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.   

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.

Here We Go Again

It’s mid-October. The first BCS Standings are out. The usual suspects are on top. Florida, Alabama, Texas, etc. And predictably, the “we need a playoff” crowd is out in full force, screaming their fool heads off about how unfair life is for TCU and Boise State. There is even a new Political Action Committee in Congress threatening that if the NCAA doesn’t do something, Congress will step in. Really? You guys on Capitol Hill have nothing better to do? How about cutting taxes on businesses so they can expand and hire people like me instead of us collecting unemployment? How about letting oil companies drill for the vast amounts of oil we are sitting on in this country so we can become a seller instead of a buyer? Nope. We are more concerned the Boise State has a shot at the National Title. Boise State who’s toughest game all year will be Oregon and who’s second toughest game all year will be Fresno State or Tulsa. Speaking of Tulsa, they lost to Boise by 7. They lost to Oklahoma by 45. The same OU who just lost to Texas by 3.

1. We already have a college football playoff. It’s a two team playoff, but make no mistake, it IS a playoff. We have a game, the winner gets a trophy. That’s a playoff. What the idiots from places like Idaho and Utah are upset about is, it’s not enough teams. Two is too small for them. OK. What then would be the number of teams that would suit you? Four? OK, what happens when Boise State is team # 5 even though they’re 12-0? Are you going to cry like a baby for eight teams? Of course you are. Then what happens when your team is #9? This same scenario has already happened. It’s called March Madness. There are 65 teams going to the “Big Dance” now and every year we STILL have teams # 66, 67, 68, 69 and 70 hollering like stuck pigs.
2. When you have a Bowl Game, it is played at a neutral site. Fans of the participants can take vacation time that week and go to the game. What are you going to do with an 8 team playoff? Play at neutral sites? How are the fans of the schools supposed to plan to attend? Let’s say you’re a Penn St fan. The Lions are going to play in the playoffs in San Antonio. Do you get tickets? Do you make hotel reservations? What if we win? We go to Miami the following week. Maybe we should go there. But the Championship game is in Pasadena. Maybe we should think positive and make our reservations there. So the game in San Antonio is played in a half empty stadium. Why? Because the fans were conflicted about which game to go to. Have you ever watched the crowd shots at the first round of the NCAA Tournament? They’re half empty!
3. So let’s move the games to the campus sites. OK. So you want to play playoff games at Ohio State, Penn State, or Michigan in December? Yeah that’s fair. To make this thing work, there has to be at least a 16 team playoff. That’s because there are 11 conferences in D1-A. So you are FIU or Troy. You win the Sun Belt. Instead of a Bowl trip to New Orleans, you now get to go to Happy Valley in the dead of winter to bet walloped by Penn St. Do you remember a few weeks ago when all the pundits were screaming about the Florida’s of the world playing the Troy’s of the world. Now you want to watch those games in December?
4. If you go to a 16 team playoff, the Bowls will be rendered moot. The goal will be to make the playoffs. Nobody will care about the bowl games. They might as well not even play them. Ever watch the NIT? Nobody goes. Nobody cares. You might say so what? Well, to the cities who have hosted those games for years, it matters. Those cities count on the economic boost that the bowl games create. How do they make that money up? They don’t. So what you will create is the Florida’s, Ohio State’s, USC’s, and Texas’ of the world will get an extra two games on campus every year. This will put even more money in their pockets. It will give them even more favorable exposure. It will make them even more of an attractive place for the elite players to play. In other words, they become even more unbeatable. So tell me again what problem we solve by going to an “NCAA Football Tournament”?