Carter's Notbook: Debose Ties UF Record, Offensive Struggles
Sunday, November 14, 2010 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nobody in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium knew it at the time, but the Gators' highlight in their 36-14 loss to South Carolina on Saturday night came in the game's first 14 seconds.
Florida's Andre Debose took the game's opening kickoff and raced 99 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first player in school history to ever return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.
Debose returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score in Florida's loss to LSU earlier this season.
As Debose broke into the open and raced toward the south end zone, the Swamp was rocking thanks to the third all-time largest crowd (90,885) in school history.
“Coach just called the perfect play and we executed it,'' Debose said. “I just saw a whole bunch of grass and a helpless kicker and I made him miss and ran as fast as I could.''
Debose became the first Gator to return the opening kickoff for a score since Bo Carroll did it in 1994 against Arkansas and only the third in school history, joining Carroll and Stacey Simmons (1987 against Kentucky).
Debose finished with four kickoff returns for 159 yards, tying UF's single-game record for most kickoff-return yards. He also added two catches for 13 yards.
BRANTLEY'S CATCH
With Gators starting quarterback John Brantley lining up at receiver on plays when Trey Burton moves to quarterback, there has been talk about whether Burton or third-string quarterback Jordan Reed would ever throw him a pass.
That hasn't happened. However, it didn't stop Brantley from making his first reception on Saturday.
On the Gators' first play from scrimmage in the second half, a South Carolina defender batted Brantley's pass into the air. As Brantley was falling down, he caught the ball for a 10-yard loss.
“I should have just let it hit the ground,'' Brantley said. “In my mind, I didn't want anyone else to intercept it. That's what was going through my head.''
Brantley finished 16 of 31 for 130 yards and an interception Saturday, often facing heavy pressure and at times, boos from the crowd.
In his postgame interview, a weary Brantley reiterated that he's comfortable sharing snaps with Burton and Reed and running the Gators' option offense.
Reed finished 3-for-7 for 46 yards and a touchdown, and Burton completed his only pass attempt for 15 yards.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
A week after racking up a season-high 480 yards in a 55-14 win at Vanderbilt, the Gators managed just 226 yards on Saturday, including a paltry 51 in the first half.
The Gators had to punt on their first six drives after Debose's kickoff return, leaving fans restless and the coaching staff and players scrambling for solutions.
Florida coach Urban Meyer called the offense “non-functional'' and said he didn't wouldn't have a specific answer about their struggles until after watching film.
“I think it was just execution,'' Meyer said. “Our guys were ready for this week. They gave us everything they had in practice. That was a pretty good team we played out there. We're just not a great team right now.''
The Gators started out slow from the get-go, committed two of their six penalties on the opening drive.
Brantley said there were multiple factors.
“There was some pressure. They were getting to us. They were throwing some different looks at us. But the protection was fairly good. We've just got to keep getting better at that.
“These last two weeks we've had great games. We called the same plays this week. It happens. Obviously the offense works; it worked the last two weeks. We had a bunch of penalties that killed us in the beginning.''
EXTRA POINTS
South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore's 212 yards marked the first time an opposing player rushed for more than 200 yards against Florida since Miami's Willis McGahee had 204 on Sept. 7, 2002 … The Gators finished with 191 yards passing to South Carolina's 156 … RB Chris Rainey had a season-high 25-yard run … Senior safety Ahmad Black had a career-high 16 tackles, and redshirt freshman linebacker Jelani Jenkins had a career-high 11 tackles … Reed threw his second career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter when he connected with Rainey for a 26-yard score; his first came in last week's win at Vanderbilt … Senior punter Chas Henry punted six times on Saturday, one shy of his career high against Miami in 2008.
