Buddy Martin Blog: Was It Swamp Magic Or Near-Death Beneath The Hooves Of The South Florida Bulls?

(Photo by Chris Spears)

Somehow, someway, with their defense getting ripped like they were being gashed by 11 Jack The Rippers, and their young quarterback still looking in the high grass for his confidence, a reeling Gator team had only one hope: “Swamp Magic,” cried my colleague Brenden Martin.

By BUDDY MARTIN

GatorBaitMedia.com

The Swamp almost became a living mortuary Saturday night. Most of the 88,000 died a thousand deaths. The dreams of their beloved Gators getting back on a winning track were nearly trampled by the 24.5-point underdog South Florida Bulls. Honestly it felt like an L, even if it was a W.

“It felt like a loss,” said Montrell Johnson, the offensive star of the night who did his own gashing with 103 yards rushing, including a 62-yard scoring jaunt. “But we knew we could play better.”

Somehow, someway, with their defense getting ripped like they were being gashed by 11 Jack The Rippers, and their young quarterback still looking in the high grass for his confidence, a reeling Gator team had only one hope: “Swamp Magic,” cried my colleague Brenden Martin. And that’s exactly what it took.

Already wiped out emotionally by the events of the night, including two more interceptions by Anthony Richardson – one at the 1-yard like when it looked like they could have walked in on the ground – the fans gnashed their teeth as the Bulls glided with ease right down the field on what looked like a certain score. Then came the “Swamp Magic.”

First off, USF’s long snapper committed the egregious error of snapping the ball over the head of his quarterback on third down -- going from a 2nd and 6 at the Florida 19, to a 3rd-and-20, turning a chip shot into a challenging 49-yarder. The holder fumbled the snap and kicker Spencer Shrader gamely tried to get it airborne but missed,

With 23 ticks left, Billy Napier’s good friend Jeff Scott fell shy of a longtime dream USF fans have had to finally beat the premier state university, which is so popular in their own Tampa Bay neighborhood, but it was their dream that got trampled in losing , 31-28.

Napier said he told Scott “that I was proud of him” for the way the Bulls competed. Napier put a good spin on it, praising South Florida as a “quality opponent,” which is not going to be a palatable comment for the Gator Nation.

Of his own team Napier said: “We won …. but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

When asked what he could say positive about them: “They’ve got some fight in them.”

For the second straight game, Richardson threw two interceptions – one a check off at the goal line. Many of his throws were high and off-target. He was only 10 for 18 for 112 yards.

On the positive side, Johnson and Trevor Etienne carried the offense – Etienne banging it up inside four straight times for a 3-yard go-ahead score.

The Florida defense sorely missed leader/linebacker Ventrell Miller. Despite getting pushed around most of the night, Gervon Dexter, Brenton Cox and big Desmond Watson were formidable in the interior. The Gator running game flourished behind O’Cyrus Torrence and the right side of the O-Line.

Meanwhile, Napier, Richardson and a nearly embarrassed coaching staff and squad live to fight again another day. They are going to need to keep fighting. Next up is the Tennessee Vols in Knoxville, where there is no “Swamp Magic.”