Gators Got Game

Well, it’s about time.

After a week of second-guessing coaching decisions and a senior center on the Rimington Trophy watchlist, we finally got to see something that Gator fans have been craving for since January: a solid performance.

After a 7-7 game going into halftime, something finally lit a fire underneath this team and they began to roll. Once they got rolling, the crowd came alive. And the Swamp never looked back.

Janoris Jenkins and Ahmad Black just love them some interceptions.

What you saw in this game (and mainly in the second half) was a perfect example of how the Gators’ offense is going to move the ball. We can play power run with Moody and Gillislee out of the I-formation, then kill you with Jeff Demps’ rare speed. On top of that, you have a QB who can really sling it. His name is John Brantley. I think we did a good job of mixing up all these elements.

What we’re learning about Brantley is that he’s not going to put up tons of yards through the air or anything, but he’s an accurate QB who will be able to move this offense. Honestly, that’s all I really ask for.

Another nice surprise from offense was Carl Moore. We’ve been talking about him for a LONG time now, and it’s about time that he’s putting it together out there on the field.

Pretty much the only criticism I have of the offense today is that John Brantley needs to do a little bit of a better job targeting various wide receivers. We have a number of guys who are just waiting to step up and make plays. He should be more willing to involve more than just his top-two wide receivers.

Defensively, there were positives and negatives. One of the big negatives was the way we came out and let South Florida completely tear us up on the ground in the first quarter. The positive was we were able to recover from that and shut them down in the second half.

I must say the thing that drove me the most crazy was how inept we seemed defending their running quarterback. That guy made us look silly trying to defend him. Fortunately for us, his running skills were not outdone by his passing skills.

And here’s where I get into a bit of a lovefest with our defense.

First of all, Janoris Jenkins is a monster. This guy is just playing on an entirely different level than his competition. I feel that at this point, he’s becoming a better corner than Joe Haden ever was for us. His ball skills and coverage skills are great, but this guy has incredible physical ability, particularly getting vertical. He’s small, but the way he goes up for the ball, he can hang with A.J. Green and Julio Jones in man-to-man matchups. My favorite Janoris story of the day: After sacking USF’s QB, BJ Daniels, Janoris lines up against the receiver. He begins taunting BJ like, “I’ve got my eyes on you.” Daniels throws it up Janoris’s way. Apparently, Janoris did have his eyes on him, because he leaps with rocket shoes into the air and snatches the ball for what was essentially a game-sealing interception. Gotta love that kind of swagger.

Second of all, I really feel that if somebody decides to take a chance on Ahmad Black in the NFL, they’ll be making a good decision. I see a lot of Cortland Finnegan in him. He’s a safety in college and undersized for the pros. I feel that just like Finnegan, he can translate to corner. He’ll be aided by the fact that he actually originally was a corner who transitioned to safety.

Third defensive note of the day. Where was Jon Bostic in this game? He was out there just getting torched by USF’s runners. I just didn’t see that same tenacity and pursuit that’s made him such an awesome presence in the middle of our defense. It was like a scared freshman captured Bostic and stole his jersey. Or he just had a bad game. Either way, here’s hoping he can step it up in a big way next week.

I just can’t say enough about our defense, particularly about the way we go up and snatch the ball away. The Gators, in two games, have eight interceptions coming from six different players. I really think the fact that our defensive coordinator was an NFL secondary coach has a lot to do with that. I’m really glad that even though we lost a good DC in Charlie Strong, we were able to replace him with someone who clearly knows what they are doing.

That said, we’re going to need all the luck in the world going into a harsh road environment like Knoxville.

Oh, and P.S.: Thank you Jack Bauer for thwarting whatever evil terrorist plot people were afraid of at the Swamp. Just sayin’.