Dooley: Momentum at right time
Published: Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 4:58 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 4:58 p.m.
Kentucky came to the The Swamp on Saturday a beat-up team.
Facts
Dooley Grades the Gators
OFFENSE: A
First half: Florida went for 266 yards and 14 first downs in the half and answered a Kentucky field goal with an 80-yard drive for a score with only one passing play.
Second half: Florida only had one full possession in the third quarter but ended it with a score, and John Brantley did well in mop-up duty.
For the game: Starting with the fourth quarter against Arkansas, Florida's offense has been on a roll for nine quarters.
DEFENSE: A
First half: The Gator defense held Kentucky without a first down until the last play of the first quarter, and although Randall Cobb moved the Wildcats in the second quarter, the result was only three points.
Second half: Florida got a pick-six on the first play of the half and had the backups in for the fourth quarter.
For the game: Defense dominated an offense that was challenged before it lost two big playmakers in the last two weeks.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A+
First half: It was a special teams clinic. The Gators haven't gone after a lot of punts this season but executed perfectly and also had a blocked field goal.
Second half: Not as much of a factor in the second half because the Gators didn't need to be.
For the game: Special teams set the tone for this rout with those two blocked punts. Only blemishes were kickoffs out of bounds and the safety.
OVERALL: A
That's two straight complete efforts for the Gators setting up the big game in Jacksonville against Georgia.
The Wildcats left town a beat-down team
Florida put one of those Steve Spurrier-era whippings on Kentucky. It really got to the point where you felt bad for Kentucky even if you wanted to see Johnny Brantley pitch it around in the fourth quarter. At the very least, you were rooting for a running clock.
Think the 63-5 final will get Georgia's attention?
The Gators did it with all three phases — an offense that was explosive, a defense that was suffocating and special teams that were special. I think it's time that the college football world realizes that the head coach with the special teams crown lives in Haile Plantation and not in Blacksburg, Va. Urban Meyer is the Frank Beamer 2.0.
"Our guys just played well," Meyer said. "Defense and special teams, that's about as good as you can get for the start of a game."
And it was needed. Because at the beginning of the game, it felt a lot like Ole Miss. A fine mist covered the crowd under gloomy skies, and the student sections were still missing by the chunks. The buzz outside the stadium said 12:30 game because it could barely be heard.
The Gator players had been given a new routine at the team hotel to try to shake off the sleep in their eyes.
"We got up about an hour and a half earlier than normal, music playing, bouncing around a little bit," wide receiver Percy Harvin said.
But what really got the Gators going — and the Homecoming crowd screaming — was the blocked punt by William Green. And then another by Jeff Demps.
Suddenly, the place was LSU-electric.
As it was two weeks ago, this was the team the Gator Nation had been waiting for this season. Right, left, knockout. It was so lopsided that Tim Tebow, Kestahn Moore and Cam Newton and were swaying and singing to "We Are The Boys" at the end of the third quarter.
By then, Demps had provided another one of those plays where you just can't help yourself in the press box. He caught a short pass from Tebow and turned on the jets. Even though a Kentucky player had the angle, I couldn't help but say to nobody in particular, "Gone."
And he was.
"He caught the ball and I started looking for the extra point team," Meyer said.
That Florida put up 63 points was hardly what I expected. While Kentucky had some significant injuries on defense, it still was a salty bunch that came in here. But when your first two touchdown drives cover three yards and one yard, well, it's hard to play defense.
Florida can sure fluff up a defense's stats. The Wildcats came in giving up fewer points than any team in the conference. Not anymore.
It was a perfect way to head into next week's game against Georgia. You may have heard that the two teams are playing next week. And there is no question Florida heads into the game with plenty of momentum. Meyer was worried about momentum following the bye week. But Florida goes into the Georgia game coming off two wins by a combined 114-26. That's momentum.
"We're ready for this game," cornerback Joe Haden said with a grin.
Who isn't?
It's also clear that the Gators have — so far — delivered on Tebow's promise after the Ole Miss game, when he vowed this team would not let it happen again.
"Absolutely we're a real team," Tebow said in response to a question about whether this game was indicative that Florida has become a real team. "Not just playing games but off the field, in practice, in meetings."
A real team.
The team you wanted to see.
Just at the right time.
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