Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There have been many heart-warming stories of inspiration on this journey of Tebow-mania we've all been on this fall. This one might top them all.

Joey Norris, 13, shares his story of fighting leukemia and "Tebowing while Chemoing."

The Tim Tebow Foundation has flown Joey and his family out to today's Broncos-Chiefs game.

Also attending today's game is former Rutgers player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed when he suffered a spinal injury in 2010 during a game against Army. Like many, LeGrand has said he draws inspiration from watching Tebow.

Here's AFC West blogger Bill Williamson's take on today's game:

Plenty at stake in Tebow-Orton Bowl
As if the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow need any more pressure. A home loss to Kansas City in Week 17, coupled with an Oakland win at home against San Diego on Sunday, will keep the Broncos out of the playoffs. They would be 8-8 and end the season with three straight losses.

GATOR LINKS
Denver Post: Heaven help Tebow if Broncos can't beat the Chiefs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- When a top-10 team loses to an unranked team, the aftermath isn't pretty. That's what happened when Florida played poorly on offense and defense and fell to an inspired Rutgers team last Thursday night.

Right after the game, talented freshman Bradley Beal lamented his poor performance. He tweeted: "Cant even eat im so mad !"

ESPN.com's Power Rankings
Florida takes a tumble.

Podcast: Brennan/O’Neil
Eamonn Brennan and Dana O’Neil react to some big upsets by Rutgers and Vanderbilt. On the surprise-o-meter, they say a good win for Rutgers merits a 10 on the meter.

Bilas Index: Buckeyes still in top five (Insider)
In his weekly top 68, Jay says the Gators are still pretty good.

In Week 3 of the Bilas Index,

On the flip side, Billy Donovan has now got Florida recruiting cranked up to high gear ...

Recapping top performances from top players (Insider)

No. 35 Braxton Ogbueze, PG The Florida-bound guard had an offensive explosion.
No. 93 Michael Frazier, SG The Gator commit had steady performances with offense and rebounding in two tournaments.

Also, Frazier's teammate, junior point guard Kasey Hill, followed suit and committed to the Gators on Saturday. Hill is one of the top prospects in the class of 2013.

The final commitment of 2011 calendar year belongs to the Florida Gators.

Prize junior recruit Kasey Hill (Eustis, Fla./Montverde Academy), ESPNU’s No. 16 overall recruit in the 2013 class and third-rated point guard pledged to Florida on Saturday.

“I did it after the (Yale) game but I knew before the game that I would do it,” Hill said. “I told (Billy Donovan) that I was ready. Last time I visited he told me to let him know when I was ready. I came up today and I was ready.”

Hill was in town to watch the Gators play the Bulldogs.

Hill, who said he had Florida leading for the last two months, also considered Louisville and Florida State. The Gators committed a ton of time resources to Hill last July on the AAU circuit.

“I think I saw them at every game and that’s what really stood out to me,” Hill said.

A scoring point guard, Hill is under the tutelage of Kevin Boyle this season at Montverde. In Donovan, he found a former high-level player at his position and someone he felt had the ability to nurture his game.

“I’ve built a really good relationship with Coach Donovan, he played point guard in the NBA and I could learn a lot from him,” Hill said.

Hill is the Gators first recruit in the Class of 2013.

Hill's commitment happened following the Gators game on Saturday. It's also the last one we're going to report for the 2011 calendar year. Hill was a recruit the Gators zeroed in on and prioritized.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- They finally fed the beast.

Florida made a concerted effort to get the ball to Patric Young in the low post, and the sophomore center rewarded the Gators with a dominating 19-point performance in the No. 10 Gators' 90-70 victory against Yale Saturday afternoon in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

"I probably got 15-plus touches, and it all equated out to really good things for our team," Young said. "The ball has to go inside-out for our team. That's just how it works. That's Florida Gator basketball, going inside-out and the ball jumping around, and everyone getting a hand on it before the shot goes up.

"I'm not saying I have to take every shot when I get it, because you see I had five assists [a career-high], but it opens up other things when everyone is getting the ball because they don't know who they're going to cover."

Florida coach Billy Donovan was pleased with the way his offense responded to a lackluster effort at Rutgers, calling it "one of the best games we played this year.

"I was really, really pleased with the way we moved and shared the ball. I think I said after the game against Rutgers that we didn't play the right way. I thought we really played the right way today."

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- If you're not using your voice here on ESPN.com, allow me the opportunity to introduce you to such an avenue. Here on GatorNation, we have a premium message board called The Chompions Club. We have a free message board called Chomp Talk.

And then there are the story comments. Whoa. This is where you go when we've written about a subject near and dear to you, and you've just got to chime in. You can also use our game previews and recaps as a place for live talk. Just click on the conversation tab and start firing away (yes, it's that easy). Last night's Florida loss in double-overtime to Rutgers might not be the happiest of examples, but check out the kind of conversation that was going on, and still is.

What a game it was, that double-OT thriller. Maybe not an outcome Gator fans were thrilled by, but as ESPN's Dana O'Neil wrote Thursday night from Piscataway, N.J., it's a process. Said Billy Donovan: “What we need to do is see how self-reflective we’re willing to be. What do we need to do differently as coaches and as players? How you handle situations like this is a big part of any young player’s development. It’s a matter of what comes out of this. That’s why I say it’s bigger than this game.’’

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- With Florida on pace to end up with the fewest forced turnovers in program history, all the attention is rightly on why the Gators couldn't force more and what they can do to improve in that area in 2012.

Nearly overlooked, however, is the fact that the Gators have been very good at capitalizing when they do force a turnover. Which drives the point home about the importance of getting turnovers.

UF forced only 12 turnovers (16 in 1950 is the fewest) and scored points off all but two: seven touchdowns, three field goals, one punt and one end-of-game situation. That's 58 points, including a pair of interception returns for touchdowns against Furman.

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GatorNation brings you the latest installment of Chomp Confidential, a look inside Florida football recruiting for GatorNation subscribers only. As with anything confidential, what's reported in the weekly Chomp Confidential must stay in The Chompions Club forum. We are providing this information for our subscribers and expect you will keep the information here. A few things discussed in this week's update:

• New offensive lineman offered
• Latest on All-American games
• Where will Jordan Jenkins go?
• Florida is in good shape for 2013 prospects

Check out the weekly Chomp Confidential.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The good news for Florida fans is that the recruiting season is in full effect, and it's a nice way for fans to put the bad taste of this football season out of their mouths. The bad news is that the basketball team is playing so well, there's a chance for one or maybe even two big losses to the NBA draft this summer.

All Under Armour All-America Game team (Insider)

Our national analyst Craig Haubert breaks down the best of the best who have participated in the five-year history of this game. One Gator made the list:

DT: Dominique Easley ('10)(College: Florida(The impact Easley had during the 2010 Under Armour week was unmistakable. The prospect out of Staten Island, N.Y., proved unblockable all week with his lightning-quick first step. Not only was he a disruptive force in the practices, he put forth an MVP performance in the game, finishing with three tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble. The Florida Gator entered the week a top-50 prospect and left a top-five.

OK, let's get you prepared for tonight's big road game -- No. 10 Florida at Rutgers, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (or you can watch it right here) -- with some notes from our friends at ESPN Stats & Information:

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