TALLAHASSEE — If the Florida State schedule had featured 12 games against rival Florida, Seminoles quarterback Christian Ponder just might have grabbed that Heisman Trophy.
Despite struggling through a mediocre senior season, during which his numbers were far from the Heisman-type production some thought would be come common place this season, Ponder did what he pleased against the Gators on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium, completing 16 of 24 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns in arguably his most dominant performance of the fall.
“I think we played against a very good quarterback,” said Florida head coach Urban Meyer. “But we did not play well on the back end. They got us on a couple double cuts because their guys were being aggressive back there.”
Ponder spent a good deal of his afternoon making the Gators pay for a lack of execution in the defensive backfield.
His first scoring pass came with 10:45 to go in the second quarter, when he found Rodney Smith for 39 yards to extend the Seminoles’ lead to 17-7. He followed eight minutes later with a 15-yard strike to Taiwan Easterling that pushed the lead to 24-7, and his final score came on a 29-yard pass to Willie Haulstead early in the third quarter on a play that concluded the game’s scoring.
Florida’s players pointed to a number of reasons for their ineffectiveness against the pass, but a lack of a significant pass-rush was certainly part of it.
“(Their) offensive line did a great job picking up our blitzes, and we weren’t able to get pressure,” said Florida linebacker Jelani Jenkins. “And when you face a good quarterback like that, he can make you pay.”
FAKE PUNT ‘KILLED’ GATORS: Meyer didn’t hesitate following Saturday’s game to take blame for the failed fake punt attempt that helped change the momentum of the afternoon.
“I did not manage the game on that fake punt,” Meyer said. “… It killed us.”
Facing a fourth-and-five from their own 24 yard line, punter Chas Henry tucked the ball and ran, but was wrapped up by Florida State’s Ochuko Jenije a yard short of the first down, giving the Seminoles the ball at the UF 27 yard line.
It took them one play to find the end zone, on Ponder’s 27-yard touchdown score to Smith, and push their lead to 17-7
Meyer said following the game that the play represented a huge momentum shift, and while players admitted that it certainly didn’t help, they weren’t ready to say the failed attempt was where the Gators lost the game.
“It was big, but man, one play won’t lose you a game,” said senior center Mike Pouncey. “One play will win you a game, but that play didn’t lose us the game.”
REED VOMITS FOLLOWING GAME; OTHERS LEAVE WITH INJURIES: Not long after the Gators’ post-game press conference, quarterback/tight end Jordan Reed could be seen outside the team’s locker room, vomiting into a trash box.
Reed left Saturday’s game after suffering a concussion in the third quarter and didn’t return. He finished with a team-high 74 rushing yards and appeared to be Florida’s most effective quarterback, though he did lose one fumble that resulted in a Florida State score.
Meyer would only say following the game that Reed suffered a concussion.
Defensive end Jaye Howard, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury, receiver/tight end Omarius Hines was slowed by a shoulder injury and Pouncey played through an undiagnosed chest injury, for which he’ll undergo X-rays when the team returns to Gainesville.
“Don’t know what it is right now, but we’re going to get X-rays as soon as we get back in town,” Pouncey said. “… I’m hurting pretty bad. Hopefully it’s nothing bad.”
MEYER UNAWARE OF POTENTIAL MCCARNEY DEPARTURE: Despite an ESPN.com report that Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney has been offered the head coaching job at North Texas,
“No,” said Meyer, asked whether that the report is accurate. “I mean, not that I know of. I have not been made aware of that.”
The website reported the McCarney, who has spent the past three years as a Florida assistant, is currently in negotiations with the school and is expected to be introduced as head coach next week.
In 12 seasons as head coach at Iowa State, McCarney won a school-record 56 games and led the Cyclones to five bowl games.
ESPN.com also reported that North Texas had also been considering Dennis Franchione and Steve Kragthorpe, among others.
COACHES TURNING FOCUS TO RECRUITING: The Florida coaching staff won’t have too much time to sulk in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss.
As of Sunday, all of the team’s assistants will be out on the road recruiting, said Meyer, who added that signing the top available talent will be one of the team’s major focuses between now and National Signing Day in February.
“Recruit our butt off is what we’re going to do,” Meyer said. “That starts tonight. Coaches are on the road tomorrow, so we’re going to recruit our butt off and built this thing back up. Because obviously we’re down. I know we’re injuries and all other kind of excuses we can come up with, but we’re down, and we need to built this thing back up.”
— Gator Country reporter Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan@gatorcountry.com . You can also follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/duganarnett.