I'm back, at least for now. My personal issue was taken care of much, much quicker than I would have dreamed of. I'll take it, the same way the Gators will take their 6th bowl win in their last 7 appearances.

The game was played in Jacksonville, Florida, not Glendale, Arizona.

The game was sponsored by TaxSlayer, not Tostitos.

The coaching matchup was Will Muschamp vs. Luke Fickell, not Urban Meyer vs. Jim Tressel.

The game was a third tier bowl, not a BCS Championship Game.

The results were still the same.

Once again, the Gators' speed was way too much for Ohio State to handle. Once again, the Gators' defense ran all over the Buckeyes. Once again, the offense controlled the ball and killed the clock in the second half to limit Ohio State's possessions and make them start the few possessions they did get deep in their own territory (for the most part).

And once again, Urban Meyer was the mind behind the Gators' win. The special teams that Ohio State is so dearly looking forward to will get to Columbus in due time, but yesterday it was used against them as Meyer's players gave them a preview of what it might look like next year. The problem for OSU is that Meyer's old players still wear the orange and blue, not scarlet and silver.

I'll make the recap quick so I can touch on two very important topics: the Gators' future and John Brantley.

The offense, much like it has all year, was mainly ineffective aside from the opening drive of the game. It did just enough to win the game. There's a good and a bad to that. The good is, it was enough to win. The bad news is, it was BARELY enough to win and going forward, it needs to be changed. But in any case, the offense did kill the clock late in the game, didn't turn it over much and basically didn't lose the game.

The special teams won the game with a blocked punt by Chris Rainey that was returned for a touchdown by Graham Stewart and a kick return TD by Andre Debose. The defense also did its part, keeping Braxton Miller and the Ohio State offense in check all game. The offense didn't do much at all to contribute.

That's OK, though. You don't need an explosive offense to win a national championship. You just need great defense and great special teams. All the offense needs to do is bleed clock, not turn it over and rely on one explosive playmaker.

That's how championships are won these days.

The Gators had the great defense and special teams in 2006, and relied on Percy Harvin to create huge plays. The offense, whether with Chris Leak or Tim Tebow, would keep moving the chains at least once or twice per drive to change field position, Eric Wilber would then boom a punt and pin opponents inside their 20 and Charlie Strong would unleash his nasty defense and dare the opponent to beat them deep. For good measure, Brandon James would throw in a big return every other game or so to give Florida great field position. Oh, and the Gators would also block a kick every once in awhile.

In 2009, Alabama's defense stuffed even the best offenses for 60 minutes, and their special teams always came through in the clutch, whether Leigh Tiffin would boot a long field goal or Terrence Cody would block a game winning kick. The offense, highlighted by bruising tailback Mark Ingram, steamrolled past the best of them, then knocked down Florida for the SEC Championship and then Texas for the national championship. The Gators had the defense, but the special teams was merely good, not dominant, and that isn't enough.

This year, another SEC team will win it all thanks to a bruising defense and great special teams. No, I'm not talking about Alabama. LSU's kicking game is far better. It gave them in the edge in Tuscaloosa and unless Robbie Gould or Neil Rackers makes the Tide's active roster for the BCS Championship Game it should give them the edge in New Orleans.

Of course, it's nice to have an explosive offense. But it's better to have your defense be great and your offense suck rather than the other way around. Remember how that worked for Florida in 2007, and then remember that our special teams, aside from a punt return TD against Tennessee, wasn't especially dominant either. You need your special teams AND your defense to be dominant, and a game managing, chain moving offense.

We have the dominant defense and the dominant special teams. We should return at least 9 starters on our starting defense that finished 8th in the nation in total yards allowed. We will lose Caleb Sturgis, which will hurt. We do have one of the top kickers in the nation, Austin Hardin, coming to town, but whether he can replace Sturgis remains to be seen. Kyle Christy silently emerged as one of the nation's better punters as a freshman, and should only improve as a sophomore in 2012. Andre Debose might have been the best return man in college football over the past two seasons, with 3 kicks taken back for touchdowns and three others of 50+ yards. I see no reason why he wouldn't continue to return kicks unless he becomes the focal point of the offense.

Which is a work in progress.

I'll get to John Brantley's legacy in a bit, but for now, let's just focus on his performance on the field. He simply was one of the most overhyped recruits in Gator football history. It might not have been his fault, but that's just the way it is. He was immobile, he was inaccurate and he just wasn't a good fit for the spread, and no matter how hard Charlie Weis tried to turn him into a pro QB, it didn't quite happen. The other players were recruited to run a spread, so even if Brantley was ready, the speed guys like Demps and Rainey were not.

My prototypical Florida QB for the future: A pro style, drop back QB who has confidence, an accurate arm and intelligence who CAN run for first downs and CAN escape from a broken pocket but who will ONLY do it as a LAST RESORT. Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett and both athletic enough to fit that description, and they both have the arm. It's the confidence and intelligence that need to be developed. By intelligence I mean somebody who will take the sack or throw it out of bounds rather than try to force one into triple coverage, and well, by confidence I mean a level at the inverse of Brantley's.

Speaking of Brantley.

The last 3 Florida QB's were worlds better than him, and the next three might be too. Aside from Tim Tebow, I can't really think of anybody as loyal and as tough as Brantley.

I don't play football due to early arm injuries and my parents freaking out too much to ever let me, but I wanted to remain close to the game and the coach hired me as an offensive assistant so I'm as close to the action as anybody not actually playing. I see guys get nicked up in practice every day. There's always a player or two that needs a tape job from our trainer before every practice and at least five or six before every game.

I'm not praising the players for playing through cuts and bruises, but I have seen guys play with partially torn ligaments, partially broken bones and other semi serious injuries. During timeouts, I'll relay in a play-call and I can see when a player is hurting. I see things fans don't see, such as guys playing through bad cramps, stingers, etc. They never complain, and while I'm not exactly complimenting for that because that's the required toughness of football, that required toughness is not found in everybody and I do respect that.

This is at the high school level, and while my high school program is one of the better ones in New Jersey, it's nowhere near the levels of Don Bosco or some of the perennial Florida and Texas powerhouses. Everybody gets hurt at some point in football. But at higher stages comes higher pressure. Combine playing through pressure with playing through injuries. Think about how hard that is to do. It's only for the elite group of tough kids.

Now combine the pressure of playing at the University of Florida, one of the most prestigious programs in the nation, in the best conference in the nation with the beating Brantley took in 2010. The lack of an offensive line ultimately meant Brantley got sacked and sometimes took a stinger. The boos got louder, and Brantley took almost as heavy a beating from the fans as he did from opposing defenses- maybe even heavier than Addazio at times.

In 2011, the pressure slightly loosened with an offense that somewhat fit his style- kind of a hybrid spread/pro offense- but the beatings got worse. Against Alabama, Brantley was brilliant for a half, but late in the second quarter, he got nailed and his ankle turned in quite an ugly fashion. This was after being lit up by Kentucky the week before.

Now, I'm not in Florida's training room every day. I don't know for sure how much time he put into his rehab. I can only base my guess off of what I see in my high school training room. Obviously, UF's facilities are worlds ahead of my high school's, but I can understand the amount of time and effort put into the rehab. Let's just say that it wasn't easy. I've seen some of my players- my friends, really- grunting out stretch sessions, and I felt really horrible, thinking about how much it really took out of them.

Brantley must have gone through some of the same workouts that I've witnessed in order to play against Georgia. He took another solid beating, though, and I refuse to believe he didn't endure another difficult week in the training room to get back for Vandy. Another week, same deal for South Carolina, then for Furman and then for FSU. All Brantley wanted after all this grueling training was to win his last game in the Swamp- but it didn't happen. He got knocked out after throwing a bad pick, and his career in the Swamp was over.

Why did he endure all this misery? Why did he work so damn hard just to get back on the field? It's bad for his health, football critics say, and they're right. Football is a violent game, almost like war. If you aren't willing to kill somebody, or get killed to win for your side, then go home. That's just the way it is, the same way that Ohio State bows to the SEC (0-11 now. It's really a bad time to be a Buckeye fan with any SEC fan in your zip code).

Brantley exemplified a true soldier the whole time. Maybe he leaves a legacy of the most overhyped recruit in UF history, but he also leaves a legacy as a Gator with undying loyalty. He went all the way to hell and back in the training room, in the weight room, and on the practice field just to fight for his team.

It's easy to quit. Really easy. Garrett Gilbert did it without a second thought. And that's why Texas fans think of him as... um... let's just say a cat. That's a much nicer synonym for another word that Longhorn fans use on internet boards and on the streets.

It's much harder to never give up no matter what. I can't say Brantley is the toughest and most loyal Gator ever, because it's hard to put him behind Tim Tebow, who played with a broken hand in the Capital One Bowl and came back from a concussion to beat LSU when his coaches and doctors thought he should sit it out.

Brantley never wanted to be Tebow, but he always wanted to be mentioned in the same category as Tebow.

So John, you got your wish. You are in an elite class of true Gators to the very end. You always wanted to play for Florida, and you did. Even though you didn't have the success you dreamed of, you stuck it out to the end and that's respectable for even the most impatient Gator fan. And you were rewarded with a winning record as a Florida starter, something lots of other QB's cannot claim.

So I say with all my heart: Thank you, John. You stuck with UF til the very end. I appreciate all your efforts.

Now, though, it's time to move forward.

Here's a quick prediction for next year.

We should have the dominant defense and special teams, but whether that playmaker and that chain moving offense can emerge will be the question. With our schedule, I say 10-3 with an Outback Bowl win is realistic. We'll lose to LSU, we'll lose to either South Carolina or Georgia and then we'll lose one more game we shouldn't, though predicting a letdown game is impossible.

I just hope that our players all take the lesson of loyalty from John Brantley.

To Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps: I'm sorry, I'm extremely sorry. We were hoping for a mediocre season, something Florida's never done since Charlie Pell was here, but I promise you one thing. A lot of bad will come out of this. You will never see any coach who will take advantage of this in recruiting as much as Jimbo, you will never see any team win so convincingly with more penalty yards than total yards, and you will never see a fan base be so pissed off by a loss as Gator Nation. God help this team (since the offensive linemen sure won't).

These were two of Florida's greatest and most exciting playmakers ever, and they could do nothing but watch as FSU walked into the Swamp, took the Sunshine State Supremacy without firing a single shot, said thank you very much, and walked right out with a shockingly easy 21-7 win.

I'll come right out and say it.

I am humiliated to be a Florida Gator right now. This team is so bad, FSU could have literally taken a knee on EVERY PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME and won, because their defense was the only offense they needed.

Seriously: if FSU had taken knees on every offensive play aside from fourth downs, they would have kicked two field goals on drives starting deep inside Florida territory thanks to interceptions, and with the pick 6, they have 13 points. This also means they wouldn't have fumbled, leading to Florida points, so had FSU taken a knee on every single offensive play, they would have won 13-0.

I know Florida has had some bad games, particularly recently and particularly on offense and had some bad years, but I'm not sure it's ever been so bad the opposing team's offense could have actually taken knees on every snap and then punt it away or kick field goals before.

Why did this whole ugly mess ever happen?

The offensive line was offensive. Again. Sure, Brantley made some bad decisions, and I am not defending him tonight, but then if the offensive line blocks for more than a nanosecond, maybe he doesn't have to rush that throw. Yes, he should have taken sacks there, but if there's good blocking, he's not forced to make that bad decision. Those turnovers should not be blamed all on Brantley; rather, he and the o-line should share the blame equally.

That's not even something to get angry about. We covered that back in the first few weeks of the season. Now that our sad little attempt of a season is over, we can just sit back and laugh. It's all history now. The Gators should just decline any bowl invitation they get- even lose the 15 extra practices, I wouldn't care. All bowl games are on TV, so why humiliate yourselves in front of a national audience again?

Oh and for what it's worth, say goodbye to outstanding linebacker Dante Fowler, who has probably spent more time in Gainesville than any verbal commit in FSU history. He might have even been rooting for UF so he could have a reason to pledge to Florida, but now, well, it's just not happening.

Back to the game. Let's go through the mistakes briefly, since they're essentially the same ones the Gators have been making all year. I know I just went over them. But then Florida just turned the ball over, why should they do it again? Come on, let me roll like my beloved and horrible Gators.

The Gators turned the ball over 4 times, and three of them directly led to TD's. FSU turned it over only once- leading to a Gator touchdown. That's the difference, folks. Our offense, particularly the passing game was abysmal and should have just stayed home. Maybe they did, to be honest. They sure weren't in the Swamp. Speaking of taking knees, that's probably what UF should have done on offense. They went backwards on 13 plays, which makes FSU's 9 negative plays appear to be good by comparison.

Florida actually gained twice the yardage that FSU did, and still lost because once again, they gave the ball- and the game- away. What kind of messed up world do we live in?

I'm finished with the rants against our team. They started out as objectively pointing out the Gators' shortcomings, transformed into yelling at them, and then turned into full blown screaming and cursing. But  you know what? I'm done with that. This team doesn't care. That's the most sickening part of all. The ESPN2 (why not CBS? Oh, right, because they don't want to watch us bumble around) broadcast kept showing the Gator sideline. There was no emotion throughout the course of the game. No players jumping up and down, raising their arms, gesturing to the fans to get loud, none of that. 

This team just doesn't even care.

So you know what? Neither do I.

Good luck in the bowl game, Gators, because I am shifting my focus to Gator basketball. They actually try hard. I'm not watching the bowl game, because there are better things to do than watch us struggle to put up a single point. For instance, there will probably be a good episode of Spongebob Squarepants on.

Oh, and guys: hold off on calling for Muschamp and Weis to be fired. This was year one, and Nick Saban was 7-6 in his first year. Let's not be so hasty. Let's give them another year to use players they want to run their systems to, well, run their systems and not run this vaudeville act some people call offense. At least for now, hang on and wait a little longer.

Because as absolutely crazy as this seems, this may actually help us in recruiting.

Noah Spence, Nelson Agholor, Tracy Howard and Jonathan Bullard at some point have all hinted that they want more playing time where they can directly be the cause for a team's resurrection. These are four of the most highly touted uncommitted recruits in the nation we're talking about. Florida is the perfect place for that. As long as UF holds on to its prized offensive line trio of DJ Humphries, Omari Phillips and Jessamen Dunker, they will eventually be scary on offense with Matt Jones and Mike Davis, two of the best running backs.

The defense is already there. They silently did a great job all year- they even made some nice stops against Alabama and LSU. They certainly did a great job against FSU tonight. That is an improvement from last year. But the unthinkable thought that the offense is just as bad if not worse than last year keeps this team at the mediocre level.

So these guys are not that far off. Muschamp has done a good job with the defense. There's always room for improvement, of course, to go from good to great in our case, but we're not as bad as our record says we are, sorry Bill Parcells.

If only we didn't beat ourselves, and had even an average offensive line we'd be 10-2. Talent-wise, that's exactly where we are.

Sickening, isn't it?

Welcome to Gator Nation.

But hey, at least our basketball team is doing well!

For now.

That's not OK, Gators.

In fact, that's the sorriest I've seen the Gators play since the 2004 Mississippi State game.

At least one of the units (offense or defense) showed up in every game since then to a greater extent than they did today.

From just looking at the 54-32 final score, the average person would probably think that the Gators blew the doors off the Paladins, and allowed them to crawl back to make it somewhat respectable.

The fact is, if not for a complete turnaround in the players' mindset, the Gators would have fallen victim of maybe the biggest upset of all in a weekend filled with them.

The 4 best non-SEC teams all went down- #2 Oklahoma State, #4 Oregon, #5 Oklahoma, and #7 Clemson to all but ensure that the SEC will put two teams in the BCS Title Game with LSU, Alabama and Arkansas vying for those two spots (if Arkansas beats LSU on Friday, hell breaks loose). But had Florida lost to a mediocre FCS team, more people would have been shocked than all the other four upsets combined.

Not me. And not many other Gators fans, either. We with knowledge know this team is comically bad- and has been pretty much all season.

The saddest part is that there wasn't a single reason, stat or bad play that caused this early meltdown- it was a total team effort and commitment to playing as if their heads had been dumped in sleeping powder. What? There's no such thing as sleeping powder? Well, I didn't think there was such a thing as allowing an FCS team to walk into the Swamp and jump all over us for a 22-7 lead after the 1st quarter, so pardon me for making something else up.

The point is, the Gators all pitched in to help form one big mess of a performance, albeit a bowl clinching performance. The defense was terrible in the first quarter. They routinely missed gap assignments, allowing Furman QB Chris Forcier to run around like a wild man and complete any pass he felt like- which was a LOT. The offense couldn't do much after their first drive, either, unless you count snapping the ball over Brantley's head for a safety, until they scored to make it 15-7. Then the defense was caught completely flat footed for a trick play TD to make it 22-7.

After that, the Gators woke up and played better. Sort of. But they had lots of help from Furman, who offered up a pair of pick 6's, allowed Andre Debose to simply run a fly pattern with no safety in the same zip code for two long TD's, and just generally replaced the Gators as the team trying to beat themselves. Aside from the 76 yard TD for the Paladins that was stuck in the middle of all these mistakes (which was nauseating), the Gators played relatively mistake free football after the first quarter (for them, anyway).

The good news is that Florida is going bowling. Missing out on a bowl game is the ultimate indignity for a Gators program that's won 3 national championships in the past 15 years. and two in the past 5. At least the Gators dodged that bullet.

Now, though, comes a huge test for Will Muschamp- the Florida State Criminoles.

Forget the whole Beach House Bowl deal. This is Muschamp's huge chance to show what a great motivator he is. Today's game is the equivalent of an entire store's worth of ammunition for Muschamp to get his guys ready for a huge rival. This game against FSU will go a long way in determining how fired up Muschamp's guys are for a rivalry game- and maybe in general.

And one more thing- don't call for Muschamp's head yet. We didn't lose the game, first of all, and besides, Nick Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe in the lowlight of a truly gruesome 7-6 inaugural season as head man of Tuscaloosa. Everybody wanted him fired after that season. Funny, those "Fire Saban" chants kind of died down in 2008, didn't they?

Once Saban got guys who were committed to running his gameplan, the Crimson Tide ripped off 12 straight wins before eventually falling to Urban Meyer's explosive Gators. Turns out Saban's Tide was just putting it off a year- because with even more/better/older players ready to play Saban football, the Tide did it all over again- this time defeating the Gators and then the Texas Longhorns for a BCS Championship. Now he's got a statue of himself outside Bryant Denny Stadium, a mere 105 weeks after being criticized and hated and wanted fired.

In short, the Gators were horrible today, but let's see if Muschamp can turn into a blessing in disguise- not just against the Criminoles, but long term.

Or if it's really an accurate representation of who we are.

Which would be sad.

Urban Meyer did not leave the cupboard bare. Those who know that's true now have a legitimate argument for the people who don't.

It's a simple argument, really. Two words.

Jeff Demps.

He rescued the Gators today, much like he did a year ago against Miami Ohio, and kept the Gators alive for a bowl game. It's shameful, really, that a program like Florida is even worried about making a bowl game.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

But back to the game.

The Gators played a little better overall, and I realize that the maturity process goes game by game very gradually. My only complaint with Muschamp and Weis (who we know are really co-head coaches) is that the improvement process didn't start until today. The idea is for them to start out shaky (though not Miami Ohio shaky) against FAU, play a little better against UAB, then a little better against Tennessee and then Kentucky and so on. The scores are irrelevant. I was watching for smarter, more mature play each week, and it went the opposite way.

But anyway. Enough of the past and let's focus on today's game.

I was impressed that the Gators committed only five penalties, and one of them was not called. Come on, be honest, if the flag had fallen for pass interference late in the game on Pop Saunders nobody could complain. Five penalties isn't great, but it's acceptable and a whole world better than the 16 it committed against Georgia last week... certainly for this team that wears self destruct buttons on their gloves it's something to break open champagne for.

What's not acceptable at all is catching a pass early in the game, breaking tackles, getting to the 2 yard line... and then FUMBLING THE BALL AWAY AT THE GOAL LINE so that not only do you not score, not only does Vanderbilt take the ball, they get it at the 20 yard line.

For god's sake... HANG ONTO THE BALL. I would rather Omarious Hines or whoever it is next time take a voluntary seat at the 20 yard line every time than have him try to score, succeed 75% of the time and the other quarter of the times be lost fumbles. I get the fact that he's trying his hardest and just wants to make a big play turn into a huge play, and can appreciate his effort, but there's an instance of trying too hard.

Other than that, though, and a few busted assignments on both offense and defense. Sure, there was plenty of material for me to criticize, but it's gotten a lot better overall, and I am proud of this team for overcoming a horrific four game skid and bouncing back to beat a Vanderbilt team that is a far cry from the joke it used to be all the way up to last season. Their coach, James Franklin, has done a spectacular job.

Really, I have nothing but good wishes for James Franklin and have to tip my cap to him. He was ridiculed as a moron for taking the Vandy job, but hey, it is an SEC school and aside from the military colleges where the players have to be great soldiers and tough enough to handle the grueling plebe system, coaching at a highly regarded academic school such as Vanderbilt, Stanford or the Ivy League Schools is about as tough as it gets. But it's the toughest at Vanderbilt by far because of the conference it plays in. You can't beat the Gators or the Crimson Tide or either set of Tigers on the field any easier than you can convince a recruit from Nashville to attend Vandy over them.

Yet somehow, Franklin has loaded his team with highly regarded players and has come oh so close numerous times this year. He's lost to Arkansas, Georgia and Florida by a combined 13 points. Those three teams have a combined 18-7 record, and Arkansas is #7 in the nation.

Nevertheless, a win is a win, so while I offer my hand to James Franklin to say good game, the Gators still control the Commodores by their throats. This makes 21 straight victories all the way back to 1989. The Gators also lead the all time series 34-9 with this one, and it's especially sweet because this is the best Vandy team since 2008- when Florida led 42-0 before pulling the starters. This Gator team is obviously nothing compared to that 2008 team, but to see them fight through and get this win was beautiful.

Anyway, each year, somebody different plays the role of Head Commy Killer (last year it was Jordan Reed, 2009 was the defense, 2008 was Carlos Dunlap, 2007 was Tim Tebow, 2006 was DeShawn Wynn, 2005 was Reggie Lewis... and so on) and this year it was Jeff Demps, who ran for a career high 158 yards, including a move so dirty en route to a 52 yard TD that essentially won the game that it was immediately rated NC-17 by the United States Motion Picture Association. Sorry kids, you'll have to wait until you're 18 to see that filthy cut by Demps.

So we escaped the Swamp with a win on Homecoming, which is never a bad thing, especially since we lost our Homecoming game last year to Mississippi State in the Greatest Misguided Attempt At A Game We Wish Was Never Played In The Swamp. We have reason to believe that our team is getting better, it's just not showing in our win-loss record. That will come next year and even more so in 2013.

We'll get there.

In the meantime, let's get ready for South Carolina.

Quick question: can we win that game?

The answer depends on if Florida improves as much from this week to next week as they did from last week to this week. If we do, then I love our chances, because without Marcus Lattimore South Carolina is a chicken with its head cut off... in more ways than one.

But really, what could be sweeter than choking the chicken and killing their chance at Atlanta? Think how sweet that would be... then know that if we come prepared, it will become a reality.

Um, can we get Ron Zook back?

Goodbye, wins.

We won't be seeing you again anytime soon.

Maybe in a few years Will Muschamp will get players that suit his system that can win. But for now, there's no question that this Gators' team is the worst since 1979. Kentucky is just that bad, people. We proved nothing by blowing them out.

We officially suck.

Where to start? The offensive line, who gave up five sacks in the first half alone- when Georgia was missing two of its starters?

The penalties? How about 14, for over 100 yards. That's just sick. That's unheard of.

Allowing Georgia to go 3 for 3 on fourth down?

What about -19 rushing yards?

That's all horrible, but the worst part is that it came against... GEORGIA. This is a team that no matter how bad the Gators are, they give games away. And they tried to again this time around. Aaron Murray got picked off, Blair Walsh missed two field goals inside of 40 yards, they allowed Jordan Reed to walk in for an easy touchdown on a busted coverage... basically, the Dogs were playing like they were cursed by the Jax Jinx, as they call it, and still won the game.

That's unacceptable.

And let's get something clear- this is NOT John Brantley's fault. He played a great game. But you'd never know it the way the offensive line played (like mentally challenged monkeys with bacterial infections). This is most decidedly not his fault. If not for him, and for Georgia trying (and failing) to beat themselves, we would have been blown out.

I won't jump and start calling for Muschamp's head. But I'm approaching that point at an alarming clip- maybe by kickoff of next season. It's not that Florida has had its worst stretch since my father was in college. No, it's because they team up with their opponent and beat themselves mercilessly- and there's been no sign of improvement. There's no implication, no NOTHING that tells me that this team is headed in the right direction. We're going backwards. We very well might not make a bowl game. Scary? Yes. Possible? Yes.

Anybody here convinced we're better than Vanderbilt? I'm not. Something in James Franklin's eye tells me his guys are just waiting to unleash a nasty surprise on somebody, and we're Vandy's next opponent.

Think we can beat South Carolina on the road? I don't. They don't have Marcus Lattimore, and just don't need him. They still have a ferocious defense that must be salivating and at the opportunity to play (with) our offensive line.

If we don't beat Furman, I will call for Muschamp's head right then and there.

Can we beat FSU in the Swamp? That splits into two different questions. Are we talented enough to? Yes. Will we? Absolutely not, and that opinion will not change unless I see drastic changes in the discipline of this football team.

Here's how bad this is- I actually want Steve Addazio back. No, not as the offensive coordinator, because that will never happen no matter how bad we are, but as our offensive line coach. Remember when we had Urban Meyer, our offensive line was pretty good. The Pouncey twins, Phil Trautwein, Carl Johnson, Jim Tartt, remember these names? Probably not all of them, because o-line guys don't get a lot of ink when things go well. Did Addazio do a fantastic job strictly as o-line coach? No. He did a good job. Good is all we need, but would seem like heaven after watching this five man sieve.

What's even worse to me is that the Gators started out playing well- and THEN unraveled. Georgia, much like the past 21 years, was left for dead. Unlike the past 21 years, Florida completely choked away a 17-3 lead and lost. It feels so sick, but somebody tell me this rivalry isn't turning back over to Georgia's side. These teams beat each other for 20 years or so with frightening regularity, and 20 years ago, Florida began their dominance, and now it's Georgia with a huge series turning win. We'll see what these teams look like before next year's game, but I'm not really feeling confident.

It's also the end of not only the ownage of this rivalry- kiss the glory days goodbye. Two 4+ loss seasons in a row officially end the Florida golden age. Perhaps someday we will get back there, but I don't see it happening for another few years.

All isn't lost, however. Not talking about this year, because aside from beating FSU and making a bowl game there's really nothing to play for, and next year will be a rebuilding year as well, but we should look very good in 2013. Jessamen Dunker, Omari Phillips and DJ Humphries will have taken their lumps in 2012 and our green defense will have gone through another year in the SEC and be ready for whatever comes at them. So there is hope for the future.

And, of course for basketball season.

It's safe to say that this was the single worst offensive performance since Charlie Pell's days.

No exaggeration, no takebacks, no apologies, no nothing.

At least against Alabama last year we drove the ball inside Alabama's 5 yard line a bunch of times. At least against Mississippi State and Florida State last year we scored a touchdown. At least against Alabama and LSU this year we scored a touchdown. At least against Alabama in 2005 the Gators hit some big plays.

At least against Auburn last night our defense held firm, or we would have seen our third consecutive blowout.

Thank god for the punting game too. We very well might have found our man in Kyle Christy. I was worried we would never replace Chas Henry but Christy hit a few boomers. We appear to be in good hands there through the 2014 season.

You saw the word punt and you know it's coming, so I'll stop being cute and circling around and simply come right out with it. We couldn't catch a punt.

Could.

Not.

Catch.

A.

Single.

Punt.

That's got to be addressed in practice. Muschamp is big on special teams just like Meyer was, so at the very least, we can take comfort in knowing that he won't just ignore it.

That's just the beginning of our problems.

Our penalties were better- 'only' 6 for 40 yards- but that's still not good enough. It just looks fantastic compared to unheard of 16 or 18 in a game. It needs to be cut down to two or less per game, especially for a team that's so bad that every yard is like a sapphire- don't lose it for anything.

Jeff Driskel played like a freshman. He had a wide open touchdown pass sail way over the head of Jordan Reed, he sometimes held the ball too long, and just didn't look comfortable. Neither did Jacoby Brissett for that matter. But that can be corrected; they're freshmen. They have plenty of time to improve.

Our offense looked very much like 2010, in both formation and in result. I can't blame Charlie Weis for that- not when Brantley is injured and neither freshman QB appears to be equipped with any confidence. It was the only way to manufacture any offense at all, and it worked better than using Driskel or Brissett. So I don't fault Weis for that.

What I do fault Weis for is using Rainey way too much. Of course not having Demps is a gigantic blow but what about Mike Gillislee, the guy that Muschamp claimed would be so involved? He was involved in exactly three plays- and all three of them gained 6 yards. 3 carries for your backup running back? That's just bad game calling. Rainey and Demps formed such a formidable duo in the backfield, but just because one of them is out doesn't mean you don't at least attempt to replace him. Gillislee may not be able to smoke South American speed demons in the Olympics but he can shake tackles and is about as fast as Rainey. He's more than an adequate replacement for Demps, and why Weis didn't use him is beyond me.

It falls back into the one glaring problem I've said Charlie Weis has all along: when he sees something that works, he sticks with it until it doesn't work, and then still uses it. It's his hamartia, and it directly cost the Gators a chance to win tonight's game. To keep using Rainey when he's clearly gassed is not a good idea, especially not when he's as flustered as he was between not seeing any running room and trying to field the punts in the lights at Jordan Hare.

And finally, we come to our offensive line.

It was simply horrendous. Even the Munchkins could have pressured our QB. Seriously, Auburn, the same defense that allowed 38 points to Utah State and could not contain USU QB Chuckie Keeton with a soccer net completely swarmed Florida's backfield.

It was like they all had invitations for a tea party back there. I want to find the fourth grade girl that sent those invitations and rip her head off- what? That was UF's offensive line that sent out those invites? My apology, random fourth grade girl, and to all fourth grade girls when I say this, but our offensive line blocked like a bunch of fourth grade girls.

Ouch.

Hold your stomach and fall on the ground and lay there and let that sink in, little girl. I'm sorry, 9 year old female population, that was extremely insulting to your people and I apologize.

I could not believe my eyes the entire game. This is one of the worst defenses in the history of college football so far and here we are, the mighty Florida Gators, three years removed from rewriting all the record books and a BCS Championship, making the former toothless Tigers' defense look like that of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Call me crazy, but I think the blocking was worse this week than against LSU and Alabama.

So I'm through bashing my beloved Gators because the next thing I'm going to bash is my head through a wall.

There were some positives, namely the punting game and the defense.

The other positive is that Florida unofficially controls their own destiny in the SEC East.

Georgia and South Carolina both looked far from perfect, struggling for their lives to beat Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, respectively. Technically, Florida is a game behind each of them with three losses and they both have one. If Florida runs the table and they both lose again, the Gators win the SEC East.

You have to think South Carolina will lose at least one more with Arkansas looming on the schedule- in Fayetteville. They could also lose to Tennessee in Knoxville, though that's less likely.

Georgia has three SEC games left on their schedule- Florida, Auburn and Kentucky. Circle November 12th on your calendar, that's the Auburn game and our best hope. Kentucky won't do much more than roll over and play dead.

Personally, I don't even want Florida to win the East. What's the reward? Get smacked again by either Alabama or LSU in the SEC Championship and have that stick in the mind of bowl selectors so that Florida drops to the Liberty Bowl?

No sir, not for me.

I just want to beat Georgia and FSU and win a bowl game. That's all I ask for, Gator fans. If we lose the rest of our games, even to Furman and Vanderbilt, and just win those three, I'll be content. It would give the Gators their fifth sweep over their rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, FSU) in the past seven years, their fourth straight bowl win, a winning season and Mickey Marotti a ton of ammunition to get this extremely talented but raw football team motivated and into shape for 2012, and he is very good at getting his teams ready without ammo. Beat Furman and Vanderbilt in addition and we're looking at a 9-4 season in Muschamp's first year.

At this point, this season is lost. I just want to use what's left of it as a springboard for 2012. This means improve as a team, mature, and give the seniors a good sendoff.

And for god's sake, make a block every solar eclipse or two.

Go ahead and say the Gators' roster was littered with injuries. But that does not excuse 90 yards of penalties for the Gators, which is something the Gators simply CANNOT AFFORD TO DO IF THEY WANT TO WIN ANOTHER GAME.

These weren't the hustle penalties, either... these were the stupid, completely avoidable procedural penalties that drove Will Muschamp out of his mind and drove me to punt a soccer ball over two neighbors' fences after the timeout.

Then there was Jarrett Lee, who picked the Gators apart like a surgeon.

Oh and for what it's worth, the Gators once again got manhandled in the trenches.

Without John Brantley and his backup Jeff Driskel, and top running back Jeff Demps, Florida was no match for LSU, who put the Gators down 41-11.

But there were some positive sparks. Andre Debose has proved to be a legitimate deep threat, albeit in two blowouts, against the best defenses in the nation. He now has a 65 yard TD catch against Alabama and LSU- in both cases, the Gators' lone offensive highlight.

Although Florida's young and at times woefully inadequate defensive line got pushed around, they did make a few nice stops. Sure, those were few and far between, but then look at how LSU has run all over a bunch of great teams this year already. LSU has really made a habit of opening up doors halfway and allowing their running backs to lower their shoulders and break them open for big gains.

And then look at the final score. Yes, 41-11 looks humiliating and eerily familiar (Florida beat LSU 51-21 in 2008, thanks in part to Jarrett Lee's touchdown pass to Brandon Spikes and Jeff Demps' long run, and those roles were inversed today) but look what they've done to other opponents. They were beating Oregon 40-20 in Dallas and the Ducks scored at the last second. They smashed West Virginia 47-20 on their home turf. Now, in their first real test at home- Tiger Stadium- where they lose about as often as a priest loses his virginity- they beat Florida by 30, and it was 23 until about 90 seconds left in the game.

So, last week, our realistic chance at a national championship went out the door. Now, our silly, hopeless dreams of a national championship went out the door- and slammed it on their way out. OK... awesome. I never thought the Gators would be a championship team (though I thought they'd be better than this). I never thought the Gators were better than LSU or Alabama, I thought that maybe the crowd at the Swamp could pull out the Alabama game... but it didn't happen. So I'm willing to take a step back.

However, our chances at an appearance in the SEC Championship are not only a real possibility, but a certainty if we win out. Now, our schedule gradually get easier. We're done with the David vs. Goliath games, but we do have another difficult road game against Auburn... who I HATE with a BURNING PASSION. Seriously, they take a backseat only to Georgia in my mind. I actually hate them more than Florida State, because they have the single most annoying habit a team can possibly have.

They beat us by a field goal every year.

Yes, every year.

Doesn't matter if we're ranked #1 and they're not ranked at all (see 1994, 2001) or if we're still in the top 5 and they're not (1993, 2006, 2007) or if they're clearly better than us but we outplay them in a truculent tease by our team... we lose by a field goal...

EVERY...

SINGLE...

TIME!!!

FSU, as much as I can't stand them, doesn't do that. That game is pretty much always played fairly, with the better team winning 90% of the time.

Auburn, however, is a different story. They always get that winning field goal to drive Florida fans crazy. Then they rub it in with a mocking Gator Chomp. Oh, and there's the whole Cam Newton story as well. 5 of the Tigers' last 6 wins over Florida have been by 3 points, and the one that was not was because of a fumble on a desperation hook and lateral attempt that was taken in for a touchdown as time expired. Auburn won that one 27-17, in 2006.

So, how are we going to beat this team that drives winning field goals through the uprights and drives Gator fans to drink like Tucker Max on a night at the bar?

It won't be easy by any means, but I actually think Florida's a whole lot better than they appear. I wouldn't be surprised if Gene Chizik hangs one of those signs you see on side mirrors on your car: "Warning. Gators on field are closer to our level than they appear."

Everything has been distorted by Florida's first four opponents in a too-good way, and by Alabama and LSU in a negative way. In truth, Florida is in the middle of where it has played so far. Only Tennessee gave Florida a somewhat accurate reading of where they are as a team right now- and that's somewhere in the lowest five of the top 25. I believe they're a 20-25 team in the nation right now, and will always believe that unless they lose to Georgia or South Carolina (or worse).

Anyway, Florida has to do three out of these five things to win the game.

Consistently take shots downfield

There's no hiding it anymore- Auburn's pass defense is really, really bad. And Jacoby Brissett showed that he can throw it deep (ehh... somewhat... but remember, this is against LSU, a top tier defense). The only things Auburn's defense have in common with LSU's is that they're both named the Tigers and they play in the SEC West. And Florida has the personnel to exploit this glaring weakness, this tender area... this pressure point.

Stop the run

This means two things: wrap up on tackles, and get a better push. The d-line did do better than last week, I will say that. But then, Trent Richardson is better than Spencer Ware (no knock on Ware... he's a great runner... but he's no TR). If tackles are made by the first guy that has a chance, Michael Dyer won't have the chance to put up these crazy numbers. And of course if the line gets penetration.... he'll be ganged up on for losses.

Generate turnovers

What's a turnover? Gee, I forgot, I haven't seen one by Florida in a long, long time. They need to remind us next week or they're in trouble. Giving the offense back to back possessions and getting off the field for long periods of time would be key for this defense. I think a lot of the Gators' lack of pressure has to do with inexperience and being gassed. Because talent is not the issue. Go look at their last few recruiting classes.

Play smart

This doesn't mean not taking shots down the field or being conservative. This means, if you're the QB, and you have a 3rd and 12 and don't see anybody open and there's a big rush, take the sack and don't throw the wounded duck that turns into a pick 6 in a matter of seconds. Or if you're a running back, don't run 410 yards laterally just to gain 1, but lower your shoulder, plow forward and get 3. And for god's sake... LAY OFF THE PENALTIES.

Better blocking

Does anybody remember the nice runs Mike Gillislee and Chris Rainey ripped off today? It's hard to, because those plays were outnumbered by about 12:1 by the plays where they had no daylight because there was no blocking. Again, this was LSU, but it has to get better to beat a slightly worse team.

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Whatever happens, I believe Florida is a better football team than they were a year ago, but it's not showing in the scores because Alabama and LSU are just SO much better than THEY were in 2010. Do not get discouraged, fellow Gators, we just lost to two of the top 3 teams in the nation.

I just hope we don't lose to Auburn by a field goal next year...

As Caleb Sturgis's field goal split the uprights to increase the Gators' lead to 10-3, the Swamp was going crazy.

So was I.

But in a different fashion.

I was screaming at the TV, here we go again, not being able to convert touchdowns in the red zone. And I knew the Gators had to play a perfect game in order to beat Alabama, which was gone the instant they had to bring in Sturgis.

What I didn't know is just how bad it would be.

Simply put, the Gators are not there yet.

Where to start? The red zone issues were sad, true, but there was a lot more to Florida's worst home loss since 2002. And shockingly, it wasn't penalties, either. No, those disappeared, and hats off to Muschamp for that. But there was a new, equally embarrassing issue.

The Gators got manhandled in the trenches like I've never seen before, on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Last week, Kentucky the drug got us Gator fans high, saying stupid things like watch out Alabama. I was admittedly among them. But the effects of drugs does eventually wear off and people who took them fall back to earth. And last night we got a scary sight of how real our team is- how really inept we are up front.

My deepest thoughts go out to Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. They are two of the most explosive players in Gators history, who will have to watch both their junior and senior seasons as the Gators rebuild. They didn't have great games last night, but then they had nowhere to go. Rainey did break off a nice run, but that was the lone highlight for the two of them combined.

Seriously, I wondered at times if the Gators were even trying. It's understandable when you're down 38-10, but it was 24-10 for the entire third quarter, and there was absolutely no push then. In fact, aside from a few select plays in the first quarter, there was no push at all.

The real shame is John Brantley. Just when he showed that maybe he can be a legitimate QB, he got injured. Why? Oh, right, because he was under more pressure than a Middle Eastern president. His secret service did a horrible job blocking for him, and that's what led to his 48 yard TD pass to Courtney Upshaw.

OK, so you get it the blocking was bad, the front 7 was bad, what else?

That's all that needs to go wrong, because when you can't tackle an opposing running back, the doors to play-action are kicked open, now the defense is really scrambling, it sets up the one on one mismatches that Charlie Weis is so fond of but Dan Quinn is not, and so on. Now combine that with not being able to block... your running game has been powered off... meaning your QB, despite having those sacred one on one matchups, CANNOT GET RID OF THE BALL, meaning sacks and turnovers are just bound to happen, and maybe injuries as well. And that's exactly what happened.

This is an issue that needs to get better quick, because if it doesn't, it will become the Gators' achilles heel. It's also an issue that hides the rest of your team. Alabama never knew how good Rainey and Demps were, because they never got in space. Three beautiful passes aside, John Brantley never had a chance to prove how good he really is. Had the line been a lot more dominant, he might have thrown for 500 yards- who knows?

But let's keep things in perspective. This was Alabama, a team that now controls its own destiny to the BCS Championship and was in the talk since the preseason. Because of the messed up world the Gators live in, they do too- not for the BCS Title (not that you give up on that) but for an SEC East Title with a loss next week at LSU.

At this point, I'm almost conceding another ugly loss next week in Death Valley. I honestly couldn't care less about the final score, as long as it's not disgusting like last night. Because Georgia and South Carolina both have a loss, the Gators can lose next week and then run the table, meaning all three teams would now have two losses but Florida would have the tiebreaker over both of them.

And if Florida can somehow pull the shocker next week? Incredibly, they control their own destiny to the national championship. A victory in the house of the best team in the nation should put them back in the top 15, and if they run the table as other teams go down one by one, they're almost certain to be in the top 5 come the SEC Championship. A win against the West champion (probably Alabama) would prove that it was just a fluke last night. Think about that- 12-1 in the SEC, with Alabama, LSU and Auburn from the West in your schedule, and getting payback shows that you're hot at the right time.

Is that going to happen? Probably not.

But please remember that teams do get better as the season goes on, remember that Will Muschamp and Mickey Marotti do not take too kindly for such foolishness as losing this badly in the Swamp. If any coach can get this team back on the right track, it's Nick Saban. Or any of his disciples.

And before you groan and say that's not going to happen in one week, please remember that LSU has a history of losing big games at home to Florida. See 2003, as the most recent example, although Steve Spurrier also went 5-1 there. In fact, until Urban Meyer's arrival, Florida had lost just two games there since 1979- which was the year the Gators had a perfect record (the wrong kind of perfect).

The Tigers also have a history of putting on choke jobs at home. See Tennessee 2010, where the Vols gift wrapped LSU a win that they had earned, Troy 2008, where LSU trailed 31-3 late in the third quarter until they woke up, calmed down, and took advantage of a few missed opportunities by Troy to close it out and won.

And then there was the Florida game in 2003, when LSU inexplicably did nothing right at all, and lost 19-7.

So, weird things do happen in Death Valley.

Can next week provide another one?

More importantly: can the Gators take a big step forward?

That will depend on the play of the offensive and defensive lines... and the QB.

Through little fault of his own, and this is hard to say, but it's time to bench Brantley even if he's fully healthy. We're going to have a hard enough time next year replacing Rainey and Demps, but to add a QB transition to that is just going to be impossible to do, and next year is the year I expect Florida to be back in the national championship hunt. I'd been saying ever since Tebow left, three years and we're back in the hunt. I'm not saying we have to win it or be a bust, just make a serious run at it. Our chances increase if we make the switch to Driskel now, as he's going to take his lumps sometime or another, why not be now, when we're clearly rebuilding?

Doing this would be kissing our BCS dreams of this year goodbye, but that's OK. I'm not that impatient. I just feel so bad for Brantley, after starting out with what looked like it would be his best game ever end with a serious injury. And I feel just as bad for Rainey and Demps, and even Deonte Thompson, for watching us rebuild for the second straight year.

Our goals for the season have obviously been lowered, but they're still pretty respectable: sweep the three SEC East teams and split the next two games against the West teams. I don't think Furman will be much of a problem, and then beat FSU. Then, if Brantley's healthy, I would play him in the bowl game as a thank you for being loyal, because Driskel will have already had the better part of an SEC season to take his lumps (although I'd still like to win the bowl game so if he's doing terrible then I would bench him before the game gets out of hand).

Doing all this will mean the Gators won 10 games, something even an underachieving team can be proud of, the SEC East, which is always our goal every year, Driskel will be ready for next year and Brantley will have played one last time for the team he loves. And let's all be honest here, there's nothing sweeter than watching a loyal senior clinch your bowl win. Raise your hand if Ahmad Black was not the perfect man to seal the Outback Bowl victory.

I thought so.

So all is not lost. The Gators do have their work cut out for them, but if they improve enough quick enough, the SEC East is theirs.

And if they improve tons by next week, and stay there the rest of the season, from the top ranked team's house through an SEC Championship Game? The BCS Championship is theirs.

A 14 year old girl wakes up in the middle of the night feeling sick pain in her stomach.

A 22 year old college QB twists an ankle in a football game and it's sore.

A 35 year old businessman is stressed out at work and has headaches.

A 7 year old boy has a high fever.

What do they all have in common?

They're uncomfortable, and need to take some medicine to alleviate their discomfort. Now, the medicine they take isn't going to necessarily cure the illness, but it will mask the symptoms and problems for a little while.

Now, let's add a fifth example. The Florida Gators need to work on some weaknesses. But there's no Tylenol or Advil for that. Or is there? Yes, there is. It just comes in pads and silky blue and white jerseys. It's called the University of Kentucky football team.

The Gators felt sick to their offense a year ago, and fans were collectively ticked off at Steve Addazio. So Addazio simply waved his magic wand and turned Trey Burton into Tim Tebow before our very eyes! And UK's defense happily obliged, allowing Burton to score SIX TIMES- something not even mighty Tebow could do. We saw how similar the two really are the week later when Burton used Nico Johnson as his hoop for a jump shot in the end zone. No knock on Burton, but he's no Tebow. When you take an overdose of Kentucky, however, just like weed, you can be anything you want to be!

For a minute last night, though, UK looked decent. But it was just an illusion. John Brantley threw a 45 yard TD pass to Gerald Christian (and this was legit, not a 4 yard toss that was turned into a touchdown), Jeff Demps scored on runs of 20 and a career long 84, Chris Rainey really reminded me of Percy Harvin on a nasty cutback run, and even Mike Gillislee took a couple  fluid ounces of Kentucky and weaved his way for a 60 yard TD. Trey Burton didn't score six TD's, though he did score one, on a Tebow type situation, plowing into the end zone. Oh and the defense picked off three passes, forced two fumbles, and sacked Morgan Newton a bunch of times.

But again, here's the thing- Kentucky, like Advil, only masks symptoms, doesn't cure them. We don't know how good Florida really is, not from last night. This was a team that lost to Louisville of the Big Least- that lost to lowly FIU. Yes, the same Florida International team the Gators hammered 62-3 only two years ago.

So we can't take anything seriously from last night.

We knew Demps is really, really fast. We knew Rainey was a fantastic athlete. We knew Brantley was a game managing QB that can make a big play every now and then. We knew our defense is pretty solid.

But we can't expect to just mow Alabama down in the red zone like we did Kentucky. We can't simply hand Demps the ball and watch him go all the way. We can't give Rainey 40 touches and expect 300 yards. And we can't assume Brantley will light them up for big bombs.

Playing UK before a huge game like Alabama is almost harmful. It gets Gator fans high, akin to smoking weed before a big game. The Wildcats really are a drug. They make things seem perfect, whether they are or not. If they are, they make things seem more perfect, and if they're not, hey, it's fun to be high for a night and see people in Gator uniforms doing things they're not supposed to do (at least in opponents' DC's minds).

In any case, it's great to see Florida win their 25th in a row over the Cats, and their 31st out of the last 32. It's mind boggling when you realize how many different players have come and gone through both schools and went unblemished in this rivalry. Unfortunately for Kentucky student-athletes it's the wrong kind of perfection, going unblemished in the win column against the Gators. And this is now the fifth head coach for Florida to play a part in this dominance- this went all the way to Charlie Pell's days.

The Gators' historical dominance over Kentucky is unquestioned.

But the real question remains: is Florida ready for Alabama?

I'll be breaking it down throughout the week at a higher output rate than previous weeks so keep checking the site for updates and predictions.

One thing is for sure: Alabama will definitely give us a legitimate indication of just how good we will be this season. Hopefully the effects of the overdose of Kentucky we took this week wear off... and hopefully we don't need drugs to really be that good.

Somewhere out there, medals of valor are waiting for those who are actually brave enough to say that the Gators are ready for the Volunteers next week.

Simply put, the Florida Gators were awful last night in spite of recording their first shutout since they kept Western Carolina scoreless in 2006 (62-0).

Penalties were once again littering the field. Will Muschamp should have rewritten "Crime and Punishment" last night because the refs threw enough flags at the Gators to cover the entire field. With the way the Gators d-line tried to pass off neutral zone infractions as "chill out brah, ref's on crack" you could swear they lettered at Attica.

And these weren't the hustle penalties a coach can handle- hitting a player the second they go out of bounds, a runner juking right into the line of trajectory of a defender's helmet, grabbing anything you could and that anything just so happens to be a facemask.

No, The Swamp looked like the beach at Okinawa because of false starts, illegal shifts, encroachments, delay of games, and other equally dumb mistakes.

Two things worked in the Gators' favor- UAB made a similar number of errors (dropped snap on a punt in the end zone, followed by shanked free kick, a penalty negating a TD throw) and Chris Rainey may just be the best player in the country.

Then there was the blunderful execution in the Dread Zone. I mean, the wonderful execution in the red zone- a wonderful job of going nowhere. Stalling inside an opponent's 20 is inexcusable with all the speed and strength advantages the Gators have over UAB. What are we gonna do against Tennessee if we cannot get any push up front?

What amazes me most is that the red zone collapse was a total team effort. Everything went to pieces at the same time. The epitome of this was how the offensive line, which for the most part did well, got owned for some unfathomable reason once they crossed UAB's 20. Everywhere else they did fine- but not inside the red zone.

I know, the Gators won 39-0 and I'm picking this team to shreds. So it's time for a bright spot- John Brantley.

I won't tell you a story about how he proved everybody who ever doubted him wrong by throwing for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns last night, because that's not exactly the way it happened. But Brantley did have a few very impressive throws. Now, does this mean he will make them 10 out of 10 times against SEC teams? No, it does not. But at least we know he is capable of making a "wow" throw. His footwork was good, and his passes were (for the most part) accurate. He also did not throw either a pick (good sign) or a touchdown (bad sign).

Now, let's look ahead to next week. The Gators get monster tackle Nick Fairley 2011 back, which should make the defensive front 7 even better than it was the last couple of weeks. The Gators didn't get as much pressure against UAB as I would have liked, but the Blazers have a great offensive line and have moved the ball very well against SEC teams, so... wait, NICK FAIRLEY 2011?

Yep. Because Sharrif Floyd means that much to us. Nobody knows about him yet though, so that gives UF the element of surprise.

Speaking of element of surprise, I cannot wait to see Charlie Weis open up the playbook even more. We did see Brantley throw a lot more deep this week, but expect even more next week.

You'll get my full thoughts about the Tennessee game later in the week, but here's a little preview of my preview:

QUIT.

MAKING.

STUPID.

MISTAKES.

IT.

IS.

REALLY.

THAT.

SIMPLE.

Tennessee is an SEC team, but they're by no means a great one, and all a team with Florida's talent has to do to win is to not beat themselves. The Vols can't beat the Gators, so if the Gators don't beat the Gators, the Gators will beat the Volunteers.

Let's just say this: Muschamp's got some work to do disciplining his boys. And he is definitely capable of doing it. He just needs to do it, and the Gators should be fine.

This year’s Gators look like a different team.

New attitude.

New plays.

New swagger.

After an impressive offensive display by both players, the 18th ranked Gators take on UAB in Gainesville on Saturday night on Charter Cable.

Florida won its first four games last season but finished 8-5 as Brantley struggled to follow in Tim Tebow’s footsteps and Rainey ran into trouble off the field.

Rainey was a significant contributor for the Gators in ’08 and ’09, combining for 1,227 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. However, Rainey was suspended for five games last year after being arrested for aggravated stalking and was limited to just 366 yards and two touchdowns in 8 games.

Rainey looks as though he’s put the drama behind him. In Saturday’s 41-3 victory over Florida Atlantic, he became the third player in the nation since 1996 to have a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a return for a touchdown in the same game.

“I thank God all the time that I’m still here,” said Rainey, who returned a blocked punt for 21 yards. “I stayed here one more year, and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s a pro offense, I’m made for it.”

Rainey, who touched the ball 18 times in all, is referring to coach Will Muschamp bringing in former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to lead the offense, which ranked eighth in the SEC last year with 29.8 points per game.

Although the Gators weren’t facing elite competition, the Gators finished with 468 yards of offense, scoring on their first four drives. FAU’s lone score came after an interception by true freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel, who entered late in the first half.

Coach Muschamp told the media after Saturday’s game, “I think we need to be realistic here, we’ll face better opponents throughout the season……We didn’t face as much adversity as we had hoped for, but I’m very pleased with the effort and energy of our players.”

Brantley looks like he’ll benefit from playing under Weis’ system. Florida ranked 88th in the FBS with 184.3 passing yards per game in 2010, with Brantley throwing nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

His performance was more promising last Saturday. Although he had two interceptions, Brantley went 21 of 30 for 229 yards and a touchdown. Last season he passed for more than 200 yards only four games.

Rainey said after the game, “Looked like the old John Brantley you saw in high school, being the leader, taking over, he’s got all his confidence back.”

Brantley’s confidence should be high Saturday with fullback Trey Burton and receivers Deonte Thompson and Omarius Hines expected to play after suffering injuries last week.

The Gators likely won’t face much more adversity against UAB, which opens its season after going 4-8 last year.

Tropical Storm Lee forced the Blazers to move the location of their practices earlier this week, but they are eager to face the Gators, even knowing they will be heavy underdogs.

UAB quarterback Bryan Ellis is back after starting the final nine games of 2010. He finished with 2,940 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Pat Shed also returns for the Blazers after rushing for a team high 847 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also had 471 yards receiving and four TD’s.

UAB scored 31 or more points five times last season and played close games against Tennessee and Mississippi State, losing by a combined eight points.

The two teams’ only previous meeting was a Florida 51-3 victory in 2002 in the Swamp.

OK, so I am going to give an early assessment after one single game against a cupcake.

Offense:

I liked the protection. It wasn't perfect and it was against a cream puff, but not bad for the first game. There certainly is some potential as they get more cohesion.

I liked the running game. Demps appears to finally have a little wiggle and Rainey looks great on his first cut. Seems having a FB is going to pay off for them.When Burton gets healthy, motioning him as a co lead with Joyer has great potential, especially against the 3-4 teams.

Reed looks ok as a TE in what limited plays we've seen thus far. Dunbar looks like a good one, as Hammond looks poised for a breakout. DT still looks hopeless, and Debose looks positively lost on downfield plays, but I liked Debose's willingness to lay a hat on people, so that counts for something.

It'll be interesting to see how Hines and Clark factor in.

Brantley still looks like a lost cause. When you take away his swing completions and yardage, his numbers were on par with last year. That's particularly disturbing since the apologists blamed it on him being miscast, a square peg in a round hole as it were. We heard non stop about how his skill set is better suited for Weis' offense, that it's similar to the offense he ran for Kerwin Bell.  I (and others) warned people that Bell's offense was prolific because it was a run first league that teams were not built to stop and Brantley's high school stats were inflated because of this - much like Shane Matthews' numbers when Spurrier first arrived were an illusion because of the opponents. We saw what happened when Matthews went up against elite athletes (read: FSU, Bowls) in top flight OOC games. The same can be said against Brantley - the defenses he is facing now are all geared to stop the run and the pass, so he'll have no advantage derived from scheme specific personnel.

Brantley just doesn't have "it."

Defense:

Hard to gauge based on the competition, but I did like a few things.

For starters, Easley looks like a beast. The level of competition doesn't play a factor in how one fires off the ball, and his first step is freakish. Whether he can knife past the better players he will face is another matter, but his first step automatically means teams HAVE to account for him.

Powell was still a non factor. Where is this freak we heard about ? He had a coverage sack on a cleanup play. Where was the steady menacing expected ?

I like the instincts of the D coming up to tackle. From the DBs to the LBs I loved the quick reactions and beelines they made on plays at or behind the LOS and the way they stormed up. This bodes well, as they seemed to have learned how to force the play, rather than let the play come to them while they are flat footed. They'll miss some tackles, but they'll also force some ballcarriers to the inside on occasion where they'll have their bells rung and/or cough up a turnover.

I like the way Elam patrolled the middle. He wasn't tested, but that has as much to do with his positioning as anything else.

All in all the season hold promise. While they stand no chance of winning the SEC title, they could challenge for the EAST. I don't think they will though. While they will most likely beat Georgia, Tennessee, and SC that triple header of Bama, LSU and Auburn will likely cause them to lose out on the east. They have to steal the Auburn game to have a chance. They need a 6-2 SEC record. Georgia has a cupcake schedule, with SC being the only other opponent of note. Florida needs Georgia to lose to SC, then they need SC to lose to Arkansas or MSU. This works on the idea that Florida beats both Georgia and SC thus having the head to head edge. I haven't mentioned UT because they have Arkansas, LSU and Bama from the west. They are losing at least 2 of those, plus I am assuming they lose to Florida and probably SC as well as Georgia.

Special teams:

Like the 51 yard bomb. Like Patton's block. Like the return (not the nullification)

So, all in all, decent first outing. Lots of potential for down the road. In reality, I think we should temper our excitement for this year, and think 2012-2013.

I loved the field goal with a minute and a half left in the game to run up the score to make it 41-3 after FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger did the same thing to Florida when he coached Miami in 1980.

But that was the happiest moment for me.

Sure, there were bright spots, such as Rainey and Demps running rings around FAU defenders, and Brantley looking a lot more confident, and of course a nasty defense, but something just didn't seem right for Florida.

In fact, lots of things didn't seem right.

Let's start with this stat: 3 picks thrown by Florida, none by FAU. This is after Florida's defense picked off an FBS 4th best 22 passes last year. Granted, you lose Janoris Jenkins and Ahmad Black... but you've got ESPNU 150 players taking their places. I understand the lack of experience, but that kind of talent across the board alone should be worth a pick per game, especially against a team like FAU.

On the flip side, Brantley had been hearing all offseason long from Weis NOT to force throws. Then Brantley proceeds to throw a ball that gets tipped at the line and is picked off. Later, Weis calls for a pop route into the end zone. The way for this play to work is to aim it over the crossbar, so only your receiver has a chance to catch it. The idea is, if he doesn't, nobody will. But Johnny B throws a numbers-high ball into triple coverage and guess what happens?

Jeff Driskel had an even worse fate- his first pass as a Gator was picked off. He simply overthrew it, and that's part of being a freshman and taking your lumps. What I don't get is why you put him in so early. Weis may want him to get experience, but what can he possibly prove against FAU? Even if he shreds them for 500 yards... it's still FAU. Big whoop.

Brantley, on the other hand, has this and only this season to prove himself. HE needs the big confidence booster, not Driskel. Put him in when it's 38-3 and leave him in for the rest of the game. Because, like it or not, in tight spots, Brantley will get the call. He has the experience edge over Driskel and will be called upon in crunch time this year. Even Jordan Reed would probably be called upon before Driskel with the game on the line for the simple reason that he has a year under his belt and Driskel does not.

Another major issue is guess where a first down snap went? If you say Brantley's hands, you're incorrect. It went way over his head and all the way into Wakulla County. I thought we'd seen that movie before, and it was too good of a horror film to watch again. I understand it's the first game, and there might be some sloppiness. Having said that, FAU did not do that once, though they did get a punt blocked. This cannot happen if Florida wants to win big games.

Perhaps the most obvious question unanswered: where was the deep ball? With no exaggeration, Brantley threw deep this game as much as he did against Miami Ohio last year, and if you haven't removed the 2010 part of your brain, you know that's NOT GOOD. Wasn't that why Charlie Weis was brought in?

Actually, Weis was brought in to do what he does best- exploit opponents' weaknesses over and over. But he did that too much last night. FAU's weakness was simple- they could not catch Rainey or Demps. Since neither are really tall, the best way to utilize them is to run them outside and throw swing passes to them. But as I've stated for months now, Weis does have a tendency to fall in love with his mismatch a little too much. Sometimes, it will be to such an extreme that he forgets about the rest of his team, which was the case tonight. We only saw a couple of deep balls throughout the game, which is OK for now but this will need to be a big part of the offense for Florida to succeed.

And then there were PENALTIES. I mean, EVERYWHERE you look, there was a penalty of Florida. The Gators committed 9 penalties for 65 yards- that's nearly HALF of FAU's  yardage total. That doesn't even count all the yards wiped out on Demps' opening kick TD on- with no apologies- an absolutely retarded block in the back. You really think anybody's gonna catch Demps? Come on, be real. If you think the answer is yes, you should be on the bench for sheer stupidity. Once again, it's the first week of the season, so things might get sloppy, but when Alabama rolls in here, those dumb penalties just gotta go.

There really isn't a lot of good to take away from the game aside from the obvious stuff- a great defense (look at all the ESPNU 150 guys in the front 7, you can't honestly tell me you're surprised), Rainey and Demps being phenomenal (which anybody who watched SEC football over the course of the last 3 years could tell you when blackout drunk), Brantley looking confident (which is what happens when you work with a guy with a track record like Charlie Weis has) and a much improved offense (hard not to do when you consider who our OC was a year ago, my old buddy, Steve Addazio). No pleasant surprises, which is fine for now, but we better get some answers in two weeks against Tennessee if not next week.

So we won our opener with relatively little heartburn, which is great. We also got approximately zero answers, which is not. But next week we get a slightly stiffer test in UAB, so we'll see if anything new surfaces there.

I know that everyone is pretty focused on the Gators finishing up their recruiting class right now, but there will be plenty of time to talk about that and I want to make sure we don't forget about the Gator basketball in the meantime.  Besides, Neil's got you covered on that front, and there's a pretty good forum discussion going on about it as well.

The Gator basketball team pulled out another nailbiter on Tuesday night, and many will see it as an example of perserverance in a close game.  While that much is true, another disturbing trend was on display:  the Gators' inability to close out games.

For the third time in just over a week, the Gators went dead cold in the last three minutes of regulation.  Even worse is that in two of those games the Gators had 8-point leads with around four minutes to play, and in both cases could not close the game out in regulation.  So what is going wrong at the end of these games?

The obvious answer is free throw shooting.  In both games, the Gators had a chance to ice it with a few free throws, but could not.  But the effects of poor free throw shooting don't end there.  Even when they're not at the stripe the Gators are struggling to score, and a big part of that is that Donovan has no choice but to take Vernon Macklin out of the game down the stretch due to his poor numbers from the stripe.  Without Macklin in, the Gators offense often devolves into Walker and Boynton pulling up for long, contested three pointers.

Bad free throw shooting I can live with.  Usually, when a guy who's 18+ years old is a bad free throw shooter, he's going to be a bad free throw shooter for life.  There's often nothing that can be done about it, no matter how much work is put into it.  But the other half of the Gators' late game failures is fixable, and that fix is to stop playing prevent offense late in the game.

At the end of regulation in the Vanderbilt game I had to look over at the Gators' bench and make sure that Steve Addazio wasn't calling in the plays.  Wait, did I say plays?  Sorry, I meant play...singular.  You know the one.  Take the ball up court, stand around up top until the shot click hits four, and then throw up a hail marry three pointer just to pretend like we're trying to score.

In the Vanderbilt game Florida had the ball with a 2-point lead and around 50 seconds to play.  In the Georgia game, it was a multi-score lead with around 2 minutes to go.  In either case, a basket is just about a dagger in the victory, but in both cases we instead elected to just run off 35 seconds and give the ball back freely.

Florida pulled out the win in both games, so their late collapses haven't gotten much attention yet.  But if we're going to be stuck relying on a miracle three-pointer by Erving Walker like we had against Georgia, or a blown no-call that went in our favor like we had against Vandy, then that luck is going to run out fast.

The bright side of all this is that those late regulation collapses allowed us to see some really good things in the overtimes of those games.  In both cases, Chandler Parsons ultimately came up big at the end.  Maybe we should give him a shot down the stretch in regulation.  One thing is for certain, they need to get those late game collapses under control.  If they can figure it out, we've got a pretty good squad this year.

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It's hard to believe that the team I was watching on Tuesday night was the same team that I was watching a week ago.  After lulling us to sleep with the most boring game ever, the Gators this week gave us the complete opposite and showed what this team is really made of with yet another conference road win.

Florida defeated Georgia 104-91 on Tuesday night in a double overtime thriller that included miraculous comebacks, (multiple) buzzer beaters, and tons of scoring.

The game seemed all but won after Georgia turned the ball over with less than a minute left and Florida carrying a four point lead.  But once again free throws were our achilles heel.  The ironic thing this time around was that it was one of our best free throw shooters, on a night where Florida shot pretty good from the line as a team, that couldn't hit them down the stretch.

Florida inbounded with its four point lead and Erving Walker was fouled and sent to the stripe with 36 seconds left and a 4-point lead.  Walker, a 76% free throw shooter on the year, missed the front end of his 1-and-1 to give Georgia a chance.  After Gerald Robinson hit a tough 3-pointer, Walker was once again sent to the line, this time with a 1-point lead and 21 seconds left.  Walker made one of two, and Georgia got an offense rebound and layup to tie the game up that was literally as close to a buzzer beater as you can possibly get, with the ball leaving Trey Thompkins hand with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

That sent the game to overtime with Georgia having all the momentum.  Florida felt like they were clinging for dear life, and they did that just well enough to get the ball back with 6.7 seconds left and a 3-point deficit.  Erving Walker, who missed his chance to ice it in regulation, then hit the miraculous three pointer you see in the video up above to send us to a second overtime.  I guess all that practice that Walker has had shooting three pointers from way deeper than he should be finally paid off.

The Gators took control in the second overtime as Chandler Parsons took over the game, and the Gators quickly pulled away.

This game really showed us a lot about this Gators team.  Walker's perserverance was perhaps the story of the night.  He could have easily folded after botching the last minute of regulation and giving Georgia a chance to win a game that they had no business being in.  Instead, he did the complete opposite and was at his best after that.

The Gators had four players score 19 points or more.  Vernon Macklin dominated the early game, Chandler Parsons dominated the late game, and Boynton and Walker were steady throughout.

The really odd part of the game was the story behind the offensive rebounding.  Georgia dominated on the offensive glass in the first half.  Billy Donovan must have lit a fire under the Gators at half time because when they came out in the second half that was completely flipped, as the Gators dominated the offensive glass.  From then on it seemed to switch off every 5 minutes or so.  Georgia would get what seemed like a half dozen consecutive offensive rebounds over a 3-5 minute span and then Florida would do the same.  Back and forth they went.  At the end of regulation and during the 1st overtime, Georgia continually racked up second chance points and the Gators barely held on.  In the 2nd overtime, the Gators regained control of the glass and ran away with the game.  It was really unusual to see the rebounding game be so streaky.

The most confidence inspiring part of the game was the Gators reaction to Georgia's switch to a zone late in the 2nd half.  If you'll recall, Auburn's zone defense really shut Florida down a week ago, and while they bounced back nicely against Arkansas, Arkansas played strictly a man to man defense.  I was beginning to wonder if perhaps Florida just couldn't handle a zone D.  Fortunately, when Georgia gave this theory a shot late in the second half, the Gators ripped it a part so fast that Georgia had to abandon it within a few possessions.  Rather than lazily pass the ball around the perimeter like they did against Auburn, the Gator guards created and drove to the basket, and got the ball inside to Macklin, who had a monster game.  It was great to see Boynton, Walker, and Parsons creating with the ball in this game because that is what this Gators team desperately needs.  If we become purely an outside shooting team we have no chance.

This Gators team will live and die by the matchups of our guards.  Against athletic guards that can prevent them from getting inside, our offense were struggle.  Against guards that Boynton and Walker can penetrate against, the team will have success.  Thusfar, we've found more opponents in the latter category as the Gators now sit alone atop the SEC East with an NCAA tournament birth seeming all but assured at this point, barring a monumental collapse.

Steve Addazio is finally gone.  Before he left, however, he called plays for Florida's offense one final time in the Outback Bowl.

The game was pretty much what we've come to expect out of Addazio.  Actually, the game was exactly what we've come to expect of him.  Short passes, predictable runs up the middle, and a lot of offensive ineptitude.  Fortunately, this was one of those games where the defense bailed us out, scoring twice and setting up the offense with a short field countless other times.  Sure, Florida scored 37 points on the day, but Florida's touchdown drives on the day went for 0, 0, 15, and 25 yards.

Revel in this game Gator fans.  Revel in the fact that this was the last time you'll have to watch a team consistently try to pick up 2 yards and 3rd and 8 (I counted at least 4 times we ran two yard crossing routes into traffic on 3rd and 5 or longer, and at least one other QB draw on third and long).  Revel in the fact that this was the last time you'll have to see us go an entire half where the furthest the ball ever traveled downfield in the air was 12 yards (with the second furthest being a 4 yard slant pass to Karl Moore on 3rd and long early in the game), which Florida did once again on Saturday.

That is, unless you decide to start watching Temple football.  I'm sure you'll see plenty of that there if you ever miss it.

There were lots of interesting stats that came out of this game.  John Brantley went 6/13 for 41 yards with an INT.  More impressive about that performance though is the whopping 3.2 yards per attempt.  Jordan Reed's horrible 4.6 ypa actually seems good by those standards.  As bad as those ypa numbers are, the yards per completion numbers are even scarier at 7.2.  Not only was that by FAR (needed some emphasis there) the worst yards per completion number of any team that played on Saturday, but it was also worse than more than half of the teams that played on Saturday's yards per attempt numbers.

Our leading rusher (Reed), rolled downfield at 2.8 yards per rush on 24 carries.  Some of that was set back by sack yardage, but still, we see what happens when the defense knows that every play is going to be a run up the middle or a pass within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Truly, our best offense on the day was our defense, and that's where our stat of the game comes in.  Ahmad Black was, in a sense, our leading receiver.  His 129 return yards on his 2 interceptions were more than every Gator receiver had on offense combined, and by a comfortable margin.

And that is how Steve Addazio leaves us, as fantastically as he began.  Farewell, Steve Addazio, and good luck Temple Owl fans.