. Tennessee 35, South Alabama 17.

#21 Ole Miss at #1 Alabama

– Everybody has Alabama on their upset alert, but Alabama is still the king of college football this year. They have some fixes in some areas but Saban and the Crimson Tide are too strong for this Ole Miss ball club. It will be a good first half game but look for Alabama to pull away in the second half. Alabama 42, Ole Miss 21.

#20 Florida  at Kentucky

– Its going to be interesting to see how Tyler Murphy plays tomorrow in his first start. With the loss of Driskel and Easley things are going to be shaken up a bit, but the Gators still have a strong reliable defense and they should pull this one out. The score is going to be close and Kentucky will put up a fight. Florida 28, Kentucky 14.

Arkansas State at Missouri

– Missouri has be real surprised the way they have been playing so far this year. I like them for tomorrows game. Missouri 38, Arkansas State 17.

UAB at Vanderbilt

– Vanderbilt has struggled every game so far but UAB still can’t size up to Vandy. Vanderbilt can use this game to fix their on going issues.

#10 Texas A&M at Arkansas

– I’m feeling quite confident in Johnny Manziel and the Aggies this week. They put a good beaten on SMU last week and I think they will handle their business by at least 2 touchdowns. Texas A&M 38, Arkansas 20.

 

Should Gator fans be concerned about injuries?

A lot of people are concerned that Florida’s season is completely tarnished. Well don’t think so fast, because its not.

With quarterback Jeff Driskel and DT Dominique Easley out for the remainder of the season, yeah its a big blow but its no reason to hang your head. I honestly don’t see too much of a change from this. I think its going to be more interesting to see how their offense develops with Tyler Murphy taking the snaps.

With the absence of Driskel, offensive coordinator Brent Pease will have to shake things up a bit and that could be a good thing. Maybe a change is what the Gators need.

Both Driskel and Murphy are dual-threat quarterbacks but Florida seemed like they were digging a bigger hole with Driskel and that conservative ball-control offense.

Murphy can make more things happen on the ground, which should allow Pease to run a Urban Meyer pro-style offense.

Florida has always been known by having a monster defense, so with the loss of Easley I don’t think there will be any drastic. Their defense is young and talented and they should be exciting to watch.