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The week off was well-timed. For once we’ll take a shot at getting the off-week heading into Jacksonville and see how that affects us. UF’s had the off week every year seemingly except for 2004 (hey, we won that one) so hopefully we can parlay that to a win. As crazy as this college football season is, I’m afraid to make any statements about what I expect to see. It’s just too random. Onto the facts…

About the Vandy game

It’s kinda interesting sitting back and thinking about the Vandy game now, knowing that they followed our close loss with a win over top-6 South Carolina. At the time of the game, we were coming off a complete drubbing at the hands of a rested UT team and we were begging for a win over anyone, especially a SEC-east opponent. We eked out a win…one that looked pretty ugly. I’m not saying that it’s now pretty, I’m just saying I imagine SC would take a last-second FG win over Vandy right now.

Could the offense and defense have looked better? Certainly. There were plenty of good things to take away from that game though. After a sluggish first half, the defense played incredibly in the 2nd half with the exception of Vandy’s last drive, but even that ended with a forced turnover. Stafford, while by no means clicking on all cylinders, once again avoided any turnovers and managed to execute another game-winning drive. He’s coming along nicely and while he’s not an All-American by a long shot right now, you have to remember he’s only a sophomore. Hopefully he’ll be able to have a solid game this week because we’ll need a stellar game from him to give ourselves a chance.

UF Offense

This is a very good UF offense. They’ve topped 45 points in 4 of their 7 games. They are a balanced offense, ranking in the top 3 in the SEC in rushing, passing, total and scoring offenses. They do a great job of getting the ball to their incredible athletes, and they have a QB perfectly suited to run the spread offense that Meyer favors. The only teams to slow them were Auburn and LSU, two of the tougher Ds around. We’ll have our hands full.

At QB UF trots out the media sensation that is Tim Tebow. He’s a tough joker, and he has to be to take the pounding that Meyer’s offense calls for. Many thought that Tebow might not make it through the season running the ball as much as he has and it remains to be seen if he actually can. He certainly has proven he can throw it this year, entering the game with the nation’s highest passer efficiency rating. He’s a little banged up with a bruised non-throwing shoulder, but he claims he’s fine. Judging by the cringes he was taking towards the end of the UK game, I think he’s obviously experiencing some pain. Judging by how successfully he was slinging it around during that same game, I don’t know that it will impact him much. He’s thrown 17 TDs to only 3 INTs on the year. Impressive indeed.

At RB, UF has Tebow. For all the hype, he’s averaging under 5 ypc. He’s carried the ball nearly twice as often as the Gators’ top RB, Kestahn Moore, who’s averaging over 5 ypc. Tebow’s a running QB, but he’s not the dangerous option QB most running QBs are. With a top option QB, they’ll string it out and make the DE or LB with responsibility commit before pitching. Tebow doesn’t do this very well, as it’s typically easy to read when he’s going to keep (most of the time) and when he pitches, usually it’s too early and the D player that had responsibility is still in the play. UF uses a lot of folks to run the ball, often utilizing motioned players. WR Percy Harvin is averaging nearly 5 carries per game and fellow WR Jarred Fayson is used as a RB as well. Harvin is typically used outside with Fayson getting some straight ahead runs more like (gasp) a traditional RB.

At WR, the Gators have a bevy of options with Percy Harvin being the most dangerous. Last year Harvin was more of a gimmick, touching the ball a lot but not nearly as much as a true WR, and he often struggled catching the ball. He’s started to polish his WR skills this year and he’s emerged as a true threat everywhere on the field. He leads the team in catches and is averaging 16.6 ypc. Louis Murphy chimes in with 23 catches for over 350 yards. Sr. Andre Caldwell has battled injuries all year but returns to add a fast, physical presence downfield, over the middle, on end arounds, etc. He’s that prototypical UF WR that’s haunted us forever. Perhaps the most dangerous receiving option (and that’s saying something) is WR/TE hybrid Cornelius Ingram, whose 5 TD catches lead the team. He’s got 21 catches on the year for almost 15 ypc which surprised me some because I would’ve sworn I’ve seen him catch 30 balls and I’ve only caught a few of their games. He’s a former basketball player at UF, so that should tell you how athletic he is. He’s lethal on crossing patterns against a LB and in the redzone.

The UF OL has done a good job of protecting Tebow. At least until he doesn’t want to be protected. He’s been sacked only 5 times on the year and UF is 2nd in the country in giving up sacks, behind only UT. Their typical OL features 2 seniors, 2 juniors and a true freshman, but an injury to Sr. RT Carlton Medder has had him on crutches all week, so look for more shifting their OL. They’ve had some injury issues there already, losing their preseason LT for the year prior to the season. The OL is large, with every starter weighing in over 310 pounds.

Bottom Line: It’s tempting to say the UF offense is more than just Tim Tebow, as they obviously have elite level athletes all over the field but the fact remains that Tebow is obviously involved in all the passing plays and he’s far and away the most often used runner in their ground game. He’s the offense. Stop him and the Gators aren’t going to move the ball. The problem is stopping him, as he’s shown this year that he’s more than just the FB he was used as last year. He’s got a strong arm and while his strengths aren’t breaking a defense down sitting in the pocket, the Gator offense doesn’t ask him to do that. They do a good job of scheming to get the ball to their playmakers and they can score from anywhere on the field. Tebow is a freak of nature and he’s flanked by fellow freaks Harvin, Ingram and Caldwell. This is a dangerous unit that will move the ball, but if Tebow’s injury is aggravated during this game and he’s slowed as a result of it, that significantly alters UF’s attack.