Florida Gators: 2011 Complete Season Preview and Schedule Breakdown
The Florida Gators are a team that is in transition so it's no coincidence that the first season without Tim Tebow was not a good one. John Brantley, a young quarterback out of Ocala, Florida was chosen to be Tebow's replacement.
Most critics expected a few bumps in the road from a young quarterback but nobody expected his season performance to be this bad. Brantley threw for 2,061 yards and only nine touchdown passes to ten interceptions. Brantley went seven games without a touchdown pass, including the bowl game against Penn State where he managed to throw for just 41 yards and one interception.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Florida Gators finished with a below par 8-5 overall record, coach Urban Meyer's worst in his five year tenure at Florida. The Gators received beat downs from Alabama, South Carolina and an embarrassing 31-7 loss to hated rival Florida State to finish the regular season.
On December 8, 2010 coach Meyer announced he will retire after the Outback Bowl against Penn State. The Gators sent Meyer out with a victory as they defeated the Nittany Lions 37-24.
The Gators are a team that is being overlooked heading into the 2011 season. They are not ranked in the top 25 and with a new head coach and offensive coordinator, there are a lot of unanswered questions.
One thing for sure is the Gators remain a talented team with lots of speed on both sides of the ball and should not be slept on. The Gators could make things interesting in the SEC but a lot depends on the play of quarterback John Brantley.
Coaching Changes
Head coach Urban Meyer retired from the University of Florida with two BCS National Championships, two SEC championships, a bowl record of 5-1 and a overall record of 65-15.
A man by the name of Will Muschamp will replace Urban Meyer in hopes of carrying on the great tradition of Florida Gators football.
Who is Will Muschamp?
Muschamp, 39, has been the defensive coordinator for Texas University for the past three seasons. Muschamp who played safety at the University of Georgia from 1991-1994 has a fiery attitude and is known for running excellent defenses.
He has coached at Auburn, LSU, and was the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins among other schools. This is the first head coaching job of Muschamp's career.
A lot of the blame for the Gators poor season fell on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Steve Addazio. Addazio made several boneheaded moves throughout the season, including constantly switching between the three quarterbacks on the roster throughout the year.
The Gators offensive performances were brutal, scoring just six points against Alabama, and just seven against Mississippi State and Florida State. Addazio has since taken over as the head coach for Temple and the Gators have now hired Charlie Weis as their offensive coordinator.
Who is Charlie Weis?
Charlie Weis runs a pro style offense which is different then the spread offense the Gators ran with Addazio. Weis was the head coach for Notre Dame for five seasons before becoming the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs last season helping them form the leagues number one rushing attack.
Weis best work though was when he was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2000-2004 helping them win three Super Bowls in that time frame. Charlie Weis will be a great coordinator to get this Gator offense back on track and help take John Brantley to the next level.
Key Player Losses
C Mike Pouncey
Pouncey played in 54 games and made 45 starts, and made the second team all SEC in 2010. As a freshman he played defensive line and earned eight tackles and a interception.
In 2010 after his brother Maurkice Pouncey was drafted to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike left the guard position to take over at center. In the 2011 NFL draft Mike was drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the 15th overall pick.
SS Ahmad Black
Black was a ball hawk and a tackling machine at the University of Florida. In 2009 Black finished second on the team with seventy tackles, and led the team in 2010 with 108, which was 32 more than any other teammate.
Black finished his career at Florida with 13 interceptions, three of them ran back for touchdowns, including one against Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Ahmad Black was drafted in the 5th round with the 151st overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
CB Janoris Jenkins
Janoris Jenkins has tons of talent and became just the second true freshman in school history to start at cornerback on opening day. Jenkins played three years as a Gator and appeared in 39 games in which he totaled 121 tackles, eight interceptions and 25 pass breakups.
Jenkins declined leaving school early and decided to return for his Senior season at Florida. In April of 2011 Jenkins was arrested again, for marijuana position and was dismissed from the team. Jenkins now plays for the University of North Alabama.
OT Marcus Gilbert
Gilbert played in 52 games and made 30 career starts in his career as a Gator. In 2009 he started all 14 games at the right tackle position and earned SEC offensive linemen of week honors in a performance against Kentucky.
In 2010 Gilbert started all 13 games, playing both tackle positions. Marcus Gilbert was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round with the 63 overall pick, making him the third offensive lineman from Florida to be on the team.
Key Player Additions
DE Clay Burton
Burton has a motor that just doesn't stop. The 6'4", 235 pound defensive end moves extremely well and can chase down running backs from the backside. Burton can play both the run and the pass and has a verity of moves to use to his advantage. He can still improve on his speed and foot quickness.
QB Jeff Driskel
If you're a Gators fan, you're excited about Jeff Driskel being your quarterback soon. The 6'4, 225 pound quarterback already has an NFL arm, and for his size can run extremely well as he ran a 4.55 40.
He has a good touch on all of his passes and all the tools to become a great D-1 player, with pro potential. Needs to work on taking more snaps under center and his decision making. Working with Charlie Weis, Gator fans should be drooling.
TE A.C. Leonard
Leonard is a physical tight end, has great hands and should be a major weapon in Charlie Wies's offense. He runs great routes and catches the ball extremely well away from his body. Being only 6'3, 220 pounds though may hurt him, as his blocking needs work and driving his man off the ball.
S/CB Marcus Roberson
Marcus Roberson is 6'0", 180 pounds, so he will either be a big corner, or a small safety depending on what he plays. Roberson is a physical player who is outstanding in coverage but can sometimes be a little too physical with the receivers.
He does a nice job of keeping the receiver in front of him and has remarkable ball skills. As he gets bigger, he should be a factor against the run and could even see some plays on special teams.
Spring Game Recap
The Gators played a hard to watch spring game, with little positives to take about. It was ugly. Quarterback John Brantley was 4-14 for just 45 yards and started the game with five straight incomplete passes.
Brantley threw a gorgeous deep ball early in the game that was dropped by Quinton Dunbar, Brantley dropped his head and walked back to the huddle. If Brantley wants to be successful he has to gain confidence.
Running back Chris Rainey had some explosive plays and freshman tight end A.C. Leonard had two nice catches. Redshirt freshman Tyler Murphy started the game for the orange team and went 7-11 for 68 yards and threw one touchdown and one interception that was tipped by a receiver.
The best part of the even was probably at halftime, when the Gators honored it's three Heisman trophy winners in Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.
The blue team went on to defeat the orange team with a score of 13-10.
Game by Game Breakdown of 2011 Schedule
| Sat, Sept 3 | TBD | Tickets | |
| Sat, Sept 10 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Sept 17 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Sept 24 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Oct 1 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Oct 8 |
| 8:00 PM ET | Tickets |
| Sat, Oct 15 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Oct 29 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Nov 5 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Nov 12 | TBD | Tickets | |
| Sat, Nov 19 |
| TBD | Tickets |
| Sat, Nov 26 | TBD |
Vs Florida Atlantic
This is one of those cupcake teams that the Gators typically schedule every year for the first couple of games.
Head coach Howard Schnellenberger is doing a good job at building this program from the ground up as the Owls are heading into their 11th season but they're no match for the Gators. This game will be over by halftime. (1-0)
Vs UAB
This UAB team lost to Florida Atlantic last season but did lose to Mississippi State by only five points and it took overtime for Tennessee to knock them off.
The Blazers averaged almost six yards a play on offense but at the same time gave up 31 points a game on defense. That won't be enough to get it done in the Swamp as the Gators roll to a 2-0 start. (2-0)
Vs Tennessee
The conference schedule starts a little early for both of these teams and the Gators are going to want to make a statement in the SEC with their new coaching staff.
It may be early but this is a statement game and the Volunteers haven't beat the Gators since 2004. I'll go with the Gators to keep that winning streak going. (3-0) (1-0)
@ Kentucky
Last season Kentucky couldn't stop the run to save their life. Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Ole Miss, all ran for over 200 yards against their defense.
Three starters from that defensive line are gone and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I do know that Jeff Demps and company will have a field day when these two teams meet. (4-0) (2-0)
Vs Alabama
This game is going to be a dog fight as it usually is. Alabama lost Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram to the draft, but A.J. McCarron and Trent Richardson are no slouches.
This game could really go either way, but the I have to give the edge to the Crimson Tide. Majority of their team from last year is still in place including all but one starter from a defense that gave up less then 14 points a game. (4-1) (2-1)
@ LSU
Can new offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe make that much of a difference for this team? The LSU Tigers were one of the worse passing teams in the country averaging just 155 passing yards a game. Their defense and running game is the reason they won 11 games.
This will be another defensive game for Florida but hard seeing them lose two tough games in a row, they squeeze a field goal victory out in Tiger Stadium. (5-1) (3-1)
@ Auburn
Auburn may be the defending champions but this team is far from the team that won it last year. They don't have Cam Newton running the offense and they lost 7 starters from last year on both sides of the ball.
They do have talented freshman coming in but that won't help against a older Gators team coming off a huge confidence booster last week. (6-1) (4-1)
@ Georgia
This game will end a three week road trip and it's a match up that has been hosted since 1915. The Gators have won three straight against Georgia and haven't lost since 2007 when the Bulldogs did the "Gator stomp" and sent their whole team on the field.
The Bulldogs lost leading receiver A.J. Green to the draft and receiver Kris Durham. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray has the tools to be good but may not have enough tools around him. By this game Charlie Weis's offense should be clicking and take it to the Bulldogs solid defense. (7-1) (5-1)
Vs Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt was terrible last season, finishing with a 2-10 record and ending the season on a seven game losing streak. The Commodores averaged just under 17 points a game and no running back or receiver had over 500 yards for the season.
The defense wasn't much better and their going through changes with a new head coach in James Franklin. I just don't see Vanderbilt going from a horrible team and a team the Gators beat 55-14 last year to competing this year. (8-1) (6-1)
@ South Carolina
South Carolina finished 9-5 last year but took huge strides and is a team on the rise. Stephen Garcia is finally starting to show consistency and beginning to prove he can be a solid starter for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina has it's star players returning on offense but lost tons of players on defense which may hurt them in this game. The Gators will have revenge on their mind since they lost to the Gamecocks last year and anytime losing to Steve Spurrier is a tough pill to swallow.
Going to be a tough game but Florida wins by a late touchdown. (9-1) (7-1)
Vs Furman
Does this game even deserve a writeup? We should see a lot of Florida's second stringers as this game will get ugly. (10-1) (7-1)
Vs Florida State
Florida won the last six meetings between these two teams before the Seminoles put a beat down on the Gators last season. Jimbo Fisher had a successful season taking over for the legend in Bobby Bowden and expectations are high again in Tallahassee.
The defense should put up a solid showing like they did last season but offense is where there are question marks especially at the offensive line and receiver position. Florida State will not be able to match the points the Gators are capable of putting up. (11-1) (7-1)
Postseason Expectations
If the Gators do in fact finish the season 11-1 there is no question they will be in the Georgia Dome playing for the SEC title. The hire of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was huge, and I think it will pay dividends not only this season but for years to come.
I don't think a BCS bowl game is expected this year but it could very well happen. Regardless, Florida is a team that is moving in the right direction and should be a national championship contender in no time.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
