Breaking Down Florida's Offensive Line

Gator offensive line coach Steve Addazio has a lot of good things to say about his offensive line. Despite losing possibly its best player (Phil Trautwein) before the start of the season and having to cope with various injuries over the course of the fall, the line has been solid and provided what has been needed for a potent offense."We (fullback Eric Rutledge and the line) work together to make everything click, because I think that's where it starts," Rutledge said.

Addazio said the line has had only one poor performance this season. It came against Georgia, when QB Tim Tebow was sacked six times. In UF's other 10 games, Tebow has been sacked a total of only five times. The offense has averaged 53.0 points in the three games since the Georgia loss. "Aside from the Georgia game, our protection has been really strong," Addazio said. "That allows a lot of good things to happen in the throw game and in the run game."I'm really proud of how they've handled the injury issues and played with a strong level of consistency throughout. It's made us really strong and resilient."

Key Stats: Behind its offensive line, the Gators are #3 in SEC in rushing offense and average over 5 yards a carry. The Gators have also allowed the third fewest sacks in the SEC at 11.