Chomping at Bits: Jim McElwain wants more energy out of Florida's "dead fish" offense

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Jim McElwain looking for answers for the poor energy on offense: McElwain singled out the offense, particularly the offensive line, remarking that they had the energy of "dead fish" with an elaborate analogy. It's concerning that the Gators have had to fight for wins against 4-7 Vanderbilt, 3-8 South Carolina, and 2-9 Florida Atlantic over the last three weeks. The next two games for Florida will be against top ten defenses in Florida State and (likely) Alabama. (Jesse Simonton, Miami Herald; Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel; Scott Carter, GatorZone)

McElwain on the vigor of dead fish and "energy vampires":

"Here's the visual. When you guys go to a seafood market or if you go to the grocery store, you see all those dead fish on ice? Stop by Winn-Dixie, go to the dead fish aisle and look at the fish's eyes...That's the energy we are playing with right now. Now think about that visual. How excited are you to hang out with that dead fish?"

"It's the attack of the killer dead fish because we got some energy vampires around here right now that need to understand this isn't how we're going to do things around here. Body language. I mean, you watch it. They mope around. When something bad happens, they mope around... It's tough to get them off ice sometimes."

One player on offense that has the type of energy that McElwain would like to see? Antonio Callaway. Callaway has 10 plays of 30 yards or more, and five plays of 50 yards or more on the season. Callaway is also third in punt return yards in the SEC and first among freshmen. McElwain praises Callaway's energy, his positive attitude, and calls him a "legitimate SEC ball player." (Graham Hack, Independent Florida Alligator)

Defense saves the day, again: It was a defensive play which sparked the Gators first score Saturday. The Gators defense forced turnovers, made key stops, and held on in overtime to help Florida pull out their overtime win, despite being shorthanded. (Taryn Bray, GatorZone)

Kicking woes continue: Austin Hardin is now only 5 for 11 on field goal attempts this year, and 16 for 33 in his career. Hardin missed two field goals Saturday and had an extra point attempt blocked in overtime. (Zach Abolverdi, Gainesville Sun)

Florida opens as slight favorite over Florida State: The Gators are a 1.5 point favorite, with the line having dropped down from three when it opened. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Chris Kirschner, SEC Country)

Update to Vernon Hargreaves' mystery bracelet story: The story I linked in last Friday's CAB, about Hargreaves being given a bracelet in honor of a fallen soldier, has an update. The mystery man in fatigues was identified as Sgt. Brian Boyd, who wanted to honor his late friend, Pablo Ruiz. (Scott Carter, GatorZone)

Florida Football Trivia:
A) What are the most points scored in a game by a Florida kicker? And who was that kicker and during which game did he score those points? This performance established an NCAA single game scoring recorder for a kicker.

B) What is the most amount of turnovers forced by Florida in a game? In which game were they forced?

C) What is the rainiest game the Gators have played, in terms of reported inches of rain? (Last year's Idaho game would have set the record, had it not been declared "no contest")

D) Who is second on the list of passing yards in a post-season game by Florida? How many yards, and in what game? First on the list was Tim Tebow's performance in the 2010 (2009 season) Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati with 482 yards.

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