In a night when they could have been excused for a letdown after having their shot at a SEC eastern title taken away by Georgia, the Florida Gators reacted with a solid performance on both sides of the ball. The most remarkable part of the win was that the Gators performed so well after discovering that Georgia had beaten Auburn.
Left tackle Max Starks was happy to see the offense play well in the second half.
"We went out and scored on the first drive of the second half," he said. "Traditionally, the third quarter had not been very good for us. We stepped it up in the second half. We dug in and marched it down the field. We just kept grinding and kept the drive going."
Rex Grossman, who was 24 of 36 for 228 yards and four touchdowns, said the Gators played a good game and had a good game plan for the Gamecocks.
"It might not be my best game, but it was one of our four to five really good games," Grossman said. "We executed well on both sides of the ball and we had no sacks."
Starks was pleased to see the young receivers such as O. J. Small (5 catches for 55 yards) and Darrell Carpenter (two catches for 19 yards and a touchdown) play well during the game.
"It was amazing," Starks said. "O.J. made some great catches. Darrell Carpenter had a nice touchdown in the end zone. He has been working hard as a walk-on guy."
Grossman was especially complimentary of Small after Carlos Perez went out with a broken fibula.
"After Carlos got hurt, O. J. played well," Grossman said. "He does not have the speed like some of our guys, but he has the quickness and the hands. We need these guys to step up when defenses double team Kelvin."
Gator coach Ron Zook also praised the receivers
"It was a tribute to our coaches and Rex," Zook said. "Carlos got hurt and our guys had to step up."
Taylor Jacobs did not play in the game and Grossman was pessimistic that he would return for FSU.
"His knee hurts when he cuts," Grossman said. "As a wide receiver, he needs to be close to 100%."
Safety Todd Johnson, who had five tackles, said a big win over an eastern rival was just what the team wanted for the last home game of the season.
"It was great," Johnson said. "This has been such a fun team to play with considering all we have been through because everyone has stuck together and that is what made the season so much fun."
Johnson said the results of the Georgia win were filtered through the locker room at halftime. He added that the Bulldog win did not greatly alter the mood of the team.
"We just had to focus on this and get this win," Johnson said. "Our goal was just to beat everyone in the Eastern Division and not worry about anything else."
Starks echoed his teammates sentiments.
"No, it was not a big downer," Starks said. "We knew that we had to represent our seniors. This is their last game in the Swamp. We just wanted to play our best for them."
Zook said the Gators winning the Eastern division was not meant to be.
"The great lesson that we learned is next year we have to play hard in eight games," Zook said. "That is why this is a great conference."
Johnson and his teammates would like to have a win on the road against one of their biggest rivals in Florida State before his Gator career is done.
"That is big because we have not won in Tallahassee in a long, long time," Johnson said. "They are a real challenge for us. Those guys have got great athletes. They are a really good team. We will have our hands full with them."
"FSU is a big rivalry," Starks said. "We have not won there since 1986."
A win over FSU would put Florida near one of their goals-- winning ten games.
"Since I have been here we have always strived to win at least ten games," Starks said. "Now that we see that coming into focus we are definitely pushing for it."
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