University of Florida Gators Vs. University of Miami (Ohio) Redhawks Highlights

In a mistake-ridden day on both sides of the football, the Florida Gators, ranked #4 in the preseason polls, prevailed over U of M/O 34-12.

In his first start after Tim Tebow's graduation, starting Florida quarterback John Brantley went 17 of 25 for 113 yards and two touchdowns, including a very improbable 25-yard touchdown completion to Chris Rainey on fourth down with 1:21 left in the game to seal the Gators' victory. Florida Gators running back Jeff Demps had 8 rushes for 97 yards and a touchdown, with most of his yardage coming off a 72-yard run that also provided his only score. Florida's defense forced four interceptions, including one by Janoris Jenkins that he returned for 70 yards and a touchdown, and provided key red zone stops to keep the upstart Redhawks from knocking off the Gators at home in the Swamp.

One key statistic for the Gators today-3, which is the number of fumbles that the Florida Gators lost today. This doesn't take into consideration the amount of bad snaps that center Maurice Pouncey put on the ground, after which Brantley had to fall on the football to keep Florida in possession.

Today's score was not at all indicative of how close the Florida Gators came to giving the football away to Miami of Ohio. One thing is for sure, though-Coach Urban Meyer came away from this game with a lot of focus areas which the Gators need to work on before their next game against South Florida, and their first real test against the Tennessee Volunteers. If history is a guide, the next few weeks of practice will not be pretty for these Florida Gators.

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