Football- Florida-Georgia Recap

The Gators lost to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday 24-20. It was John Brantley's first game back since Alabama 3 weeks ago. The Gators were the first ones to strike, and ended up taking a 10-0 lead that ended up being 17-10 Florida at the half. Georgia then outscored the Gators 14-3 in the second half to get a 24-20 victory over the Gators. Brantley didn't look very good in his 1st game back, ending with a Completion/Attempt of 12/34 for a good 245 yards and a TD. The Gators rushing wasn't very good either. Demps and Rainey ended for a combined 13 rushes and 38 yards with no TD's. The Gators now suffer their FOURTH STRAIGHT loss and fall to 4-4 (2-4 SEC). The Gators NEED a victory vs. Vanderbilt next week, or they will start to be questioned if their even bowl eligible. 

Football- Florida/Georgia PreGame Analysis

The Gators square off today at 3:30pm with Georgia in the annual rivalry game in Jacksonville, FL. Florida has won the last 3 meetings with Georgia (34-31 OT win last year). The Gators are coming off of a bye week, but before the bye, they had suffered a third straight loss to the Auburn Tigers (other 2 losses were Alabama and LSU). John Brantley, Gators starting QB, missed the Auburn and LSU games, which may have been a big factor in the Gators lack of offense. Brantley will most likely be back for the game today. A main thing the Gators have to succeed at is 3rd down conversions. The last 3-4 weeks, this was the typical Gators offensive drive/possession: Rainey run for 2, Rainey run for -1, Brissett incomplete pass, punt. This needs to stop. The Gators cannot always rely on the running game. Another key for the Gators, is Caleb Sturgis may not play, so punter Kyle Christy will have to step up and kick the FG's. In last years game, that's how the Gators won. Chas Henry (now on the Philadelphia Eagles) made a 37 yard FG in OT to give Florida a 34-31 victory. Well see what happens this year at 3:30pm on CBS. 

Basketball- Do you agree? Gators or Commodores?

The talk about the Southern Eastern Conference (SEC) is that the Kentucky Wildcats are the #1 team in the conference. For #2, there is a debate between the Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Commodores are ranked ahead of the Gators in the USA Today Preseason Poll (Florida is #10, Vandy is #7), but many do not agree with this ranking. I am one of them. A lot of talk is that the Gators wont be as good, losing SF Chandler Parsons, PF Alex Tyus and C Vernon Macklin, but they must not realize that sophomore Patric Young is improving, and that they picked up freshmen Brad Beal and Walter Pitchford. You also cannot forget about the improving Scottie Wilbiken and Rutgers transfer SG Mike Rosario. Vandy has elite players such as Jenkins, but I feel like the Gators has more talent throughout the entire team. The Gators face the Commodores twice in the season. Their 1st matchup is Saturday, February 4th in Gainsville. Their 2nd meeting is in Nashville on Tuesday, February 28th. Game 1 will be broadcasted on CBS, Game 2 will be on ESPN. 

I want your opinion on which team is better, and your predictions for the games. Comment on the post and tell me what you think. 

Football- Florida-Georgia Preview

The Gators are coming off of a 3 game losing streak. For some, this was expected, for others, they are shocked. The Gators started off to a great start at 4-0, defeating Florida Atlantic, UAB, Tennessee and Kentucky. Then started their rough October schedule home for the Crimson Tide, where they didn't only lose the game, they lost their starting QB. 4 weeks later, John Brantley is healthy and ready to go vs. Georgia in the annual rivalry game in Jacksonville, FL. This game will come down to how well the Gators defense can contain a good Bulldogs offense with Murray at QB (120-198, 1653 yards, 16 TD), Star receivers like Mitchell and Charles, and a great running game with RB I. Crowell. The Gators offense on the other hand, has to simply improve its game. The running game has been slow, the throwing game has been pathetic, and the special teams looks awful outside of Caleb Sturgis and new punter Kyle Christy. In other words, the Gators need to improve their offense and hold a great Georgia offense to under 25-30 points to win this game. It'll be tough, but I think Will Muschamp knows how to work this team correctly.

Basketball- Florida's New Comers

The Gators have some big talent coming in this year. These freshmen include Brad Beal and Walter Pitchford. 


Walter Pitchford, a center out of Christian in East Lansing, is gonna be a big key to this Gators team. With players like Boynton, Walker, Beal and Rosario, the Gators may have 4, even 5, guards on the court at one time. Most of the time though, they will have sophmore Patric Young at PF/C, and Pitchford. 


Brad Beal, shooting guard out of Chaminade College Prep School, has been described as "The Ray Allen of college basketball" for his great outside shot. Beal will be a HUGE factor for this 10th ranked 2011-12 Gators team.

Football- What do the Gators need to improve?

The Gators have showed some very weak signs in the past 3 weeks in all categories. The passing game has been awful. The special teams (besides FG's) has been awful. The defense has been up and down. 


Key players on offense: John Brantley, Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps and Andre Debose. Brantley: Has been out the last 2 1/2 games, so can't blame these losses on him. Rainey: He has really been struggling. He looked like one of the best running backs in the game the 4 weeks, but he's starting to slump. Demps: Has been so/so lately, but is questionable to play vs. Georgia. Debose: It's hard to criticize a player who had two 60+ yard TD's in back to back games, but he still needs to step up his game, we can't afford another loss.


Key players on defense: Jaye Howard, Matt Elam, Cody Riggs and Jon Bostic. Howard: Was named defensive player of the week just 4 weeks ago, now, he has not been close. He is definitely not the player he looked like these 1st 4 weeks, his game needs to improve. Elam: Elam needs to make more game changing plays. We need him to come up big in tough spots. Riggs: Of course, had that 1 lack of coverage on that 1st LSU TD. He then tweeted after the game "You make one bad play and everyone's against you... keep a tight circle." Since that statement, Riggs has looked like a shut down corner. Bostic: Has been great at times, then can be average, but either way, he is a big key to this defense. He has to stay consistent and be the great player that he is.


Make sure to rate the post! 

Football- 3 Key Factors: Florida-Georgia

1. John Brantley - The Gators just played 2 1/2 games without Brantley (used Driskel and Brissett). They did not have Brantley for the second half of Bama, where their offense did not score. He missed the entire LSU game, where their offense scored 11 total points. He also missed the entire Aubrun game where they only scored a pathetic 6 points on two FG's. With Brantley, the Gators have scored 151 points in 4 games.. without him, they have scored 27 points in 3 games.


2. Gators defense - The Gators have allowed nearly 80 points in just 2 games (Alabama and LSU). Last game, they did a good job of holding Auburn to only 17 points, which where I'd say only about 7 of them were the defense fault. If the Gators defense can hold Georgia to below 30 points, I think the Gators will win this game. 


3. Punt returning - Clearly, the punt returning was AWFUL vs. Auburn. A total of 7 punts were kicked to them. 2 of them they let bounce, 1 was not caught cleanly, and the other 5 were all muffed, 2 of them being turnovers which led to Tiger scores. If I am Will Muschamp, I work this team (especially Rainey) so hard, in affect to their embarrassing performance vs Auburn. Punt returning is gonna be a big factor in this game.

Football- Gators/Bulldogs Prediction

First to score: Florida (Field Goal)

First quarter score: 16-10 Florida

Halftime score: 24-23 Georgia

Third quarter score: 31-30 Georgia

Final Score: 40-34 Florida 

MVG (Most Valuable Gator): John Brantley

Football- How much effect will Brantley have on Florida?

As you know, true freshman Jacoby Brissett has started for the Gators the last 2 games, which could have been a main factor on the lack of offense. John Brantley, Florida starting QB, is probable to play in the annual Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, FL. Now, the big question is: How much of an effect will Brantley have on the game? In my opinion, a big one. The Gators were not trailing Alabama by much, until Brantley went down and Florida was forced to put 2nd string QB Jeff Driskel in the game. Then the Gators got blown out by LSU and lost to Auburn while Brissett started both games. With Brantley back, I believe it's gonna be a huge factor.

Football- Get Pumped!

After 3 straight losses, and a bye last week, the Gators look to get a win in the annual Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, FL. If the Bulldogs pull out a victory, the Gators will fall to a .500 record (4-4) and new coach Will Muschamp will definitely have to answer some questions. This is a key game for the Gators because of having more tough games throughout the season (@#13 South Carolina, vs. Florida State). GO GATORS!