The Silver Bullet: A Coach's Story

[trekfan]

Gators outclass Vandals in easy home opener

By Sabrina Barrows

The Florida Gators started out the 2014 season as defending champs and made a loud, if expected, statement about what kind of year to expect: a big one. Florida met up with the Idaho Vandals in a rain-drenched Swamp that saw the Gators offense move with fluidity and their defense attack with ferocity.

The game started with Idaho losing the toss and Florida deferring, giving the Gators defense a chance to set the tone and they did just that, putting the Vandals down into a third and long situation on their first drive, forcing a punt. That punt was short — very short — and return man Ahamad Fulwood easily got the ball into Idaho territory. The Gators then gave it to Jeff Driskel, who showed that his hot hand from the of last year continues, as he slung one pass to the endzone for a TD to senior Quinton Dunbar. 7-0 Gators.

Florida would intercept the ball on the next Idaho drive, giving the Gators more great field position — this time Florida let their Heisman trophy winning back carry the way, testing out a run game that no longer has two All-American seniors blocking the way for it; the test proved successful as Kelvin Taylor did what he did all year last season, biting off good chunks of yards as the Gators made their way into the endzone again. 14-0 Gators.

Idaho got the ball again and again, three and out. Florida drove down the field, featuring a mixture of pass, run, and even some trickeration with a few wideout option plays, that saw the Gators bash the ball into the endzone behind the power running of Driskel. 21-0 Gators.

The rest of the game would go pretty much like that as the Gators romped. Idaho was able to get a field goal after getting a huge run by their wide receiver, but Florida answered that back with a 38 yard TD pass from Driskel to Latroy Pittman (his first of two TD catches on the day) in a vertical game that Gator fans didn’t see much of last year. Florida led 35-3 with 39 seconds left in the half.

At the start of the second, the special teams got involved as Fulwood took the second-half kickoff all the way back for a TD, much to the joy of the soaked (but stoked) Gator fans in the Swamp. Florida scored another TD in the quarter and the defense allowed a TD to Idaho on a broken play, which did not please the coaching staff.

Florida would sub in their second team during the fourth quarter and the second string didn’t allow any further points to Idaho, and added two more touchdowns. Senior Trent Murphy acquitted himself well, going 4-4, 1 TD, and 57 yards in his one quarter of play — and giving Driskel doubters a reason to hope. Driskel himself put up a marvelous day, going 21-25 for 237, 3 TDs through the air and 1 on the ground as the Gators made an effort to showcase the senior.

Coach’s Corner

“There are few better ways to start off a year than with a win like this … I’m proud of how well our lines, both offensively and defensively, played. The guys in the trenches are a big reason for our success. The defense rebounded after giving up two big plays that led to points, and the offense was showing a balance I was aiming for last year … we’ll see how this goes once we get into conference play, but I’m happy with how this year has begun,” said Silver.

Recruiting News:

The Gators performed well in week one, but saw five highly-ranked recruits on their boards commit to rival teams; the Gators pivoted, however, and are devoting their resources to securing recruits, especially on the offensive line, as the Gators prepare for a mass exodus of talent at the end of the year — Florida has 19 seniors on the roster, 10 on offense and 9 on defense, and are going to lose four more linemen. Add in potential junior defections — Florida expects at least 3-5 of their juniors to get draft consideration — and the Gators could be very young next year. Shoring up the offensive line is priority one for the Gators.

The Top 25

Though Florida was dominate in their opening win, Idaho was hardly worthy competition and the pollsters know it. FSU remains at the top of the rankings, with Alabama nipping on their heels — Florida again controls its own destiny, as they are meeting FSU at the end of the regular season and could meet Alabama in the SEC title game, should both teams make it.

[trekfan]

Gators eat up Razorbacks on the road
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators, for the second time in as many weeks, got stuck in a rainy, swampy game but again played as though they were the superior team and they knew it. Florida had little trouble dispatching with the Razorbacks, who put the Gators on upset alert early in last year’s game.



This year, Florida left nothing to chance. The Gators battered the Razorbacks on the ground with Kelvin Taylor and ate up the Razorbacks offense; defensively, Florida controlled the game from the opening gun and proved that in spades in the second quarter, where the Gators broke the game wide open with a deliberate drive down the field led by Driskel. The senior QB would find TE Kent Taylor for a 7 yard score, putting Florida up 14-0 with 7:08 to go. After another Arkansas three and out, the Gators would again drive down the field, this time behind the hard running of Kelvin Taylor, and score. 21-0 Florida with 2:18 left.



Arkansas quickly went three and out again and Florida got the ball back, scoring a field goal after their drive stalled at the 22 yard line. 24-0 FLorida as the half came to a close.







In the third, both teams traded field goals as the opposing defensives allowed little, and in the fourth Florida finished off the Razorbacks with a late TD run from Kelvin Taylor — Arkansas would score a garbage time touchdown (and miss the two point attempt) and Florida would walk way with an easy 34-9 win.














Coach’s Corner



“We improved a lot from last year … this team gave us a headache this time last season and I’m very glad to say that they weren’t that much of a problem. Offensively, we need to improve on our work in the opponent’s side of the field … we had too many missed chances that other teams would have taken advantage of,” said Silver.









Recruiting News:



The Gators are ready to host four high ranking recruits, each of them linemen as the Gators are investing heavily in recruiting those players. Florida expects to end up with at least two high-ranking linemen recruits by the time this class is in the books, but the Gators are hoping for a lot more as potential losses loom large for the Gators next year.

[Razorback73]

Just read through this thread today -- loving it! (Except for the two blowouts over my Razorbacks, but that's accurate.) Looking forward to seeing what's coming up for your Gators!

[trekfan]

Gators put down Rebels in dominant home win
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators watched as the Ole Miss Rebels won the coin toss and then choose to receive the opening kick, putting Hugh Freeze’s offense on the field first —and the Gators defense was fired up at the lack of respect from that. Within forty seconds and two plays, the Rebels would realize their mistake when CB Purifoy, last year’s Thorpe trophy winner, grabbed an interception and took it to the house — sending the crowd into a frenzy.



7-0 Florida. Ole Miss would do admirably to recover from that setback, driving down the field to the Gators 20-yard line before being forced to kick a field goal, making it 7-3 Florida. But the Gators didn’t sit on their laurels, as they got the ball back and drove 80 yards down the field in a drive that sucked up most of the remaining first quarter before scoring a TD on a Driskel pass to TE Kent Taylor. 14-3 Gators.



In the second, the Rebels would respond with an early touchdown off a blown coverage in the redzone, making the score 14-10. Flashback to 2008 and the last time the Gators met Ole Miss, as the Rebels managed to hang around then as well — spoiling the Gators attempt to go undefeated that season, but prompting one of the greatest college football moments in the post game with Tim Tebow.



Coach Silver remembered that game and the HC was not having it happen again on his watch. Florida got the ball back after the Rebels last score and went down the field in an up-tempo mode, hammering the ball down the Rebels throats repeatedly, while balancing out those runs with passes from Jeff Driskel — who, three games into the year, remains turnover free, a stark contrast to last season.



Florida scored three more touchdowns in the quarter, all from Kelvin Taylor on the ground, as the defense fed off the physical play of the offense — and got stops each time. At the half it was 35-10 Gators in what social media was referring to as the “Massacre of Ole Miss.”







At the start of the third quarter, Florida got the ball and went down the field again, taking much time off the clock and hitting TE Kent Taylor for another TD, making it 42-10. But the Rebels responded with a quick TD of their own from Bo Wallace to Moncrief, making the game 42-17 Gators.



Both teams would trade empty possessions the rest of the third before the Gators finally got on the board again in the fourth on a 5 yard strike to WR Arthur Baily. Ole Miss would respond back with a Bo Wallace run into the endzone, making the game 49-24 Gators. The first-team offense stayed on the field for one more drive as Jeff Driskel led the Gators all the way down the field and delivered a laser to Quinton Dunbar, who shook a tackle and took it into the endzone for a 20 yard score. 56-24 Gators



The Rebels would be forced to punt after regaining possession and the Gators second team offense entered play — and Trent Murphy delivered a tight pass into the smallest of windows to WR Robinson, who took it 51 yards and to the house, making the game 62-24 in what would be the final score of the game.











Coach’s Corner



The Gators again put up gaudy offensive numbers and again, much like last season, Coach Silver was asked whether this was “in the spirit” of the game, as the score got up into some high numbers.



“I respect that they kept playing,” said Silver. “And if they’re still playing to score, why shouldn’t we? The game, the spirit of it, is about winning and doing so in such a way that we impress voters. The bottom line is, if you don’t want high-scoring college football games, then you need to make the various rewards and recognition this game has to offer based around something else. Since that’s never going to happen, we’re going to play to score, because that’s how you win. The end.”






Recruiting News:



The Gators nabbed their first recruit of the 2015 class in G George Thompson, who is a much needed addition to an offensive line unit that will be losing players at the end of the year. Florida impressed C Marcus Harris with his visit and the Gators are confident he’ll be committing to them soon.







The Top 25

The Gators got a slight bump in the polls, moving up to eighth as FSU continues to hold onto number one with ease. South Carolina was upset by Georgia, who was 0-2 going into the game, dropping them to 15th in the standings and marking the first major upset of the year. As conference schedules begin to get tougher, the top ranks of the polls should thin out some.

[trekfan]

Gators break Volunteers over their knees after wild first-half
By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators watched as the Volunteers got the ball and began their drive, employing a similar approach to last season as Tennessee stayed in hurry-up mode — and just like last season, Florida seemed put-off by the approach. The Gators struggled to make the right reads and make good tackles, as the Volunteers went down the field first and scored. 7-0 Tennessee.



Florida got the ball and went to their Heisman winner, letting Kelvin Taylor set the tone as the Gators attempted to keep the backs carries in line with Driskel’s passing. This led to a redzone touchdown pass from Driskel to TE Kent Taylor, which gave Florida the tie. 7-7.



Tennessee would get the ball back and again start driving the down the field, but their drive was cut short by SS Jabari Gorman, who picked off Worley and gave Florida the ball back. The Gators would promptly go hurry-up and ram the ball down the Volunteers’ throats, making the lead 14-7 Gators on a Kelvin Taylor TD run.



Tennessee would struggled to get going for the remainder of the first quarter, settling for a field goal as the quarter came to a close, and making it 14-10 after one.



In the second, the Gators possession ended poorly with a bad Driskel pass that resulted in a pick at the Tennessee 23. Florida’s defense would force a three and out and the offense would again get back on the field, but would give up a 12 yard sack, which forced a Gator punt. Tennessee again went three and out and with only 5 minutes left in the quarter, Florida got the ball back and moved down the field quickly with a mixture of run and pass. Driskel would redeem his INT with a TD pass to Demarcus Robinson, who’s come on the last two games and looks to be building chemistry with Driskel. 21-10 Florida.



The Volunteers would get the ball and quickly go back to their hurry-up game, finding success on screens and options that let them get into the endzone. 21-17 Gators.



Florida, with just 2:13 left in the quarter, would get the ball back and run their hurry-up to get into the endzone thanks to Kelvin Taylor — 28-17 would be the score at halftime to a relieved group of Gator fans in the swamp.







In the third quarter, both teams would trade more empty possessions than points as Tennessee got on the board first with a field goal with 4:03 left in the third; FLorida would responded with a long drive that ended up with another touchdown for Kelvin Taylor, making it 35-20 Gators with only a minute left in the quarter.



Tennessee would go on a long drive and go for it on fourth down twice, making it the first time and failing the second time at the Gators 33 yard line, giving Florida the ball back and allowing the Gators to milk some clock. Florida did this marvelously as they got into the endzone on the legs of Jeff Driskel, making it 42-20 in what would be the final score of the game.














Coach’s Corner



The Gators survived an early first half scare from the Volunteers and Coach Silver isn’t attributing that to luck.



“Last year, that team folded when we got a lead and this year they fought real hard, really hard,” said Silver. “I didn’t expect them to do that, honestly, and I’ll tip my hat to them — but they still have a long way to go before enter our territory. We didn’t play a clean game defensively or offensively, a lot of missed tackles and poor decisions out there … but we won this game because, when the going got tough, the players pulled together as one unit. I’m proud of this one.”












Recruiting News:



The Gators impressed two more linemen recruits, both centers in Marcus Harris and Antwain Jones. Florida continues to be in the running for more talent and is locked in a recruiting battle with Florida State for LG Joe Anderson.







The Top 25

Notre Dame falls to Michigan in an upset, as the Wolverines now have the attention of the pollsters.

[trekfan]

Gators declaw Wildcats in blowout win

By Sabrina Barrows

The Florida Gators could seemingly do no wrong as the Kentucky Wildcats were beaten through the air, on the ground, and in special teams by the Gators. In the first year on the job, new Kentucky HC Jay Nieman — formerly a defensive coordinator, much like his predecessor Mark Stoops — has had a difficult time slowly down any of the top teams and this is true for Florida as well.

Kentucky received the kickoff and went down the field to a point — stalling out at the Florida 44 yard line as the Gators defense, gashed the week before by a hurry-up Tennessee option attack met a similar attack this week from Kentucky. But whereas last week the Gators looked lost on the first drive, this week Florida looked prepared and the Wildcats were forced to punt.

The Gators got the ball back and went down the field in methodical fashion, taking their sweet time before a 1 yard Driskel scamper into the endzone. 7-0 Gators.

Kentucky would get the ball back, use their offense to get around the Gators 40 again, and again met stiff resistance but managed to get within field goal range. Kentucky’s kicker made it, making it 7-3 Gators early in the second. Florida got the ball back and quickly went down the field in a hurry-up, shotgun heavy drive that saw Driskel operate the up-tempo attack wonderfully — the Gators capitalized on Wildcats inability to guess right and scored on a draw play to senior HB Mack Brown, who took it into the endzone on a 16 yard bruiser. 14-3 Gators.

Kentucky would get the ball, go down the field, and stall at the Gators 47 yard line. Florida spent all day dropping different players into a QB spy, refusing to let a big play occur and making their opponents work for it, and the Wildcats again were stymied and forced to punt after a time consuming drive that resulted in no points.

With less than three minutes to go in the half, Florida got the ball and went down the field again in a hurry-up mode. Again, the Gators kept the Wildcats guessing and Driskel would run into the endzone on a busted screen play, resulting in 21-3 Gator lead.

Kentucky got the ball back with 1:45 left in the half and tried to go down field passing, but was picked off by senior CB Marcus Roberson at the Kentucky 43. Florida, with 1:01 left to go in the half, went down the field and got into the redzone, but settled for a field goal. 24-3 Gators at the half.

In the second half Kentucky was burned by a 63 yard kickoff return by the Gators, which set up an easy pass from Driskel to Kent Taylor for a TD. 31-3 Gators and the rest of the game would go like that for Kentucky, who folded from that point as the Gators piled on the points. At the end of the day, Florida won 45-3.

Coach’s Corner

“After last week’s gashing, this game felt a lot better. We defended that option attack very well and played mistake free football — no dumb penalties, no dumb turnovers, no dump plays. The team really put in a lot of film time and practice this week and it showed out there — we’re in a good spot, I think,” said Silver.

Recruiting News:

The Gators had successful visits with their prospects and Florida feels it will nab two more recruiting commitments in the next week or two as the NCAA as a whole preps for the madness of the week 7 signings. Florida is expected to add a lot of talent in the coming weeks as the Gators continue to emphasize adding depth to the trenches.

The Top 25

Week 5 saw a lot of big upsets, and none bigger than Alabama falling — for the second year in a row — to Ole Miss, who is quickly proving that the biggest weakness Alabama has is defending a spread-option, hurry-up attack. Ole Miss is in contention for the SEC West, a division that is notoriously hard to win, and with Florida facing off against LSU next game, the Gators could deliver a big win for the Rebels.

Elsewhere, Texas’ undefeated dreams came to a crashing halt as Kansas State bested them, putting KSU in the top 25 for the first time all season and making the new divisions in the Big 12 that much more interesting.

[trekfan]

Gators survive in Death Valley
By Sabrina Barrows







(Author’s Note: Game was played but froze up with 5 minutes to go and the Gators leading 31-24, driving down the field for a TD. I simmed it after rebooting, got the win anyway).














Recruiting News:



The Gators snagged two more recruits with Bret Gant and Brett Smith signing up to become Gators. Florida is locked in a heated battle with multiple prospects and has visits arranged for more in the coming weeks as the Gators look to solidify their class, which ranks #10 at this point in time.







The Top 25

The battle against LSU see the Gators leap up to number three, right on the tails of FSU and Oregon; the matchup against FSU at the end of the year looms large for both teams, but Florida still has to navigate a tough SEC schedule, where every team is going to be taking their best shots at the Gators.

[trekfan]

Gators send Commodores to 0-6 on the year

By Sabrina Barrows

The Florida Gators took care of the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road as the Commodores, equipped with a new starting quarterback, showed a bit more fight than they did last year but overall still suffered from a severe lack of talent — made all the more apparent by the Gators as the game wore on.

Vandy was the first to strike, receiving the kickoff and going downfield in a hurry as the Gators defense found themselves attacked from moment one. Like other teams have exploited Florida this year (and last year), Vandy grabbed an easy touchdown as the Gators defense struggled to make the right reads — 7-0 Vandy.

Florida responded with a 59 yard kickoff return by Fulwood, who nearly took it to the house just like his predecessor Solomon Patton did the year before — Florida had a short field to work with and made short work of the Vandy defense scoring a touchdown on the ground by senior HB Mack Brown. 7-7 Gators.

Late in the first, Florida would get the ball back off a Vandy punt and go down the field again, this time letting senior wideout Quinton Dunbar run it into the endzone off a jet sweep — 14-7 Gators.

Vandy got the ball back and found themselves frustrated by the Gators defense, who couldn’t get turnovers and rarely got a lot of pressure, but did confuse the new Vandy quarterback with their zone looks. Vandy was forced to punt and the Gators got the ball back again, this time taking a nice, long drive down the field and scoring on a Kelvin Taylor rush into the endzone. 21-7 Gators.

The Commodores answered that long drive with one of their own, converting two very long third downs in the process, and scored a field goal, making the game 21-10 Florida. The Gators got the ball back with 1:54 left to go and drove down the field quickly, lead by Driskel and the hurry-up offense. Florida scored a touchdown on a Kelvin Taylor run with 9 seconds left in the half, making it 28-10 at the break.

The second half saw both teams try to put the other away, with Florida scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the half and sucking away almost half the clock doing so. 35-10 Gators. Vandy would come right back down the field but again stall in the redzone, settling for a field goal and making the game 35-13 Gators.

In the fourth, Florida subbed in their second team and Vandy got a garbage touchdown, which Florida got back with their second team offense. The final score was 42-20 Gators.

Coach’s Corner

“Defensively, we made our adjustments out there. Vandy came out and dared us to play man, we did, and they burned us, so we switched to a more zone-heavy scheme and that seemed to really take the wind out of their sails … ultimately, football is a game of adjustments and I’m glad we were able to make the adjustments we did, when we did, or this game could have been worse,” said Silver.

Recruiting News:

The Gators had a number of successful visits and are confident they’ll be receiving more commitments in the next week or two as their recruiting class begins to take form. Florida is in tight contests for three recruits, each of whom who could help the Gators immensely next season.

The Top 25