FSU Seminoles 31 – Florida Gators 7

The streak is over. It had to come to an end eventually. These things don’t go on forever. In a rivalry of this magnitude eventually the tide will shift. With two programs of relatively equal talent one team can’t dominate for that long. There are cycles, ups and down. We all had to know that one day

Florida

would lose to

FSU

. Those of us Gator fans didn’t want to see it end. We hoped it could keep going and going and going. We definitely didn’t want it to end the way it did.

A close game turned into a blowout in one quarter. In the first quarter, neither team looked great on the offensive side of the ball, but both looked good enough. The struggles we expected to see were present in both cases, but the teams were moving the ball. The game looked like it would be a hard fought battle as the Gators took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter. And then it all turned. The Seminoles scored touchdowns on three straight drives to take a 24-7 lead into the locker room. Florida’s offense started to stall and turnovers helped FSU pull away.

The fake punt call was questionable, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad decision at that point in the game. What was tough to swallow was that it was called to the short side of the field. Chas Henry really didn’t stand a chance of getting the first down as several Noles had sniffed it out. The interception? Well, that’s another story.

John Brantley was the quarterback for the Gators’ first third down of the game. He hit Robert Clark for a 20-yard touchdown. The second third down was a six-yard completion from Brantley to Trey Burton to give Florida a first down. The next two were Gator first downs via a personal foul and a long Jeff Demps’ run. Then the second quarter happened. Here’s the result of the third downs: Brantley hits Chris Rainey (who fumbled) for one yard on third and three, Brantley incomplete to Frankie Hammond, Brantley incomplete. On to the third quarter and more third downs: Brantley sacked, Jordan Reed converts on the ground, Brantley sacked and called for intentional grounding, Brantley hits Rainey for a first down. Fourth quarter: Rainey runs for a first, a pass interference call gives Florida another first, Brantley incomplete. So let’s sum up Brantley on third down:

One touchdown, two completions for first downs, a completion that didn’t result in a first down, three incompletions, and two sacks.

That’s 33%. One third of the third downs in which Brantley attempted a pass or dropped back to pass did something positive come out of it. For the game the Gators went six for 12. That means Florida converted all three of the third downs in which Brantley wasn’t asked to use his arm.

Look, Brantley is the most experienced quarterback on the roster and overall he may have the most talent. What Brantley doesn’t have is “it.” He doesn’t wow and after 12 games has yet to make you stop and say “what a play!” Even on some long completions over the course of the season, Brantley threw the ball short and it was the receiver who made the adjustment to make the play. I’m sure he’s a great individual. To be able to handle all of this as well as he has is remarkable. That aside, he isn’t the answer at quarterback for the Florida Gators.

There was a point in the game where it appeared as if FSU was going to run away with it. That point was when the Noles were up 24-7. It was also a point where Brantley had been given his chance. The offense was starting to sputter and it was time for the Gators to go a different direction. And they did, momentarily. Reed 11 yards. Rainey 13 yards. Reed incomplete. Reed 16. Rainey 18. Reed 2. The Gators had moved the ball very quickly all the way to the FSU 20-yard line. Then Brantley was put in and threw an interception.

I don’t mean to make this all about Brantley. The loss was hardly his fault and shouldn’t be put on his shoulders, but he has struggled all season to fit into the system (whatever that might be) and just as a quarterback in general. It has been far from the ideal situation for #12. In the 12th game of the regular season with a 7-4 record and down 24-7 to your instate rival, he shouldn’t have been in the game. Florida needed a spark and unfortunately for Brantley and for all of us all year who have hoped he would finally have that great game (yes, I’m among those), he wasn’t going to provide it. And now the questions have already begun about Brantley and his role in the offense in 2011. It’s probably been a rougher year for Brantley than for anyone else. On Saturday, it didn’t get any easier.

Despite being down big early, the Gators only attempted six passes in the second half. Only two in the final quarter. 16 pass attempts for the game. The Florida run game – fumbles aside – ran the ball well, but well enough to only put the ball in the air 16 times? No, not that well.

There are a number of things wrong with this offense and you can bet we’ll see numerous changes in 2011. The pass game needs to be completely overhauled. From protections and blocking to route running and who will be throwing the ball. In four of the five Gator losses (including this one), Florida’s offense put up seven points or less. That’s 27 TOTAL offensive points in four games. The passing game had a lot to do with that. It needs to be the first thing addressed in the offseason. But not the last.

Now the Gators stumble toward a bowl game. There are still fans. Plenty of them. Still lots of us who want to see Florida go out on a high note. We criticize because we can’t stand to lose and we HATE to lose in that way. We aren’t “haters” or “bandwagon jumpers.” We are passionate college football fans who just want better for our team.