to quote Gatorzone.com...
The Florida defense stepped up once again and limited the Mississippi State offense to two field goals and 237 yards. They held the Bulldogs without a third-down conversion until midway through the fourth quarter (total was 2-12) and intercepted quarterback Tyson Lee three times. The Gators also held Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon to a season-low 53 yards rushing after entering the game averaging 116 yards on the ground.
Do you realize the Gator D has given up 4 touchdowns in 7 games? (the other 2 came on the offense or special teams) And a total of 57 points all season? (and not to mention that 2 of the touchdowns scored were on short field drives after the offense coughed it up!) It was almost a relief when the Mississippi State offense had the ball, because you knew they weren't going to score--you couldn't say the same when the Gator offense was out there! Without the two gross plays--the interceptions for touchdowns, the score would have been 36-6, which was much more realistic as to how the game really felt.
The score at halftime was 13-10. But that was really deceptive. Check out the stats:
Tim Terrific caught some heat for trying to "squeeze" in that pass at the end of the first half, leading to the interception (run back for 100 yards--who ever DOES that?). I watched it several times and I'm not sure who he was throwing to. If it was to Deonte Thompson, that was a bad throw; too high, and wide. If, OTOH, he was throwing to Hernandez, it wasn't such a bad toss, and it was Thompson's man--gee, how did he get over there?--who started the whole thing by deflecting it. I suspose the quarterback gets the glory when the receivers run great routes or when the defenders fall down, but he also gets hammered when they run bad routes. (Are you listening, Riley? and Deonte?)
If it's Hernandez alone in the corner, it could have (should have) been a touchdown for us instead of a MSU freak play--a 14 point swing. Ah, if frogs had wings....
Speaking of freak plays, the pass out of our end zone late in the game seemed dumb, but only because of the result. Timmy had a receiver streaking wide open down the right side, and if the defensive lineman had been a step slower, or picked up by someone .... ah, another 14 point swing, just by a hair. But I never really had the fear that the Puppies could take control of the game. Still, it made the Gators look silly and the coaches might have wanted to avoid that, for Tim's sake if nothing else.
But it was, once again, the Big D and special teams coming to our rescue.
What's a Bulldog say? Roof, Roof.....
You want some passion, some heart? How about that Rainey!?! What a game. Another blocked punt--if only he had scored with it--90 yards of rushing and a TD. And what a smooth TD run it was. He looked like he was snowboarding ... just gliding one way, then another, without a care in the world. True it was only 8 yards, but it was pretty.
But Chris, who sometimes gets a bit theatrical, lost his Top Hot Dog status to Dustin Doe, who embarrassed himself and the team with not only excessive cockiness on his interception return, but inept cockiness. It's one thing to celebrate with the ball as you cross the goalline, but for God's sake, at least hold the ball OVER the line when you do. It was fortunate for him (and us)the refs saw that as a touchdown and not the touchback it could've (should've?) been. It wouldn't have helped the equally inept Miss State offense to win, but the score would have been closer. Because he was being a butt-head, I decline to put a picture of him in this post. So there, Dustin!
For the Lakeland contingent, Ahmad Black had a beautiful interception. Unfortunately, it was called back by a bogus call on Ryan Stamper. Guess that made up for the bad call on Doe's pick 6.
Timmy did have a great touchdown on a 26 yard run. He would not be denied--classic stiff-arm and way to lay out for the score, big guy.
Get Outta my face!!!
Here you go, Herschel, now we're even!
In case you've been living under a rock, you should know this ties him with Herschel Walker for most "recorded" TDs in the SEC. (Seems the powers that be were counting differently when HW was playing.) So, to be fair, TT should score 3 more, to offset the 2 he got credit for in the postseason bowl games. Easily achieved with 5 regular season games left. But the "official" record breaker will... should...must come next week against the 'Dawgs. That makes my mouth water. Even better than the timeouts at the end of last year's game.
And, of course, ...(drum roll)... the Bumper Sticker of the Week...
A day without sunshine is, like, night.
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