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While making a speaking engagement in Arkansas this week, Bob Tebow, father of QB Tim Tebow, said he talked very little with his son about football after Saturday's Ole Miss loss.
Instead, he did what any father would do. Remind his son how much he's loved and that it's not the end of the world.
Here's Bob Tebow's story on life and parenthood.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said Monday that his decision to hold an unprecedented Sunday night practice after the devastating loss to Ole Miss was based on a pressing need to get around the players, deal with the loss as a team, then get ready to move on to the Arkansas game this week.
“I had to get around the players,'' Meyer said. "We all had to get around those players and kind of have closure to a bad day.It was impressive the way they came out. We had a solid team meeting and made it real clear it’s a long football season.’’
Since Meyer arrived four years ago, Sunday's have been reserved as an off day. The team practiced for approximately 90 minutes, and Meyer said there was also a team meeting where players and coaches had an opportunity to get some things off their chest.
"I liked the way we approached it,'' Meyer said.
The Gators are taking today off, so players were off-limits to the media.
Kickoff for the Oct. 11 Florida vs. LSU game will be at 8 p.m.
CBS has announced that the game will be televised as part of a double-header that day, including Tennessee vs. Georgia at 3:30 p.m.
The SEC contract with CBS requires a once-yearly double-header on CBS.
Florida went from poised to being among the Top 3 in the nation to tumbling right out of the Top 10 in a matter of a few days.
After No. 1 USC lost to unranked Oregon State late Thursday night, the Gators needed only to beat lowly Ole Miss, a team that had nine straight SEC losses dating back to 2006, to most likely move into the AP poll's Top 3.
Instead, the Gators suffered a stunning loss to the Rebels and on Sunday were dumped out of the Top 10 and into a No. 12 ranking. Florida is ranked No. 13 in the ESPN coaches poll.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday morning his only concern is correcting the many mistakes Florida had against the Rebels and getting the Gators ready to play at Arkansas on Saturday. He insisted all Florida's goals remain intact.
"It's not the adversity or it's not injuries that you have to worry about happening,'' he said. "Those are all going to happen every year. In the history of college football, it's all happened. It's how a team, how a player, how an athlete, how the program reacts to it. Tough loss, devasting loss. however I think there are two good teams in our league with two losses already in the league. Vanderbilt and Kentucky are the only undefeated teams in the league and there is a lot of great football out there of course. Our focus is to correct mistakes and let's get ready to go on the road and get our fourth win.''
Here is the Top 10 of the AP poll:
1. Oklahoma.
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Missouri
5. Texas
6. Penn State
7. Texas Tech
8. BYU
9. USC
10. South Florida
Georgia, which was No. 3 before its loss to Alabama, is ranked No. 11.
At the end of his postgame press conference Saturday afternoon, a highly-emotional QB Tim Tebow told reporters he wanted to send a personal message to Florida fans.
Here's the transcript of what he said.
"To the fans and everybody in Gator nation: You know what? I’m sorry, extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season, that was my goal. It’s something Florida has never done here. But I promise you one thing. A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country,play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. And you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season. And you will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of this season. God bless.''
Sophomore OL Maurkice Pouncey said this loss will either break them down or push the team harder to succeed. He expects the latter.
“If the team comes out how I know our team is going to practice, we’re going to come out even hungrier,’’ Pouncey said. “Now we’ll see who is going to wimp up and say, “Man we loss and it’s just like last year. And we’ll see who is going to come out be hungry and ready go to get it again.’’
As for the Florida staff, they have quickly reminded the players that the season is not over.
“The goal coming into the season is always how you win the SEC East and get to Atlanta,’’ offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said. “We control our own destiny still for that. That’s always the focus and that never changes. We can control whether or not we get to Atlanta. We still have our destiny in our hands.’’
Well, it was bound to happen sometime.
After holding opponents without a touchdown in the first half through three games, the Gators have given up a first quarter touchdown to Ole Miss.
QB Jevan Snead's 1-yard run and the Rebels' subsequent PAT has them up 7-0 with just over 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
It's the first time this season the Gators have trailed in a game.
If ever there was a reminder about those old sayings "On any given day'' or "That's why they play the game'', No. 1 Southern Cal's upset loss to Oregon State Thursday night was it.
But long before that game kicked off, Gator players insisted they had no intention of looking past Saturday's opponent, Ole Miss.
And let's face it, they shouldn't. Even though the Rebels enter the game with a 2-2 record and coming off a loss to Vandy, Mississippi is one of those teams that has stymied the Gators at times.
Remember last year's 6-point escape in Oxford? QB Tim Tebow sure does. He said this week that perhaps last year's team might have had a tendency to overlook the unranked Rebels, but not this group.
"Our team is pretty grounded and focused,'' Tebow said. "We won't be too worried about not taking Ole Miss seriously. They are very talented and have a lot of athletic ability. They lost a few games they should have won, but still are a very good team.''
Any mention of taking the Rebels too lightly brings up memories of last season.
"We barely won that game,'' C Maurkice Pouncey said. "We had to run Tebow over and over all over the place. We know how good they can be. Don't even worry about that (not taking seriously).''
Okay, I know it's been a week now, but I keep getting e-mails with jokes about Tennessee and the Vols after their loss to the Gators last Saturday.
Here's one Gator fans might actually enjoy:
It was announced today that the US Government has offered Phillip Fulmer a position within FEMA. A spokesperson for FEMA stated that Fulmer was offered the position after witnessing how he could evacuate 100,000 people from a crowded facility in a fast, calm, and orderly manner on Saturday, Sept 20th.
When freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins ran onto the field last weekend in Knoxville, the reality finally hit him.
Playing in the first road game of his college football career, in front of 107,000, was a little more than he expected. Up to that point, the largest crowd he'd ever played in front of was about 2,000 at the high school "Muck Bowl'' in his hometown of Pahokee.
"It was loud,'' Jenkins said of Neyland Stadium. "People were wild and loud. I felt like, what am I going to do? I'm a freshman playing in this environment. There were more people there than in (all of) Pahokee. But I blocked it out after a couple of plays.''
Indeed he did. Jenkins had two tackles, one forced fumble and one interception against the Vols. Now he's battling Wondy Pierre-Louis for a starting job when the Gators host Ole Miss on Saturday.
"Janoris has played very well for us,'' UF defensive coordinator Charlie Strong said. "We felt like in the spring, he contributed well for us. The thing about it is he has no fear. And what you're so afraid of is, if he does get beat, how is he going to respond? But he's doing a great job for us right now.''
Jenkins, who won two state titles at Pahokke, said he's not so focused on being a starter right now because he's still learning.
"All of us are good corners, so I'm just trying to play my role on the team,'' he said. "But all of us are good corners.''
Jenkins said enrolling early and participating in spring football was a huge advantage for him entering fall camp. Most likely, he said, it's why he's playing so well now.
"The spring helped me a lot because when I first got here, I really didn't know the plays,'' Jenkins said. "But Joe Haden, Wondy, we got together, talked to all of them about the plays and that just got me into the playbook. It feels good to make plays for my team, help us get down on the offensive end and create turnovers.''
The 2008 Florida recruiting class has been ranked No. 18 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in its 26th annual rundown of NCAA Division I baseball recruiting classes released this week. Florida's 12 recruits include 10 freshmen and two junior college transfers, and the class is a nine-spot jump from last year's rating of No. 27.
"We are very excited about our incoming class," said second-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. "We expect a lot of these student-athletes to step right in and compete for playing time immediately. We feel as though we have found the right mix of players who value their college education and have the physical abilities and mental toughness to help the Gators on the road back to Omaha.''
Having committed 11 turnovers so far this season, Mississippi is hoping to stem the tide of mistakes when the Rebels travel to Gainesville this Saturday.
Story here.
Mississippi coach Houston Nutt has heard all the talk about Florida's offense being less productive so far this season. But having faced the Gators numerous times as the former coach at Arkansas, Nutt said he hasn't seen any letdown while watching the 2008 Gators on film.
"They look pretty good to me,'' Nutt said Wednesday.
Nutt said most likely what has happened is that the Gators' opponents are playing at a higher level because the opponent is Florida.
"When you go in to play Florida, every team knows they are going against the best of the best,''' Nutt said. "You've got Percy Harvin, (Chris) Rainey, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (Tim Tebow). So there’s weapons at every position. So I’m sure teams go in there feeling like to stay in the game, we’ve got to give our best. So you’re getting everybody’s best shot and probably a few more wrinkles thrown in they haven’t seen before. Maybe they haven’t scored as many points as last year, but I just see a team that’s very explosive.''
Junior DE Jermaine Cunningham was on crutches at practice Tuesday, still suffering from the after effects of a knee injury he suffered in the Tennessee game.
“I’ll know more (Wednesday), UF coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday evening. “Right now they are telling me he’s probable. He has a hyper-extended knee. We MRI-ed it, there’s not cartilage damage, no ligament damage. It happened early in the game when he tried to tackle one of those backs in the open field and he played the rest of the game. I think he’s going to play (Saturday).’’
LB Ryan Stamper also remains probable with an ankle injury.
Tight end Aaron Hernandez practiced with a swollen knee on Monday, the result of an infection from a cut he sustained, but Meyer said he was fine on Tuesday and is expected to play on Saturday.
Despite the back-and-forth negative comments that have circulated since former UF recruit Jevan Snead decided not to attend UF, Florida coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said they have no hard feelings toward Snead.
Snead caused some controversy after he told a book author that one of the reasons he chose not to attend UF was because after he orally committed, the Gator staff began recruiting Tim Tebow. Snead said coach Urban Meyer told him Florida was recruiting Tebow as a linebacker. Snead eventually signed with Texas, then later transferred to Ole Miss.
On Sunday, Meyer denied that claim, and said he was very limited in Snead's recruitment. Mullen, who was his primary recruiter, said Monday night he became very fond of Snead during the recruiting process and continues to wish him well.
"He's a great kid, he comes from a great family,'' Mullen said.". . . I'm glad to see he's back on track and having a chance to get things moving in the right direction.''
Mullen said his relationship with Snead, and having seen him play so often, doesn't necessarily give the Gators an advantage in preparing for the Rebels this week. He said he's told the defensive coaches just two critical things about Snead.
"He's got a really quick release and he's an extremely accurate passer,'' Mullen said.
If you're a fan who likes the early-afternoon games, you're in luck the next two weeks.
On Monday, Raycom announced it will televise the Oct. 4 Florida at Arkansas game, beginning at 12:30 p.m. (That's 11:30 if you're traveling to Arkansas).
This week's Ole Miss game is also being televised by Raycom, with a 12:30 kickoff.
Junior return specialist Brandon James on Monday was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his outstanding peformance in Florida's 30-6 win over Tennessee last Saturday.
In the game:
- James accounted for 144 return yards, including a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.
- His punt return for a score came with 4:42 left in the first quarter and gave the Gators a 17-0 lead.
- On the game’s opening kickoff, James had a 52 yard return to the UT 44 yard line, which set up the Gators' first touchdown.
James is currently tied for the UF record for career punt returns for touchdowns with four.
"That's good news,'' UF coach Urban Meyer said. "Brandon James deserves that.''
Rumors that swirled all day Friday about an injury to Ahmad Black, and the potential of having freshman Will Hill start in his place were untrue.
Black is on the field warming up with the team, and Florida athletic officials said he's not injured and is expected to start when the game begins in about 30 minutes.
For a great many Florida players, today will mark their first appearance at Neyland Stadium.
But for quarterback Tim Tebow and receiver Percy Harvin, it's a return to a place they actually love to perform in. Tebow said this week that despite the fact Tennessee fans are relentless in their abuse of him, he enjoys playing at Neyland and at LSU most.
"It was awesome,'' Tebow said of his first trip to Knoxville two years ago. "It was exciting just to walk around pregame. Their fans get there pretty early and I like that because we’re in warm-ups. South Carolina’s fans get real rowdy before the game and I love that because I don’t want to wait around to get excited. Those fans get you excited by talking trash in pre-game and it gets you ready to go and gets you in the game. I remember that about Neyland Stadium. All the fans kind of chirping early really gets you going.''
For Harvin, it's the intensity at Neyland that was most memorable from his first trip.
"All I can remember is the stadium shaking,'' he said. "That was my first road game and pretty much my biggest game (up to that point). I can remember the crowd, it shaking and not being able to hear Tebow call the plays. I was a freshman and I didn’t really know what to expect. Now I’ve been there and I’ve played in a few more big games, so I know what to expect.''
Think UT coach Phillip Fulmer isn't fired up and ready for Saturday's game? Think again.
Like a presidential candidate, Fulmer went straight to the people this week asking fans to help the Vols knock off Florida for the first time in four years.
Check it out.
After a stunning loss in its season-opener to struggling UCLA, followed by a win over undermanned UAB, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said he hopes his team can play its best game of the season so far when the Gators arrive in Knoxville Saturday afternoon.
The unranked Vols are still reeling over the loss to UCLA, but Fulmer said now is the time to put that to rest and move on.
"This is always an exciting game to play in,'' Fulmer said. "We hope to play our best football game of the year. We haven't played quite as consistent as we would like to, and that's been one of the issues when we played Florida the last couple of years.''
The Gators have won 11 of the last 15 meetings against the Vols, including three straight. Fulmer said uncharacteristic mistakes have hurt the Vols.
"We've given up a play or two that really turned the game around, he said. "Last year, we turned the ball over late in the third quarter when it was still a close game, and a couple of years ago a couple of kicking game errors hurt. Those are things we've certainly got to eliminate for this game.''
Former UF running backs coach Stan Drayton will be on the opposite sideline when the Gators travel to Knoxville on Saturday.
Drayton, who spent three seasons under head coach Urban Meyer, left to join the Tennessee staff at the end of last season.
Meyer insists there are no hard feelings.
"I want everybody to better their family and do whatever they have to do, but that's part of the deal," he said. "I'm fine. We just have to move on."
Here's Drayton's take on the story.
Redshirt freshman DT John Brown underwent surgery Tuesday morning to repair a broken bone in his hand/wrist.
WILLIAMS CHANGING POSITIONS?
Redshirt sophomore Mon Williams could be making the change from RB to LB, coach Urban Meyer said. Williams was listed as the No. 16 national running back prospect by Scout.com out of Horn High in Texas, and played in eight games his freshman season. But last year, he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during spring practice and took a redshirt year.
"He's working a little bit on defense right now, but we haven't made that decision,'' Meyer said. "He asked, and coach (Charlie) Strong asked and he's taking a peek at him at linebacker. It's not a for sure change.''
DUNLAP NOT UP TO PAR
DE Carlos Dunlap has struggled to live up to the expectations the coaches had for him coming out of spring practice.
"He's not answered the bell like we thought,'' Meyer said. "He's not playing horrible, but he's not that Jarvis Moss-type guy we thought he was going to be. He's still young, he needs to learn to cut it loose a little bit better. He's a young player and at times he acts like it. When he doesn't, he's a tremendous player.''
Over the past week, we solicited questions from you about the Gators, which we passed along to Times beat writer Antonya English. Here are the questions and answers, in preparation for Saturday's SEC opener at Tennessee:
Q: Why so you think the running game is so ineffective vs. teams with strong D'lines? Besides the obvious, I mean, why is Urban's running offense so bad when we play really strong teams? I'm not being critical, just looking for an explanation. We can't run the middle at ALL, which leads me to why wouldn't this open up the passing game more? Or is it we don't have the time (in the pocket) to open up the passing game since the defensive push is so quick? Just would like some of your thoughts on this. -- Rich
A: The offensive line is essentially playing with a freshman center, so that’s a factor in what opposing defenses are able to accomplish in stopping the run. Maurkice Pouncey is a sophomore, but is a first-time starting center. And let’s face it, until now, Florida just hasn’t had a great running back under Meyer. Also, Meyer’s offense is predicated more on East-West running as opposed to North-South, so runs up the middle aren’t going to be as frequent, although they continue to hope that Emmanuel Moody (below, left) and Kestahn Moore will emerge as strong weapons in this offense. So far, Meyer has been using Tebow sparingly to keep him from being pounded often and early, but expect to see more of him where he’s generally been successful in the run game -- draw plays up the middle.
Junior LB Brandon Spikes said Monday there's no doubt in his mind some Tennessee players quit playing hard early into the Gators' 59-20 victory over the Vols in Gainesville last season.
"They kind of gave up,'' Spikes said. "Our whole program is about (when) backed up against the wall you've got to keep fighting. We saw them give up. They quit playing. I know they are going to be pretty jacked up.''
A similar claim had been made by former Gator special teams player Derek Baldry last season. Baldry said after the game that a UT player told him during the game he wasn't going to rush the Gators on a PAT near the end of the game because of fatigue.
"That kind of surprised me, for him saying I don't want to rush,'' Spikes said. "But I know they are not really as tough as us.''
Not surprising, Spikes' comments are all over Vols message boards, and fans and players aren't happy. But apparently at least one UT player, senior DT Demonte Bolden, backed up Spikes' claims.
Here's the link.
As the Gators prepare to travel to Knoxville for the SEC-opener against arch-rival Tennessee, Percy Harvin, the dynamic RB/WR who is the poster child for Florida’s big-play potential on offense, has declared he’s “100 percent healthy” after a long recovery from offseason heel surgery.
“One hundred times better,’’ Harvin responded Monday morning when asked if he feels better than he ever has.
Harvin said he hasn’t felt this healthy since he was a high school sophomore. He described the pain in his foot prior to surgery last April as “somebody stabbing you in the back of the foot.’’ That was any time he cut, planted, ran, lifted weights – pretty much everything he did. Now he’s hoping that Saturday he’ll return to his role as a critical part of the Gators’ offense.
“Coach (Urban Meyer) came to me and he said he’s ready to cut me loose,’’ Harvin said. “With all that said, I assume so, but I can’t guarantee it.’’
Meyer didn’t make promises, but said Harvin will be a part of the offense this week.
“We’re going to involve him a little bit more this week,’’ he said. “That’s a talented guy.
The Florida vs. Mississippi game on Sept. 27 will be played at 12:30 p.m. at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida athletic officials announced today.
The game will be broadcast live on Raycom Sports.
For the first time in league history, five SEC teams are ranked among the Top 10 in the latest Associated Press college football poll.
Georgia (3), Florida (4), LSU (6), Alabama (9) and Auburn (10) comprise five of the Top 10 teams, although that most likely will change next week because LSU and Auburn will face each other this weekend.
Here are some other SEC tidbits:
The SEC continues to have the nation's top non-conference winning percentage. The SEC is 23-3 against non-conference opponents, an 88.5 percentage. Since 1992, the SEC has won 77.0 percent of all of its non-conference games.
After three weeks, SEC stadiums have been filled to 98.29 percent of capacity. In 22 home games, SEC stadiums have seen 1,658,370 fans, an average of 75,380 per game.
The LSU-Auburn game this weekend will feature two of the three winningest programs in the SEC since the 2003 season. Since 2003, LSU is 58-10 leading all SEC schools while Auburn is third at 53-14. Georgia is second at 54-14.
The Florida-Tennessee tilt this weekend will see two fo the three winningest programs in the SEC since the 1998 season. Since 1998, Florida is 95-34, second among SEC schools, while Tennessee is 94-35, third of SEC schools. Georgia is 1st at 100-30.
Urban Meyer was involved in helping plan Florida's 2008 schedule, so it's not like he didn't know who his opponents would be this year. But as he began preparations for Tennessee this week, Meyer said he realized that playing a team that finished in a BCS bowl last season and arch-rival Miami might have hindered the Gators in some ways.
Particularly the Florida reserves, which didn't see nearly as much time on the field as they might have if the Gators had opened with less formidable opponents.
"It's risky,'' Meyer said. "To be honest, I don't like playing a BCS team, then another team with some of the best players in college football. It gets your attention, but it's risky. You don't ever get your backup quarterbacks in the game. That's one thing positive about playing an overmatched team. I always like to play at least one (backup QB) and get some rhythm going and get some numbers and get other guys out in the open field and going. But when you play the teams we play this year, it's tough.''
Meyer also defended his Gator offense against criticism that it's not clicking so well two games into the season. The Gators scored just one touchdown in the first three quarters against Miami.
"We could schedule Northeastern, Southwestern, I'm not sure what we've got out there, but there's a bunch of them,'' Meyer said. "We didn't do that. We played two hard-nosed football teams. . . You're not going to see some of those 78-0 stats. We've had some of those games, too. You've got to do what you've got to do.''
Now that the Gators are entering SEC play, Meyer said everything changes from here on out.
"It's time for the SEC and when you flip on the film, the film looks a little faster and it's very physical,' he said. "When you're preparing non-conference and then all of a sudden you fire up that SEC film, you can tell you're back in the best conference in college football.''
Former Bucs and University of Miami star Warren Sapp called UF coach Urban Meyer ''a classless dirtbag'' for kicking a field goal late in the Gators' 26-3 win over the 'Canes on Saturday.
Sapp made the comments on a Showtime conference call Tuesday for Inside the NFL, the Miami Herald reports. "It's coming back in a big way'' when the teams meet again in 2013, Sapp said.
(Pictured: Warren Sapp, left, chats with a Hurricanes fan before the 2003 Miami-Florida game. Times photo -- Carrie Pratt. Click to enlarge.)
The new Sporting News magazine, which hits newsstands today, includes the magazines rankings of the top 60 Division I-A (or Football Bowl Subdivision) quarterbacks.
UF quarterback Tim Tebow by his own admission hasn't gotten off to the best start so far, but is ranked No. 2 behind West Virginia's Pat White.
The rankings were compiled by Sporting News college football writer Matt Hayes and are based solely on college accomplishments and value to their college teams, not on quarterbacks’ pro potential.
Check out the rankings below:
1. Pat White, West Virginia
2. Tim Tebow, Florida
3. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
4. Chase Daniel, Missouri
5. Matthew Stafford, Georgia
6. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
7. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
8. Mark Sanchez, USC
9. Cullen Harper, Clemson
10. Curtis Painter, Purdue
11. Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic
12. Kellen Lewis, Indiana
13. Willie Tuitama, Arizona
14. Todd Reesing, Kansas
15. Max Hall, BYU
16. Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
17. Todd Boeckman, Ohio State
18. Nate Davis, Ball State
19. Josh Freeman, Kansas State
20. Jake Locker, Washington
21. Matt Grothe, South Florida
22. Hunter Cantwell, Louisville
23. Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP
24. Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
25. Colt McCoy, Texas
26. Brian Johnson, Utah
27. Juice Williams, Illinois
28. Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State
29. Kevin Riley/Nate Longshore, California
30. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest
31. Tom Brandstater, Fresno State
32. John Parker Wilson, Alabama
33. Brian Hoyer, Michigan State
34. Chase Clement, Rice
35. Chase Holbrook, New Mexico State
36. C.J. Bacher, Northwestern
37. Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee
38. Stephen McGee, Texas A&M
39. Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green
40. Sean Glennon/Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
41. Thaddeus Lewis, Duke
42. Daryll Clark, Penn State
43. Case Keenum, Houston
44. Cody Hawkins, Colorado
45. Adam Weber, Minnesota
46. Patrick Pinkney, East Carolina
47. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
48. T.J. Yates, North Carolina
49. Drew Weatherford/Christian Ponder/ D’Vontrey Richardson, Florida State
50. Mike Teel, Rutgers
51. Justin Roper/Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
52. Joe Ganz, Nebraska
53. Jevan Snead, Mississippi
54. Andrew Hatch/Jarrett Lee, LSU
55. Andy Dalton, TCU
56. Tyler Lorenzen, Connecticut
57. David Johnson, Tulsa
58. Chris Todd, Auburn
59. Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
60. Taylor Bennett, Louisiana Tech
Earlier this week on a deadspin blog post, ESPN's Erin Andrews was taken to task about her coverage of UF QB Tim Tebow and the Gators. (So, too, was ESPN's apparent love affair with the Gators).
The blog post read:
"ESPN's love affair with Tim Tebow is well established. Hell, America's love affair with Tim Tebow is well established. But, even still, did Gameday really need to bring us multiple segments featuring a shirtless Tim Tebow working out? I didn't think the day would ever come where I'd want more footage of Tebow performing circumcisions but, yeah, it did. It's time Vegas starts offering odds on what Tim Tebow's dark side actually is. I'm convinced it's something seismic.
Like ESPN is going to do a story from Tebow's apartment where a shirtless Tebow will be reclining on his couch when suddenly 28 little naked Filipino boys keep walking into the room. Speaking of which, how overwhelming was the sexual tension when Erin Andrews interviewed Tebow after the game. Like televised viagra. Is ESPN going to have to pull Andrews off Gator games soon?"
Well Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette caught up with Andrews, who defended her coverage of UF, her alma mater, and addressed other rumors. Here's the column.
Florida is off this week, but there's plenty of other action in the SEC this weekend. Here's a look at some happenings around the league this week:
LSU
LSU is expected to announce later this afternoon whether its game against North Texas will be played in Baton Rouge or moved due to Hurricane Ike. School officials have been in contact with officials from the Georgia Dome and Texas Stadium as possible site changes if weather won't permit the game to be played at Tiger Stadium.
"Our administration did everything they could to prepare everything based on the information on the path Ike might take,''' LSU coach Les Miles said. "The people at Texas Stadium and Atlanta gave us a choice of which we might use based on the path of Ike. Based on the path, playing in Tiger Stadium is much preferred and hopefully that will be an announcement that is made later this afternoon. We’re pretty optimistic that Tiger Stadium is going to be available. Looking at the path Ike is taking, the likelihood is good that we’ll have good weather.''
Miles said the disruption of the season opener due to Hurricane Hannah was a distraction for the players.
"It did feel like camp for another week,'' Miles said. "There has been some wear and tear on our kids, if not physically, emotionally. Youd’ be surprised by the loss of simple things, like electricity, and how it really affects the natural flow of the day. Classes resumed Monday and I think we’re really into the flow that we expect. So our team our guys in their view, have the right focus. And we’ve had a good Monday and Tuesday. I feel like things are going in the right direction''
SOUTH CAROLINA
Coach Steve Spurrier said Wednesday he's still trying to find a solid starter and quarterback.
"We’re trying to figure out who our best quarterback is right now.'' Spurrier said ". . . We’re trying to keep giving them both the chance to see which one is our best player. Things are going in the right direction.
The Gators will play No. 2 Georgia on Saturday without receiver Kenny McKinley, who will miss the game with a groin injury. As for the offense, Spurrier said the Gamecocks staff is still trying to figure out what the major problems are, and how to correct them.
"I don’t ever want to be one to blame it on the players and I’m not going to start now,'' Spurrier said. "It’s a combination of all of us - me, the quarterbacks, receivers, line, all of us. We haven’t had many big plays, we’re really struggling. We’re back where we were last year, ninth in the conference. We’re trying to get better.''
FLORIDA
Coach Urban Meyer has had great success as a head coach when he's had more than one week to prepare for a team, so having two weeks to prepare for the SEC-opener against Tennessee may be a huge advantage for the No. 4 Gators. Meyer said his success with extra time stems from haivng a solid staff and the bye this week is an added bonus coming off the Miami game.
"A lot of times later in the year, and certainly SEC play beats you up, but I think it's good because offensively we've got some kinks to work out,'' Meyer said. "I think any time you have a bye week before (facing) a bunch of excellent players like we're getting ready to play in two weeks, the University of Tennessee, it comes at a good time. But it's not like I have a bunch of guys who aren't ready to play, we're ready to play. I just think as far as preparation, one of the reasons we may have done well is I have a great group of coaches and we don't waste time. We're already knee deep in our opponent in two weeks.''
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The No. 2 Bulldogs will travel to play Arizona State in a non-conference game coach Mark Richt said will tell him a lot about where this team stands.
"We did the Arizona State game when everybody added the 12th game, and you have to remember that everybody needed an extra game,'' Richt said. "When you have an 11-game schedule and somebody drops you, it's hard because everybody else already has their schedule set, but this time everybody was looking for a 12th game.''
Richt said he and athletic director Damon Evans purposely went in search of a BCS conference opponent instead of, perhaps a lower-caliber team.
"We wanted to give our fans an opportunity to see the other side of the world (country),'' Richt said. "We thought it would be good for recruiting and college football, so that's why we did it. The talent base we're going to run into this weekend will be the best we've seen this season. Our best measuring stick of where we are will come after this Saturday.''
Despite their inability to run against Miami last weekend, UF coach Urban Meyer said he hasn't lost confidence in the Gators' running backs.
Of Florida's 89 yards gained on the ground, only 13 came from a true running back, Chris Rainey. WR/RB Percy Harvin also added 27 and QB Tim Tebow had 55 yards.
"I was disappointed in the numbers, not disappointed in the running backs,'' Meyer said. "Once again, give credit where credit is due: those were some really good defensive linemen (Miami) against a really good offensive line in major college football. The running backs played really hard. Were there a couple of missed cuts? Yeah, I think two of them. Are we dispapointed in the numbers? Yeah. That's why we practice everyday and work.''
Florida coach Urban Meyer said this week's bye is an ideal situation for the Gators, who are coming off a win over MIami and preparing to enter into SEC competition against Tennessee next weekend.
The Gators will practice four days this week, then take Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. A group of young players practiced about 45 minutes longer than the veterans on Monday, getting extra reps and attention.
"It's huge for us,'' QB Tim Tebow said. "It gives us time to get guys healthy and ready to go. And it gives the younger guys, who are two or three on the depth chart, it gives them an opportunity to really work and scrimmage like they are doing right now. And really try to get more game-reps and get game-ready. And it gives the other guys an opportunity to really work on what they need to work on, yet rest their bodies and recuperate from all summer, two-a-days and the first two games because we've got to get ready for the SEC grind.''
The Florida-Tennessee game on Sept. 20 will be played at 3:30 p.m. and televised nationally on CBS.
Junior DE Jermaine Cunningham was selected as the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, the league announced Monday morning.
Cunningham had nine total tackles in a 26-3 win over Miami Saturday night, including five solo and two for losses.
The three points is the fewest the Gators have allowed against the Hurricanes since an 18-0 win in 1960.
Florida also held Miami to just 140 yards of total offense.
Do you have a question about the Gators' wins over Hawaii and Miami or the Sept. 20 game against Tennessee?
We want to hear from you. Leave us a question in the 'Comments' area below, and Gators beat reporter Antonya English will answer them. We'll post a full transcript on Sept. 16, in preparation for the Tennessee game.
Former Gator golfer Camilo Villegas won his first title on the PGA Tour with a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship on Sunday. Fellow UF alum Dudley Hart shot a final round 65 to finish second.
Villegas shot a 2-under 68 for a two-shot win over Hart, who birdied the final two holes and earned a trip to the 2009 Masters with his highest finish in two years.
Villegas, a native of Colombia, finished at 15-under 265 for the tournament and earned a $1.26 million payoff, almost doubling his earnings from the rest of the 2008 season.
"It's awesome to be here,'' said Villegas, who sank three big putts on the back nine on Sunday to clinch the title. "Hopefully, it's the first of many.''
With the victory, Villegas moved up 23 spots into second place in the FedEx Cup standings. Hart moved up 53 spots in the Cup standings to 14th place and earned a spot to compete in the final event in Atlanta in two weeks.
Villegas and Hart were both four-time All-Americans at Florida. Villegas was a member of the 2001 NCAA National Championship team.
Despite scoring just nine points in the first three quarters against Miami Saturday night, Florida moved up one spot in the Associated Press poll, now ranked at No. 4 this week.
USC remains the nation's No. 1 team, followed by Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio State. The Buckeyes fell two spots to No. 5 after a lackluster 26-14 win over Ohio.
By the way, after two victories over ranked teams, East Carolina entered the poll at No. 14 this week.
Florida has a bye this week before heading to Knoxville for the SEC opener against Tennessee on Sept. 20.
Nothing like a big game to bring the state's best players to town, and this weekend will apparently be no exception.
Look here to see who'll be visiting with the Gators this weekend.
Does it get any better - or more difficult - than this?
Former Plant star Robert Mavre is expected to make his first collegiate start for Miami in front of more than 90,000 at Florida Field Saturday night, in front of a national television audience.
And while he'll be facing a Heisman Trophy winner with twice the experience he has, the Gators insist they won't take Marve lightly.
When asked about the difficulty of starting a freshman in that tough environment, Meyer said there's no hard and fast rule. In fact, he reminded people that it wasn't so long ago that Tim Tebow was in a similar situation - at Tennessee.
"It depends who it is,'' Meyer said. "Tim Tebow took that snap on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter in Knoxville. I don’t know how much more difficult an environment you can be in or situation you could be in. It depends on the individual. Alex Smith (former Utah quarterback), not a chance in the world you’d do that. You let him settle down and let him go play. With Alex Smith early in his career, we’d run him, just to get him whacked couple times. We’d do that in the game. With Tim we never had to do that. It just depends on the individual.''
The Gators expect the Hurricanes to try to take the pressure off Mavre by establishing the run early. But UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney said that doesn't mean they won't be aware of Mavre at all times.
"They have tremendous backs, but we know how important winning the battle in the trenches is,'' McCarney said. "(Marve) has never started one game, but he's been in the system for a year. We're aware of the talent. But would you rather face quarterbacks that have one start or no starts, or 40 starts or 22 starts, of course you'd rather go against a guy with a little bit less experience. But we know the talent those guys have.''
Considering the fact Florida and Miami haven't played each other annually since 1987, there aren't many people involved in either program that knows the rivalry first-hand.
UM coach Randy Shannon is among that select few - as both a player and coach.
Here's a look at his perspective on the series.
Former Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall (1980-83), will be honored with an on-campus salute at this weekend's Miami game.
Marshall will be recognized during the first time out of the second quarter in honor of his being inducted into the College Hall of Fame.
A commemorative plaque will be presented to the University of Florida for permanent display. Beginning with the Foundation's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1951, the on-campus salute has served as the first of numerous highlights for Hall of Fame inductees.
Florida players previously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame include Emmitt Smith (2006), Steve Spurrier (1986), Dale Van Sickel (1975) and Jack Youngblood (1992).
The 2008 Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the National Football Foundation's annual awards dinner, held at New York City's historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Dec. 9.
Urban Meyer has gone from searching for a consistent running back to have an abundance of runners in the Gators' backfield.
And for now, that's just fine with him.
Meyer said Wednesday the Gators aren't necessarily trying to find one solid starter, but will continue letting multiple players run the ball because each brings something different to the Florida offense.
"The positive is there's some good players,'' Meyer said. "The negative is they are kind of role guys. Kestahn Moore is kind of a salty, experienced guy that understands pass protection, makes very few errors and he's a very talented player. Then you've got the two real fast little guys (Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps) who actually take away from your pass protection and they are kind of a liability right now, so we have to be careful with those guys. And Emmanuel Moody is kind of an all-purpose guy that's still getting a complete grasp on the offense, but a very talented runner. And then you've got the Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow back there. So every week is different. How you practice is how you earn your carries in the game, and then how you perform in the game. So how do I see it shaping up? Right now, they'll all play and we'll just keep managing them and the hardest workers and best players will get the ball.''
Times Gators beat writer Antonya English discusses the Florida-Miami rivalry, how the Gators' defense matches up against the 'Canes' rushing attack, UM and former Plant High School quarterback Robert Marve, and the playing status of UF's Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes in an audio slide show.
(Pictured: UF running back Chris Rainey. Times photo -- Brian Cassella. Click to enlarge.)
For you longtime Gator fans . . . . remember Aubrey Hill?
Well, he'll be back in Gainesville this weekend - on the Miami Hurricanes' sideline. Hill is now coaching with Miami.
If you remember Hill, here's a story you may find interesting.
Junior return specialist Brandon James was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced today.
Here are his game highlights:
• Returned four punts for 95 yards, including one for a 74-yard touchdown (which gave the Gators a 21-0 lead in the second quarter) in Florida’s 56-10 win against Hawaii.
• He also rushed for 16 yards on three carries, scoring on a one-yard run in the first quarter and caught a 10-yard pass in the game.
• Serving as a gunner on special teams, he recorded an unassisted tackle.
Safety Ahmad Black was received honorable mention recognition for Defensive Player of the Week. He had five total tackles with two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
 If you bleed orange and blue, this blog is for you. The Gator Report is written by Florida beatwriter Antonya English and the staff of the St. Petersburg Times. We invite your comments and participation.E-mail Antonya English: english@tampabay.com |
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