A Positive time to be a Florida Gator

Gators win big over the Florida State Seminoles this past Saturday -37-26 - and the coach says it is a positive time to be a Florida gator!  Click to read more...

Gators beat Jacksonville State 23-0

It was the last home game for the seniors on the Gator football team yesterday and they led the team to victory over Jacksonville State.  It was Senior Day and a game everyone expected the Gators to win.  The final score was 23-0.  Now on to the biggest game of the month, next Saturday at Florida State.  This should be interesting!

Click to read recap of the Florida-Jacksonville State game.

Gators play UL at 12:21 today!

The Gators are done in SEC play, and have three more games to finish the regular season.  The biggest game of the three will be on Saturday after Thanksgiving when the Gators face the #10 FSU Seminoles.  Also on the horizon is the post-season bowl game and a lot of that depends on the Georgia Bulldogs and their game against Auburn tonight.  If Georgia loses tonight, the Gators will play for the SEC championship in Atlanta. 
The Gators (led by quarterback Jeff Driskell) play the University of Louisiana today at 12:21 and the game will be broadcast on the SEC network.  Hopefully we will get to watch it on Peachtree TV here in Atlanta.  

Read preview of the game at this link:

Gators win BIG TIME over SC Gamecocks, 44-11

Led by quarterback Jeff Driskel, the Gators had a big time win over the South Carolina Gamecocks.  The Gamecocks did not play like the same Carolina team that whipped the Georgia Buldogs a few weeks ago, and barely lost to the  LSU Tigers last week.  The Gators proved that their no. 2 ranking in the BCS was no fluke today.  This should make the Gator nation feel much better about the big game next week in Jacksonville - the Florida - Georgia game or is it the Georgia - Florida game this year? 
Go Gators!  
Read more about the game at onlygators.com and gatorbait.net 

Florida wins, as expected

In a game which the Gators were supposed to win, they again took a little longer than the Gator nation of fans would like,  to win this one.  As expected, they beat Vanderbilt Saturday night,  31-17.  Read the recap at ESPN.com

The big story is that the next game will be at home in the Swamp against South Carolina.  The Gamecocks lost to LSU one week after humiliating the Georgia Bulldogs.  Who knows what will happen this weekend?  Will the real Gamecocks show up to play in the Swamp?  Also, the Gators were just announced at the no. 2 spot in the first BCS poll.  No pressure now! 

And how about Jeff Driskel's running game? He ran for 177 yards against Vandy, the most of any Gator quarterback in history, taking the no. 1 spot from Tim Tebow.  It was even mentioned during the game that Jeff Driskel was recruited by Urban Meyer to replace Tim Tebow.   

   

Florida defeats LSU 14-6

It was a tale of two half times as Florida was scoreless in the first half of today's game in the Swamp.  But they were able to keep LSU from scoring two touchdowns and the Tigers had to settle for two field goals.  

The second half was all Florida, scoring all 14 of their points and handing a defeat to the LSU Tigers!  Go Gators! 

I really like the headline at OnlyGators.com (click to read highlights of the game): 
Florida Gators run over LSU 14-6

Gators defeat the Vols 37-20

Sophomore QB Jeff Driskel was named the SEC Offensive Player of the week, as he led the Gators to a big win over the Tennesee Vols.  The final score was 37-20, but is more impressive when you realize that the Gators scored the final 24 points of the game. 

Click to read more at GatorZone 

Jeff Driskel and company had some mighty fine stats for the game:

Total offense: 555 yards

Rushing yards: 336

Three touchdown drives of at least 70 yards in three or less plays.

 

Read about another emerging player, Trey Burton, who was a little quiet last year. 

 

As a junior he is starting to shine this year, Go Gators! 

 

Gators 20 Aggies 17

It was a good start to the SEC season for the Gators as they came out of half-time playing like a different team and went on to spoil the SEC "welcome" for the Aggies winning the game 20-17.  Coach Will Muschamp knew it would be either a grand entrance for Texas A&M, or a rude welcome by the Gators.  Way to go Gators.  

I am sure all of us in the "Gator Nation" were a little concerned about how the Texas heat was impacting the Gators during the game yesterday.  Must be a different kind of heat that the Florida heat.

The turning point of the game was at the end of the first half when the Aggies had the ball and almost scored. I really expected that they would at least score a field goal, but the Gator's swarming defense took over and provided a little momentum going into half-time.  The second half was all Gators as they scored 10 more points and the Aggies scored none.  

Jeff Driskel proved he should be the starting QB. 

Read more at Gatorzone.com  

Gators travel to Aggieland 3:30 PM today!

I found this news video about many restaurants are preparing for today's game by serving Gator Bites, Gator tacos, etc. There is shortage of alligator meat in Texas today! :) 

 Game Time 3:30pm on ESPN - FLORIDA GATORS at TEXAS A&M AGGIES 
  
With the first SEC game of the season, the Gators are making history by playing the Texas A&M Aggies in their first game as SEC members and in Aggieland! The Gators are the first team to say "Welcome to the SEC!" The Aggies are looking forward to playing tougher competition, and we hope the Gators are ready to give it to them. After last week, I have a wait and see attitude because I know the Aggies can be tough to beat.

Florida over Bowling Green 27-14

Pictured at left is the Gator's Jeff Gillislee and I think we might be hearing his name a lot this year.  Especially, if he plays like he did tonight with 23-24 carries in the game.  The Florida Gators played well enough to win, but the game was way too close for comfort.  It was definitely the first game of the season and the team has a lot to work on, but who am I to complain-they won!   The final score was 27-14 over the Bowling Green Falcons.   Next week the SEC season kicks in with a game at Texas A&M (new to the SEC) followed by the Tennessee Volunteers. We will see in a few short weeks just how good this year's team will be.

 Recap at this link to ESPN - "Florida Holds off Bowling Green"

Click to view PHOTOS from the game

Gators first home game of 2012 season on ESPN

What a pleasant surprise to find that the first game of the 2012 Florida football game will be on ESPN this Saturday, at 3:30 pm.  Bowling Green will travel to the Swamp to face the Gators.   From what I have read, the coach has not decided who will be the quarterback, so both QB's will play Saturday.  Gator nation is ready for the football season to begin!

  Read the preview at ESPN

Gators at no. 23 in the pre-season poll

Just in case you missed it, a few weeks ago USA Today released its pre-season college football poll.

Interesting to note, 5 teams in the top 10 are SEC teams.  

1. LSU

2. Alabama

6. Georgia

9. South Carolina

10. Arkansas 

The Gators are not too happy to start out at no. 23, so time will tell what kind of team we have this year.

Click to view the entire poll

Florida is still Florida

Florida is still Florida.
That is the last sentence of the article at this link.    

News is that ESPN will broadcast the first Gator game of the season against Bowling Green.  Florida routinely plays a non-conference opponent for the first game of the season and it is rarely on TV.  This is a good article that gives the Gator Nation hope for the season ahead! The first three games of the season will be broadcast on ESPN - Florida will face Bowling Green,  Texas A&M, and Tennessee to start the season. 

Are you getting excited about Gator football?

A new page is turning in the Florida Gator program and there is plenty to be excited about!

Check out this article at bleacher report - 5 reasons to be excited about the Florida Gators in 2012...

Is the "honeymoon" over for Coach Muschamp??

Be sure to read all the way to end on page 6 (not 7) - the first game of the season will be played against the newest SEC school - Texas A& M ..

Gator Football Spring Game

The Gators Spring game was played last week and it appears the QB position is still undecided.  You can read the highlights of the at this link   

Or read the recap at TampaBay.SBNation -"The Blue hangs on to beat the Orange 21-14"

Gator Baseball Team Tops Preseason Poll

The preseason college baseball poll was posted this week at USA TODAY.com and the Florida Gators are on top. Click to read the story here. 

Six SEC schools appear in the USA TODAY/ESPN coaches' preseason poll, topped by No. 1 Florida and closely followed by two-time defending national champion South Carolina.

Click to view the complete USA TODAY/ESPN coached preseason poll 

Gators face LSU at home today

 It has been over a year since the Gators lost a home game, so we hope they can keep the win streak going today.  They face the LSU Tigers at 6 PM today! Click to read preview at Gatorsports

 

Today's game

Who: No. 17 Florida Gators (14-4, 2-1 SEC) vs LSU Tigers (12-6, 2-2 SEC)
When: 6 p.m.
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville

Gators on the road to face South Carolina today

The Gators are on the road again and heading to Columbia, SC to face the South Carolina Gamecocks.  The game is tonight at 7 PM.  Florida is ranked #19 going into this game.  After losing to Tennessee last Saturday, the Gators were able to beat the Georgia Bulldogs 70-48.  Go Gators!   Click to read more at onlygators.com

Gator Basketball - SEC season begins today

Time to focus on basketball now that football season is over.  After some great early season games against non-conference teams, the Gators will begin the SEC season today at 11 AM in Tennessee.  Coach Donovan and the Gators face the Volunteers.  Go Gators - read preview at this link

Gators are the victors of the Gator Bowl

After finishing the regular season with a 6-6 record, the Gators were invited to play against another 6-6 team, the Ohio State Buckeyes for the final game of the season.  Seems strange to end the 2011 season on the second day of 2012.  In a rematch of two teams that played for the national title four years ago, the Gators were able to pull of a win.  Playing in the Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Florida, it must have had the feel of a home game. I will have to check with my son and get back to you on that as he and his wife were at the game today.  The Gators had a 14 point lead for most of the 2nd half, but with a few seconds remaining Ohio State scored a touchdown.  The Buckeyes attempted an onside kick and failed, and the Gators were able to run out the clock.   The final score was 24-17 and you can click to read the recap at Gatorsports.com

Gator Bowl Preview

Gator fans are ready for the big game tomorrow in Jacksonville, Florida.  Since New Year's Day falls on Sunday this year, the college bowl games have been moved to Jan 2nd.  It feels like we will be celebrating two back to back holidays for the new year.  Our youngest son Brandon surprised his wife with tickets to the Gator Bowl.  Since she is a big Ohio State fan and he is a big Gator fan, I can't wait to see a picture of them all decked out for the game! 

Of course, we remember what happened the last time they played for the national championship (see photo above) 

  You can read a preview of the game at this link...