GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? People who doubted whether the 2007 Florida Gators could live up to their national championship 2006 team have fewer doubts after they scored on their first seven possessions against Troy Saturday evening at “The Swamp” on the way to a 59-31 victory over the Trojans.
But, in the second half, it was Troy that looked like the better team, outscoring the Gators 24-10, closing to within 49-24 in the third quarter in front of 90,244 fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The Gators (2-0) took advantage of great field position early in the game, the result of problems in both the kicking game and a fumble on offense. Florida's first five scoring drives covered just six, 37, 55, 47 and 55 yards and the Gators needed a combined eight minutes, 54 seconds to score the first 35 points of the game.
“It looked like we had never seen a football field in the first half,” Trojans coach Larry Blakeney said. “We couldn't tackle, we couldn't defend the pass and we didn't do much else right. In the second half we came back and played better and I am proud of what we accomplished.”
The Gators got things started quickly, stopping the Trojans (0-2) on their first possession of the game and then blocking Adrian Vera's first put attempt of the day. Florida needed just three plays to cover the six yards to the end zone, the last of which was covered by Kestahn Moore with 10:46 left in the opening quarter.
Troy didn't let the slow start get in the way, coming right back on the next possession to drive the length of the field for a tying score. Haugabook completed three of his four pass attempts on the drive, picking up 29 yards, before his 31-yard scamper to the end zone stunned the Florida Field crowd with 7:55 left in the opening period. Greg Whibbs tacked on the PAT to knot the score at 7-7.
The Gators wound up with great field position again on their second possession when Brandon James returned Whibbs' kickoff 59 yards to the Troy 37. Florida moved quickly to the end zone again, using just six plays before Tebow carried the last three yards for the score.
After Troy failed to move the ball on its next possession, the Gators needed just six plays to increase their lead to 21-7. Tebow got the job done through the air this time, hitting Percy Harvin for a four-yard TD pass with 2:20 left in the first.
The Gators again got great field position after getting a hand on another Vera punt. Florida took over at the Troy 47 and needed just three plays to find the end zone again. Tebow hit tight end Cornelius Ingram for a 37 yard gain followed by a nine-yard run by Moore to the Trojans' 1 to end the opening quarter. Moore got the final yard on the first play of the second quarter, increasing the Florida lead to 28-7.
Florida continued to pad its advantage with another quick TD drive on its next possession. Senior Andre Caldwell capped a six play drive, covering 55 yards, with an 18-yard run at the 9:55 mark for a 35-7 Gators lead.
The Gators moved away from their quick-strike drives on the next possession, using 4:37 off the game clock to cover 74 yards to the end zone. Tebow's second TD pass of the game, this one covering five yards to Ingram with 2:57 left in the half, gave Florida a 42-7 halftime lead.
Another late turnover by the Trojans gave Florida one more first half scoring chance and, for the seventh straight time, the Gators took advantage. Tebow hit Jarred Fayson with a three-yard TD strike to cap a six-play, 53-yard drive, with 22 seconds left in the half for a 49-7 Gators lead.
Troy snapped the Gators' string of scoring possessions to start the second half when, on Florida's first play, Caldwell fumbled after a reception and Leodis McKelvin return the loose ball 34 yards to the Florida four. After three incomplete passes, Whibbs connected on a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 49-10.
The Trojans forced Florida to punt for the first time on the next Gators possession, and took the ensuing drive 68 yards on nine plays, with Haugabook covering the final yard for the touchdown with 9:49 to go in the third, cutting the Florida lead to 49-17.
Troy continued to chip away at the Florida lead, forcing another Gators punt and using nine plays to cover 57 yards, finishing when Haugabook connected with Austin Silvoy on an 11-yard scoring pass. It was Silvoy's first career touchdown reception and Whibbs' PAT cut the Florida lead to 49-24 with 2:53 left in the quarter.
The Gators scored their first points of the second half with 10:05 left in the game when Joey Ijjas capped a nine-play drive with a 32-yard field goal.
The Trojans responded with another scoring drive when Haugabook connected with Silvoy on a 26-yard touchdown pass closing the gap to 52-31.
Florida marched right back down the field on an eight-play 80-yard drive capped off by Tebow's 16-yard run giving the Gators the 59-31 lead.
Troy vs. Florida Game Notes
* The Trojans' defensive bus was hit by a car on I-75 on the way to the stadium. A car swerved into the lane that the bus was traveling in and hit the bus on the passenger side. The driver of the car lost control of the vehicle and ended up running off the road and into a ditch. No players were injured in the collision.
* Troy's game captains were Greg Whibbs, Sean Dawkins, Chris Bradwell and Tavares Williams. Williams is a native of Gainsville, Fla. It was Whibbs' second game in a row as a captain.
* Troy won the toss and chose to recieve the ball to start the game.
* Adrian Vera had his first blocked punt of his career. The last blocked punt came against Florida International on December 2, 2006.
* Dujuan Harris got first collegiate carry as a running back in the first quarter.
* Omar Haugabook's 31-yard touchdown run was his longest run of the season and first rushing touchdown this season.
* Troy had two punts blocked for the first time since November 2, 2002 against Arkansas.
* Gary Bank's catch in the second quarter was his 21st straight game with a reception.
* The 90, 244 people in attendance was the largest crowd to ever watch Troy play. The previous number was 89,493 in 2004 at LSU.
* Greg Whibbs missed his first field goal of the season. The kick was from 45 yards out.
* Sherrod Martin left the game in the first quarter with a hand injury and did not return.
* Elbert Mack had his first punt return of the season. The punt was fair caught.
* Kennard Burton caught his first career pass in the third quarter.
* Zack Marcum caught his first pass of the season in the third quarter.
* 12 different receivers have caught passes this season.
* Austin Silvoy caught his first career touchdown pass in the third quarter. Silvoy had two touchdown receptions on the night
* Maurice Coleman saw action for the first time since 2005.
* Dion Gale recorded his first sack of his career.
