Wow, you can take a deep breath now.
With a 37-yard field goal off the foot of punter Chas Henry, the Gators avoided a four-game losing steak and any possibility of Gainesville burning down.
OK, I’m just kidding about that last part. But it is hard to think of a regular-season win bigger than this one in recent Gators history.
This victory didn’t just keep the SEC Championship in the realm of possibility, it gives this team something to reference back to in close games. It showed a young Gators team that it could escape a nail-biter with a win, unlike the losses to LSU and Mississippi State.
Now, it’s important Florida doesn’t get ahead of itself. It still is not good enough to just win on talent alone. Make no mistake about it — Vanderbilt will beat UF if it heads into the game thinking about South Carolina.
But here are three things you can take from the win:
1. Rainey needs to stay at running back: The experiment of lining Chris Rainey up at wide receiver looks to be over.
With running backs Mike Gillislee and Emmanuel Moody underperforming this season, the Gators need somebody to help Jeff Demps. Rainey is that guy.
Running Trey Burton up the middle works so much better when defenses have to account for a speedster like Rainey running around the edge. Hence, a season-high 110 rushing yards for Burton against Georgia.
2. Defense can’t do it all: The UF defense has been looking like the strength of the team for much of the season.
And it still might be, but it has some holes. The secondary allowed 190 passing yards following halftime and cornerback Jeremy Brown was pulled for freshman Cody Riggs in the first half after a miserable start to the game.
The Gators’ defense is not going to shutdown South Carolina or FSU, so UF’s offense will have to put on a performance similar to the one it displayed against Georgia.
3. Henry is the unsung hero of this team: I know he missed a game-tying field goal against Mississippi State, but you have to understand that is not even his job.
The fact that Henry knocked in a game-winning field goal is amazing. If he is not on the team, freshman kicker Brad Phillips from Buchholz High is UF’s field goal kicker right now.
Also, Henry has helped the Gators compete in the field position battle despite the offense’s struggles. He is averaging an NCAA-best 48.8 yards per punt this season.
But enjoy this win. This means Gainesville is happy again — even if it is just for a week or two.
