It is less than one week until the kickoff of the 2009 season. On Saturday, September 5, Charleston Southern University comes into The Swamp to take on the defending BCS National Champs. The Gators are paying $450,000 to get CSU to travel to Gainesville. So who are the Charleston Southern University Buccaneers?
Gators vs Bucs
The Buccaneers are a member The Big South Conference, and have been picked to finish fifth from The Big South media. Head coach Jay Mills, now in his seventh year at CSU, holds a 34-33 record with the Bucs. They are going to have a new starting quarterback when the come in to The Swamp. This with be their fourth starting QBs in as many years.
CSUsports.com reports - “Who starts the Florida game for us will very much depend on the shape each quarterback reports in,” said Coach Jay Mills. “We have great competition and depth at each position, and that is no different at the quarterback spot. We know they have both worked hard and will continue to do so, so our staff will evaluate them daily. It is our policy never to move anyone down in the depth chart, it will be up to the other guys to step up and take the starting role.”
Does this mean they are going to be a complete push over for the Gators? AP writer Pete Iacobelli got this quote from Running back Antwan Ivey, “We’ve got a notion we can shock the world,” he said. “We’re not going in thinking we’ll lose. I want to win.”
I don’t think we are going to see an Appalachian State performance from CSU. Here is how we should judge the game, and what to look for.
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Does the Gators first team defense completely dominate CSU offense? While they are on the field the defense that returns all starters should not give up any points and we need to see the Defensive Line own the line of scrimmage. We should also keep an eye on Omar Hunter, Troy Epps, Earl Okine, and William Green to see if they are able keep up where the first team left off.
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Is John Brantley ready for prime-time? The first time the Gator Nation got to see how Tim Tebow would manage a game was the 2nd half of the Western Carolina, so do the Gators put this game away early in the first half and allow Brantley to get the majority of work in the second half of the game? It would even be nice if Jordan Reed were able to get some game action.
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Does any Wide Receiver want to be the man? Riley Cooper and Deonte Thompson will get the start at wide out, and they need to show one of them can replace Louis Murphy. The Gators Wide Receivers were a question mark all summer long, but in the last week have added new worries. Freshman WR Andre Debose’s hamstring injury is not going away and may be worse that thought. Also Senior Carl Moore’s career may be in doubt due to a back injury.
- Keep the Injuries away! In a game like this the main thing you want is all the players to come off the field with out any injuries.
The game will air on Sun Sports in Florida and throughout the SEC region on FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southwest. The game will also be called on the Gators Radio Network and XM Radio.
