Game Balls: Florida vs Alabama

The Florida Gators fell short of upsetting Alabama on Saturday night but in the process showed they belong with one of the best teams in the country. Florida dug itself an early 21-3 hole in the first quarter but continued to fight and proved its contender status in the SEC.

With that being said, Gators Territory awards game balls to the players we thought performed the best on offense, defense, and special teams.

Dameon Pierce - Despite just 18 carries on the season, Pierce keeps finding the end zone. The senior running back scored twice against Alabama, giving him five rushing touchdowns on the season.

Malik Davis - Florida's other senior running back set the pace for the Gators Saturday night. Davis had 10 carries for 96 yards and leads all running backs with 31 carries and 222 rushing yards this season.

Tight Ends - Through two games the position had no receptions and had only been targeted once, an incompletion to freshman Nick Elksnis. Saturday night they were featured against the No. 1 Tide. Kemore Gamble led all receivers with five receptions for 32 yards and Keon Zipperer added four receptions for 51 yards.

Gervon Dexter - The sophomore defensive lineman recorded the first solo sack of his career and set a single-game career-high with eight tackles. On one play Dexter showed off grown-man strength, relocating an Alabama offensive lineman several yards into the backfield and onto his back.

Mohamoud Diabate - Diabate also had eight tackles in the game with three solo and half a tackle for a loss. Diabate surpassed 100 career tackles Saturday night. Diabate has shown elite sideline-to-sideline speed and he had a career night as the Gators played their first game without senior linebacker Ventrell Miller.

The Swamp - The fans inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium deserve their own recognition. The sold out crowd of 90,887 was the fifth-largest in the history of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The stadium was alive Saturday night and made an impact on the game. Alabama had several procedural penalties and had to waste timeouts to avoid delays of game.

“Crazy atmosphere. Those fans were really loud," Alabama quarterback Bryce Young said. "We knew it was going to be a hostile environment coming in, and it lived up to it for sure. Fans were super loud and there was a lot we had to deal with."