It’s a shame that on a day when Percy Harvin has nearly 270 yards of total offense that the #4 ranked Gators fall at home to an unranked Ole Miss team. When you play in the SEC, you’re playing against tough teams with very fast defenses, no matter what their rank is. But, other then Percy Harvin, the entire Gator offense flat out sucked. Tebow sucked, the play calling sucked… everything just sucked.

Percy Harvin was outstanding (except for the fumbles he lost). He had 10 rushes for 83 yards plsu a touchdown and he had 13 receptions for 186 yards plus a touchdown.

In the preview I called for Percy Harvin to get more touches. He had only 8 last week. Well, it looks like the coaches listened to me because he had 23 touches this week. Even though Percy had a couple of fumbles, you can’t blame this loss on him. He played his heart out.

Last week against the Tennessee Vols, Percy Harvin only had 8 touches. It may have worked against UT, but if the Gators want to have continue success in the SEC they must give the ball to their best player. Percy Harvin!!8 touches is just not enough in a 60 minute game. I know that with the new clock rules, offenses aren’t running as many plays as last year, but in 2007 Percy had 15 touches against Ole Miss. That led to 121 yards and a touchdown. The more times you give the ball to your best player the more yards you will gain and points you will score. There was a point when Percy was averaging 10 yards per carry. I want to see those numbers again!

I love seeing Percy take direct snaps, or the plays when he lines up outside then goes in motion and takes a handoff from Tebow running sideline to sideline. No one can stop it!

Ole Miss is a bad team. The Gators are favored by 22 and should win by even more. There’s no reason why Meyer can’t open up the playbook this week and get Percy the rock. The hometown crowd wants to see it!

Need tickets for the Ole Miss game? It’s not too late to get them on Stubhub. Don’t forget, if you can’t make it to the Gator game, you need to head over to Gator Envy where all the Gator fans meet up for live game discussions. If you aren’t already a member, it’s free to join!

Do you think Percy Harvin is out of the 2008 Heisman race? As much as it pains me to say this, I think he is. Through the first three Gator games (Harvin only active for 2) he has:

• 11 carries for 58 yards and 1 touchdown
• 3 receptions for 61 yards and 1 touchdown

Missing the first game didn’t hurt him as much as a balanced Gator offense has. Percy Harvin is still the dynamic threat we remember from last year. However, the 2008 Gators have a new offensive plan that doesn’t involved 95% Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow. They’re spreading the ball around to all their weapons.

I mean it is possible for Percy to still win a Heisman. If he gets 150+ total yards every game for the rest of the season, scores 15-20 touchdowns, has a Heisman moment, and the Gators go to a BCS game… then he can still win. Let’s hope it happens.

What do you think?

All week Coach Meyer was preaching “If we want to go win this game, let’s not say, ‘Hey, let’s go beat Tennessee,’” Meyer said. “You better play great defense that day. You better have toughness and you better take care of the football or there’s no chance of winning that game.” Well, the Gators did just that.

The Florida Gators routed the Tennessee Vols in a 30-6 road victory. Percy Harvin contributed to the victory with 6 carries for 31 yards and 2 receptions for 49 yards… plus one touchdown. While 49 yards receiving may not seem like a lot, it was actually half of the Gators entire passing offense.

I may have predicted a 100-100 yard game for Percy Harvin, but that may have been a little unrealistic. Tennessee is not a push-over team. Racking up monster stats against them would have been tough. Florida played well on special teams and defense, and thanks to an early lead the Gators were able to play ball control offense. I have a feeling the monster stats won’t be coming as much this year because Florida won’t be playing catch-up to teams like they were last year.

Percy was able to play great and came out healthy. He was involved in a lot of offensive plays and should be 100% ready for Ole Miss this week.

Well, we’re just short of 24 hours away from the Florida Gators first SEC game of 2008. The Gators are on their way to Tennessee to play the Vols in Neyland Stadium at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday. The Gators are favored by 7.5 or 8 points (depending on what sportsbook you look at). It’s going to be a high energy, exciting game. I’m predicting a 42-20 Gator blowout.

Part of the reason why I think the Gators will blow Tennessee out is because of my man Percy Harvin. Florida coach Urban Meyer told Harvin simply, “I’m ready to cut you loose.” That should scare the crap out of Vols defensive players. They seen Percy’s speed before. Last year he put up 75 rushing yards, 120 receiving yards and scored 1 touchdown. If Urban Meyer means what he says, then a 100-100 game is entirely possible for Percy.

“I felt great, the few touches I did get [against Miami],” said Harvin. “I felt really good and after that game, and going into last week’s practice, we had a really good practice week. I’m feeling strong and fast. I think it worked out for the best.”

I know a lot of you Percy Harvin fans won’t be watching the game in person. And if you can’t catch it on CBS, then you need to head over to Gator Envy. They have ingame discussions and live chatrooms for fans to talk to each other; best of all registration is free.

Go Gators!

In a recent ESPN.com article, Percy Harvin said “Coach just came to me and said he’s ready to cut me loose.” Finally, the words we’ve been waiting to hear. It’s time to cut the chains, and unleash the beast!

Meyer reinforced it when he said, “Yeah, we’re going to involve him a little bit more this week. That’s a hell of a toy. That’s a talented guy.”

We couldn’t ask for more perfect timing. The Florida Gators are traveling deep into rival territory when they play the Tennessee Vols this weekend.

Also noted in the ESPN article was a quote from Percy about the severity of his injury. Maybe we underestimated it at first?

“I guess to describe it is like somebody stabbing me in the back of my foot,” Harvin said. “It got to a point where I couldn’t bend. Sometimes in the weight room I couldn’t squat all the way down. It was causing bad tendinitis in my knees, and my hips were going all kind of crazy because I was over-planting on my other leg. It just caused all kinds of injuries to me.”

Gators Start SEC Play This Week!

The Florida Gators finally start SEC play this week against the hated Tennessee Volunteers. The Gators are ranked #4 in the AP Poll and Tennessee is ranked, well… nothing. Last year vs. Tennessee, Percy Harvin went something like 75 yards rushing, 120 yards receiving and a touchdown. It’s safe to say shredding UT is something Percy takes pride in.

The extra week off has allowed Percy Harvin to heal up even more. He won’t be limited in practice this week and Coach Meyer won’t be afraid to unleash him against the Vols on Saturday. Harvin will get his touches, don’t you worry.

Check back later this week though as I’ll be bringing you a full game preview.

The Florida Gators have a bye week coming up. They won’t play again until September 20th against Tennessee. The Vols will be a big test for the Gators and I’m glad Percy Harvin is getting an extra week to get healthy and prepare for them.

One thing I noticed in the Miami game is that Percy looked to still have his burst of speed. You could instantly tell what separates him from the rest of the players. Sure Percy only got like 6 touches, but that’s fine for his first game action in months. The important thing is that we have him ready for SEC competition. Rivals should be scared!

Coach Urban Meyer plans to utilize Percy to his fullest potential. “We can do much more with him and we will,” Meyer said. “I thought he played hard.” I can’t wait to see him back to putting up Heisman-like numbers.

Welcome back Percy Harvin! In the Gators 26-3 victory over Miami on Saturday, Percy hit the field and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter that sparked momentum for his team. Percy played sparingly throughout the game. In fact, at times I thought he had aggravated his injury because Meyer would sit him for a series or two. In hindsight though that was probably the smart thing to do.

Percy Harvin ended the game with 5 carries for 27 yards (1 score) and 1 reception for 12 yards. Not the numbers we’re used to seeing, but considering he was limited, I’ll take it. His touchdown came on a carry from 2 yards out. Percy lineup up as a WR and then went in motion and took a handoff from Tebow after the snap. He took it outside and dove for the endzone. It was great seeing him back on the field.

I’m sure we’ll get an update on his injury status in a few days from Coach Meyer.

The Gators have a bye week coming up, so Percy will have a full 2 weeks to rest up and condition himself for SEC play.

Percy Harvin has never played against the Miami Hurricanes. It’s an old Florida rivalry that I hope the players take seriously. Florida hasn’t beat Miami in 6 straight games. Luckily for the Gators, their secret weapon, Percy Harvin, will be suited up and ready to play.

“It’s pretty much all good,” he said. “I have little aches here and there, but nothing significant. It’s natural.

“I’m itching to get on the field so bad. I feel pretty good. But they don’t want to just throw me out there. We’re basing it on a schedule. I was itching to pad up (for the opener last Saturday), but coach was like, ‘No.’ The trainers are doing a great job.”

Gator players aren’t the only ones excited to have their teammate back on the field. The fans who shell out hundreds of dollars for a ticket are also amped! ESPN Gameday will be at the Swamp for tomorrow’s game. It’s going to be an electrifying atmosphere.

If Percy is limited, he won’t put up monster stats. In fact he probably won’t see much game-time at all unless the game is close into the 4th quarter. But I don’t think 4 receptions, 2 carries and 100 total yards is out of the question. The thing with Percy Harvin is that he can take a 5 yard catch and turn it into a 60 yard play at any given time.

If you can’t make it to the 8:00 game in Gainesville, be sure to check out Gator Envy for Miami game discussions and live chats with other Gator fans.