A new offensive formation has put some firepower in Florida’s offense.
Coach Will Muschamp said this week the Gators will continue to line up in the pistol offense as long as quarterback John Brantley has mobility issues with his injured right ankle.
Brantley hasn’t been able to take snaps from under center since returning Oct. 29 after missing two games, so the Gators went to the new look in their 26-21 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The pistol puts Brantley in a short shotgun formation — about 4 or 5 yards from the line of scrimmage as opposed to 7 yards in the shotgun — and allows him to hand the ball to Florida’s running backs — who can line up behind him, unlike the shotgun — without much movement.
The result was evident, even though leading rusher Chris Rainey missed the game with a sprained right ankle.
Backup running back Jeff Demps rushed for a career-high 158 yards, and the Gators had 410 yards of offense to break a four-game losing streak.
Florida had 197 yards on the ground, 22 more than the Gators had combined in their four October losses, although those games were against Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia.
“It gives you the downhill running game,” Muschamp said. “You can run the off-tackle power and the leads inside as opposed to sitting east and west [in the shotgun]. It’s north and south. We’re a different offense when we’re able to run the play-actions off of that.
“We were able to get some of the two-back play-actions and create some throwing seams down the field. It helps us in protection with our offensive line.”
Muschamp said Brantley will move back under center when his mobility improves, although he doesn’t mind lining up in the pistol.
“There’s not much difference,” Brantley said.
Burning question
Can Tennessee slow Arkansas receivers Jarius Wright, Joe Adams and Cobi Hamilton on Saturday?
Wright has 48 catches for an SEC-leading 812 yards and nine touchdowns despite missing the Razorbacks’ win over Troy with an injured knee. Adams has 41 catches for 516 yards and a score, and Hamilton has 23 catches for 397 yards and two touchdowns, giving quarterback Tyler Wilson one of the conference’s top groups of receivers.
Wilson leads the SEC with 2,626 passing yards, an average of 291.8 per game.
“As long as we play fast and play hard, I don’t think anybody can stop us,” Hamilton said.
The trio has played so well that they’ve helped ease Greg Childs’ limited role this season.
Childs was leading the Razorbacks with 659 yards and six touchdowns in 2010 before he tore his patellar tendon, which required surgery. He has only 10 catches for 120 yards this season.
“They probably have the best four wide receivers — I haven’t seen all the wide receivers in the country, so it wouldn’t be fair for me to say the best group in the country, but I guess I would like to see the group that’s better than these four guys,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said earlier this year.
In focus
Drew Alleman and Brad Wing were an overlooked part of LSU’s success before the Tigers’ 9-6 overtime victory over Alabama.
Their contributions to that win have brought them to the forefront.
Alleman made field goals of 19 and 30 yards before his 25-yard, game-winning kick.
Wing, who is from Melbourne, Australia, boomed a career-best 73-yard punt and had four punts downed inside the 20.
“As a kicker, you always want that kick,” Alleman said Monday. “All week I prepared for it without knowing it was going to come down to me. But when the score was tied, I put that all on the side. You just have to go out there like it’s just another kick. You have to execute.”
Alleman has made seven consecutive field-goal attempts and is 13-for-15 this season. Wing is fourth in the SEC at 43.4 yards per punt.
Etc.
Kevin Minter (Peachtree Ridge), who starts at linebacker for LSU, had three tackles, including one for loss, against Alabama. … Linebacker Dontavis Sapp (Valdosta) had a fumble recovery in Tennessee’s victory over Middle Tennessee. … Safety Kenny Ladler (Stephenson) had a career-high 11 tackles in Vanderbilt’s loss to Florida. … Tight end Brandon Barden (Lincoln County) has 101 career catches, tying him for 17th all-time at Vanderbilt. … Tennessee receiver Da’Rick Rogers (Calhoun) has surpassed 100 yards receiving in four consecutive games. He leads the SEC with 50 catches.
Quotable
“I wouldn’t want to play them again. They’re a tough team. They’ve got good players and an outstanding coach.” — LSU safety Brandon Taylor on a rematch with Alabama
“We’re building our battle scars right now. We’ve got a bunch. But I know one thing: We’re going to have a tough group as we move forward with this, and some guys are going to be tight together in what they’ll do, and we’ll benefit from the tough times we’re traveling through.” — Muschamp
By the numbers
2 Georgia and Tennessee are the only SEC teams with shutouts in both 2010 and '11. The Bulldogs shut out Coastal Carolina this year and Vanderbilt last season. The Volunteers shut out Middle Tennessee on Saturday and held Tennessee-Martin scoreless in 2010.
97.6 Percentage of times that LSU has scored on its trips to the red zone (41-of-42), which leads the SEC and is second in the nation behind Stanford (52-of-52). The Tigers have 31 touchdowns and 10 field goals this season.
Saturday’s schedule
- Florida at South Carolina, noon (CBS)
- Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 12:21 (WPCH)
- Auburn at Georgia, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
- Tennessee at Arkansas, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Western Kentucky at LSU, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Louisiana Tech at Mississippi, 7:30 p.m. (CSS)
- Alabama at Mississippi State, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)
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