Where Have All the Rivals Gone?

Everyone has a rivalry game that means a little more to them than all the others. Most old timers will tell you its Georgia. Lose every game on the schedule but beat the Bulldogs, and they’re happy.

Georgia has been taken out behind the woodshed so many times as of late, it’s simply become routine to come back from Jacksonville with a win. Once in a while the Bulldogs pull out a win, but the last 20 years have been dominated by Florida.

Tennessee could be on its way back as a revived rivalry, thanks to all the trash talking by Lane Kiffin. Games against the Vols and Phil Fulmer were fun to watch, but the fact that the Gators played them so early in the season kind of softened the intensity. The fact is, you can stumble early against Tennessee and still salvage the season and play for a National Championship.

For me, Florida State is that game each season that gets the hatred stirring in my stomach. Despite FSU being down for quite some time, it’s also the game I’m always most worried about the Gators losing.

The Seminoles are in desperation mode. For a historically “dirty-playing” team, I have no doubts they will go to any lengths to injure players and win at any cost. You do remember all the late hits on Danny Wuerffel? How about Darnell Dockett at the bottom of a pile twisting Earnest Graham’s knee?

You will see late hits on Tebow. Plenty of taunting and trash talking will take place (from both teams) and if there isn’t a fight before, during or after, I’d be surprised.

Florida has to be careful. They are the team with everything to lose here. One out-of-control fight against FSU means potential suspensions for their match-up against Alabama the following week. Players must remember to keep their cool.

On paper, FSU has no chance to beat the Gators, but with a long history of meaningful rivalry games, you can throw out team records and rankings. For all the reasons FSU has to get up for this game (rivalry game, beating Tebow in his last game at The Swamp, ruining the Gator’s perfect season, throwing a BIG monkey wrench into the BCS system, winning for their once-relevant coach), Florida will use those same reasons to take care of business.

Urban Meyer is the best in preparing his players for big games. Let’s just hope they remember playing FSU is still a big game.   

Your new Florida Gator head coach…

Okay…I’ve got it all figured out. I know where everyone will be coaching next year. Everyone is predicting that Charlie Weis gets fired from Notre Dame at the end of the season. Once that happens, Urban Meyer is packing up his things and heading out of town. I’m really surprised his house isn’t already for sale.  Who wouldn’t want to live in South Bend during the winter? It’s such a bright, cheery place.  Notre Dame has their man. The heads of Gator fans across the nation start exploding.

A recent “hot seat” coach, Mark Richt interviews for the Florida job, but his inability to win in the state of Florida doesn’t sit well with Jeremy Foley and he’s quickly eliminated from contention. Richt will wait a year until Jimbo Fisher fails miserably and take over at Florida State.

The new Georgia position is taken by Steve Spurrier, who wants to focus on all the golf courses in the state of Georgia and would actually have a shot at recruiting and winning with a marketable program. Any Gator fan whose head didn’t explode when Meyer left, has just given up on college football altogether.

South Carolina can’t break away from the Holtz family and ends up hiring current East Carolina coach Skip Holtz. In a related story, Charlie Strong is seen taking a flight to Greenville, NC.

Pete Carroll of USC gets tired of hearing about the SEC and wants to prove he can win in the best conference. That’s right….Carroll is your new coach at Florida. Phil Fulmer is named head coach at USC three days later.

Oh…and Lane Kiffin still sucks at his job so Tennessee brings in Tommy Tuberville as the head coach and Kiffin is demoted to “Assistant to the Head Coach.”Aren’t you happy I’m here to sort it all out?

Gators could lose to Vanderbilt

Look out Florida Gators, Vanderbilt is coming to town. It’s a classic trap game with the Gators coming off a win over their rival Georgia and no expectations for Vandy to compete. All the pressure is on Florida to win this game. Add in Brandon Spikes missing the entire game for his finger pointing incident and the Commodores have a shot to……wait…who am I kidding? The Gators are going to stomp Vandy.

This blog is brought to you by the number 18. Why? Because 18 is the number of times, in a row, that Florida has walked off the field with a win against Vanderbilt. What makes winning 19 any different?

Vanderbilt is dead last (0-5) in the SEC – not just the East, but the entire SEC. The Commodores have only managed to score 39 points offensively during SEC play. Their starting quarterback, Larry Smith, is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. The redshirt sophomore will be replaced by Mackenzi Adams. The senior, Adams, was obviously not good enough to start over sophomore Smith, which makes you guess the offense will struggle even more.

So what do the Gators have to worry about? Well, controversy of course. The decision for Spikes to sit out the entire game should ease a lot of questions about character. I’m going to go ahead and predict the “Criticism for the Week” following the Vanderbilt game – Urban Meyer left Tim Tebow in the game too long. Every week it’s something different. Let’s just go ahead and have the discussion now, so next week everything is all cleared up and Florida can prepare to take on the Old Ball Coach and his Gamecocks.

Time to Figure It Out Offensively

Defense wins championships. For the Florida Gators, that statement remains to be seen, but without a doubt – it’s certainly the reason they are still undefeated.  Florida fans can thank the defense for wins over Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi St. Without their effort, three out of the four games are probably losses.

So what happens if the defensive side of the ball decides to have a bad day and not show up like its offensive counterpart? All these ugly performances are going to turn into losses, and Florida will get knocked back down to reality.

By now, I would have predicted the Florida offense would be clicking on all cylinders and racking up points with relative ease. Instead, the Gators look great driving down the field until they enter the red zone. Their play calling seizes up and all Florida can do is run it straight up the middle. In SEC wins over the Vols, Tigers, Razorbacks and Bulldogs, the Gators have scored just seven offensive touchdowns.

Tim Tebow is not the same player he was pre-concussion. His decision making seems to be suffering. I cannot believe that each time he steps back to pass, receivers are so covered that Tebow is forced to run. In fact, Deonte Thompson was open on at least two plays down the field Saturday night, and Tebow didn’t see him.

We keep hearing the Gators are waiting for another receiver to step up and help Cooper and Hernandez carry the load, but how can that happen if they aren’t getting the ball thrown their way? Thompson and David Nelson both seem like viable options, if ever given the chance.

Urban Meyer attributes some of the poor play to mentally not being able to live up to the pressure of being ranked at the top of the polls every week. As defending national champions, the coaching staff needed to do a better job preparing their players for the upcoming season and all the pressure that comes along with being ranked number one.

Two things can happen with the rest of the season. The Gator offense finally starts executing and the ball gets spread around to truly exhibit what this team is capable of. Or…Florida ends up playing against a team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, catches are made, fourth downs are converted and the Gators are left sitting on the sideline wondering what happened to their perfect season. Either way, it won’t get any easier. Every team Florida plays will want to knock them off their pedestal atop college football. Get it fixed Gators.

Who’s Motivated? Don’t be Shy…

Motivation. I’ve written about it before. I can’t tell you how many times I have read an article about the Florida Gators and motivation. Apparently the only way the Gators can get up for a game is if they are motivated by someone out there saying Florida can’t win. So every week, more stories come out about Florida’s opponent not respecting them.

University of XYZ doesn’t think the Gators are all that special. Coach ABC likes his chances against Florida. Player 123 was talking trash about Tebow, or the running game, or the defense.  Brandon Spikes is motivated to step up and play better when the offensive side of the ball is struggling.

Is there a chance these kids don’t need all this bulletin board propaganda to go out and win? You are talking about the best football players from around the country, all successful at the high school level, coming to play in the best conference – the SEC.  I would think most of them have an idea of what it takes to win, without being told that someone doesn’t think they can.

But don’t worry Gator fans, because this week’s motivation is the AP Poll. Apparently Alabama jumping Florida in the latest AP Poll is supposed to give Tim Tebow some extra pep in his step. Never mind the fact that Florida is ranked first in the BCS standings and that the AP isn’t even a relevant poll when determining who plays for a national championship.

Perhaps Gator players want to go out and win, for the sake of winning? I am pretty sure they know the consequences of not showing up for a game, especially after the near loss to Arkansas Saturday.

If all this motivation stuff truly works, the Gators better be ready for their next game against Mississippi State. Former offensive coordinator, Dan Mullen, will try to beat his old team and throw a wrinkle in the BCS standings. You better believe Mullen’s players will have all the MOTIVATION in the world to get a win for their coach.

Maybe Florida players can take motivation from their opponent’s motivation, who will be motivated to win by Mullen’s motivation to beat the Gators? Confused yet? The confusion has motivated me to stop writing now.

Next Three Games Can Be Special for Tebow

Tim Tebow has a chance to make a statistical statement over the next three games. The Gators will be facing the three worst defenses in the SEC when the match up against Arkansas, Mississippi State and Georgia. If there was ever a time where Tebow could put up some touchdowns, it’s right now.

Tebow is already just one touchdown run away from tying Herschel Walkers SEC record for career rushing touchdowns. Breaking the record will add another line to his already impressive football resume and will most certainly boost his Heisman chances.

But it’s time the wide receivers and Tebow get on the same page. No more dropped passes.  Riley Cooper and Aaron Hernandez have shown glimpses of greatness, but we still wait to see who will emerge as the go-to receiver.

Throwing the ball has always been the knock on Tebow throughout his career. He’s too slow in getting the ball off. He’s doesn’t throw an accurate ball. For Tebow, if he wants his second Heisman Tropy, he’ll have to prove his critics wrong again. Start connecting on your pass plays and the Heisman speculation can end.

Remember, it’s about the best college football player – not the best quarterback. Tim Tebow exemplifies what the Heisman Trophy represents. He will go down as one of the greatest college football players of all time. Tebow should embrace these next three games and put the speculation to rest.

Les Miles Not Happy with SEC Officials

We thought LSU week was over when Florida boarded the buses and left Tiger stadium with a 13-3 win. Les Miles, however, is still thinking about one play from last week – Tim Tebow’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper.

Miles sent the videotape of that play to the SEC this week for review, telling reporters, “Yeah, we sent that in. I’m savoring the opportunity to call in there.”

So Miles is angry that the officials missed the jersey tug? Apparently the LSU coaching staff missed it as well. Cornerback Chris Hawkins was benched for the rest of the game after giving up the touchdown to Cooper.

“What we saw from the sideline, we did not see,” Miles told the AP. “He just got yanked on, and there are no corners that I know that sustain that and don’t give up position on the ball.”

The call was clearly blown, as CBS showed the replay over and over – Cooper grabbed the jersey. Gators fans thought it was smart, while Tiger fans are thinking the game could have turned out differently.

Take away the touchdown and Florida may end up kicking another field goal. Say they don’t score. Nothing LSU was doing indicated they would march down the field and ever score again.

Bottom line…the defense of Florida was the real difference maker on Saturday night. Brandon Spikes and the rest of the defense shut down LSU for all four quarters.

Miles still thinks LSU could win the game, if the two should meet up down the road in the SEC Championship.

“The thing that we have to see is that adjustments have to be made certainly, and our team plays a little bit better,” he said. “If we do what we’re capable, it’d be just wonderful to see that team again.”

I have news for you Mr. Miles. If the Gators do what they’re capable of doing, and have a truly healthy Tim Tebow, seeing that Gator team in Atlanta would be more of a nightmare than anything you could imagine as “wonderful.”

Is Special Teams Ready to be Special Again?

Brandon James is lethal when it comes to special teams. Give him an opening and he’ll make you pay with 6 points in a matter of about 10 seconds. In less time, the rest of the special teams unit can block a punt and score a touchdown, get a safety, or set up the Gator offense in great field position. It’s nice to be the one with options on fourth down, when you don’t even have the ball yet.

Last season the Gators appeared to favor going after the kick. Between the blocks, partial blocks and near-blocks, it rarely seemed like Florida dropped back just to defend for James. It’s something that’s missing this season. On pure memory, which is lacking, I can only recall one blocked kick and numerous times where I asked myself, why aren’t they gunning for the punter?

James has proven he is elusive and could still return a punt for a touchdown if the block attempt went unsuccessful. Do you think Meyer is trying to showcase James for NFL scouts? He is, in my opinion, the next Devin Hester. Will we see the Gators let loose on the LSU kicking team?

Striving for that Perfect Season

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Undefeated. Perfection. 12-0. Call it what you want, but know that it has been the goal of Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes entering this season. Meyer turned down the dial on such talk, but it’s the largest elephant in the room that no one is talking about. You’ll hear the company line, “Our goal is to make it to Atlanta and play for an SEC Championship.”

At a time where the SEC is widely considered the best conference in football, the goal of winning an SEC Championship ultimately means you’ll probably get a shot at the National Championship as well. Alabama or Florida could lose a game late, win the SEC Championship, and still make it into the Rose Bowl. You have Florida and LSU to thank for that. The SEC, having won the last three BCS Championships, has all but guaranteed a one-loss SEC team making it into the game over one-loss teams from weaker conferences.

So do you think Tebow and Spikes would be disappointed if they lost a regular season game, but still played for a National Championship? I actually think they would. Tebow and Spikes have been there before and won it all. They have accomplished most everything a college player could ask for…except that perfect season.

You know Tebow is a man of his word. How could he not be after the way the team performed following the infamous “Promise” speech? I can’t bet against Tebow until he’s been proven wrong and you shouldn’t either. But if Tebow doesn’t end up playing much Saturday against LSU, he’ll have to rely on Spikes and the rest of his team to keep that goal alive. Something tells me Spikes is just as driven. Should make for an interesting night in Baton Rouge.

Keeps getting worse in Tallahassee

An FSU trustee, Jim Smith, says he wants Bobby Bowden out at the end of the season. I didn’t realize Bowden was even making decisions anymore that could hurt or benefit the Seminoles from game to game. Anytime they show him on the sideline, he has that same confused look on his face. It’s pretty obvious he is not calling the plays.

But Bowden is the face of FSU football and the program stands to lose more than it will gain by forcing him out. It’s like kicking your grandpa to the curb. What happens when Jimbo Fisher is exposed as the real problem? How long does he get before a trustee says it’s time to go?

What does it mean for the Gators? Recruiting gets a little easier for Urban Meyer with Bowden out of the picture. Any players that wanted to play for a legend will turn their heads down-state to Gainesville. In my opinion, a legend-in-the-making is better than a legend enjoying his twilight years. How many more years of Gator domination do you think we’ll see – with or without Bowden?  A five-year deal for Jimbo plus another four to five years for his replacement means a decade of owning FSU. Maybe UF can just drop them from the schedule.