Gators Win in Rout

It’s too bad June Jones wasn’t the coach of Hawai’i anymore, because on Saturday the Florida Gators made a statement, routing the Warriors 56-10. The Gators made few mistakes and despite a slow start, looked good throughout the contest. The offensive stats aren’t overly impressive, but given the play of the defense, it was definitely a performance to be proud of.

Heisman quarterback Tim Tebow looked sharp starting his second season as the Gators’ starter. Florida didn’t need any Tebow heroics, but the junior managed to put up decent numbers even if he wasn’t asked to throw or run as much as usual. Still, Tebow ended up going 9-of-14 for 137 yards and 1 touchdown through the air and added 37 yards on 9 carries on the ground. It did look like he was a little more hesitant to scramble though. I have a feeling coaches told him to only scramble when he absolutely had to. No point in risking injury in a sure win game. Once Tebow was removed from the game, the passing virtually stopped. Backups Cameron Newton and John Brantley only attempted three passes between them as they replaced each other on almost every other play. Newton did end up running in a score, but it was hard to get a read on the effectiveness of either backup.

The Florida run game looked sharp, gaining 255 yards on 28 carries. 11 different Gators carried the ball with Tebow leading the way with only 9 carries. Kestahn Moore (7), Chris Rainey (6), and Newton (5) were the only others to carry the ball more than five times. Rainey showed some of his big play ability, making a nice run on a 33-yard touchdown. But the play of the day went to freshman track star Jeffrey Demps. In the third quarter, Demps showed just how fast he is, breaking away from the defense for a 62-yard score. It’s hard to say who the Gators plan on using as the primary runner, if they go that route at all. We may be in for running back by committee all season.

We didn’t get a chance to see much from the receivers as Florida only completed 10 passes all game. Louis Murphy led the way with 2 receptions for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. It was nice to see Tate Casey get back into the action. Casey filled in for tight end Aaron Hernandez who head coach Urban Meyer said wasn’t ready to play.

The offensive line looked good in the run game, but shaky in the pass game. They were able to open some good holes for backs, but Hawai’i was able to get pressure on Tebow during most of the game. This will have to improve moving forward if the Gators hope to give the Heisman winner time to find open receivers.

Led by Lawrence Marsh and Jermaine Cunningham, the defensive line was very impressive when they weren’t jumping offsides. Marsh led the way with 2 sacks and Cunningham added 1.5. The big problem was penalties though as the unit seemed a little too anxious to get to the quarterback at times. Nothing wrong with being ready to go, but Florida has had problems with penalties for a few years and this is an area that needs immediate attention.

Perhaps the weakest unit of the day was the linebackers. Nothing against Ryan Stamper, but he is not Brandon Spikes. Hawai’i found success early with the shovel pass because the middle linebacker was usually out of position, forcing someone from the secondary to come up and make the stop. Take away a few solid hits by Brandon Hicks, and the play of the linebackers left a lot to be desired. Hopefully Spikes’ return will help the rest of the unit.

I would have to give the secondary a very high grade – even higher when compared to how they played last year. Although this was not the Hawai’i of 2007, the Warriors did throw the ball 39 times; however, the Gators were in good coverage for the entire game and only allowed Hawai’i to gain 181 yards through the air while throwing 4 interceptions (Florida only recorded 11 interception all of last season). Starting his first game, safety Ahmad Black was the hero, coming away with 2 interceptions and returning one 80 yards for a score. Major Wright also got into the end zone, returning a pick 32 yards for a touchdown. Perhaps the biggest star of the secondary was sophomore cornerback Joe Haden, but I’ll get to him later.

While some areas of special teams worked almost perfectly – the punt return touchdown run by Brandon James was simply amazing – other areas were not so great. After Florida kickoffs, Hawai’i started their drives on the following yard lines: 25, 26, 28, 29, 33, 33, 41, 44, and 32. And those weren’t the results of good returns. They were the results of awful kicks. Three different Gators kicked the ball off during the game and not a single one came close to forcing a touchback. Many were high kicks that didn’t even get inside the 15-yard line. This could be a big problem against better competition. Chas Henry’s fake punt run was a great play that wasn’t actually intended. The play called for Henry to actually punt the ball, but when he saw the opening he went for it. Good thing he got it, because if he hadn’t it might’ve been a long time before we saw him on the field again.

The Gators played great in their opener and looked to be very improved in the area that was the weakest in 2007 – the secondary. If Florida can get some players healthy – especially Percy Harvin and Spikes – and cut back on the penalties, we should see them near the top of the polls all season long.

Offensive MVP: RB Jeffrey Demps – 2 carries, 76 yards, 38.0 yards per carry, 1 touchdown, 1 reception, 10 yards – With the Gators spreading the ball around so much, it’s hard to single out one player, but we’ll give the game ball to Demps who looked just as quick as advertised during his 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Defensive MVP: CB Joe Haden – 2 tackles, 3 assists, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 0.5 sacks – This could easily go to Black, but if you watched the game, you noticed Haden everywhere. He is one of the surest tackling corners the Gators have ever had and he has a lot of power in his hits. Being able to play more man in this game than he did last year, it looks like he has all the necessary coverage skills as well.

Special Teams MVP: RB Brandon James – James gets the special teams’ MVP hands down. His 74-yard punt return touchdown was highlight reel material.

Up next, the Miami Hurricanes come to The Swamp. The game is at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.