Gator Country

Florida senior wide receiver Riley Cooper makes a 68-yard reception during the first half of the Gators' 63-2 win against Charleston Southern on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

They are called “Cream Puff” games and in the old days coaches would get chided for playing what was known as Little Sisters of the Poor. Charleston Southern was a cut above that, though still a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. So what could be learned from an evening of jousting with the Buccaneers in Saturday night’s opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium?

Well, for one thing, playing against somebody besides yourself. And even against the wind, 62-3 is a fairly impressive score. Especially when you look around the landscape of college football and see some of the surprising results on opening day 2009. Maybe, in retrospect, Oklahoma and Georgia should have scheduled Charleston Southern.

When you play the difficult schedule the Florida Gators have encountered the last three years, those “Cream Puff” games seem to dissipate, engulfed by the rigors of the SEC and all the respect it generates.

Yeah, I know, you’d rather see Florida vs. USC or Ohio State or Penn State in the opener – and so would I. But would you rather see that over another crystal football in the trophy case?

Besides, for Urban Meyer, this was the perfect scenario: Launching a quick 35-2 lead and then watching Brandon James torch the Bucs with an 85-yard kickoff return that allowed the Florida coach to empty the bench after going up 42-3 with still three minutes to play in the first half.

Tim Tebow exited stage left, Johnny Brantley entered stage right and the Heisman Trophy winner took out the pom-poms to cheer on his understudy.

Sure, there were flaws.

On the downside, the injury to offensive guard-tackle Carl Johnson could have been costly, but it believed he only has a bruised knee.

And then there is the matter of two touchdown passes being dropped by two starters, Deonte Thompson and James, both thrown by Tebow, who could have used those stats in the Heisman race since he went to the bench before halftime. Thompson, the “X” or primary receiver, had an oh-fer night. And of the dropped pass in the end zone, Meyer said: “That just can’t happen.”

Overall the defense played adequately, though it’s tough to judge the plain vanilla scheme used against FCS competition. There was nothing especially memorable about it. For all the talk about wanting to be a dominant, Charley Strong’s unit got no pressure on the quarterback, got beat often on swing passes and generally didn’t look sharp. Charleston Southern got 323 yards of offense against a defense that wants to be the nation’s best. Of course, Strong didn’t exactly whip out all his five-star material for packages, either.

All said, it’s tough to argue with a 42-3 halftime lead and a 62-3 opening day victory.

And there were some dazzling plays on offense. When it comes to home runs, these 2009 Gators are the college football equivalent of the 1929 Bronx Bombers, sans Yankee pinstripes. They set a record for rushing on opening day, with 369 yards, and certainly put on a shock-and-awe display of offense.

In particular, the breakaway running of Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey and the kickoff return of Brandon James. Rainey went deep for 76, James streaked 85 for a kickoff return score and Demps broke one for 41 yards and two for 23 yards each, one of them for a score. Combined with the 86 yards by Emmanuel Moody on nine carries, the Gators’ running back trio amassed 251 yards on 15 carries for a 17-yard average.

What we didn’t see was the quarterback under center. Meyer said that was because that formation requires two tight ends and they only have one at the moment – Aaron Hernandez. And we also didn’t see Joe Haden running from the quarterback position, although we may yet.

The hurry-up offense was a staple, however, and it seemed to catch Charleston Southern off guard, sometimes not even in a stance. Urban says we will so more of it.

The shining light of the receive corps was Riley Cooper, who was all over the field making blocks and caught five balls for 105 yards before sitting down for the second half. As impressive as Coop was a receiver, he was just as effective as a blocker, escorting the speedy James to the end zone, at one point, losing his helmet while blocking for another teammate – but never losing his concentration. Furthermore, he upchucked several times on the sideline, came back in, and caught another.

“Thank goodness Cooper came back,” Meyer had said earlier in the week, citing lack of depth at wide receiver. We could see why. Coop was the most active player on the field in the first half and looks like he’s ready to have a splendid senior season.

Then there is the future: Johnny Brantley and the Baby Gators:

When the starters sat down, the most promising sight to Meyer was the youth movement that took the field. With red-shirt sophomore Brantley at the helm, behind an all-freshman line – Xavier Nixon at left tackle, David Young at left guard, Sam Robey at center, Jon Halapio at right guard and Nick Alajajian at right tackle—Florida took the ball down field 49 yards in just six plays.

There was also another dimension to Brantley, the heir apparent, who is mistakenly cast by outsiders as an all-arm, no-legs quarterback. Coaches made it a point to get him the ball.

In the third period, Brantley marched his boys in from 53 yards out, carrying once for 23 yards, then capping off the six-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown to Cade Holliday.

“Tonight I got to show my running ability,” Brantley said with a tone self-deprecation.” He did take a whack after the 23-yarder and then another from his own teammate.

“I got hit pretty good,” Brantley said, “and then Tebow had to come along and knock me out again (on the sideline). Nah, it was fun. He always does that when I run the ball – he gets all excited.”

This was by design, because Brantley knows running has been the weaker part of his game and he says he has been working on it since training camp. After all, when he takes the controls next season, he’ll have to cover a little ground himself on occasion.

Meanwhile, Heir Brantley passed the ball beautifully, connecting on a pair of touchdowns to Justin Williams and Cade Holliday for their first career touchdowns.

“He did a good job,” Tebow said of his backup. “I’m happy with his play. It was fun watching him play and just encouraging him.”

Even if it was against the Little Sisters of the Poor.

About the author

BuddyShow

Buddy Martin is the author of seven books, including Urban Meyer's authorized biography, and was a recipient of an Emmy while working for CBS Sports on "The NFL Today." The native son of Ocala and Florida-educated journalist is the former sports editor of the New York Daily News, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times and Florida Today. He has won more than 165 state and national awards for writing and editing. "Urban's Way" (St. Martin's Press) is now out in paperback. It can be purchased at all major book stores or by writing Buddy at buddyshow@aol.com.

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