Change of Address

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Perhaps a Game I Will Quickly Forget

First of all, let me just say that I really have never cared that much about bowl games, especially bowl games like the Outback Bowl. I know that the players and coaches prepare hard for them and love to win them, but I just can’t get that excited for them. Today’s was another example, as I just can’t get all that pumped up for the Gators win in Tampa over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Not only is this being contributed to the above thoughts, but it is because of how the Gators won the game today. While dominating the beginning of the game and giving themselves the lead, I am not blind enough to lie and tell you the Gators weren’t then helped out a bit by some questionable officiating decisions. The Hawkeyes fought and made the game very close in the second half, but when it came time for them to do an onside kick to keep the comeback alive, it seemed to me that the Conference USA refs made a call that should not have been made at that point in the game.

Hawkeyes player Chad Greenway was called offsides on the onsides kick (which was perhaps one of the best ones I have ever seen) when it was too close to call, or maybe even not even close. There comes a point in a college football game where feet shouldn’t matter…that is, unless it’s clear a ball crossed a goal line or something of that matter. If a guy “might” be offsides on a kickoff during such a close game, don’t call it. The kids went out there and gave their all today, and there should be no question whatsoever when it comes to the outcome.

Now, I’m not taking anything away from the Gators victory nor am I making excuses for the Hawkeyes loss. Iowa made some bad plays and the Gators capitalized on them, including a blocked punt for touchdown as well as an interception return. They also missed what could be considered a chip shot field goal, which at that point could have changed the game a little more. The Gators offense played well, kept the ball, and made plays when they needed them, including taking the ball down the field and scoring right before halftime on a great Chris Leak to Dallas Baker connection…which coincidently came right after an Iowa penalty that seemed questionable at best.

I’m happy for the Gators win, but still couldn’t help myself from looking towards the future. During the pre-game show there was a small segment on the Gators #1 recruiting class including players that fit Meyer’s system perfectly. I can’t help but get pumped up for next season, and a bowl win today was just a stepping stone for a program that is on it’s way up.

Brown Will Be Back

Looking at Florida Today this morning, I noticed a small story on Vernell Brown that can be found here:

Brown finished eighth on the team in tackles but suffered a broken leg against
Vanderbilt. Once again, he had to come back from an obstacle with doubters
counting the senior out of the bowl game. He still is suffering some pain from
the injury, but Meyer says Brown will play some against Iowa.

"It was kind of tough," Brown said. "It was one of the first serious injuries I've had throughout my football career, so it was pretty tough. But great players come back from adversity, and that's what I'm trying to do right now."

I remember the Brown injury during the Vanderbilt game, and how it made the victory a semi-bittersweet one. For as many times as I've been worried about Vernell running backwards on punt returns or getting burned by taller receivers (which didn't happen much this season), I really respect the guy. He goes out there and gives it his all in every single situation, something that I've noticed may not be the theme of the Ron Zook hangover. He had a humongous game against Tennessee, and continually performed all season until his injury.

I'm glad he will back for the Outback Bowl, and I hope in some ways he can erase the memories of that quarterback throwback pass that has been matched up with his name for the last couple of seasons. Let's just hope a great guy like Vernell gets congratulations for being a great Gator win or lose.

A Look Back

As my years in Gainesville have finished, I now can look back at the last 4 seasons of Gators football with some bitterness as well as some positivity towards the future. Growing up with the Gators, watching the teams of the mid-90s dominate the SEC and win a national championship, I hoped to see some of the same when I made it up to college. Following the 2001 season, in which the Gators looked dominant once again (shoulda beat Tennessee that year, argh), I felt that future was bright for the program, and some glory years may be ahead while I was a student.

Following the Ole Ball Coach's departure from UF, things weren't looking the same. SOS seemed like a part of my life, and I was almost unbelievable to not see him on the sideline, especially when I was going to be one of those loud and rowdy students in the Swamp. After a swift hiring of Ron Zook, the level of excitement just wasn't the same. I was still a huge fan, but it was not the scenario I was looking forward to throughout my childhood.

With that in mind, I still saw some great football games over the last 4 seasons. I also saw some bad ones. I saw some great players. I saw blatant officiating mistakes. I saw dumb coaching moves. Here is a list of some of the "awards" from the last 4 seasons. Keep in mind I went to 4 away games during these seasons: Tennessee and FSU last season, and 'Bama and SC this season. I also missed one game, against Auburn in 2002, which could be considered one of the better games of the last 4 seasons.

Best Game: '04 @FSU - The Gators hadn't won at Doak in quite some time, since the 80s, and I grew up with a pretty deep hate for FSU. While it had died down in the years prior to this game, I still wanted to watch the Gators celebrate at Doak Campbell, especially while I was in attendance. It ended up being one great game. The kind of game that the Gators had found ways to lose earlier in the season, which made it even sweeter. After a Fason touchdown late in the game, an interception on defense sealed the deal, and the celebration that took place in the Gators section was very memorable. Honorable Mention - '04 versus Tennessee (despite the loss)
Worst Game: '02 versus LSU - The lowest point of the '02 season, coming a week after a stunning loss to Ole Miss on the road. The Gators just never showed up, despite still being in the SEC hunt due to a win over the Vols on the road. Grossman never clicked, the offense looked sloppy, the defense gave up a TD on a fake FG. Final score: 36-7. The "Fire Ron Zook" bandwagon got wheels that evening, and I don't think the coaching staff ever recovered. Honorable Mention - '03 versus Ole Miss
Best Player: Willis McGahee, '02 Miami - the 2nd game of the '02 season, Rex Grossman was still was considered the Heisman favorite, and the Gators were playing the Canes in the Swamp for the first time in quite a while. The atmosphere was electric, especially after a blocked punt. Then Miami took over, carried by one great run after great run by the Canes RB Willis McGahee. The Gators couldn't tackle him, his speed out of the backfield made our defense look silly, and he just looked like a man among boys on the field that day. Honorable Mention - Jay Cutler '05, Eli Manning '03
Most Jubilant Win: '05 versus Tennessee - It was ugly on the field, as both the Vols and Gators struggled on offense. But that didn't stop it from being an absolutely exciting win. It wasn't the product, but what it seemed to meant. The Gators hadn't won a big game at home in quite some time, and this was what they needed to start an upswing once again. Honorable Mention - '04 @ FSU, '05 versus UGA
Most Sickening Loss: '04 versus Tennessee - Of course you're probably thinking the atrocious "Swindle in the Swamp", but it's not. At least that was at home. After a missed extra point by the Vols, a horrible officiating call ensued. While the ref was looking at both the guys, Dallas Baker still shouldn't have hit back, but what can ya do? Then the whole clock fiasco. Just bad news all around. Not to mention a guy who missed a PAT made a 50+ yarder with 6 seconds left. Disgusting.

Things Have Been Looking Pretty Good

So I'm finally finished with all of my college classes at the University of Florida, and I'm all ready to hit the real world and make some sort of mark in it. I have honestly been extremely busy lately, but still have found a way to follow UF athletics for the most part, even with the rush of holiday shopping and Christmas break shenanigans. We are about a week away from the Gators showdown with the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl, but there has still been a flurry of activity with the athletic program during football's absence.

The Gators basketball team is 11-0, with their most recent win coming against the Miami Hurricanes down in Coral Gables last Thursday night. With that win the Gators have a realistic shot at being undefeated going into SEC play, which was almost an afterthought before the season started. I expected to see the team lose to one of the two in-state rivals (FSU, Miami), and even with slow starts in both games clawed back and found ways to win. What was most shocking though was the championship in the Coaches vs Cancers classic, in which the Gators beat both Wake Forest and Syracuse, both considerable basketball powerhouses.

The Gators just continue to win games by being unselfish and finding different guys to take on the scoring load each game. Balance is the key, something that was not present last year with Roberson, Walsh, and Lee being the only guys to carry the team on any given day. The shots from outside the arc have been falling for guys like Humphrey and Green, and the big guys in the paint have provided some solid defense, as the great performance of Joakim Noah against the Hurricanes is an example of.

Can the Gators take the SEC? Who knows. There are some solid squads in conference, but there doesn't seem to be the same depth as previous years there this season. Kentucky looks a little down so far, but any conference team can be a dangerous one for a young team like the Gators (especially Tennessee so far).

In preparing for the bowl game the Gators football team got news of a couple of transfers: Josh Portis and Skyler Thornton. The Portis transfer made huge news, as his mother seemed to be one of the driving factors of all of it. Josh was a freshman QB at a major college fotoball program. He was behind a young quarterback in Chris Leak who has been pretty successful at UF. There did not seem to be any indication that there would be major playing time, especially after watching Josh struggle throwing the ball and fumbling in some of his appearances. If he is looking for playing time than D-1AA may be calling him. Perhaps that will satisfy his mom. I'm sad to see Thornton go, but I can understand it. He was low on the depth chart this year after proving he can run the ball pretty effectively in a pro style offense (last year with Fedora). Hopefully we see Skyler land on his feet somewhere he can make an impact, and hopefully that impact will not be made against the Gators.

Another subject I missed covering was the Tim Tebow recruiting process, along with some other pretty quality recruits making commitments to play in Gainesville starting next season. These are all great news, but there is not much to say other than that I am proud of the job that Coach Meyer and staff have done to get an EXTREMELY talented recruiting class.

I'll be around a lot more in the next couple of weeks.

Go Gators.

Lack of Updates; Outback Once Again

To anyone who reads this, or somehow gets tricked into coming here by other sites (EDSBS, etc.), sorry for the lack of posts as of late. I'm a college student in his final semester at UF, and there have been some pretty important school obligations to fulfill in the past week or so. I posted something quick about the FSU game, but didn't go into any kind of detail about what I thought about the performance. Anyways, we won. We killed them, and it was a very fun game to be at.

That being said, the Gators are going to Tampa again to take part in the Outback Bowl. And once again they will be facing the Iowa Hawkeyes...a squad that absolutely pummeled UF in their last January meeting. While meaningless bowl games don't really matter much in my mind...you can make an argument a win gives you momentum into next season, etc (I don't buy it)...I would still like to see the Gators show up and score some points, get some big defensive stops, and come out with a win. It would be a nice way to end my college student career football-wise (there have been no bowl wins since I arrived in Gainesville), and I think that a win here may actually do what everybody else says...give us momentum going into the recruting period and next season.

Iowa will be tough. They've got a pretty good quarterback in Tate, and some very nasty linebackers. The Hawkeyes definitely have their weaknesses (youth on the d-line, and injuries to key players on offense), but they will have the game from a couple years ago still on their mind, and they'll want to do that again.

Overall, I think this is going to be a pretty good game. Lots of defense, perhaps some turnovers. I don't expect a high scoring affair, but then again I haven't all season.

Go Gators!

Gators Nab Recruits After FSU Win

First you beat your bitter in-state rival by 27 points, then you grab a couple of great recruits. What a great weekend to be a Florida Gator.

After the astounding win over Florida State yesterday, a couple of very sought-after recruits gave verbal commitments to play for UF next season. The combo included 4-star Jacques Rickerson (WR, CB) from St. Augustine and 5-star Jarred Fayson (WR, QB) from Hillsborough Senior High. Another 4-star recruit, Bryan Thomas (WR, S), made his commitment official on Saturday.

These are good signs. Big time recruits want to play for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida, and that can only lead to one thing: Progress. The program seems to really be on an upswing, as many 4 and 5 star recruits have decided to commit to the Gators.

What a Beatdown

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Last night, as I was sitting at the game, I watched a game that seemed unreal. The Florida State Seminoles, who have always been the Gators toughest opponent, looked helpless. They looked a lot like the lower-tier teams of the SEC used to look when they would waltz into the Swamp during the Gators domination days in the mid-90s. Florida State QB Drew Weatherford was getting knocked down left and right, they were turning the ball over, and the Gators were sustaining very long, clock-draining drives almost every time they got the ball.

Florida State's program is at a crossroads. Jeff Bowden is an atrocious OC, and his daddy looks lost. There is tons of talent in Tally as always, but for some reason none of it is clicking. It seemed to be the start of a great season after a season-opening win against the Hurricanes, but after this current three game losing streak, it looks as if Bobby and the Seminoles are in some pretty big trouble...at least by FSU standards. A change may have to come, whether it be a Bowden resignation or a change in the assistant coaching staff on a pretty large level.

Meanwhile, it feels good to beat Tennessee, UGA, and FSU all in the same season, even if it a couple of them are having down years and the others had a backup QB in. I just wish the Gators could have cashed in and were playing in Atlanta for their next game.

I will post some on-the-field analysis later on. This was a pretty game by no standards, but the Gators did some things that looked very promising as the program seems to be on the upswing.