The Silver Bullet: A Coach's Story

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thugger Jackson

I hate the Gators and got a ton of catching up to do....but following.

HAHA, I appreciate you checking in man. At least we're not FSU.

[trekfan]

Gators bury Seminoles in regular season finale
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators matched up against hated rival FSU in a battle for a BCS title shot. The loser would effectively be eliminated from any national title hopes in the final home game of FSU’s seniors, notably QB Jameis Winston.



In the first FSU won the toss and chose to receive the kick — a sign of disrespect to the top-ranked defense in the land — and the drive for FSU initially looked good. Winston used his own legs to gain 28 yards on an option run, then threw the ball well to get into the Gators side of the field before their stall drive. FSU was forced to kick a FG but, as has been the case so often in Seminoles history, FSU’s kicker was less than accurate.







Florida would get the ball and would go on a long drive, with two big calls going their way — on a 2nd and 22, the Gators TE Casey Blalock caught the ball and took it past the first down marker, but fumbled it on the tackle. The officials initially ruled it a fumble but replay review overturned it, giving the Gators possession. Florida would then get into the redzone, where Purcell almost threw an INT on 2nd and 7 at the 13 yard line — the FSU defender dropped the pass, missing a key opportunity to change the game as the rain picked up. Florida would end up punching the ball into the endzone behind Matt Jackson, making it 7-0 at the end of the first.



FSU would again get the ball back and would go on a long drive, capitalizing on a endzone fade from Winston to Wilson, making it 7-7. The Gators would answer back with a long drive and a field goal of their own, making it 10-7 — they forced a quick three and out from FSU and again got into the redzone before having to settle for a FG to end the half, making it 13-7 at the break.







In the third, Florida came out and struck first as the Gators went to their passing game — anemic in the weather — and managed to get down the field on some tight, tense throws. Purcell connected with TE Casey Blalock in the endzone as Florida finally got another TD on the board, making it 20-7 after the PAT. FSU got the ball back and tried to answer, but manged to do nothing







FSU would get nothing going the rest of the quarter and neither would Florida, as both teams traded three and outs. In the fourth, the Gators went on a long, soul-sapping drive as they went for it on 4th and short twice, both times getting it, sucking clock and converting on the ground in the endzone as FB Colin Thompson scored on an 8 yard FB dive play, making it 27-7 Gators. FSU answered with a TD pass from Winston to Wilson again, but with only 2:44 on the clock there wasn’t enough game left as the score sat at 27-14 Gators. Florida would get the ball back and attempt to run the clock out, as FSU spent all its timeouts and Florida punted.



The defense would come up with a pick to seal the game and the Gators offense would punch in one more score on the ground from Carl Lane to finish things off as Florida won 33-14.











Coach’s Corner



“This was a big win, one that we needed and one that we wanted,” said Coach Silver. “FSU played a hard, tough game today and we had to really scrap for this one, really play smart … we’ve completed our regular season. It’s time to prepare for a SEC championship.”









Recruiting News:



The Gators grabbed their last recruit of the regular season in DE Terry Ewing, a recruit who wasn’t in high demand but one Florida had its eye on late in the cycle.










The Top 25

The BCS polls have Florida with a big lead atop Baylor and Ohio State — FSU’s loss drops them out of title contention and they’ll need a lot of help to get back into that conversation. Alabama punches its ticket to the SEC title as the Tide crushed Auburn and Arkansas lost to LSU (who finished 4-8 in what may be Les Miles’ final year there). Temple also took a tumble after a terrible loss to Rutgers, ending any title chances for them.

[trekfan]

Gators’ remain number one as SEC Championship looms

By Sabrina Barrows

The Florida Gators are locked and loaded for an SEC title game, and get back TE Travis Crooks from IR after the terrible accident in the offseason. Crooks will be used sparingly early in the game, according to the Florida coaches, and will be evaluated as the game goes on — if he responds well, expect Purcell to feed his favorite target from the season before in a crucial game.

The Top 25

Ohio State has been given a slight edge over Baylor for the #2 ranking in the BCS polls — both teams will have tough conference championship games. Whomever wins theirs in the biggest, best way possible may be given the edge in the polls for the national title game … assuming Florida can take care of business.

[trekfan]

Gators battle Tide in close SEC Championship win
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide met to determine whom the conference champion would be; this year, it was a game of inches.



In the first, the Tide would receive the ball on kickoff but would turn the ball over on a fumble from starting running back Alfred Tenpenny (HB Derrick Henry has missed the last 6 weeks with injury), giving the Gators the ball in Tide territory.







Florida, however, would only get one play off before QB Dominique Purcell was strip sacked by the Tide, giving Alabama the ball right back. The Tide would go down the field using their passing as Saban went away from the run, trusting his redshirt junior QB Cooper Bateman to tear up the Gator defense — Bateman was just a second faster than Florida’s pass rush and the Gators struggled to get to him early as the Tide scored a TD on a pass from Bateman to Stewart (who caught it with one hand), making it 7-0 Alabama.



Florida would answer back with a drive of their own, going down the field in a no-huddle hurry up offense, keeping the Tide defenders on their back heels — Purcell would find TE Travis Crooks three times on the drive for big chunks of yards before tossing the ball to TE Anthony Reed in the endzone, making it a 7-7 tie near the end of the first.



That’s where the score remained as the second quarter dawned — Alabama had the ball in Gator territory but were held to a FG attempt and missed, giving Florida the ball and momentum. The Gators would go down the field with multiple run calls as the Gators offense virtually gave up on the passing game — refusing to air it out and instead keeping it on the ground through option runs, sweeps, dives, and power football. Florida got into the endzone again behind HB Carl Lane, making it 14-7 Gators, but Alabama would answer right back quickly as Bateman found WR Morris on a busted coverage, tying the game again at 14 all.



Florida would get the ball back and go to the ground, trying to eat clock and scored once more with the run, this time from FB Colin Thompson, making it 21-14 with under 4 minutes to go in the first half — but Alabama would answer back again with a bomb of a TD pass from Bateman to Stewart, a 47-yard connection that once more tied the game at 21 all. Florida would attempt to get down the field and score once more before the half, but their drive stalled at the Tide 38 and the clock would run out as both teams were tied heading into halftime.







In the third, Florida received the kickoff and went on a long, clock-killing drive, as the Gators tried to leave as little time for Alabama as possible and maximize their possessions. Florida would end up scoring a 34 yard FG to give the Gators a slim 24-21 lead, and then it was up to the defense to stop the Tide — something they had been unable to do much of in the first half.



The Gators “Sack Attack” line finally began to get pressure on the Tide as Florida began to shift and move their defenders around to confuse Alabama’s offense — Florida would come up with an endzone INT from Nick Washington to deny Alabama a touchdown, but the Gators offense could do nothing with it and were forced to punt. Alabama got the ball back again and again went on a drive, but Bateman would be stripped sacked by the Gators and once more Florida had the ball — but the Gators gave it right back in Alabama territory as Purcell was picked off by SS Anderson.



The fourth quarter would begin with Florida leading 24-21 and Alabama driving, but the Gators defense forced the Tide to punt and Florida got the ball back again. Once more, Florida drove down the field and got into the Alabama redzone but this time Mark Jackson would fumble the ball and Alabama recovered — another turnover, the third on the day for Florida, and sixth in the game. Alabama once more tried to go to the air and get to the redzone, but the Gators defense was firmly in a dime look and allowed little daylight between receiver and defender; Alabama was forced to punt the ball back to Florida.



With the ball and the clock now under on their side, Florida slowly made their way up the field, running the ball between Jackson, Lane, Purcell, Thompson, and WR Sam Terrell — all those players got touches as the Gators ran the option, ran between the tackles, and barely passed the ball at all as Florida’s yardage on the ground piled up.



The Tide would spend their first timeout of the second half with 2 minutes to go and Florida at their 10 yard line — with only a three point lead, Florida needed a touchdown to put Alabama away for good and went to the ground, handing the ball off to speedster Carl Lane (who had been huge all day setting the Gators up with good field position on special teams and as a spell back for Mark Jackson) and Lane delivered.







Florida senior CB Vernon Hargreaves would close out the game as he intercepted a pass, giving the Gators awesome field position.







Florida would use that last possession to score another TD, this time through the air from Purcell to Terrell, as the Gators won 38-21 in a game that was very close until the last two minutes.












Coach’s Corner



“We turned the ball over too much, but our team fought back,” said Silver. “Alabama played us as hard, if not the hardest, of any team we’ve seen this year and they really made us bleed for this … our players gave everything on this one, we left nothing out on the field, and I’m very proud of how we finished this game off. We could have hung our heads and cried at how unfair the ball bounced today, but persevered and now we have a shot at a national title. This is what you play for.”












Award News:



Despite the SEC title win and a good season (over 1300 yards on the ground and 15 touchdowns), HB Matt Jackson just didn’t have the votes to threaten for a Hesiman — that award went to UCLA’s Paul Perkins.







Other award winners for Florida includes:



Bednarik to CB Nick Washington



Nagurski to LE Alex Anzalone



Lombardi to LE Alex Anzalone






Florida also had multiple players make the All-American team:



First Team — LE Alex Anzalone, DT Caleb Brantley, DT Travis Thomas, LOLB Daniel McMillan, CB Nick Washington, SS Justin Cantrell, HB Carl Lane (returner)



Second Team — CB Mario Bolden, FS Marcell Harris, P Johnny Townsend



Freshmen Team — HB Carl Lane, WR Corey Terry, WR Sam Terrell, C Darryl Smith, RT Trey Randle, CB Mario Bolden, CB Adam Mann









The Top 25









Baylor fell to Oklahoma, taking them out of contention for a BCS title — Ohio State jumped Florida in the polls after a closer (but far prettier) 40-31 win against Nebraska in the Big 10 title game. Florida was bumped down to 2nd overall, with Oklahoma and UCLA behind them.



The title game matchup between Ohio State and Florida is the second time in three years the two teams have met — Urban Meyer, former Florida coach, has a more veteran team now (still led onto the field by JT Barrett) and has had almost two years to plan for this. For Coach Silver, this will be a chance to exceed the standard set by Meyer, who won two national titles with the Gators — if Silver wins here, he’ll have the most national titles of any Florida Gator head coach.



The Bowl Matchups

[trekfan]

Gators emerge victorious against Buckeyes
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes faced off in a revenge game for Ohio State (and their legion of fans). Two years before, Urban Meyer and JT Barrett had faced off against the Gators in a game many believed Ohio State could win — and they came away with a devastating 42-21 loss. This year’s game started out fast and furious, as Ohio State went down by a touchdown after the opening kickoff was returned by HB Carl Lane for a TD.







That set the crowd going as Florida, arriving in the game as an underdog according to the polls, went on defense and had to withstand the drive to answer — they didn’t as JT Barrett and the explosive Buckeye offense busted a huge 61-yard TD run, tying the game up 7-7 just two minutes into the quarter. Florida would get the ball back with decent field position and go down the field methodically, running a mixture of option and just power football with HB Mark Jackson, who took it into the endzone after a long drive to make it 14-7 with just 3:33 to go. But once more Ohio State would march up the field quickly, in just 7 plays and barely a minute using their no-huddle, spread-option attack and Barrett would waltz into the endzone to tie the game 14-14, where it would remain at the end of the first.



The game was all knotted up at the start of the second and Florida had the ball, slowly making its way down the field as they answered Ohio State’s quick scoring with measured drives — the strategy was clear from Coach Silver, who wanted to give his defense as much rest as possible while forcing the Buckeyes to stay on the field longer. That resulted in another long drive that ate up a good chunk of the second and was finished off by Jackson again getting to the endzone, making it 21-14.



The Buckeyes offense managed to get a few first downs but were stopped on a key 3rd and 9 as the Gators deployed more zone looks, forcing Barrett to diagnose the defense as pressure bore down on him — and Barrett was unable to do so.







That gave the Gators the ball back with just a few minutes remaining in the half and Florida again went to a run heavy offense, pounding the rock and sucking clock as the Gators churned the Buckeye defense like butter — Florida would end up settling for a field goal as the half came to a close, making it 24-14 at the break.







Ohio State came out of halftime and got nothing from their offense, going a quick three and out, and Florida again got the ball and again went down the field methodically — the Buckeye defense had been worked on all game and the cracks were beginning to show. Once the Gators got to the Buckeye goalline, Florida QB Dominique Purcell scampered in on a broken play, making the Gators lead 31-14 after the PAT.







But the Buckeyes would find life after that as Barrett, once more, took to the ground and made things happen as the Florida defense could not stop the Ohio State offense — Barrett would scamper into the endzone on his own from 4 yards out and cut the lead to 31-21 with 3:20 left in the third. Florida would go down the field and this time they’d unleash Purcell to pass the ball — and pass Purcell did as he found senior WR Ahmad Fullwood for a TD with just 32 seconds to go in the quarter, pushing the Gator lead to 38-21.



In the fourth, the game was one of desperation for Ohio State — down by 17 and in need of big plays, the Buckeyes went to a heavy passing attack and Barrett — forced to read the defenses and sit in the pocket — made some plays but couldn’t make the biggest one. On a 4th and 12 near midfield, he threw a backbreaking pick.







Florida went down the field slowly, bleeding 5 minutes off the clock and scoring on a TD pass from Purcell to last year’s favorite target, TE Travis Crooks — resulting in the final score of the game, making it 45-21 Florida as the Gators, once more, beat Ohio State and their former HC Urban Meyer in a thrilling title game.












Victorious, the Gators have redeemed themselves after their disappointing (for them) 2015 season and have won three national titles in four years under head coach Eric Silver.








Florida also saw three of its players finish their seasons breaking school records in senior Anzalone (who broke DE Alex Brown’s career sack record), senior Hargreaves (who broke DB Fred Weary’s career INT record), and redshirt sophomore QB Dominique Purcell (who broke QB Danny Wuerffel’s season TD record).












Coach’s Corner



“This title was one we bled for,” said Silver. “We haven’t had the greatest luck the last two years, that loss last year to Georgia stuck in our minds all this season, we’ve had injuries … throughout the ups and down, throughout all the adversity early in the season till this very moment, we have remained a committed team on the field and off. Those players who were a part of this, who put in the hours and put their team before themselves, those guys deserve to have their praises sung at the highest mountaintops … I’m incredibly proud of this team, this university, and this fanbase for the season we had.”









The Top






Despite beating Ohio State — and thoroughly — the last polls of the season are filled with controversy as the coach and media polls both rank Florida as only the second best team in the nation, despite the national title win. Florida will remain the BCS title champs of course, but many pollsters seem to have had enough of Coach Silver’s playstyle — this can be seen, perhaps, as a repudiation of Silver’s late game scoring despite a big lead, a staple of his offense since he arrived.



The Bowl Results