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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The boos came down harder than the rain
Saturday night at The Swamp.
Florida (No. 7 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) deserved every bit of it, plodding through a
waterlogged 40-19 victory over Ball State, a team that lost its
18th straight game and was expected to roll over for the
not-so-mighty Gators.
|  | | Gators coach Steve Spurrier takes his frustration out on quarterback Jesse Palmer.
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The team from David Letterman's alma mater never gave up, and
Gators coach Steve Spurrier found a top-10 list's worth of reasons
to yank the visor off his head, yell at his quarterback and pace
the sidelines, hands folded tightly across his chest.
The Gators snapped their own three-game losing streak. But
nobody expected them to sweat through this one.
"We didn't play that super," Spurrier said. "We won't be too
full of ourselves after this one. We've got a lot of improving to
do."
The low points were too numerous to list completely, although a
few stuck out.
One came midway through the third quarter, when Spurrier got
tired of watching his offense bumble and called for a punt on
third-and-26.
"It was like third-and-50," Spurrier said. "We were just
hoping to not get it blocked."
On the next drive, Ball State scored on a 49-yard pass from
Talmadge Hill to Corey Parchman. Then, the Cardinals blocked their
second punt of the game and took over at Florida's 13, trailing
33-19.
That's when the boos came flying from every corner of The Swamp,
an intimidating, 85,000-seat stadium that Ball State had helped
turn quiet as a library.
"I don't think I've ever been booed by my own fans," Gators
senior tailback Bo Carroll said. "It wasn't exactly the outcome we
wanted. The fans weren't thrilled either. Maybe everyone gets a
little spoiled. They're used to us throwing up 60."
And they get upset when teams from the Mid-American Conference
push their team deep into the fourth quarter.
Florida's Tron LaFavor recovered a fumble two plays after the
blocked punt to stop the insanity, then Jesse Palmer hit Carroll on
the sideline for a 75-yard scoring play that put the Gators ahead
by three touchdowns.
The game was secure, but there was little reason to celebrate.
Palmer threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, but completed
only 21 of 46 passes. The defense gave up a couple big chunks of
yardage and showed few signs of becoming the dominant force
everyone expected.
The makeshift offensive line surrendered nine points -- a
touchdown on Cornelius Bowick's sack and fumble recovery and a
safety when Evan Triggs burst in to tackle Robert Gillespie (17
carries, 112 yards) for a 6-yard loss.
"There are only two things you can do -- accept it or just roll
over," said Ball State tight end Jason Teeters, who blocked one of
the punts. "When you come out on that field, you've got 90,000
people that don't care anything about you and just want Florida to
win. It gives you a rush."
The defensive touchdown and safety were just a few of the
highlights for Ball State, which earned $350,000 for coming to
Gainesville and taking on the Gators, who were favored by 45.
The Cardinals bounced back nicely from Florida's lightning-quick
opening, in which Jeff Chandler recovered his own onside kick, then
watched Palmer drive the team to a touchdown in the first 70
seconds.
"We just wanted to let everyone know we were capable of doing
it," Spurrier said of the onside kick.
The coach recounted the last time his team scored so quickly --
in his first game as head coach of the Gators, a 50-7 victory over
Oklahoma State in 1990.
But the days of easy laughers in September appear over for
Spurrier. Last year, the Gators were pushed deep into the third
quarter before beating Western Michigan 55-26 in the opener.
This time, Florida led 26-10 at halftime -- not nearly
comfortable enough to empty the bench.
In fact, redshirt freshman Rex Grossman didn't replace Palmer
until 2:34 remained, and Spurrier realized there was nothing else
his team could do to lose the game. Freshman Brock Berlin will have
to wait at least another week for playing time.
"We were just trying to win the game, that's all we were trying
to do," Spurrier said. "We finally had a chance to play Rex. I
don't know what Brock would have done."
In addition to the poor play, the Gators suffered a key injury.
Starting middle linebacker Andra Davis left in the second quarter
with a sprained left knee, an injury that Spurrier said will
require surgery. Davis is expected to miss the rest of the season, Spurrier said.
Davis' backup, Travis Carroll, served the first of a three-game
suspension for unspecified rules violations.
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ALSO SEE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Scoreboard
Ball State Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
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