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Florida WR Chris Rainey prayed in the end zone after his second-quarter touchdown. (Photo by Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel)

Throughout the season, Florida center Mike Pouncey has said WR Chris Rainey is the best player on the Gators’ offense.

Of course, Pouncey is a little biased. Teammates since high school, Pouncey and Rainey have known each other for years.

But Rainey was at least the best player in Saturday’s 34-31 win over Georgia.

In his return from a five-game suspension for his September arrest, Rainey had 241 all-purpose yards. He gave the Gators’ a big-play threat they had lacked while RB Jeff Demps has been out with a sprained foot.

“[Rainey and Demps] are unbelievable.,” said Trey Burton, who himself had a career-high 110 yards rushing. “Those are real special guys and we missed them a lot the last three games.”

Rainey’s performance will be hard for some to swallow.

The redshirt junior from Lakeland texted his on-again, off-again girlfriend “Time to Die (expletive)” and was charged with felony aggravated stalking. Although Rainey agreed to a reduced charge of misdemeanor stalking on Sept. 27, something the victim supported, Meyer has been criticized for not kicking him off the team.

Pouncey said after the game, Rainey was thankful for the opportunity to return.

“Rainey stood up after the game and thanked God for giving him a second chance. He’s taking full advantage of it,” Pouncey said. “He thanked the whole administration — (athletic director) Jeremy Foley and the president — and he thanked God as well. He thanked everyone for giving him a second chance because without Jeremy Foley and President Machen, it wouldn’t be possible for him to play right now.”

Many will say that this type of output – 84 rushing yards, nine receiving and 148 kick0ff return yards – is why Meyer allowed Rainey back, that winning trumped his core values. Only Meyer knows that, and ultimately, he’s the one who has to live with it.

Following the game, Rainey did not speak to the media. Instead, Pouncey spoke for him.

“I love Chris like a brother,” he said. “He’s been living with me since high school, and we have a special relationship. I felt his pain those weeks he was out. He loves football. He’s a great person, and I know that was one of the happiest moments of his life just to be out there with us playing.”

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(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

News and notes from UK’s 24-17 loss to Mississippi State:

• Kentucky dropped to 1-5 in the SEC, its worst record after six conference games since starting 0-6 in the league in 2004.
• On UK’s final play, a pass attempt which Mississippi State intercepted at the goal line, apparently wide out Chris Matthews didn’t get the call at the line to go to the end zone. Quarterback Mike Hartline, who was hurried a bit, threw long, and Matthews had cut off the pattern. It was supposed to be a jump ball. Instead, MSU db Jonathan Banks was the only one jumping at the goal-line, and got the pick.
• In its six SEC games, Kentucky is -5 in turnover margin. The Cats have given the ball away 14 times, and taken it just nine times. The Cats were a -2 against State, giving it up four times, taking it twice.
• Kentucky gained just 89 yards on 43 carries, the third straight game it had failed to rush for 100 yards.
• It was also the third straight game without Derrick Locke.
• Mississippi Sate’s 214 yards rushing was second most against UK this season, behind Auburn’s 311.
• State averaged 5.49 yards per rush, the fifth team to average at least five yards a carry against Kentucky. Louisville averaged 5.94, WKU 5.67, Florida 5.33 and Auburn 5.98.
• Randall Cobb had a career-high 12 catches for 171 yards and one touchdown.
• It was Hartline’s first three-interception game since the Alabama game of last year. He also threw three that day against the Crimson Tide.
• Hartline completed 23 of 41 passes for 258 yards, with two touchdowns and those three picks. That figures to a pass efficiency rating of 110.42, his lowest since posting a 104.17 at Florida.
• Danny Trevathan had 16 tackles, his fifth straight game of double-digit tackles.
• Craig McIntosh has made seven consecutive field goals.

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Congratulations to the Mississippi St. Bulldogs.  They did enough to win this game, and Kentucky continues to do just enough to lose.  But the Bulldogs deserve credit for getting in there, fighting off the Kentucky Wildcats, and claiming their 7th win in 9 tries.

I have to be fair and say that the defense did not lose this game, as they have so many others.  This time, the offense helped quite a bit.  Dropped passes at critical times, an uncharacteristically jittery Mike Hartline, and overall lack of performance by the offensive line were big contributors to the loss.  But credit MSU with some really good defensive play, particularly on the Hartline pass near the end of the first half, and getting in Hartline’s face all night long.

I have to say that the defense stepped up overall tonight, and played a pretty good game by this year’s standards.  They still gave up three big plays, and were unable to make a stand when UK really needed it, but at least they did all they could to redeem themselves by holding the Dawgs to a 3 and out when they could have easily rolled over and died.

It’s frustrating to be a Kentucky fan this year.  This football team has so many weapons, yet they are incapable of sustaining effort throughout an entire game.  For the defense, that is understandable — they are very young, and youth is punished in the SEC.  But the offense had a chance to win this game, and failed utterly by error, not by overwhelming opposition.

I suppose I should wax pragmatic and point out that losses on the road are expected in the SEC, especially against ranked teams.  With that said, the fan in me wants to pull out my hair, swear bitterly, and stomp around the house in frustration.  All of which I did tonight, and I’d be willing to bet that I wasn’t the only one.

Observations:

• This may have been one of Randall Cobb’s best performances ever.  Statistically, it was only so-so, but he made so many huge plays that looked small, I lost count.
• Mike Hartline was not sharp tonight, and I think he has been reading his press clippings.  He simply did not take advantage of opportunities, and seemed awfully timid about the rush.
• To be fair, Mike had a lot of help.  La’Rod King dropped a potential touchdown.  Nick Melillo dropped a first down.  Chris Matthews made a bad play and allowed an INT.  It was a team effort in offensive failure.
• CoShik Williams really made an impact late in the game.  Well done.
• Great job by the D on the last MSU possession.  MSU had been moving the ball pretty well and had great field position, but this time the defense stood up and said, “This far, and no further.”  Good for them.
• UK could have used a couple of missed calls.  But MSU probably had a couple too, so I don’t blame the officiating.
• UK did not kill itself with penalties this time.  But turnovers continue to plague the Wildcats.  Kudos to Phillips for not jerking Raymond Sanders after his fumble.  That was a good call.
• What the Hell is this suspension of players for a quarter or a half?  This does more harm than good, in my view.  Run them ’till their tongues hang out or sit them the whole game.  Good grief.
• Punt coverage sucked tonight.
• Safety play was really weak tonight.

Well, just like the rest of you, I’m disappointed.  Once again, UK surrendered a winnable game and it just makes me want to … throw things.  Fortunately, I know better than to do that, but I wish I were in a large warehouse with a concrete floor and lots of breakable items I could throw and hear a satisfying shatter.

But alas.

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The BCS No. 1 Auburn Tigers used an all-around effort in a resounding 51-31 thumping of the Ole Miss Rebels to improve to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in SEC play.
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I’m going to offer a handful of observations, after which I personally would prefer never to speak of this again:

• As I alluded to in the early comment thread, I felt worse and worse about this game the closer we got to kickoff. The more I thought about the bye week, and the Florida Gators’ desperation, and the return to health of a few Floridians who were at less than 100 per cent during the Sunshine State Saurians’ losing streak, the more worried I became.
• Related to that point, how lucky can one team in a given rivalry get? We never catch these guys when they have key guys out, the way Mississippi State caught them; they invariably catch us at the most inopportune times (i.e., during the one game D.J. Shockley was injured in 2005). For crying out loud, Florida benefited from its own false start penalties, which erased positive Georgia plays on more than one occasion in a game in which the Orange and Blue were penalized nine times to the Bulldogs’ two. The ludicrous extent to which random chance favors the Gators would be comical, if it weren’t so gut-wrenching.
• The Georgia Bulldogs wore their silver britches, but they also brought their silver platters, on which they offered up this game to the Orange and Blue. Three first-half turnovers became 14 Florida points, and a Trey Burton fumble that should’ve been fallen on inside the Gators’ 15 yard line instead was returned to the Floridians possession when a Bulldog defender foolishly attempted a scoop and score; thus, a play that ought to have produced a Georgia drive beginning in the opponent’s red zone instead extended an Orange and Blue touchdown march. At worst, the Red and Black should have held a 10-0 halftime lead. The Bulldogs gave the Gators everything they got in the first half.
• We’ve all been waiting for Aaron Murray to have a game in which he looked like a redshirt freshman, and now the other shoe has dropped. Despite an atrocious start, though, the Georgia quarterback came back to post a respectable stat line (18 of 37 for 313 yards). He threw three touchdown passes and turned the ball over four times (three interceptions and a fumble); had his touchdowns and his turnovers been even, we’d have won the game.
• It really was as close as the final score indicated. Florida led by one in first downs (23-22) and by eleven yards in total offense (450-439). Had Georgia held the ball for 38 more seconds, the two teams’ time of possession would have been identical.
• While this loss feels a lot like the Arkansas game, there is one critical difference: questionable coaching doomed the ‘Dawgs against the Razorbacks, but the Georgia staff generally coached a good game this time. The game plan and the in-game adjustments generally were good, aside from our continued inability to defend the wheel route. By the way, for everyone who was worried about “third and Grantham” after last week, the Bulldogs converted eight of 15 third downs while limiting Florida to four of 14 on third down and stopping the Gators short on their one fourth-down try. After allowing 21 first-half points in spite of a key defensive stop to start the game, Georgia held Florida to ten points in the final 30 minutes of regulation play.
• How much does that bye week matter? Healthy returning players and a retooled offense made a world of difference for the Gators. The folks who say we should move the Georgia-Florida game are right, but the change should be a chronological one, not a geographic one. The Bulldogs are 8-14 all-time against the Gators in October and 39-26-2 against them in November. We don’t need the game to be nearer; we need it to be later.
• We still can’t get over the hump, but, even in defeat, the ‘Dawgs at least reversed the trend of the last two games, which were disasters. As lopsided as the series recently has been in the record book, the fact remains that, between 1990 and 1998, seven of nine meetings were decided by margins of at least 20 points, but six of the last nine have been settled by a touchdown or less.
• I am proud of this team for fighting through the adversity. Down 21-7 at the half and knowing Florida would get the ball to start the third quarter, this Georgia team fought where the two previous Bulldog squads folded. The defense came up with a big stop to start the second half, after which the offense drove 65 yards and kicked a field goal. The defense forced a three-and-out, then the offense answered with a touchdown. The heart shown by the Bulldogs makes the loss hurt worse, but, when the sun rises tomorrow (and it will), it will make the future appear more bright. I’m disappointed to a degree I lack the vocabulary adequately to describe, but I’m not sorry for believing in this team.
• Chris Rainey caught two passes for nine yards, returned six kickoffs for 148 yards, and ran the ball 16 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. Prior to today’s game, Rainey also was arrested after texting “time to die” to a woman, was dismissed from the team, agreed to a deferral to a misdemeanor charge, and was reinstated to the team following the Gators’ three-game losing streak. Given the fates met by Michael Lemon, Montez Robinson, Zach Mettenberger, and Demetre Baker in Athens, I don’t think there’s any doubt that, had Rainey been a Bulldog, Mark Richt would have dismissed him from the team, and he would have stayed dismissed from the team. I watched today’s game with my seven-year-old son, and I was able to look him in the eye afterward and feel comfortable with having taught him to cheer for Mark Richt’s team. While I would have been happier with the result, I wouldn’t have been able to have looked him in the eye and felt comfortable with having taught him to cheer for Urban Meyer’s team.

Go ‘Dawgs!

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Florida kicker Chas Henry (17) celebrates his overtime game-winning field goal in the Gators 34-31 victory over Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla Saturday, October 30, 2010. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)

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VUcommodores.com’s preseason Q&A with freshman forward Rod Odom. The power forward is expected to compete for time in his first season as a Commodore.
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