Florida Gators

Jacksonville State (6-5) at No. 6 Florida (9-1)
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
Florida Field, Gainesville, Fla.
Pay-per-view

Gators to watch

RB Matt Jones: Going on the assumption that the Gators get up big and play a lot of young players in the second half (although we thought that last week, too), Jones should get some pretty significant work, especially with Mack Brown out with an ankle injury. Jones has run for 113 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries in spot duty. He hasn’t done much lately, though. Since carrying the ball 10 times for 45 yards against Kentucky, he has touched it only 10 times in the last six games, including six carries for 24 yards against Missouri.

SS Matt Elam: This likely is Elam’s last game at Florida Field because he’s expected to leave early for the NFL instead of returning for his senior season. He is such a versatile player and the Gators lean on him pretty heavily for a lot of things. He lines up near the line of scrimmage to help in run support, can play as a single high safety as well as two deep, and is also pretty solid in man coverage.

QB Jacoby Brissett: He’ll be making his first start since the opener and should put up some pretty decent numbers considering Jacksonville State has one of the worst defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision. Two things on which to focus: How quickly does he get rid of the ball, and how does he react to the blitz. Those are two important issues that he’ll have to deal with against Florida State next week if starter Jeff Driskel can’t play.

(Read full post)

ESPN’s GatorNation brings you the 30 things you need to know about Florida’s upcoming 2012 season. For 30 weekdays we’ll preview games, talk about trends, spotlight players and positions, and give you pretty much everything you need to know to be ready for the season before the Sept. 1 opener against Bowling Green.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- GatorNation is previewing each of Florida’s 2012 opponents. Today is Jacksonville State (Nov. 17 in Gainesville).

JACKSONVILLE STATE

2011 record: 7-4 (6-2 Ohio Valley Conference).

Coach: Jack Crowe, 13^th season (81-52); 18^th season overall (95-82).

Series record: First meeting.

Top returners: QB Marques Ivory (5-10-0, 56 yards, 1 TD); RB Washaun Ealey (1,082 yards, 8 TDs); LB Rashad Smith (77 tackles); S Pierre Warren (37 tackles, 3 INTs).

Did you know? Former UF coach Charley Pell spent five seasons as JSU’s coach (1969-73) and went 33-13-1, including 10-0 in 1970.

Scouting the offense: Ivory missed the 2011 season after suffering an injury in the opener. He has 2,740 career passing yards and 25 career TD passes. Ealey is a former Parade All-American who spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons at Georgia and led the Bulldogs in rushing both seasons (717 in 2009 and 811 in 2010).

(Read full post)

ESPN’s GatorNation brings you the 30 things you need to know about Florida’s upcoming 2012 season. For 30 weekdays, we’ll preview games, talk about trends, spotlight players and positions, and give you pretty much everything you need to know to be ready for the season before the Sept. 1 opener against Bowling Green.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Let’s face it, the Florida-Georgia rivalry had gotten boring.

Florida’s lopsided victories in the 1990s and relatively uneventful games in the early 2000s had turned what was once one of the most bitter rivalries in college football into just another game.

But things have heated up again over the past five years -- thanks in part to some questionable actions -- and now the rivalry between the SEC schools is as intense as ever. Players danced, eyes were almost gouged, and the infamous choke sign made an appearance.

Oh, yeah, and there’s the matter of Florida’s coach having played at Georgia, too.

Can’t wait to see what happens this year when the teams meet at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 27.

THE INTENSITY IS BACK

Why has the Florida-Georgia rivalry heated up again? How about these five reasons:

(Read full post)