Unsung heroes of Florida’s victory
Amid all the Tim Tebow/Sam Bradford talk, the unsung heroes of Florida’s victory over Oklahoma was the Gator secondary. Think how rare a Sooner receiver ran free.
Bradford completed his share of passes — 26 of 41 for 256 yards — but the Sooner receivers had to work for their catches. Little dump passes out in the flat were open most of the night, but nothing else.
Throw it deep? Well covered; Bradford landed a couple of balls with perfect accuracy that were knocked away.
Throw it short? Florida defenders converged like peace officers responding to a 9-1-1.
I thought Florida’s pass rush would be the key, and it was important. The Gators sacked Bradford twice and flushed him some other times. But Florida’s pass coverage was outstanding.
“Our defense always feels like we have to make a stand,” said sophomore DB Joe Haden. “They have a great offense. We like challenges. We like playing against good offenses. We like to show how good of a defense we are. Playing against them was proving how good we are.”
Case closed. Florida’s defense indeed proved that the title of SEC defense packs a wallop. The SEC defense stared down the Big 12 offense. And the prime reason was pass coverage.
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