Blue tops Orange 13-10 at Gators spring game

Not all coming out parties are exciting and such was the case for the Florida Gators at the 2011 Orange & Blue Debut on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Faced with a mountain of injuries and in the middle of a coaching transition, Blue defeated Orange 13-10 after each team scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The first half was a 3-3 stalemate with senior kicker Caleb Sturgis hitting a pair of field goals including a long of 43 yards for Blue.

Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley started for Blue but only played in the first half and finished 4/14 for 45 yards after throwing five-straight incomplete passes to begin the game. He was replaced by freshman QB Jeff Driskel (2/6 for 13 yards, 23 rushing yards) at halftime before walk-on sophomore QB Christian Provancha closed out the game with a 39-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Robert Clark.

Redshirt freshman QB Tyler Murphy drew the start for the Orange team and played most of the game, going 7/11 for 68 yards. He threw a TD to sophomore walk-on running back Ben Sams on a play that would have normally been ruled a sack and tossed an interception to sophomore cornerback Cody Riggs on a ball tipped by the receiver.

Other highlights from the game include a 55-yard punt by freshman punter Kyle Christy, dominant performances on the defensive line from sophomore defensive tackles Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley, some explosive plays from redshirt senior running back Chris Rainey, a solid day from sophomore WR Quinton Dunbar and two nice first-half receptions from freshman tight end A.C. Leonard.

The University of Florida announced that 53,000 fans were in attendance for the game and halftime ceremony that saw three statues being unveiled for the school’s trio of Heisman Trophy-winning QBs: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Tim Tebow (2007). Spurrier sent in a pre-recorded message because South Carolina’s spring game was also played Saturday, while Wuerffel and Tebow stood at midfield and expressed their appreciation to the fans, administration and donors.