Photo by: UPI/Mark Wallheiser
After the Georgia game, Riley Cooper was on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the unbelievable one-handed catch he had for a touchdown. In the interview, he was asked about his baseball career and signing with the Texas Rangers. As he was telling about the the signing process, Cooper said the three weeks he had to wait to hear that he could play this year were the longest 3 weeks of his life.
The night in Baton Rouge has not been friendly to many visiting teams, but the Gators were able to escape the night with a 13 to 3 victory over LSU. Tim Tebow was also able to return to the field after his concussion versus Kentucky. With the uncertainty around Tebow’s health, Coach Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio called a very conservative offensive game play against the Tigers.
So how many times did you get grief over playing Charleston Southern last week? The guys over at Orange & Blue Hue ask if anyone wants to complain about the schedule now? Simply put Georgia,Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma fans all wished their teams played cupcakes in week one.
Where did Uga's Mojo Go?
Mark Bradley of the AJC after watching the Dawgs for two years sees something missing at UGA, and it isn’t talent. Maybe that slice of Time-Out Pie that Coach Urban Meyer served them up last year took some of their mojo away. The season is still young, so the Dawgs can’t be wrote off. Reading some of the Bulldog sites a lot of them have already done just that.
GatorsNow is spanning the internet to see what the reactions were after the Charleston Southern game. The Gators were able to kick their 2009 season off and try and answer some of the questions facing the team.
A lot of them were answered in a short period of time. First the running game is legit, the Gators were able to rush for 369 yard with a lot of big plays from Rainey, Demps, and Moody. The Gators did show some of their quick strike offense after a 68 yard pass to Cooper then a quick snap for a 9 yard TD by Jeff Demps.
Cooper looked great hauling in 5 passes for 105 yards, and at one point catching 3 in a row. Deonte Thompson and Brandon James did drop what would have been 2 TD passes by Tebow. The Gators need the WR to step up and show they are SEC ready.
The Gators defense played a lot of base D and didn’t show a lot of blitzs. At times CSU was able to move the ball with quick passes, and hit a couple deep balls over Wondy Pierre-Louis who was filling in for Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins was sitting from his summer fight and run in with the law. Also Jermaine Cunningham did not play. Coach Meyer would only say, “He wasn’t ready to play.”
Although Florida opened its most anticipated season in school history with a near-perfect performance, it came against an overmatched team from the Football Championship Subdivision.
“It’s hard to evaluate that game,” coach Urban Meyer said.
Florida, an overwhelming favorite to repeat as national champs, accomplished everything it wanted to in the opener, though. The Gators unveiled some new wrinkles, won the game in convincing fashion and avoided any major injuries.
Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel had these nuggets from the game:
On Riley Cooper, who had five catches for 105 yards, “Riley played like he practiced. He’s playing as good as he’s ever played. I know it’s been one game, but the way he practiced, I knew he was ready for a breakout game.”
John Brantley had a solid outing, going 8-of-12 for 67 yards with 2 TDs. He also ran six times for 44 yards. “It was fun watching him and being able to encourage him,” Tebow said.
LG Carl Johnson injured his knee, but Meyer said he was hoping it was just a bruise and listed the player as probable for next week.
OVERALL: A-
Not much opposition but the usual stars showed their stuff in the blowout victory for the Gators.
Read more for the full box score of the game.
When I was looking over the 2009 squad in May, the Wide Receiver position was an area of concern. I was looking forward to the summer practices to see which wide-outs would step up. After everything that has transpired leading up to the start of the season, I just don’t see any way that this Wide Receiver group is going to be any where as good as last year’s.
We need to see more of this from Deonte Thompson
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.
With Harvin Gone Who Steps Up?
Heading into the 2009 there is a good chance that 2009 Gators will open as the preseason # 1. The debate will begin with the worthiness of this team to open this high and how Texas, USC, and Oklahoma should be ranked in the useless preseason top spot. If you really consider the situation carefully, this team is going to be improved in just about every way. The defense is going to be two deep in every position, Tebow is back, and the running game is more secure than in the past. However, the one spot that is going to have to improve is the Gators Wide Receiver Position. Right now the roster looks like this:
