Florida avoids a trap game on Home Coming against a rapidly improving Arkansas football team. Trap games are like magic where several things usually crop up to change the flow of the game.

You’ll see a flurry of turnovers by the favored team something that happened yesterday. Usually a key player will go down, Brandon Spikes left the game in the first quarter, the underdog will hit some big plays, Arkansas ripped off some long runs and two long passes.

So many little things can be pointed at in close games but there is one thing that jumped out at this man.

Like Swampie said and Brady Ackerman said on CSS last week. Actually Ackerman hit it right on the head when he said someone is going to stop Florida’s rushing game and when that happens will they be able to throw the ball to win the game. 

That question was answered yesterday. Yes!

In crunch time Tim Tebow and Riley Cooper came up huge keeping the game winning field goal drive alive.

What is interesting is watching a game like this evolve.  Below a drive chart is constructed.  Looking at it you’ll see the Gators forced Arkansas into seven 3-&-outs in this football game to one for the Gators.  The first half Florida forced four 3-&-outs yet had three turnovers, two of them were inside the Arkansas 10.

Arkansas had the big plays that you will see in a trap game.  The hogs rolled up 357 yards of offense on 61 plays, but 175 yards came on three plays - a 42 yard Johnson run and two pass plays to Childs for 46 and 77 yards.  That means they gained 182 yards on 58 plays, that’s 3.1 yards per play and which is approaching domination.  If it weren’t for the few plays the Arkansas offense had and the four giftwrapped turnovers they were stuffed and it was done without all-star Spikes.

The Gators ran 71 plays they moved the sticks 24 times, Arkansas had 13 first downs.  Florida over came a lot to win this game and in the end they needed to pass to win.  They needed the bomb to Thompson and those three completions to Cooper.  They got this one and slapped down their trap game in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Now one poll has Alabama number one, that’s good they can see how they do with their trap game.  It will come they aren’t that good of a football team.  Will their passing game help them pull one out?  Time will tell. 

The turnovers were a step back for the Gators.  But the passing game was actually a step forward.