Bulls expect Gators’ best

[JuicedBull]

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20100907/ARTICLES/100909600/1136

Bulls expect Gators’ best

By Tom Zebold

The Lakeland Ledger

TAMPA — Snaps seemed to go everywhere but directly to John Brantley’s hands while the Gators’ playmakers whiffed often at the chance to knock out an inferior opponent early Saturday.

Florida’s performance against Miami (Ohio) was enough for Urban Meyer to use the word “incompetence†when describing his usually potent offense in a not-so-lopsided 34-12 victory.

Now South Florida gets its shot at UF this Saturday at The Swamp, and the Bulls’ coaches are expecting much more of a fight from the humbled and hungry Gators.

“It’s called the first-game jitters, and I’ll promise you they’ll get those fixed,†USF defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said Tuesday. “… No matter what happened last week, we’re going to take their best shot this week.â€

USF head coach Skip Holtz went the extra mile and praised the Gators for what they did right in a game that caused UF fans to boo them.

“Everybody right now is saying Florida is broken after last week’s performance,†Holtz said at the team’s weekly media luncheon.

He went on to say that UF won by 22 points; praised Brantley and the tailbacks’ play; and reminded reporters that the Gators didn’t allow a touchdown while holding their opponent to four yards on the ground.

“When you look at that, I just think it goes to show the volumes of the program that Urban Meyer and that staff has built at Florida,†said Holtz, who has been friends with Meyer for more than 20 years. “That’s what the expectations are when you’ve won a couple of national championships and you have the type of athletes that they have.â€

USF didn’t have a problem last week putting away Stony Brook, of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA). The Bulls racked up 563 yards of total offense in a 59-14 rout at Raymond James Stadium while they got many freshmen ready for a much tougher opponent.

Shifting gears from a gimme game to No. 8 Florida isn’t easy. The thought of the Gators’ overall speed on offense was enough to concern Snyder days before his defense lines up to face it.

“We’re going from one extreme to the other in two weeks,†Snyder said. “Our challenge, the thing that scares me the most, is how do you replicate that at practice? You can’t.â€

Speedsters like Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey might keep USF coaches up later than usual this week. So what players do you use in practice to simulate some of the fastest players in the nation?

“It’s impossible to duplicate the athleticism and speed that they have on the field,†Holtz said. “Your scout teams can’t duplicate it. A lot of your starters can’t duplicate the athleticism and the speed that we’re going to see on game day.â€

[hm101]

exactly. this is no no-brainer... this will be a difficult game.