No nightmare for UF, just a recurring dream

<p>COLUMBIA, S.C. — The music was blaring from the speakers — 2001: A Space Odyssey — and the South Carolina fans were making plans for the destruction of one or more goalposts. The Gamecocks had the momentum and the ball perched on Florida's 22 already 10 plays into a drive that was to give them the lead.</p><p> The game stopped to change ends as the third quarter became the fourth.</p><p> And then, as it always seems to, Florida made a play.</p><p> Justin Trattou made this one happen, taking a deflected pass and rumbling 53 yards with the interception return. Just like that, you knew the game was over.</p><p> Even though Florida couldn't get out of its own way offensively in the second half.</p><p> Even though the field goal kicker suddenly developed a case of the hooks.</p><p> Even though Charlie Strong's blitzes were being countered by the Ball Coach on the other side of the field.</p><p> Again on a night that had the potential to be a nightmare, the dreams all stayed alive.</p><p> Same game, different opponent. Black jerseys, fly-over, frenzied crowd.</p><p> They've seen it before.</p><p> "We expect somebody to make a play," defensive end Carlos Dunlap said. "And it doesn't always have to be one of our biggest playmakers."</p><p> Nope, Saturday night's hero was Trattou who made the game-changing play to help keep Florida unbeaten and still on a collision course with destiny.</p><p> The battle-tested Gators took another team's best shot and sent it home encouraged but disappointed. And in the visitors' locker room, well, they celebrated.</p><p> "Coach (Urban) Meyer was stressing it to us before the game, 'Get to 10-0. Get to 10-0,' " cornerback Joe Haden said. "After the game, everybody was so happy. Everyone felt like we had just won a championship."</p><p> In a way, they did because any time you go 8-0 in the SEC you've done something special. Only 11 other teams have done it and it hasn't happened to a Florida team since 1996.</p><p> Back then, Steve Spurrier was the Florida coach. On Saturday night, he was trying to beat them by throwing quick short passes and running the ball when Florida was looking for the pass. Almost worked, too.</p><p> "We had them," said South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia.</p><p> And then, abracadabra, it was gone, the chance to beat the No. 1 team in the country.</p><p> "There's a lot of history being made," Meyer said. "That play should go down in some book somewhere."</p><p> That book still has some chapters to be written, and when you read each one you'll be wondering if you lost your place and read the same chapter twice. The games all seem the same, but Saturday night's had a twist — Florida's defense played awful in the first half.</p><p> "Coach (Charlie) Strong got on us pretty good at halftime," Haden said.</p><p> The message was simple — play better.</p><p> "There weren't any adjustments," Strong said. "We just weren't executing."</p><p> Even Haden, as reliable a player as there is on the defense, missed the play call twice and was in the wrong place.</p><p> "I was doing stuff I don't usually do," Haden said.</p><p> But in the second half, it was back to being dominant for the defense. South Carolina had six possessions. On five of those, the Gamecocks were held to minus-8 yards.</p><p> Still, there was that one drive, the one that had the Gamecocks thinking upset, when they drove from their 29 to Florida's 22. As the quarter changed, it didn't look good for the mighty Gators. It was wild and it was crazy.</p><p> But then, that one play.</p><p> "He looked like he was being chased by a dog," Dunlap said of Trattou.</p><p> And so it goes, win piled upon win even though this team's best game is still out there somewhere. Whether these guys find it or not remains to be seen.</p><p> Maybe they don't need to.</p>