Gator Bowl 2012: Florida's Special Teams the Difference Against Sloppy Buckeyes

The Florida Gator offense has not been particularly effective all season. The same could be said about Ohio State as well.

That continued in the Gator Bowl, which featured Urban Meyer's old team and his new one.

Neither team broke 300 total yards of offense, and both defenses were fairly solid.

Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller showed flashes of brilliance for the Buckeyes, throwing two touchdown passes. But he could never really establish a rhythm, and the swarming Florida defense gave him fits all day long.

In the end, it was Urban Meyer's recruiting at Florida that ended up hurting the Buckeyes. Two of Meyer's prized recruits, Andre Debose and Chris Rainey, provided key plays in special teams that were the difference in this game.

After Ohio State evened up the score at seven all, Debose answered 12 seconds later with a 99-yard kickoff return—a Gator Bowl record.

The game went into halftime 14-10 in favor of Florida, and the Buckeyes looked out of sync and somewhat rusty.

Ohio State was forced to punt to begin the second half. Rainey blocked it, Florida picked it up and the game was all but over.

The Gators showed a glimpse of what their stout defense defense will look like in 2012, limiting the Buckeyes offensively and forcing a fumble that helped swing momentum.

For the Buckeyes, it was a disappointing way to end the season, and even with Meyer heading to town, this has to be a hard pill to swallow.

On the bright side, Braxton Miller has shown that he can be a difference-maker for the Buckeyes. If he can learn when it's best to throw the ball away rather than scramble, he will be one of the top quarterbacks in the conference in 2012.

Couple his talent with the caliber of ballplayers that Meyer will be able to attract, and the future should be bright again for the Buckeyes.

All that said, for today, the victory belongs to Florida and the guys Urban Meyer lured to Gainesville.