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  • BREAKING: Florida-Tennessee will be played in Gainesville

    BREAKING: Florida-Tennessee will be played in Gainesville

    The Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers will kick off at 3:30 PM at The Swamp on Saturday.

    Florida announced the decision by the SEC to keep the game at home after debating using a neutral site after Hurricane Irma came through the area.

    Florida enters the game 0-1 while Tennessee enters 2-0.

    Florida State, Miami, UCF, and FIU have all cancelled their games for this weekend. South Florida announced earlier today that their home game against Illinois was still on.

  • OPINION: Florida needs to move Tennessee game out of state

    OPINION: Florida needs to move Tennessee game out of state

    The Florida Gators are set to play the Tennessee Volunteers in a huge game in the SEC East standings.

    It’s no secret that the state of Florida has been ravaged by Hurricane Irma. The eye of the storm and the powerful eyewall passed right through Gainesville with hurricane force winds. Florida and Gainesville residents will spend the next several weeks, or longer in some spots, trying to recover from the destruction.

    The University needs to make the decision to move this week’s football game despite the obvious urge to keep it in the Swamp.

    Why:

    Over six million Florida residents were ordered to evacuate last week prior to Irma’s arrival. More than ten million homes lost power during the storm according to several news outlets including USA Today. Floods are rampant across the state including Jacksonville and across North Central Florida.

    Many people will attempt to get home in the coming days, from all over. But they will find empty gas stations throughout the state, including here in Gainesville.

    All of that doesn’t even take into account where local and state law enforcement will need to focus their attention, which is not on a football game.

    Florida State, Miami, UCF, and FIU have all cancelled their games this weekend. USF is in talks to play at Illinois instead of in Tampa. Florida needs to follow suit.

    Then where to?

    Atlanta has offered to host the game if it is unable to be played at UF. The Atlanta United Soccer Club plays at the new Mercedez-Benz Stadium at 4:00 PM, but Georgia State Stadium is available.

    The Georgia State Panthers will be away at Penn State this weekend leaving GSU Stadium as a potential destination. Georgia State Stadium is formerly Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves. The state renovated the field and turned it into a state of the art football facility.

    There are obviously other options, but Atlanta makes a lot of sense for both teams.

    __________

    The University of Florida doesn’t want to lose a second home game because of weather. Understandably so. I don’t want to miss another opportunity to watch football at the Swamp myself. But I also wonder about the thousands upon thousands of fans who travel to Gainesville for home games each week. People who will return home not knowing if their house will even be there. The same people may not be able to get gas for the ride. There are things more important than a football game.

    It’s unfair for the University to subject those people to a football game. The best option is to move it.

    Besides, we saw last year that Florida comes up clutch in games that are moved because of weather issues.

  • #24 Gators to face Kentucky in primetime

    #24 Gators to face Kentucky in primetime

    The SEC announced the start times for the week four slate of games on Monday.

    Florida travels to Kentucky to face the Wildcats and the game will be broadcasted on either ESPN2 or the SEC Network.

    If ESPN2 picks up the coverage, the game will kickoff at 7:00 PM whereas an SEC Network tilt would begin at 7:30 PM.

    The networks will decide after Saturday’s (September 16) games.

    Florida has defeated Kentucky thirty straight years. This is the longest streak between two schools that play every year. In 2016, the Gators trounced Kentucky 45-7.

  • Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc on Florida’s athletics schedule

    Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc on Florida’s athletics schedule

    As Hurricane Irma continues to churn in the Caribbean, with a projected path heading up the state of Florida, the University of Florida has had to adjust their athletics schedules accordingly.

    On Wednesday the UF administration cancelled one soccer game and two volleyball matches scheduled for this weekend.

    __________

    #9 ranked Gators soccer announced Wednesday that their Sunday night matchup with South Florida would be cancelled.

    The soccer program will face their rivals from Florida State on Friday in a battle of top-15 ranked teams.

    UPDATE (11:38 PM)– UF has announced that for the second straight year, Florida-Florida State has been cancelled. Florida governor Rick Scott cancelled all classes for all schools in the state prompting the university to make this decision.

    __________

    The #2 ranked volleyball team also found out that two of the four schools set to participate in the Active Ankle Challenge would not be making the trip to Gainesville.

    The Gators will still host #21 Michigan State on Friday.

    __________

    On Thursday the university also announced the cancelling of the football team’s home opener against Northern Colorado.

    Per the UAA, the game will not be rescheduled.

    __________

    To all residents of the state of Florida and across the southeast, be safe!

  • Florida cancels home opener against Northern Colorado

    Florida cancels home opener against Northern Colorado

    The Florida Gators have reversed course and has chosen to cancel Saturday’s game against Northern Colorado. The game will not be rescheduled per the official press release.

    Florida had moved the game up to noon from an initial 7:30 PM kickoff.

    The state of Florida is currently on alert for the powerful Hurricane Irma. Irma is expected to land as a category five storm in South Florida and move straight up the state.

    Many areas of Florida are currently experiencing gas shortages, and clearly the administration made the right move in cancelling the game.

    Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin also addressed the idea of moving the game to Friday evening:

    Stricklin also stated that it would have been unfair to force Northern Colorado to travel under the circumstances.

    Florida will now open the home schedule with Tennessee on Sept 16. That game is set for 3:30 PM.

  • BREAKING: Florida officially moves home opener to Saturday at noon

    BREAKING: Florida officially moves home opener to Saturday at noon

    The University of Florida finally has a decision in regards to this weekend’s football game in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

    The University has announced that Saturday’s football game against Northern Colorado will kickoff at noon instead of the 7:30 PM originally scheduled start time.

    Florida is 0-1 for the first time in 28 years, and is looking for some positive momentum heading into their contest against Tennessee.

    Hurricane Irma is a category five storm with maximum sustained winds at 185 miles per hour. While still in the Caribbean, it has begun making a move toward the north. The forecasts indicate that the storm will move to the north as it gets closer to South Florida. However, there is still much uncertainty to the exact track of the storm.

  • #2 Gators split two games at Nike/Husky Invitational

    #2 Gators split two games at Nike/Husky Invitational

    The Florida Gators soccer team traveled to the Seattle, WA compete in the Nike/Husky Invitational. The Gators split the two games they played.

    On Friday, the Gators fell to the Invitation’s hosts, Washington 1-0 in a hard fought defensive struggle.

    The only goal of the contest would come in the second minute when UW’s Shannon Simon scored.

    Both teams took seven shots and attempted three corner kicks.

    On Sunday the Gators defeated the Portland Pilots 1-0. Senior Gabby Seiler scored off a single touch from Lais Araujo.

    Portland played a physical defensive type of game as indicated by the amount of fouls the two teams committed. Florida committed 16 fouls to Porland’s 18. The Gators attempted 19 shots compared to the Pilots’ 9.

    Florida returns home Friday evening against in-state rival Florida State. Florida State is the #15 team in the country. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM.

  • Florida coaching staff drops the ball in embarrassing loss to Michigan

    Florida coaching staff drops the ball in embarrassing loss to Michigan

    The offensive line is a strength for the Florida Gators football team.

    At least, that’s what we’ve heard from Jim McElwain since spring camp.

    However, in the season opening loss to Michigan on Saturday the offensive line looked anything but the part.

    Michigan was in the backfield for an astonishing 71 percent of Gators QB dropbacks.

    No doubt, Michigan brought blitz after blitz after blitz. The biggest issue is that the Gators coaching staff failed to adjust. Florida kept sending receivers deep while hoping for a prayer to be answered.

    It is beyond me that Florida offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier or McElwain wouldn’t have used more quick hitting plays.

    There was a noticeable absence of designed screens, slants, crossing patterns, quick ins, and quick outs. Each of these plays are designed to have the ball out of the quarterback’s hand much quicker than anything the coaching staff called.

    Also missing was the use of the tight end. Both De’Andre Goolsby and C’yontai Lewis are very capable tight ends with possible NFL futures. Neither made an impact in the game. Florida coaches didn’t utilize the tight end in the blocking game for the most part, and also didn’t attempt to involve them in the short passing game.

    Instead, redshirt freshman QB Feleipe Franks and senior QB Malik Zaire were left running for their lives in hopes that someone could get open downfield.

    The sad truth is Florida had a chance in this game long into the fourth quarter. If appropriate adjustments had been made by the offensive coaches, the result could have been much different.

    That doesn’t excuse the porous offensive line play. It doesn’t change the fact that Florida ran the ball for a whopping eleven! yards. It doesn’t put all the problems to bed, but a simple adjustment could have changed 0-1 to 1-0.

    Now, Florida will prepare for the home opener against Norther Colorado. The Bears are an FCS team that should pose no threat to the Gators. That also means that there won’t be clarity on the offensive side of the ball until the following week against SEC rival Tennessee.

  • Florida names Franks starting QB

    Florida names Franks starting QB

    At his post-practice press conference, Florida head coach Jim McElwain finally told the assembled media what they wanted to hear. McElwain told those reporters that redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks will start at quarterback against the Michigan Wolverines in Dallas on Saturday.

    Franks was a 4-star QB recruit who was originally committed to LSU, but flipped shortly after Will Grier announced his intention to transfer from Florida in 2015.

    McElwain didn’t rule out using two quarterbacks. Senior Malik Zaire is a dual-threat quarterback that could be used on wildcat formations and will provide a solid backup option.

  • RB Jordan Scarlett and WR Rick Wells suspended by UF

    RB Jordan Scarlett and WR Rick Wells suspended by UF

    The Florida Gators just can’t seem to catch a break in the lead-up to their highly anticipated season opener against Michigan at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

    On Wednesday Florida announced the suspension of star RB Jordan Scarlett and WR Rick Wells.

    Scarlett was listed as the starter on Florida’s depth chart on Tuesday, but the suspension now puts the starting role on sophomore LaMichal Perine.

    Scarlett rushed for 889 yards last year while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Perine rushed for 421 yards and a 4.6 average.

    Early reports indicate that the two players were involved in the financial-aid fraud that includes seven other Gators football players.

    More to come.