JACKSONVILLE -- Winning the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl meant more to Florida than just avoiding another loss in a season filled with them.
With the victory, the Gators notched their 24th winning season in row, and their fourth consecutive bowl win ? a first in UF history. The Gators also finished above .500 at 7-6 and avoided becoming the first losing team since 1979. And with the win, the Gators closed out all of the Urban Meyer talk, at least for a while.
Still, Florida?s 24-17 win against Ohio State on Monday in front of 61,312 at EverBank Field was just the Gators? third win since September. And coach Will Muschamp, after receiving his first Gatorade bath in orange and blue, said the results of his first season in Gainesville fell well short of the expectations.
?I think the realization of this whole thing, if you really want to see big picture, is in the last two years at the University of Florida we?re 15-11. That?s unacceptable,? Muschamp said. ?We had a guy [Meyer] who won two national championships, a heck of a football coach. We?re one game?s difference from last year. We?re 7-6, we were 8-5 last year.?
?Sometimes I think you?ve got to put your realistic glasses on about where you are and what you are as a program right at this point, and it?s not where we?re going to be very long ? I can assure you of that. We?re moving in the right direction.?
The story of Monday?s win was the defense and special teams, which figure to be the strength of the team going forward.
Florida held Ohio State to 17 points, recorded 12 tackles for loss and forced two turnovers while also returning a blocked kick and a kickoff for touchdowns. The Gators controlled much of the game because of their ability to get after mobile quarterback Braxton Miller all afternoon, sacking him a season-high six times.
Muschamp compared Miller with former Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor, saying, ?We had to do some things to create edges and not let him escape as much.?
Defense rising
Despite a lack of buzz surrounding the unit, the Gators entered the game with a defense ranked ninth in the nation. The defense struggled during a four-game losing streak in October but came on late, holding FSU to just 95 total yards in the regular-season finale and again stepping up in Monday?s bowl win.
Senior quarterback John Brantley finished his career as a Gator with a 12-of-16 performance with one touchdown and an interception. Brantley connected with fellow departing senior Deonte Thompson for a 17-yard strike to open the scoring in the first quarter.
He also fumbled the ball twice in the first half, with the second leading to Ohio State?s first touchdown of the afternoon ? a DeVier Posey touchdown catch from Miller that tied the game at 7.
But wide receiver Andre Debose returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to put Florida ahead for good.
Debose caught the kick in the corner and followed blockers untouched 99 yards for the score. The play set a new Gator Bowl record for the longest play in the history of the bowl game and set up Debose to win the Most Valuable Player award.
?I just kind of followed [running back Jeff] Demps, and he led me to the promised land, to the touchdown,? Debose said. ?There?s no feeling like it.?
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/03/2570866/gator-bowl-win-over-ohio-state.html
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