Woes aside, Brantley sees potential

It didn't exactly go the way John Brantley had hoped, but his first start as Florida's quarterback after the Tim Tebow era is over and the junior hopes he can move on after Saturday's 34-12 win against Miami (Ohio).

"It was different running onto that field," Brantley said. "It was different. I was looking up into the Swamp, saying, 'Holy Cow.' I was just real excited to get things going. It wasn't our day, but we did do a lot of great things out there. And we'll learn from our mistakes, just like any other team would."

Brantley threw for 113 yards with two touchdowns, although Deonte Thompson dropped a 44-yard pass in the end zone that would have made his day even bigger. C Mike Pouncey struggled with his snaps when Brantley was in the shotgun formation. There were three lost fumbles, a missed field goal and a missed extra point.

"I know the potential of our offense," Brantley said. "I'm not embarrassed at all. It's just one of those days, I guess you could say. We're going to work on it this coming week and be ready for USF."

Florida hosts the Bulls in the first meeting between the schools next Saturday.

In and out

Senior CB Moses Jenkins, making his first start for the Gators, suffered an elbow injury in the second half.

"You really hate to see that," UF defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said.

"He had worked so hard to get in there and finally get his chance and then he got hurt. You hate that."

Jenkins missed the second half of last season with a concussion.

Starting OL James Wilson also was shaken up, but Coach Urban Meyer expects him to be OK for next week's game.

S Will Hill (replaced by Josh Evans) and OL Carl Johnson (replaced by Jon Halapio) were surprise suspensions.

"One thing about that first game, we expect certain things in the classroom, we expect their behavior off the field, we expect a lot of things. And if you don't fulfill that, you don't play," Meyer said.

"Those two guys didn't fulfill expectations."

Another surprise was WR Andre Debose not seeing any playing time. He was a prized recruit as a freshman and missed last season with a torn hamstring.

"I didn't realize he didn't play. ... He's still got a little ways to go," Meyer said. "He's working good. He's just got to learn a little bit more and get ready to play. ... He's a talented guy and a good guy. We've got to get him on the field."

Repeat of 2009

Thompson, expected to be UF's top receiver this fall, said during the preseason he didn't understand why he has a reputation for dropping passes - even though he dropped a TD pass in last year's season opener.

He dropped another sure score on Saturday.

"(The defender) pulled my right arm back, so I only had one hand on it," Thompson said. "I've still got to come down with it. I've got to get better. Everybody's got to get better. We didn't play good at all. I'm not going to remember that all. All I'm going to remember is I played a terrible game."

Noteworthy

Jeremy Brown, who missed the previous two years with a back problem, played in his first college game despite a high ankle sprain suffered earlier in the week and had an interception. ... Jaye Howard had both of UF's sacks and finished with five tackles. Ahmad Black led UF with 12 tackles. ... Fifteen true freshmen played for the Gators, the most since 2007. ... Backup QB Trey Burton became the first true freshman to score a touchdown on opening day since Tebow in 2006.