Worst 5 QB's in Gator Football History (Since the 70's)

Gator football has had a proud history of producing some of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history. In my last article, I highlighted some of the best quarterbacks to ever suit up for the Orange and Blue.

This week, I'll be taking a trip down a painful memory lane as I rank the worst five Gator quarterbacks ever. Without further adieu, here they are!

#5 John Brantley IV (2008-2011)

John Brantley IV is a second generation Gator as his father (who we will see later on this list) played at UF in the seventies. He was one of my first clear cut choices for this list as the Gators' slide into mediocrity began with Brantley under center.

Succeeding Tim Tebow for the 2010 season, Brantley managed a 14-10 career record in his two seasons as the Gator starting QB. He was a member of the 2008 National Championship squad as Tebow's backup, but was never able to bring UF to a bowl game of this significance or even to an SEC Championship. The two bowl victories that Brantley delivered were the 2010 Outback Bowl and 2011 Gator Bowl.

Brantley finished his UF career with 30 passing touchdowns, 4,750 passing yards, 18 interceptions, and a 61.7 completion percentage. These stats may not seem too bad compared to others on this list, but it is the performance of the team that I also take into account. Once Brantley took the reigns on offense, the Gators went from National Championship contenders to a middle of the pack SEC team playing in midlevel bowl games.

Brantley would go undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft and signed with the Baltimore Ravens shortly after. He was cut during preseason.

#4 Jeff Driskel (2011-Present)


Oh, Jeff. I'll be completely honest here: I have never been a fan of Jeff Driskel during my time here at the University of Florida. However, after seeing what has been another dreadful season so far in 2014, I have come to realize that Jeff is just a product of terrible coaching. He has had three different offensive coordinators throughout his Gator career so far.

Jeff was the #1 QB recruit coming out of high school and has been an absolute bust here at UF. Currently, he holds a career record of 12-6 as the Gator starting QB. His sophomore year he led the Gators to an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl berth, but many Gators fans are now convinced that season was a fluke.

In 2013, Jeff got hurt in just the third game of the season and the Gators went 4-8 without him at the helm. Regardless, Jeff's career at UF has been a forgettable one as he has tallied 20 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 3,199 passing yards, and a 59.5 completion percentage.

Currently, Jeff has been benched in favor of true freshman Treon Harris for UF's upcoming game against Georgia and will most likely pursue a baseball career with the Boston Red Sox after he graduates from UF.

#3 John Brantley III (1977-1978)

(Brantley is on the far right)

Like I said earlier in the article, here is Papa Brantley. He played two seasons as the Gator starting quarterback and went 10-11-1. He threw 13 touchdowns for a total of 1,515 yards, 14 interceptions, and had a 48.5 completion percentage. The Gators went 4-7 against their six main rivals (Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee, Auburn, Miami, and LSU) and did not make a bowl game with Brantley.

#2 David Bowden (1972-1973)
(No Picture Available)

Similar to Brantley, David Bowden started two seasons for the Gators at QB. He went 12-10-1 and lost the only bowl game he led the Gators to (the 1973 Tangerine Bowl). He finished his career with 19 touchdown passes, 20 interceptions, 2,192 passing yards, and a 49.7 completion percentage.

#1 Larry Ochab (1978-1980)

(Ochab is second from Brantley on the right)

Topping off my list is Larry Ochab. With him as the starting QB in the late seventies, the Gators reached an ultimate low point as they went winless in 1979. Overall, he would post a 4-17-1 record at UF while completing 50.6 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns, 1,466 yards, and 16 interceptions. He is the only QB on this list who never led the Florida Gators to a winning season. 

Dishonorable Mention: Cam Newton, Jacoby Brissett, Tyler Murphy (all transfered)

I hope you enjoyed this article recapping some of the lesser talented QB's to play at the University of Florida. Next week, I will be releasing my next installment of this series as I rank the top five running backs in Gator history! Stay tuned!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com & College Football @ Sports-Reference.com

Top 5 QB's in Gator Football History

The University of Florida has had a proud of history of football up until these recent years. In the glory years preceding what has been some dark times in Gainesville, the Gators have had some legendary players at the position of quarterback.

In a new Top 5 series that I will be doing all throughout the conclusion of the 2014 Gator football season, I will be ranking my top five best and worst players at each position in Florida football history. Without further adieu, here are my Top 5 quarterbacks in the history of Gator football.

#5 John Reaves (1969-1971)


Kicking off my list is John Reaves, a well known QB to the older fans of the Gator Nation. As the starting quarterback for the Orange and Blue, Reaves posted a career record of 20-13-1 in three seasons. He finished his career with 7,549 passing yards, 54 passing touchdowns, and a 53.5 completion percentage. He won just one award, which was the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1971.

His most significant bowl victory came in his first season as the starting quarterback in 1969. That year, he led the Gators to a 9-1-1 record and a 14-13 victory over the rival #11 Tennessee Volunteers in the 1969 Gator Bowl. This was Florida's best year with Reaves at quarterback.

A defining moment during the Reaves era came in his last collegiate game against the Miami Hurricanes in 1971. Needing just 14 more yards to break Jim Plunkett's NCAA record for all time passing yards in a career, Reaves threw an interception late in the game with the Gators up 45-8. As Miami attempted to run out the clock, almost everyone on the Gator defense literally fell down and allowed the Hurricanes to score.

With a little time still left in the game, the Gators got the ball back and Reaves completed a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Carlos Alvarez to break Plunkett's record. The Gators' stunt on defense was infamously nicknamed the "Gator Flop" and tensions between the Gators and Hurricanes have been high ever since.

After graduating from UF, Reaves was drafted 14th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1972 NFL Draft. After bouncing around between a few teams and a short stint in the USFL, Reaves hung up his cleats in 1987.

#4 Chris Leak (2003-2006)


Chris Leak ushered in the beginning of the Gator dynasty of the mid-2000's as he led the Gators to a National Championship his senior year. Leak went 25-9 as a starter and finished his career with 11,213 passing yards, 88 passing touchdowns, and a 61.4 completion percentage. He has the highest amount of passing yards on this list. During his senior year, he led the Gators to an SEC title with a 38-28 victory over Arkansas in the SEC Championship.

His most notable bowl victory is clearly the 2007 BCS National Championship as the #2 Gators defeated the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes soundly 41-14 for the school's second ever National Championship. Leak played well in his final collegiate game as he completed 25 of 36 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown.

After going out on top, Leak went undrafted but ended up signing with the Chicago Bears. He was cut at the end of preseason, and pursued some short lived endeavors in All American Football League, the Canadian Football League, and the Arena Football League.

Leak could not stay away from UF forever. In 2013 (soon to be fired) head coach Will Muschamp brought him in to be a graduate assistant. In 2014, he was promoted to wide receivers coach.

#3 Steve Spurrier (1964-1966)


Before he was the "Ol' Ball Coach", Steve Spurrier was a quarterback at UF. He was the first Heisman winner in UF history and totaled 4,848 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, and a 56.6 completion percentage in his three year career as a Gator. Spurrier's low numbers have to be excused because we have to remember this was the mid-1960's. Football was played in a completely different manner back then and Spurrier putting up these numbers at the time was huge by his era's standards.

Spurrier went 23-9 as a starter and his most significant bowl victory came in the form of a 27-12 victory over #8 Georgia Tech in the 1967 Orange Bowl. Besides the big achievement of winning the Heisman in 1966, some of Spurrier's other accolades include being named a Consensus All-American, SEC Player of the Year, and also winning the Walter Camp Award in 1966.

Spurrier was inducted into the UF Ring of Honor in 2006. He is just one of five players who hold a spot in this sacred and very exclusive club. It commemorates and retires the numbers of legendary players in the program. He is also in the College Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1986.

Spurrier was selected third overall in the 1967 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and played nine years there before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After 10 years, he called it a career and finished with 6,878 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, and 60 interceptions.

In 1990, Spurrier became the head coach of the University of Florida and helped guide the team to six SEC titles and the school's first ever National Championship in 1996. He stayed until 2002, when he decided to take the leap to the NFL by coaching the Washington Redskins.

After going 12-20 in the NFL, Spurrier came back to the college scene and began coaching at the University of South Carolina in 2005. He is still there to this day and has posted an 81-42 record with the Gamecocks.

#2 Danny Wuerffel (1993-1996)


Danny Wuerffel was integral to the success of Steve Spurrier's Florida teams in the early and mid-1990's. As a starter, he went 45-6-1 and won the second Heisman in school history his senior year in 1996. Wuerffel won an SEC title in every season throughout his four year career as a Gator. He finished his collegiate career with 10,875 passing yards, 110 passing touchdowns, and a 60.5 completion percentage.

Wuerffel posted a 2-2 record in bowl games. Both the bowl games he won were the Sugar Bowl and he won them during his freshman and senior years. The first Sugar Bowl victory in 1994 was a rout as the underdog Gators defeated #2 West Virginia 41-7.

The second Sugar Bowl victory in 1997 has to be by far the sweetest as the #3 Gators defeated the #1 ranked Florida State Seminoles 52-20 to claim the university's first ever National Championship. Wuerffel threw for three touchdowns and ran for one touchdown in this game.

I'll also mention that this was the second meeting of the year between these two rivals with the Seminoles having won 24-21 in the regular season finale. At the end of the day, the Gators did indeed get the last laugh.

Besides his Heisman in 1996, some of Wuerffel's other achievement include:

• Two Davey O'Brien Awards in 1995 and 1996
• Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1995
• SEC Player of the Year in 1995 
• Consensus All American in 1996 
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 1996
• Quarterback of the Year Award in 1996
• Maxwell Award in 1996
• SEC Player of the Year in 1996
• Walter Camp Player of the Year Award in 1996
• Winning 4 SEC titles, including the first one ever in Gator football history in 1993
• Inducted into the Florida Ring of Honor in 2006 (along with Steve Spurrier)

After Florida, Wuerffel was selected in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played there for three years and played for a few other teams before retiring shortly after.

In 2000, he won MVP of the World Bowl while playing overseas for NFL Europa after leading the Rhein Fire to victory over the Scottish Claymores. After that, Wuerffel called it quits for good. In 2013, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

#1 Tim Tebow (2006-2009)


Is anyone really surprised? It was a really hard decision between Tebow and Wuerffel at who deserved to be #1, but at the end of the day I had to pick Tim. He was instrumental in the Gators 2006 National Championship run as he played in every game as a true freshman. In the 2007 BCS National Championship, he ran and threw for one touchdown a piece.

Once Chris Leak graduated, it was Tebow's turn to lead the team and he did not disappoint as he posted a career record of 35-6 as the Gator starting QB. He made history his sophomore year as he became the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman! He is the third and final Gator player to ever win the award. He finished his UF career with 9,285 passing yards, 88 passing touchdowns, and a 66.4 completion percentage. That's just one phase of his offensive game, though.

What makes Tebow different from the four QB's I mentioned before him (and ultimately helped me pick him over Wuerffel) was his ability to use his legs. Tim rushed for 2,947 yards and 57 touchdowns!

After helping Chris Leak and the Gators win the 2007 BCS National Championship, it was all on Tebow going into 2009 title game against the #2 Oklahoma Sooners. Tebow completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 110 yards. Of course, I can't forget the epic halftime speech he gave that, no lie, did more than enough to motivate the Gators to bring this championship back to Gainesville.

Tim's signature moment (besides the speech) came in the fourth quarter of this game. On third down and goal with the Gators up three points and a little over three minutes left in the game, Tebow faked a run and then completed a jump pass to wide receiver David Nelson. This play, which lives on forever in Gator lore, clinched the Gators' second National Championship in three years and third championship overall.

During Tim's senior year, the Gators came within one win of playing for a third National Championship, but fell just short with a 32-13 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 SEC Championship. The Gators had to settle with the 2010 Sugar Bowl against #4 Cincinnati and unlike that joke of a 2013 Sugar Bowl, they showed up and smoked Cincy 51-24. This was a very fitting way for Tim to end his collegiate career.

Apart from being the first ever sophomore to win the Heisman like I mentioned earlier and winning two National Championships, Tim Tebow had a highly decorated career during his time at UF. Some of his other accolades include:

• AP Player of the Year Award in 2007
• Consensus All-American in 2007
• Davey O'Brien Award in 2007
• Quarterback of the Year Award in 2007
• Two Maxwell Awards in 2007 and 2008
• Manning Award in 2008
• SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009
• William V. Campbell Trophy in 2009
• 2008 SEC Championship MVP
• Offensive MVP of the 2009 BCS National Championship Game
• MVP of the 2010 Sugar Bowl
• Heisman finalist in 2008 and 2009
• Beat rival Florida State by a composite score of 127-37 as a three year starter
• Beat rival Georgia every year as a member of the team
• Won three SEC titles in his four year career
• SEC Record of 57 career rushing touchdowns
• SEC Record of 23 rushing touchdowns in a single season (tied with Auburn running back Tre Mason)

After graduating in 2009, Tim Tebow went 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Denver Broncos. His NFL career was short lived and magnified by ESPN the entire way because of his vocality on his Christian faith. Tebow's defining moment in the NFL came when he connected with Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard touchdown pass to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Game in Denver.

Once Tebow was traded to the New York Jets, his career was essentially over as head coach Rex Ryan never used him. He tried one last comeback attempt with the New England Patriots, but they cut him during preseason.

Tim is currently an analyst for the SEC Network and still dreams of playing in the NFL one day. He may not have had the skills to compete in the NFL, but nobody can take away what he achieved at the collegiate level. In my opinion, he is the greatest UF quarterback of all time!

Honorable Mention: Rex Grossman (2000-2002), Kerwin D. Bell (1984-1987), Shane Matthews (1989-1992)

I hope you enjoyed this Top 5 article! My next article will be a tad bit harsher as I rank the five worst quarterbacks to ever play for the Florida Gators. Stay tuned until next week!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com & College Football @ Sports-Reference.com

Homecoming Disaster: Missouri vs Florida

Six. The Gators committed six turnovers in one of the worst SEC/Homecoming losses in program history. It seems that during my tenure here, I keep witnessing more negative Gator football history each and every week. For the first time since World War II, the Florida Gator football team has lost back-to-back Homecoming games.

I honestly believed with all of my heart that the Gators were going to win yesterday's game with ease against Missouri. Coming off a close loss to LSU and with Missouri getting shutout the week before, how could they lose? Little did I, or any other Gator fan in The Swamp last night, expect the Gators to get blown out of the water from the get go.

Missouri won last night's game 42-13! They set the tone from the get go as redshirt senior Marcus Murphy took the opening kickoff 96 yards back for a touchdown. This was just the beginning of the Missouri return game as Murphy struck again with an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

In addition to phenomenal special teams play, the Missouri defense ran back both a fumble and an interception for touchdowns. On the night they forced a total of three interceptions and recovered three of four Gator fumbles. The defensive line racked up six sacks in the game and Missouri scored 24 points off of turnovers.

I'll be honest, I left the game after the first quarter when it was 17-0 so I could go and watch the Notre Dame/Florida State game. I could spend forever talking about the highway robbery at the end of that game, but this article is about the problems with the Florida Gators.

I continued to watch the game through WatchESPN and at some points I was on the verge of tears because of how bad the Gators looked. The Gator defense only gave up 119 yards and one offensive touchdown and the team still somehow lost by 29 points! There is no excuse for that! All of the Gators' points came in garbage time and even the extra point on the second touchdown got blocked!

All support I have issued towards head coach Will Muschamp is now gone. Even my best friend and writing colleague R.J. Walsh, who has defended Muschamp and Driskel throughout both last year and up till now, has drawn the line. I am going to make this very clear. WILL MUSCHAMP NEEDS TO BE FIRED TOMORROW!

Gator football has become a joke! Fans needs to realize that Tim Tebow is not coming back. Jeff Driskel will NEVER BE Tim Tebow and Muschamp will NEVER BE Urban Meyer. That was a golden era of Gator football that will not be coming back anytime soon. As teams like UCF, Miami, and Florida State continue to progress and win, Florida keeps on regressing and losing.

How much longer are we going to let this debacle go on? Jeff Driskel has had plenty of chances and every game it is the SAME EXACT THING. It's interceptions and fumbles. Granted, it may not all be Driskel's fault, but at this point, Florida fans will blame nearly everything on Jeff Driskel. Yes, his o-line is doing a terrible job blocking and the receivers can not catch a cold, but at the end of the day, blame and glory will always reside with the QB.

I do feel bad this for kid. But he also knew that this came with the territory of being the quarterback at the University of Florida. Will Muschamp has not realized that continually sticking with Driskel is like beating a dead horse. 2012 was a fluke! R.J. and I looked at the scores and saw that even back then it was the same, boring game plan of let the defense take over and offense stay out of the way.

My father always told me, "You can't play not to lose" and that is the vibe I get from this offense. I thought having Kurt Roper come over from a 10-win Duke team (again he was successful with Duke) would help reenergize the offense and help Jeff Driskel succeed, but the play calling has continued to be conservative and inconsistent.

I slowly realized throughout the game that the Florida QB situation in general is a mess. Driskel threw two interceptions and fumbled twice while Treon threw one interception and fumbled once. The poor play of both is not going to make the decision of picking a starting QB any easier. However, a decision needs to be made because this system of using two QB's obviously does not work.

The Gators best bet at this point regarding their QB situation is to start true freshman Treon Harris and maybe even give redshirt sophomore Skyler Mornhinweg some reps. The Gators will never win the SEC East, let alone an SEC Championship with Jeff Driskel as the starting quarterback.

It's time for a change. If the Gators have to take their bumps with Treon, then so be it. SEC contention is gone now. At this point it is about getting reps for the young guys who are the future of the program and trying to make a bowl game.

My biggest fear in keeping Muschamp for this season was that the Gators would start losing and Muschamp would just be fired this year as opposed to last year. This is looking very plausible at this point and now two seasons have been thrown down the drain! I reluctantly let Muschamp off the hook after 2013 because of injuries, but there are no excuses for getting blown out at home during Homecoming by a lackluster Missouri team.

If anyone is wondering, I won't be reporting any of the players' stats from this game because there is nothing to report. The offense could not hold on to the ball, the defense never had a lead to defend, and first year special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler needs to be fired after two runbacks by the same player! The only true highlight from this game was when punter Kyle Christy mishandled a snap and yet still found a way to punt the ball away. He is a beast! Kyle Christy should win the Ray Guy Award.

If you ask me, it's time to clean house. Everyone except maybe defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin needs to go. If Muschamp gets fired tomorrow like I am anticipating and the defense continues to play at a high level, then we will realize that not even the defense can be fully credited to Muschamp.

It truly is dark times in Gainesville right now as the Gators are now the laughing stock of both the SEC and the entire country. Things feel even worse right now when you add the fact that FSU keeps winning and getting away with lying, cheating, and stealing. Jeff Driskel may be a terrible QB, but he has 10 times the amount of character as Jameis Winston and that is something I can respect him for.

That's all I'll say about Florida State, I have a "special" article in the works for them in the near future. As for the Gators' future, next week is a bye week and part of me thinks that the bye week might beat us. After overcoming the bye and deciding on a starting QB for the rest of the season, the Gators will head to Jacksonville to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 in SEC play).

I thought the Gators would have a chance with Gurley out, but after last night I give them NO SHOT of winning this game. They will be lucky to keep the game competitive. Muschamp is 0-3 against Georgia, so why even give him the chance to go 0-4 by keeping him around?

As for Missouri, they are now 5-2 (2-1 in SEC play) and will do battle with Vanderbilt next Saturday in Columbia at 4 p.m. The momentum from this win in Gainesville will be huge for the Tigers going forward but they still have to worry about their own inept offense as their defense and special teams will probably not carry them every game.

The SEC East is now either Georgia's, Missouri's, or South Carolina's to win. The Gators are just another stepping stone in that journey. I don't know when the Gators will be competitive in the SEC or even college football again.

All I know is this: As long as Will Muschamp is the head coach, the Florida Gators will never ever win an SEC Championship or even resemble the team that took the field from 2006-2009. This is the worst era of Gator football ever, and at the end of the day I will look back at my college years and smile and cry over the infamous football history that I can say I was a part of.

I know this is a trying time Gators fans, but keep the faith. Things will get better. Remember, in all kinds of weather, we all stick together.

*All stats, if any, are accredited to Gatorzone.com

Football Heartbreaker: LSU vs Florida

I'll start by saying that tonight's game against the LSU Tigers was a roller coaster of emotions. Not only that, it was a clear example of highway robbery as the refs helped LSU win the game 27-24.

Let me elaborate. In the third quarter, the Gators stopped LSU twice on defense and both those times the refs bailed out the Tigers with phantom pass interference and defensive holding calls. The end result was a touchdown, when at the very least LSU should have only came away with a field goal.

Then there is the chaos that ensued at the end of the game! After picking off a Jeff Driskel pass and taking it back to the Gator 33-yard line, LSU ran the ball to try to get some yards. They had no timeouts and the clock was winding down after the run. 

As the clock approached zero, the refs somehow stopped the game and put 10 seconds back on the clock! I don't know what happened or what allowed the refs to do that, but I'm pretty sure they can't just stop the clock at will just to bail a team out. Either way, LSU was able to spike the ball with eight seconds left and set up walk on kicker Colby Delhoussaye's game winning 50-yard field goal.

I was in sheer shock after seeing the game end the way it did and at this point I don't even know what to think about Driskel, Muschamp, or the offense. I also came to learn via Twitter that running back Kelvin Taylor might consider transferring because he was underused this game. All this game did was stir up more controversy, especially with Treon being suspended for the entire contest due to fictitious sexual assault allegations.

Although I am a strong supporter for Treon Harris as the next Florida QB, Jeff Driskel did not do too bad tonight.  He completed 14 of 25 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, he carried the ball 21 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also did not get sacked at all this game, which is a testament to the solid play of the offensive line.

However, a chunk of Driskel's passing yards came on his 73-yard pass late in the fourth quarter and he threw two interceptions in the game. The first one was under thrown and the second one was an ill-advised throw on a slant route that set up LSU's game winning field goal. He also fumbled the ball early in the first quarter and that led to an LSU touchdown.

Driskel played like he wanted to keep his job, but unfortunately he could not get it done in crunch time. I'm all set and ready to jump into the Treon era of Gator football, but I cannot completely blame Driskel for the offense's woes.

The Gator receiving core once again hurt Driskel as they dropped about eight balls tonight. The drop that killed the most was tight end Tevin Westbrook's drop in the end zone on third down and goal after Demarcus Robinson reeled in a 73-yard pass to get the Gators to the LSU 2-yard line! Out of every play from this game, I can easily say that this one hurts the most every time I think about it.

Just so we can leave the receivers on some type of high note, I'll spew out some stats. Demarcus Robinson was the leading yard getter with 104 receiving yards and he had the lone Gator receiving touchdown on the night. True freshman running back Brandon Powell had the most receptions with six and had 66 total receiving yards in the game.

Even though Westbrook should have caught that ball and the Gators should have won 31-27, it's not entirely his fault. The fact that the Gators could not punch it in from the 2-yard line is a testament to how horrific this offense is! The running backs did nothing this game! They did absolutely nothing! Like I mentioned earlier, Driskel was the leading rusher and the only other Gator rusher to crack over 20 yards was Andre Debose who had 35! Keep in mind he is a wide receiver/kick returner!

If it was up to me, I would have put Kelvin Taylor in for that goal line series because I know he would have found a way to punch it in. I feel so bad for the guy. His father, Fred, was a legend at Florida and after a solid freshman campaign, many of us thought Kelvin would be the bonafide starter this season. 

Unfortunately, it's been the complete opposite as Kelvin rarely sees the field and when he does, he is lucky to see one series at the most! If Kelvin is serious about transferring, I honestly don't blame him and I wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up playing.

Now to my favorite part of these articles: the Gator defense. The defense allowed 305 yards of total offense and was unable to force any turnovers this game. It also didn't help that the refs were giving LSU so many second chances with ridiculous penalty calls that simply did not exist. But I talked about that already, this is about the defensive stars.

Junior linebacker Antonio Morrison and defensive lineman Dante Fowler Jr. were absolute beasts tonight as they recorded double digit tackles. Morrison led the team with 14 tackles while Fowler had 11 tackles (1 tackle for loss) and one sack. 

Speaking of sacks, the Gators had four of them tonight. Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Alex McCalister was the team leader tonight with 1.5 of them. The other 0.5 of a sack can be credited to junior defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard. True freshman cornerback Jalen Tabor also recorded a sack for the second straight week.

The Gator secondary had five pass breakups this game but unfortunately all I can think of is Vernon Hargreaves III's injury and the blown coverage on 3rd down and 25. Thankfully, I have heard Muschamp say that VH3 will be fine for next game. 

However, the problem of blown coverages in the secondary still remains. What's even worse is that this is happening AFTER timeouts! I feel like after talking it over for a minute there should be no confusion whatsoever! 

I will put it into perspective though. It was the only notable blown coverage of the game and the Gators had committed a penalty on the play that would have made it a first down anyways. Still, these late game blown coverages gotta stop.

The defense did all they could considering they had to carry the offense yet again this game. They got hosed on some terrible calls, but I still stand up and applaud their valiant effort against LSU. If anything, it is this Gator defense that has me coming back each week.

Finally, we have special teams. I'm not even going to start with the legend Kyle Christy here. No, this is about Andre Debose. This redshirt senior was going to be "the real MVP" had the Gators won tonight because I am not lying when I say this man was a SPARK! He took his first punt of the night back 62 yards to the house for a touchdown and made LSU completely adjust their kicking game.

He almost had a second punt return touchdown when he took a punt 53 yards all the way to the LSU 9-yard line. But just like Robinson's catch, this just resulted in a Gator field goal. Debose's 115 punt return yards and 184 all purpose yards make him my player of the game despite the loss. If anything, he is building his draft stock for the NFL!

For the rest of special teams, the kicking game was on point. Francisco Velez was two of two on field goals with his longest being 34 yards. Kyle Christy showed up like he does every week and punted four balls for 190 yards. He averaged 47.5 yards and managed to put one ball inside the 20.

Like I said earlier in the article, I am still surprised how this game ended. The Gators (3-2) had a chance to win with a touchdown in the red zone or a game winning field goal and they wasted both those opportunities. There's nowhere to look but forward now. Missouri (4-2) is coming to town for Homecoming next week and I know they aren't too happy after getting drubbed by Georgia at home 34-0. This game will be at 7 p.m. next Saturday.

LSU (5-2) is still pretty much out of the SEC West hunt but I know they feel good after beating the Gators, especially in The Swamp. They will now turn their attention to Kentucky (5-1) as the Wildcats head to Death Valley next week. If Kentucky is as legit as people are saying, this might actually be a good game! Game time is 7:30 p.m.

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com