Foley/Machen, I hope you're reading this.

Ditch Willy and his 8 year old boy haircut and tantrums. Florida regressed from a team featuring an unqualified and overworked interim coach and a sleepwalking coach who was counting his days until he was able to get out.

Go get Art Briles. NOW. You missed the boat on Sumlin. That's fine. Briles is right there. RG3 is going pro. The thought of rebuilding from the ground up with foolish fans might sway him.

Now, the easy path on this would be to suggest that Baylor is a decent gig - low expectations. Nonsense. This was their high water mark but you can rest assured, in 4-5 years when he's unable to duplicate that success because he's at BAYLOR and there are no RG3s just falling out of the sky every year, the fans will not care; they'll see 7-6 and wonder why he's "lost it"

If you're going to deal with foolish, unreasonable fans, might as well do it at a school that thinks 9-4 is a down year. That offense with Florida athletes would be a thing of beauty.

Now, his coaching history suggest he is, as Tim Riggins would say, 'Texas 4 ever" but with news of Mack Brown in line for an extension until 2017 and Sumlin getting the A&M gig, well, elite Texas options are off the table.

This guy returned Houston from the ash heap of history. He moved to Baylor and did the same. To say the man can coach is a gross understatement.

Now, having worked at Texas Tech under Mike Leach, he knows full well about meddlers, so that would be a deterrent.

However, with back to back shitty years, the "Urban Meyer shadow" really isn't a factor now.

I realize Briles isn't a spring chicken, but his experience has experience. And he apparently loves a challenge. At this point, what better challenge than restoring Florida to greatness with the SEC having expanded.

Also, we hear about Muschamp's inroads to Texas recruiting. Nonsense. he was there 3 years. There is no rapport. Briles has been there his entire life. THAT is inroads.

Get Briles.

Get him now !!!!!

I am thoroughly convinced they think us idiots.

I am thoroughly convinced that "Thud" is an idiot.

I am going to dissect some recent statements that are disturbing. Nobody expects Wm to have the deftness of a Belichick at this point. However, he's been around enough great minds to know how to keep his mouth shut.

I also will dissect the statement of a guy who has to pretend to be a sycophant, but first, WM >

There are a lot of reports circulating out there about who is going to be Florida's new strength and conditioning coordinator and who might be the Gators' new offensive coordinator.

But the reality is Will Muschamp isn't ready to fill either of the two vacancies on his coaching staff. That was the news from the UF head coach after the Gators' first Gator Bowl practice Tuesday.

“I haven't hired anybody,” he said. “I've talked to a lot of people at the strength position and the offensive coordinator's position. When I make the hire everybody will know. But no one has been hired, no one has been offered a job yet. So, that's it.”

Yeah, take your time Will. Leave the current roster (which has already been decimated by transfers) hanging. Also, leave recruits hanging.

There have been Internet and Twitter reports that Jeff Dillman, who works at IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, is going to be the new strength coach. He previously worked at LSU and Appalachian State.

But Muschamp said Tuesday he's still going through the process of identifying and interviewing prospects for both the strength coach and offensive coordinator positions.

“I still have people I want to talk to,” Muschamp said. “I've talked to probably six, seven, eight people so far. Again some people over Christmas. Some people this week I plan on talking to. Then after the bowl game.

So, you don't know how many people you've talked to ? It's not like you said "we." You said you are the one who has talked to people. Why don't you know how many you've talked to ? Will, you might not think it's a big deal, but as the man who is supposedly running the ship, you should know how many people you've talked to. And, if you don't, say several. This just keeps getting worse every day.

“I've never put a timetable on it because it's the right fit for Florida, it's going to be the best decision for Florida. It's an important hire, both of them are. I've talked to multiple people on both situations.”

Yeah, we heard you say that last year. Right when you also admitted to not being strong on offense and wanting to hire someone strong. Then you meddled and drove him away. Here we are a year later and you're spouting the same thing. Maybe Foley should revisit this and take his time making the right hire for the head job.

Muschamp declined to mention names of potential candidates for both openings.

“No. We're not going to have a public search,” he said. “I've talked to people and their privacy is important to me, too.”

Yeah, is it ever. Like declaring the interim is auditioning for the job ? Everyone knows that's the case but to actually say it in print....

One of the most obvious, and visible, candidates for the offensive coordinator's job is running backs coach Brian White, whom Muschamp named the interim offensive coordinator for the bowl game.

Muschamp praised the work White has done with the offense preparing for the Gator Bowl game against Ohio State.

“I don't know that I've learned anything. I know he's a good football coach,” Muschamp said. “It's reassured my confidence in him as a football coach. He's done a nice job preparing our football team. It's all about situational football and being prepared for those situations when they occur in the game.

Yeah, we know you haven't learned anything Will. As for being prepared, yeah, the hallmark of your tenure thus far is adaptation.

“As a play caller, you've got a knack for that. He did a great job for Barry Alvarez for, I believe, nine years and won a lot of football games. When you've sat in that role it's different than being in a role where you've never been in that situation at a big program, in the light, in the Rose Bowl. And Brian has done that. That's exciting to me.”

You BELIEVE ? Will, would it kill you to do some research before you open your cobbler gobbler please ? Also, he did a great job for Alvarez ? You mean he was a yes man who believed in three yards and a cloud of dust ? So excited for the direction the Mighty Gators are headed in !!!

Muschamp reiterated that the offense has not changed under White — and it will not change whoever he names as the offensive coordinator after the bowl game.

“We're going to remain what we do,” he said. “I like what we're doing offensively. We've just got to be more productive. That's simple. I like what we're doing.”
“There's not going to be a whole lot of change of what we do. Brian's and Charlie (Weis') philosophies are both the same. More than anything, it's my philosophy. It's what I want to be on offense, and that's where we're headed.”

That says it all, doesn't it ? So basically, the next OC has to run an offense not how he believes it should be run, but it must meet the criteria of a DEFENSIVE coordinator. This just keep getting better and better I tell you.

Muschamp said White's experience as a play caller weighed heavily in his decision to turn the offense over to White for the bowl game.

“No question,” Muschamp said. “Everyone has great ideas until they've sat in that chair.

Kinda like hiring an "up and coming" coaching prospect because he managed to miraculously coerce the best athletes in the country to play like.....the best athletes in the country ?

Then they understand the difference. They see the big picture, they understand all the things that go with running an offense or running a defense. No question his experience was very critical in our growth as an offense as we move forward.”

Yeah, sure Will. You mean like last year how you said you were deferring to an expert on O, now you believe you are one ?

Now, we have Pat Dooley. It's pretty obvious what his REAL thoughts are, but he has to placate the loyalists. I will argue against the "myself" entries.>

It shouldn’t be a debate.

But it is.

It wasn’t even being discussed in the Florida coaching offices during the holidays or on the bus ride over to Jacksonville.

“I’m just trying to win this game,” Will Muschamp said. “I don’t want to be 6-7.”
But in the Gator Nation, it was being discussed. And I can see both sides of the argument.

So … discuss.

Me: There is no way I let John Brantley play this game. What’s the point? We’ve seen what he can do. This was a lost season. 7-6 or 6-7, it will go down as the worst season of Gator football since 0-10-1. I’d let the two freshmen play quarterback. Maybe give them each a half.

Myself: Really? What a great message to send to your seniors. You ask for total commitment and then kick a guy to the curb before his last game of his career? Who are you, Todd Graham? Show a little loyalty to a guy who has been a Gator for life. Let him go out with some dignity.

You mean the seniors who are going through the motions, displaying full blown complacency and a sense of entitlement ? Who cares if you alienate them. Perhaps if the benching had come earlier, it would have lit a fire under them that seniors are subject to benching if they don't shape up.

Oh, and let him go out with dignity ?  He was given this whole season under Weis, having been given the benefit of the doubt that last year was a scheme issue. When it was apparent that the problem was between the center and the rb, he still remained the QB when healthy. He got his job back and in his last meaningful game as a Gator against their arch rivals, he unleashed his greatest bed shitting to date. The dignity ship has already sailed. Now you're simply advocating allowing him a chance to use a bit of Pepto in the hopes of removing the aftertaste of the vomit he choked on.

Me: Dignity? Behind that offensive line? He’s going to be chucking and ducking all game just like he did all season. I appreciate what Brantley did but he was 14-9 as a starter and six of those wins came against teams that were paid to be practice fodder. He’s under-.500 against real teams. He’s had his chance.

Myself: Look, he still gives Florida the best chance to win this game. He knows the offense and he’s a senior. He’s been through the battles and you know he’ll be fired up to finish with a flurry. He’s as healthy as he’s been since before the severe ankle sprain. I think he has one more big game in him. Don’t forget, this is a team that gave up 40 points to Michigan in its last outing.

Actually, he does not. He has nerves of egg white. He's playing against Meyer's new team. We've seen what happens to him when the pressure is on. The roster is stacked with read option guys. The best chance to win is Driskel running a read option as a one game stopgap.

As for being fired up to finish with a flurry, yeah we saw what happened against FSU in his last meaningful game against his arch rival. Supposing your theory is true, we want to see the ball handed to someone who can only get motivated after they outright shit the bed ?

Me: Yeah, against a mobile quarterback. If you base it on that one game, Florida should let Jeff Driskel have this game. Besides, this game isn’t about the 2011 season. It’s about 2012. It’s time for this program to move forward and out of the stench that was last season. This isn’t the last game of 2011. It’s the first game of 2012.

Myself: I might buy that if we knew who Florida’s offensive coordinator was going to be for next season.

I might peruse the catalog  if I thought the HC had a damn clue about what to do.

Me: Well, you’ve heard Muschamp. He wants to have some consistency. He doesn’t want to get away from what they’ve been running this year. So whoever it is will be running a lot of what they will be running in this game.

Myself: So what about the other seniors? You want to bench them as well? That will send a great message to recruits. Come to Florida where we use you up and toss you aside. I mean, have you ever heard of the concept of winning the last game for the seniors?

You know what else sends a great message to recruits ? No matter how unproductive and ineffective upperclassmen are, you aren't playing. Who cares if they practice well and play shitty, you sit. And if  there's a legacy player in front of you? Well, you might as well not even bother committing. Save yourself the transfer. Because if you do transfer and go elsewhere and succeed  at a high level, they'll call you stupid and accuse you of academic wrong doings while sheltering those who remain. They'll give you hell about owning a stolen laptop while covering for other real law breakers. They'll send you to the salt mines because your father told an outpost they'd have to cough up some cash for his church to get you to consider playing for a hole in the world instead of a national power. They'll do this, as their former QB and All Apple Pie Guy's family did the same thing, having managed to circumvent NCAA rules and obtain funding for their missions.

Yes, come to Florida, where the lazy and spoiled will play no matter what. Where DNA is the only true merit.

Me: Great, go win it for them. But if you want to bench them all it’s fine with me. Except Jaye Howard. Florida is too thin at defensive tackle.

Myself: Nice. So the one body you need will be allowed to play.

Wait, I thought the idea was to win ? What are those banners for ? Hey, let's commission a banner for JB. You are indecisive, and completely lacking awareness. You can't get out of the way of a helium balloon.  You are responsible for most of the things that went wrong with your tenure. Have a banner for enduring your own problems.

Me: OK, that came out wrong. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey were a big part of two teams that went 26-2 and won a national title. They’ve earned the right to go out on their terms. This debate was supposed to be about the quarterback.

Myself: Yes and what did you see out of either of the freshmen when they got their chances during the regular season that would make you think they can handle this assignment? Don’t forget, their offensive coordinator is in Kansas.

Actually, as it turns out, the offensive coordinator is still in Gainesville. He's looking for a lapdog to assign the title to so when the heat comes, there'll be someone to take the blame. What did I see from the freshmen ? Nothing, really. But I did see the same thing people talked about last year with JB being in the read option. What we do know is you have a read option qb on a roster still stacked with read option players. Oh, I don't know, maybe try to win the game with what you have ?

Me: I’m not saying that Brantley isn’t the best option to try to win the game. I’m just wondering if it’s the best way to get started on next season.

Myself: This isn’t about next season. Next season starts Jan. 3. Do you really want to see this team go out with a losing record?

Actually, yes, if it serves a greater purpose. A win with JB further deludes the masses because it will just bring forth a bunch of "what if" nonsense. Or, are you under the impression that winning an exhibition game against an out of conference team somehow overshadows losses to FSU, SC and UGA, nevermind LSU Bama and Auburn ? This is Florida. 6-6 overall, 3-5 conference record  finishing 7th overall and 3rd in the weaker of two divisions, ONE game better than Vandy IS a losing season.

Me: I’m just not so sure it can win with its senior quarterback. And because I’m not sure, I’d just as soon watch the other guys play and give them experience.

Myself: We’ll just have to agree to disagree. By the way, you have chicken wing sauce on your shirt.

Give him a chance. That's what we hear. Give him a chance.

From him we hear "it's Florida, we'll be fine"

Some benefit of the doubt was given first to Brantley, then to WM. Why ? Personnel. You know, a roster full of read option guys trying to play "pro style."

We heard about Weis' so called stubbornness with regards to play calling.

I call bullsh*t. It's all on WM. We heard about tension with him and Weis. We heard about him meddling. We've seen, since Weis left, him reiterate his "preference" which is loosely translated to an unwavering desire to be a boring Saban clone.

Here's the kicker - while the Wet Tissue, Daddy's Boy Brantley, was injured, what happened ? Nothing. Nothing at all. Driskel was injured at one point but then was demoted.

Brisset showed more poise, but here's my issue and it's the crux of the matter with Muschamp - he had a roster full of read option personnel and he had a read option QB sitting on the bench. Why the F*CK didn't he use him ? Are you f'ing kidding me ? Maybe Driskel sh*ts the bed even running the read option. However, what we know is he showed a lack of poise running a "pro style" offense just like JB did running a read option.

What ever happened to going to battle with what you have ? He had an OC with multiple SB rings, one of the most decorated minds in the history of the sport, who made a name for himself by using a philosophy of planning game to game, rather than using one system and sticking to it. Yet, the wonderful mind of Florida's head coach, instead of tweaking the style to accommodate what he had on hand, insisted on forging ahead.

Adazzio took a lot of heat for doing the same thing but there's one key difference - Adazzio didn't actually didn't have the proper personnel to really fall back on, hence the Reed/Burton makeshift plan. Muschamp DID have the players in reserve. Yeah, JD was a true freshman, but the beauty of the read option is the running component simplifies it enough so that a true can come in and not be subject to as much of the usual "nerves" symptoms that a tosser is subject to.

So, yeah, it's all on WM. I want him gone yesterday. I don't care about being patient - Florida is not the place for OJT; get the OJT at FIU or FAU or some other kiss your sister program.Remember when VP Biden said about Obama that the Presidency isn't something that lends itself to on the job training ? People kind of forgot about that since BO named him his running mate. Same idea applies here.

The powerhouses are for powerhouse coaches, not some first time head coach whose only real accomplishments have been crafting top flight defenses with the best defensive players in the country. So basically, because he didn't shit the bed we're supposed to believe he's a brilliant mind ? Gary Patterson is a brilliant mind. Sorry, I just can't help but think of Chris Rock's "low expectation" skit.

Praising Will Muschamp for creating productive defenses with 4 and 5 star athletes is like hailing Greg Knapp as a good OC  because he scored points with Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, Ben Tate and Arian Foster. You're not a good mind at all; you simply have to NOT f*ck it all up and you'll be good simply by happenstance.

When you stop and think about it, there's really only one way to see it - WM is more interested in doing it "his way" than winning games and/or developing players.  He had the means to adjust, but didn't. So in other words, he'd rather do it his way and lose, than adjust and deviate and possibly win.

John Elway and John Fox caught major shit from people on here  for SAYING Tebow needs to change, while actually using a playbook tailored to his skills and yet, I still see a lot of silence in calling for WM's head for doing the very thing people feared Fox and Elway TALKED about doing, all because it's his first year.

This article is certainly a little late, but it's something I've been meaning to share, and with the impending Gator Bowl matchup on the way I'm sure this will once again be an ongoing news story as January 2nd approaches.

A lot of Gators feel betrayed by Urban, and feel that they were lied to.  This quote gets brought up often...

"But what I didn't want to have happen, and I made this clear to Jeremy [Foley], if I am able to go coach, I want to coach at one place, the University of Florida. It would be a travesty, it would be ridiculous to all of a sudden come back and get the feeling back, get the health back, feel good again and then all of a sudden go throw some other colors on my shirt and go coach. I don't want to do that. I have too much love for this University and these players and for what we've built."

-Urban Meyer, upon retiring from Florida.

How often?  In order to find the exact quote, I simply googled "Urban Meyer quote gators" and it was the first two results to come up.

It is a pretty damning quote, I will readily admit that.  From an outside perspective (which is all any of us have), we basically have a guy who says "uh, yeah I'm sick and want to spend some time with my family, but I'm a Gator and I always want to be a Gator and never want to wear any other colors" who then comes back a year later donning those ugly ass silver and red colors.

Both Urban and his wife Shelley claim that when he left he really had the intention to stay away for good, but the itch was just too much.  She recollects the walk they had together where he told her that he was thinking about coming back, and how much being away from the game was tearing him up.  Most Gator fans don't believe them.  I do, and here's why...

To explain this, I'm going to use an anecdotal experience from my own life.  Most of you are going to scoff at the idea of me comparing something so little to something as grand as the billion dollar college football industry, but I'm going to do it anyway so get your jokes in now.

Throughout my time at UF I was able to partake in eight glorious years of intramural football (4 years as an undergrad and 4 years as a spouse during my wife's grad-school run).  We had a pretty good run, with five final four appearances and two championships.  Yes, I'm about to compare something that happened in intramural football to something that happened in real football, but bare with me.  Besides, those of you that went to UF recently know how seriously and competitively that inner circle takes it.

After we won our first championship and continued doing well in the years that followed I began to feel that pressure to do well, both within that inner crowd that followed intramural football and with new teammates that I'd convinced to join the team.  I wanted to show them that we weren't a fluke, weren't lucky, and really knew what we were doing.  Like both Spurrier and Meyer alluded to in their roles, a win became nothing more than a relief and a loss was a disaster.  Again, keep in mind that this was intramural football.  There weren't millions of dollars on the line.  My livelihood and ability to provide for my family wasn't on the line.  There wasn't gobs of media attention watching everything we did (ok, so *shameless plug*, maybe there was some media attention).  If I felt that weight in a simple intramural game which had no consequences outside of pride, then I can't even imagine the amount of pressure that college coaches feel when all of that real stuff is on the line.

Nonetheless, I did feel a weight, and it led me to walk away with one semester of eligibility left.  After we won the championship in the fall of my last year, I was looking at an almost completely new group of guys in the spring.  I didn't want to go through the headaches of proving to everyone that I knew what I was doing.  I didn't want that weight of feeling like a loss would leave them of the opinion that "maybe this guy just lucked into it before".  So I passed up my last spring of eligibility and walked away with my last game being a championship blowout in the Swamp.

When next spring rolled around I could not possibly have regretted it more.  All I wanted to do was be back out there, "weight" and work be damned.  I thought watching some games would quench my thirst, but it only made it 10 times worse.  The corner is squatting on everything, a corner route out of the slot will each them up you idiots, just run that play!  I could do this so much better, just let me back out there!

When Urban left the Gators he did the worst thing he could possibly have done.  He joined ESPN.  I have no doubt that he got the thirst as soon as the 2011 season rolled around, but then to make matters worse the job he took had him analyzing those same games that he could no longer be a part of.  I can't imagine that Urban ever watched a game without thinking about how he would have done things differently, or what he could have done with those players.  Every time a coach punted on 4th and short from midfield it must have eaten him up.  Every time a coach kept his cool and didn't go on tilt and fake a punt from inside his own 20 when the offense was struggling he must have reminisced.  Every time a coach hoisted a trophy and hugged his players he must have teared up.

In Urban's final two seasons at UF he felt nothing but stress and the weight of expectations that he couldn't wait to get rid of.  Once he left, he realized how small of a price those things were to get back what he had.  Urban's ties to UF were always weak, but if the opportunity to come back a Gator were there, I think he'd take it, and I think he regrets leaving in the first place.  But right now, when the itch is too much to bear, the UF job isn't available.

With Texas A&M and Missouri both joining the SEC next season, we knew there would be some sort of change in the scheduling.

But we just didn't know what.

Various rumors have swirled that Florida will be going to College Station to play Texas A&M, and will be playing host to Missouri.

Texas A&M will also visit Missouri, its new permanent interdivisional rival.

Each team will have 6 games against its division mates if you will, one permanent inter division rival and one instead of two rotating.

Texas A&M has to play somebody from the East as its rotating opponent for two years (and at home, since home and homes, which is how SEC East and SEC West teams play each other every few years) and apparently it's going to be Florida. Lucky us, I guess.

But the problem (or at least what we don't know yet) comes when you realize that Florida is scheduled to complete the back end of the home and home with Auburn, and also that there's been no mention of postponing the front end of the home and home with Ole Miss, who we are scheduled to pay a visit to next year.

LSU is going to remain our permanent SEC West rival. However, again, instead of having two rotating SEC West opponents, there will only be one, which means that it will have to be an 8 game conference schedule like it's always been. But this could still really mess up the dates with our nonconference opponents.

Everything appears to have a tentative date, except for October 13th. That's the only date without a set game, and one of the rumored games will take place then.

My guess is that the Ole Miss game will be pushed back, even though nobody has ever said anything about that, because there has been talk of playing Auburn again. But then again, that's just talk.

From the opponent to the TV network, it's all quite tentative and nothing more than unconfirmed rumors, but this is my projection of what our schedule will look like in 2012 (*= subject for removal from schedule in lieu of game at Texas A&M, home game against Missouri, or home game against Auburn).

September 1: BOWLING GREEN FALCONS* (SUN SPORTS/PPV)

September 8: LOUISIANA RAJIN CAJUNS* (ESPNU)

September 15: @Tennessee Volunteers (CBS)

September 22: KENTUCKY WILDCATS (SEC Network)

September 29: @Mississippi Rebels* (ESPN2)

October 6: LOUISIANA STATE TIGERS (CBS)

October 13: AUBURN/@Texas A&M/MISSOURI

October 20: Bye week

October 27: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (CBS)

November 3: @Vanderbilt Commodores (ESPN2)

November 10: SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS (CBS)

November 17: JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS* (SEC Network)

November 24: @Florida State Seminoles (ESPN)

I posted this as a poll in the facebook group, and so far the results lean against it.

I personally have mixed feelings on this topic. Of course, I can't change history, but I do wonder what would have happened had Jeremy Foley backed down to Spurrier's demand of simply giving him the job.

But that leads to another question. Say we could change history. Do we as Gator fans really want to go back and undo the Urban Meyer era in exchange for more Spurrier days, presumably with similar results as his first run?

Of course, the hiring of Urban Meyer did lead us to 2 BCS Championships in 3 years, but it also led to back to back 5 (maybe more) loss seasons in which the offense was bad enough to counteract the juggernauts the Orange and Blue fielded in 2007 and 2008.

One thing that is for certain is that this team would never suffer a dip like this. Urban Meyer's offense, when run with the right players and play-caller, was literally unstoppable. But Dan Mullen was the co-generator of the offense, or at least watched Urban raise it from its infant stages to a multi-headed monster that even Nick Saban couldn't stop. Then there was Tim Tebow, who was born to lead the offense. A pinpoint accurate QB who was nearly as explosive a runner as Percy Harvin (in different ways, of course) was the cherry on the cake for Meyer, while his lethal collection of receivers (Louis Murphy, Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, David Nelson, etc) and running backs (Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody, Kestahn Moore etc.) would simply hide behind Tebow in the media and play the role of silent assassin to defenses.

Alone, one of those players would be useless. But blended together with a legitimate QB who was also a threat to run, these guys routinely hit 30 points and often eclipsed 50.

The problem with this offense is that it needs somebody who knows it inside and out aside from its creator to call the plays AND a QB who can both run and pass at an All American level, AND tons of speed around the QB.

The third part is relatively easy, but sadly, there's only one Tim Tebow. Meyer could teach the offense to somebody with intelligence (NOT YOU ADDAZIO, CALM DOWN) to run it, but it's still not the same without Tebow. Jeff Driskel might have been the second coming of Tebow but be honest, how likely is that?

Plug in Spurrier (and a young, hot offensive coordinator of his choice) for Meyer. Assume Spurrier retains Charlie Strong from Zook's staff and Strong works the same magic on the defense that he did with Meyer.

In 2005, Chris Leak would have had more chance to throw than he did with Meyer. He would not have been saddled with the heavy burden of being Meyer's guinea pig, meaning run as often as you throw. He had plenty of talent left over from Ron Zook (so I honestly say, thank you Zook) to work with. Maybe this offense wouldn't have been unstoppable, but it would have been better than it was in 2005. Many people forget that the offense never got their stuff together until the Western Carolina game (and they suck... in the FCS). It worked relatively well against FSU and Iowa. It never should have taken that long to bring success. If Spurrier, not Meyer, worked to retool Leak to HIS liking, the process would have been much quicker because Spurrier's use for Leak would have been closer to what he did under Zook than Meyer's use for him.

2006 would have certainly been better. That was Harvin's (and Tebow's) freshman year. Spurrier would have had a field day utilizing Harvin as his murder weapon of opponents. Not even like a knife to slice through opponents; more like a bludgeoning tool, like a huge piece of pipe. Or would that be Tebow, the freshman sensation? I do think Tebow would have thrown more passes than attempt rushes but it's hard to believe he wouldn't get the important short yardage touches. Nevertheless, it was the defense that won that championship. The offense was still a work in process in the overhaul from Zook retardation to Meyer success, and again, the transition to Spurrier's Fun N' Gun would have been easier than to Meyer's equally effective, but harder to build triple option spread.

Let's say they recruited the same exact players. Tim Tebow loved Florida partly because of Urban Meyer, partly because of the offense and partly because he loved the place. He probably would not have won the Heisman in 2007 without all those rushing TD's, but his passing numbers would have been unbelievable. He wouldn't have been used as the goal line bull all the time; he would have shared that role with Kestahn Moore, Emmanuel Moody and the fullbacks that never got their names called due to a profound lack of carries (NOT to say this was Meyer's negligence, it certainly was not, they were helpful in blocking, but that was all).

We all know that when told something to do or to change, Tebow listens and the piece of coaching is instantly incorporated into his game. His long delivery would have likely been corrected by his sophomore year.

Then look at the speed guys around him. Spurrier would have salivated over the thought of working with guys like Bubba Caldwell, Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey. Instead of running options and relatively short routes with receivers, Spurrier would have had them go deep much more often. We've seen Demps and Rainey catch the ball. They are capable of going long. With five wide and other crazy formations Spurrier could devise, tell me now, who could cover these guys in single coverage? If somebody actually could, that's great, NOW Tebow takes off and picks up yards on his own.

The production level might have been slightly lower in 2007 and 2008, and might have been better... but now we look at the last 3 seasons.

In his senior season, if Tebow decides he does need one more year of seasoning at UF, he would have been the best QB of all time without argument. We probably would have lost Harvin after his junior season anyway, so we simply plug in Rainey for 2-3 seasons. Watching film of both of them, Rainey's every bit as explosive. He simply hasn't gotten the space or opportunities to make the video game type plays Harvin made since 2008, when he ran wild behind Harvin and Tebow. Cooper, Hernandez, Nelson, Deonte Thompson and Demps are all back in 2009 so Tebow continues firing bullets all over the SEC to these guys en route to another successful season- maybe a BCS Championship.

2010 is where it gets interesting. I'll assume $cam Newton still was his own selfish and foolish self and threw a laptop out of a window. John Brantley is ready to take on all the responsibility of replacing Tebow, who still made a huge name for himself, just more with his arm and less with his feet. He'll have been trained by Spurrier and his pass-friendly OC for three years. It's much easier to replace Tebow now because he only has to match his passing production to be considered a Gator hero. He was doomed with Meyer, since he had to run like Tebow and throw like Tebow to fully be considered as a worthy replacement and live up to fans' ridiculous expectations. Take the running away and it's less to do to live up to the hype.

Let's just say he was the next Rex Grossman- great, but not Hall of Fame phenomenal. He would have flourished with Rainey resuming his role of slot/wide receiver, Andre Debose helping Rainey out, Demps driving DC's crazy with his Olympic speed, Deonte Thompson as the deep threat, Omarious Hines and Frankie Hammond as the wild card receivers (meaning, use them how you please, which I trust Spurrier to do well) and using Trey Burton and Jordan Reed as dependable tight ends.

Assuming Brantley was half his reputation as a pro style (or even a pass happy) QB, and assuming the line blocked fairly well, this offense would have been similarly unstoppable.

Then bring this exact same team back for 2011, and figure the results are the same. Brantley's self esteem has not been nuked like Hiroshima in 2010 with Spurrier, so there's no radiation with the everlasting effect that Addazio's spread-atomic bomb had. With Rainey and Demps as seniors, this is Florida's year to compete for championships. The blocking would need to be better, but Spurrier would never tolerate such foolishness as bad protection- he knows that in order to score points at will, blocking is key.

Now, let's take a look at projected results.

2005 would not have been a successful season anyway. There was still the Zook touch to overcome, and that would take at least a year even for a simpler offense than Meyer's triple option spread.

Florida went 9-3 under Meyer, and that's about what it would have been under Spurrier. The scores would have looked better, especially the 31-3 beatdown to Alabama, but the record would have been roughly the same. Figure an Outback Bowl appearance and win, just like it happened in reality.

2006 would have also been about the same- same record, better scores. Beating South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and FSU by a combined 35 points never would have happened. Kentucky in particular would have been blown out in big fashion. South Carolina and Georgia wouldn't have fared much better.

FSU in Tallahassee is always tricky but UF would have won by more than a touchdown. Georgia would have lost the game somehow regardless because of the curse we had on them at the time (and hopefully we still have). But a BCS Championship seemed a likelihood. Maybe Ohio State would have stopped our Fun N' Gun slightly better, but given the way they talk so much, probably not.

2007 is where it starts to get tricky. The defense was bad, granted, but where was the offense in the Auburn, Ole Miss, and LSU games? With a reliable offense, the Gators probably pound Auburn and Ole Miss with ease instead of struggling to work out the final kinks of Meyer's offense.

LSU probably still would have been a loss- in Death Valley, the #1 team in the nation- but the Meyer offense was silenced the entire 4th quarter. That's when Spurrier offenses are usually at their best, when the game isn't completely out of hand.

Our defense couldn't stop UGA, so that's a loss as well, but those are our two losses, so that wins us the SEC East in all likelihood in a three way tie with Georgia and Tennessee. Each of these three teams beat each other with identical records, and we win the three way tiebreaker. We would probably lose to LSU again in the SEC Championship, and wind up in the Sugar Bowl where we would pummel Hawaii for the first time in back to back games.

2008 might be the one season we have a drop off. Or it might be even more dominating. This was Florida's most talented team ever, and with Tebow now fully comfortable as a drop back first QB, defenses get overwhelmed. The only reason this season would be slightly less successful is because defenses have finally caught on to Spurrier's Fun N' Gun Round 2. Then again, our defense was lights out so it might not even matter.

There's no way Ole Miss wins in the Swamp because Spurrier treated Florida Field like Meyer treated rivalry games- we'll win the game, every time. That is all.

Alabama might have gotten us in Atlanta, but not likely. Tebow didn't run a whole lot compared to other games, only when he needed to. Bama couldn't stop the flood of receivers Meyer sent- they wouldn't have stopped Spurrier's crew, either. And Spurrier's offenses were (aside from the Fiasco Bowl) at their best in bowl games, so the Sooners would have gone down as well.

2009 saw our whole team coming back minus Harvin and Louis Murphy. There were still three NFL receivers for Tebow to choose from. Addazio took over the offense- and took it down. We saw Tebow dive, Demps dive, Rainey dive, and on third and long it would be Tebow-please-do-something-to-bail-me-out. And because Tebow is the monster he is, it worked sometimes. But not always.

Tebow's senior season would have been a reprise of his junior season- blowouts raining down on the SEC, no close calls, no exceptions. Then, for the second straight year, we have an epic showdown with Alabama for the SEC Championship. I still think Alabama wins due to the revenge factor but it's much closer than the 32-13 Addazio egg-laying. Our defense had a bad day and our offense never got on track once Alabama had adjusted to our 5-wide formations. I have to assume our defense wouldn't have stopped the Mark Ingram-Trent Richardson combo, but our offense would have made it much closer.

Then we blow out Cincy in the Sugar Bowl. They couldn't stop Addazio's offense; how would they stop a Spurrier offense with the talent on the team? And I repeat, Tim Tebow, Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez, David Nelson, etc. The only difference is that, well, with the right play-caller to utilize this talent, it would have been even worse than 51-24.

2010 is the hardest to call because I cannot say for sure how many players stay if they believe the team would be great again. After the 2009 season, Florida lost juniors Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap, Major Wright and Aaron Hernandez. Had they believed the Gators would remain a national contender, they might have all stayed. Who knows?

But let's say they all leave just to make it interesting. There's still a gold mine of talent to be used between Deonte Thompson, Frankie Hammond, Robert Clark, Omarious Hines, Jordan Reed, Trey Burton and the returning tailbacks, Mike Gillislee, Rainey and Demps. And then there's Mack Brown, who was buried on the bench. With John Brantley never facing the problem of Steve Addazio burning his confidence, he would have come out slinging it right away in an offense that suits him best.

Where to begin with the score differences? I guess I'll start from Day 1 when Miami Ohio stunned the Swamp by containing our comical Addazio-led playbook. For starters, UMOH would have been blown out. As in, 62-3, 63-5, 70-19 or some of the other ridiculous scores Florida hung on opponents with Mullen.

Basically, the Gators win their first four games by a combined 200 points (no big deal, it's Miami Ohio, South Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky) and then travel to Tuscaloosa, where we lose- but with honor. We'd be respected for giving Alabama a fight on their home turf.

We would return to blowout mode against LSU in the Swamp because their offense wasn't a whole lot better than ours was with Addazio. Mississippi State is impossible to call, since there's no way of knowing where Dan Mullen would wind up without coming to Gainesville with Meyer. But we'll say he's their coach. They'd give us a fight, but our offense would be way too much. The rest of our opponents go down in similar fashion, with FSU playing a little tougher than the rest.

Then, lookie here! We're back in the SEC Title Game, where Cam Newton tears up our rebuilding defense and outguns our offense and send us plummeting to the Capital One Bowl- where we wouldn't have much trouble with Michigan State.

2011, and we have that same team back again. We're now 100% confident in our abilities, we've taken our lumps and we're a year older, stronger, better. We blow out our first four opponents again, and Alabama will go down in a much less humiliating fashion, ie a tough game that's a replay of the 2010 game in Tuscaloosa with Spurrier. Then we'll travel to LSU and get humbled, we'll go to Auburn and absolutely smother them, assuming we catch the punts.

Georgia is where the season gets tricky. I'd love to say Florida wins big, but that's hard to say when they're playing as possessed as they are. It would be a similar game, with each team scoring a little more and neither team making as many mistakes. When Brantley would hit a big one (remember now, a pass heavy offense with a comfortable Brantley) Aaron Murray would simply respond with a bigger one. Both teams would trade scores until somebody makes a mistake- and that would be Georgia, who always makes mistakes against Florida, leading to a close Florida victory.

Then we'd win the rest of our games, until we'd get tripped up against LSU again in Atlanta. That places Florida in the Sugar Bowl as the #2 team from the SEC, where we would play (insert team here).

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Sure, this all looks a little unrealistic since I always have Florida in the top 3 of the SEC, but that's precisely what happened when Spurrier ruled the Gators from 1990-2001. They were always in the national championship picture, and always considered an SEC favorite. His teams went to 8 SEC Championship Games in the 10 years it was held during his tenure. That looks about the same as these predictions, don't they?

Now there may still be some of you saying that I'm ungrateful for all that Meyer did. That is completely FALSE. I love Urban Meyer and will never be able to thank him enough for all he did for Florida.

But the truth is, Ron Zook left whoever took the job after him at a great starting point. He had a very talented team. It just took a great coach to get the wins expected from such talent. Both Spurrier and Meyer were qualified to do just that.

The difference is, Meyer's offense takes much longer to master and must have the perfect set of players. Spurrier's offense was easier to learn and did not require player types x, y and z. Tebow was compatible for both offenses, or at least would be with Spurrier teaching him how to become a drop back QB. Brantley and Leak were only compatible for a drop back QB pro style offense. The skill position players- Harvin, Rainey, Demps, Caldwell, Hernandez, etc. were also compatible for both offenses.

But the QB is the position that matters. Your QB must be able to do something for your offense to function. Even LSU has a decent QB, Jarrett Lee. He can do plenty of things to help the offense- and does quite often.

So basically, Tebow wouldn't have been the Tebow that we have come to know and love. He would have been a better passer, but would not be the dual threat he was under Meyer. It's a minor setback. Tebow is still a QB, and an adequate passer at worst and a great one at best. It's because of the misuse of John Brantley and, to a lesser extent Chris Leak that makes me think we'd have been better of with Spurrier. With Meyer, there were great years, just like under Spurrier, but then there were completely un-Spurrier-like years as well. Swap the Zook-esque records in 2007, 2010 and 2011 for the worst Spurrier records- 2 losses- and it's easy to see why I at least considered this.

People do forget how dynamite the defense was when Leak was our QB. He's definitely more mobile than Brantley, and Brantley's definitely a better passer. We won 9 games and then a BCS Championship with Leak and Meyer due to our smothering defense and truly special special teams, not because of Leak. He was never thought of as a potential NFL QB. Brantley was- until Addazio stepped in and ruined him. I'm thrilled for Leak because it wasn't really his fault, and feel horrible for Brantley because he had even more hope than Leak in the future and he didn't have the great defense nor the somewhat adequate coaching behind him.

Do I think our bad seasons were Meyer's fault? Not really, he was hired as UF's head coach and his thing was an eccentric offense. It won us lots of games, and was at least partly responsible for 2 BCS Championships. He just needed the perfect QB to run it and there's only one: Tim Tebow. Tebow was born to run this wacky yet effective offense, and he did. My theory is that Meyer couldn't find another QB like him, and in his desperate efforts to either find one or make one out of Brantley, suffered severe stress and eventually heart problems because it was simply too difficult.

So I say with all my heart: thank you, Urban Meyer. You did things for our program that has never even been dreamed of. My only problem with you is that everything had to be perfect in order to work, and when it wasn't perfect, it was disgraceful. I understand fully that the spread offense is your specialty, and it's what you used to win. But Spurrier's offense doesn't cause heart issues, and when it isn't perfect, the result is usually an SEC Championship Game loss to a top 5 Alabama team. The potential results were the same, but Spurrier's offense had less margin for error and less severe consequences when not perfect.

But I will let you guys, my readers make the call.

After reading this and thinking about it, would you rather Jeremy Foley have swallowed his pride, given in to Spurrier's selfishness by declaring that he didn't need to interview for the job again and simply re-hired him?

You guys can take whatever side you want. I'm not even saying which side I'm on; it's just that it appears a stupid question at the surface since Meyer won more championships in fewer years. I'm just making the Spurrier side clearer; the Meyer side is easy to argue without thinking about this.

So I'm not voicing my opinion, at least not yet, until you guys take whichever side you choose and argue (hopefully respectfully, but why wouldn't we, we're all one big happy family).

Let me just clarify a few things right away.

People think I am against Brantley from a hatred perspective. Not at all. Brantley seems like a nice kid whose timing in life was horrible, through no fault of his own.

When I say he doesn't have "it" that's not a slight to him; it's not his fault. A person can't make "it" as you either have "it" or you don't. If someone is not born with it, it's not their fault.

Seems to me Brantley tried to carve out his own niche but then was made to go to Florida and coaches were made to accept him, because of who his family is and what the power brokers want.

With regards to 2010, for sure it was part Adazzio but it was part Meyer and Brantley as well; Brantley in so far as he made terrible decisions. Again, not really his fault; he didn't give himself the recruiting ratings, and he certainly didn't create his own hype. He was a 4-5 star producer in a 2 star league with 2 star talent. Again, not his fault.

Now, this year, I blame the coaches. You know I think they should have been playing the kids to gear for the future. Whatever, it is what it is. However, vs Georgia, Brantley got a raw deal. The gimp QB was a sitting duck for the rushers to just pin their ears back and go mad dog. I don't even blame the line - one tackle had a cast on his hand and the gameplan forced them to do the impossible - slow a rush with ZERO amount of unpredictability.

Call this a short leash, but I want this regime gone. I tried to be excited, but it's a disaster. Why they are playing the guys who are leaving is beyond me. Loyalty ? "Experience?"

It sure as hell doesn't seem like they are playing the best. Of course, perhaps the youngsters are just plain awful.

I am thoroughly disgusted. This is WORSE than Zook. Worse than Adazzio. Think about that.

Those of you who remember, remember me clamoring for Kevin Sumlin. That still stands. Larry Fedora even, but preferably Sumlin. I know some might be inclined to tether Fedora to Zook but Fedora was good in spite of Zook. Sumlin, while coaching in CUSA, has a great resume. Of course, there may be other factors at play, some of which may have been at play with regards to Charlie Strong.

Regardless, while it may seem unreasonable to think it's hasty to be down on this current regime, can anyone say with any certainty that this team is improved from the Phantom Meyer and Sieve Adopeyo era ?

This is my take on how the Florida Gators arrived at their current state of affairs. Yes, they have just come off an impressive run, but it’s not without serious questions. Now, it seems the Gremlins are creeping out of the woodwork.

I have some theories on the goings on, and they pertain to a series of events that have transpired over the better part of the past 10 years.

First, I will start with a listing of relevant events. After I list the events, I will connect the dots with opinion and conjecture based on interpretation and extrapolation. That, and knowing a thing or two about how “spin” works.

These are the facts, in chronological order.

These are FACTS and they are INDISPUTABLE. I’ll connect the dots later but, for now, I’ve condensed them here. Reviewing these things that happened over the years paints a pretty clear picture of things and shows the ugly and cutthroat side of what some people still delude themselves into thinking is an amateur “sport” instead of a professional BUSINESS.

• Bernie Machen, having left his post at Utah, begins tenure as president in January 2004
• Ron Zook fired at end of 2004 regular season.
• Steve Spurrier removes his name from consideration
• Urban Meyer leaves post at Utah in 2004 and chooses the Florida job over his dream job.
• Notre Dame hires Charlie Weis as their plan B; Urban Meyer is at Florida now.
• Cam Newton, who is bigger, faster and with better mechanics than Tebow, commits to Florida in Sept 2006
• John Brantley, whose skills are the opposite of what is needed to run the spread and who’d been proactive in his commitment to Texas, decommits in December 2006 then commits to Florida, where his family played. Brantley also, it is said, mentioned not wanting to be away from his girlfriend was a factor.
• Cam Newton wins the primary backup job for 2007, seeing limited action while Tebow was in the midst of his Heisman campaign, but flashed a lot of potential.
• Florida signs no QB in 2008.
• Cam Newton and John Brantley, according to statements from the team, supposedly were fighting for the backup job in Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen’s SPREAD offense with Brantley supposedly winning the #2.
• September, 2008, Meyer’s book “Urban’s Way” comes out and it mentions the three teams his wife has no Veto power over – Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State.
• Cam Newton, supposedly #3 on the depth chart, is the first off the bench and injures ankle in opening game then is redshirted for the season. John Brantley now has no competition.
• Wednesday, December 10 2008, after having just won the SEC championship and en route to a BCS title game, Meyer declares again that Notre Dame is still his dream job.
• Wednesday, December 10 2008, Dan Mullen announced as new HC of MSU, leaving the Florida job, with formal announcement to happen December 11, 2008.
• January 5, 2009, Cam Newton announces his departure from Florida.
• January 8, 2009, Gators Win BCS title game over Oklahoma.
• January 11, 2009, Tebow announces his plan to return for his senior season.
• Florida recruits athletic QB Jordan Reed in 2009.
• August 2009, Meyer offered a 6 year contract extension.
• In 2009, Meyer looks unhealthy, extremely thin and almost zombie-like.
• Nov 23, 2009, with rumors of Charlie Weis’ imminent departure at Notre Dame, Meyer goes out of his way to declare “I’m going to be the coach at Florida as long as they’ll have me. So I want to make that clear”
• December 10, 2009, Notre Dame announces Brian Kelly is the new head coach.
• December 26, 2009, Meyer announces resignation.
• December 27, 2009, Meyer decides not to resign.
• Florida recruits and signs athletic QB Trey Burton in 2010.
• Florida recruits and signs athletic QB Tyler Murphy in 2010.
• Meyer and his staff continue in their trend of recruiting “spread players”
• January 8, 2010, George Edwards announced as DC
• Feb 4, 2010, less than 24 hours after national signing day, Edwards announces he is leaving to be the DC for the Buffalo Bills.
• February 28, 2010, it is revealed that Meyer has not yet signed the extension he was offered in August 2009
• March 24, 2010, Urban Meyer has a dust up with Jeremy Fowler for printing a quote of Deonte Thompson calling John Brantley a “real quarterback” when compared to Tim Tebow. It is believed this outburst shows Urban Meyer has regained his passion.
• Jeremy Fowler, shortly thereafter, receives a nice promotion.
• June 30, 2010 it is reported again that Meyer STILL has not signed the extension. It is also reported that extension was first proposed late in 2008. Late in 2008 was around the same time he reiterated that Notre Dame was still his dream, job. It is also remembered that Billy Donovan, coach of the basketball team, had coached without signing extensions with UF. Billy Donovan also had an interesting flip-flop a few years prior.
• December 8, 2010, Meyer resigns again.
• Dan Mullen, who recruited a lot of those players and did an impressive job at MSU is still at MSU.
• Bob Stoops apparently turned down overtures for a third time.
• December 11, 2011, Will Muschamp named coach of Gators.
• January 2, 2011 it is announced that Charlie Weis will be the Gators’ new offensive coordinator, making this the second school Weis was brought to after Meyer rejected it.
• January 2011, Meyer joins ESPN’s team, allowing him to be available for any openings that may come about.
• May 30, 2011, Jim Tressel resigns from OSU.
• June 23, 2011, it is announced that Meyer will team with former Ohio State player Chris Spielman and be part of the Big Ten team.

In my view, it’s pretty obvious what happened. Florida was reeling in 2004. Their legendary coach, Steve Spurrier, up and left suddenly after the 2001 season. Having missed the main hiring window, Florida scrambled and hired Ron Zook.

Zook was extremely unpopular. Why ? Oh, his incompetence as a coach spoke for itself. He inherited a national powerhouse of a program and his high water mark was an 8-5 record, first place tie in his division and an Outback Bowl loss. Obviously, after almost 3 years of this he was turfed.

However, he was disliked the moment his hiring was announced and websites went up demanding his firing within 24 hours of his hiring. Here is a guy who had been Spurrier’s defensive coordinator and then was demoted to special teams. Read that again. He was demoted to special teams. Demoted. That means he was told he was having duties removed. Rather than tell them to go to hell and look for defensive coordinator job at another school, he accepted it. Sure, towel boy at Florida probably pays better than some coaching positions around the nation, but it spoke volumes about him. Needless to say, when it was announced he was the new head coach at Florida, there was a collective “WTF?” amongst fans.

Anyhow, 2004 rolls around. Rumors of Spurrier’s return surfaced. It was said he should interview. Some fans did not like that idea. They felt he should be handed the job and that Jeremy Foley, Florida’s Athletic Director, was being petty. The way I saw it was, Spurrier bailed on them, leaving them in a bind. He said he was burnt out at the time. He already was known as a guy who wasn’t too serious about coaching, relying on Florida’s natural talent and preferring to spend his time golfing. His way worked early in the SEC when he could simply “out talent” everyone; by the end of his stint, the league had caught up. He went to the NFL and realized he couldn’t get away with that.

So, Florida’s position opened. The AD wanted the man who never was a committed coach to interview. Fans thought this was ridiculous. I liken it to the following; your wife/girlfriend leaves you. Says she’s burnt out, needs a change. You both date someone else. You are single, she finds out you’re looking and wants to come back. Are you just going to take her back because she’s available ? I would hope there’d be some serious discussions as to her commitment. That might seem like a crazy comparison but Spurrier is a Florida graduate, a legendary player turned legendary coach. He WAS Florida. So when Mr Florida walks away from his school, you’d damn well better quiz him if he wants to return. Anyhow, rumor has it Spurrier was pissed and took his name out of the hat then went to a rival school.

Another coach explored was Bob Stoops, of Oklahoma. Stoops was the DC for Spurrier when Florida won the national title in 1996. He made his name at Florida. He was an obvious choice. He turned them down in 2002. Turned them down in 2004 and apparently turned them down again in 2010. Weird. Yes, Oklahoma has Texas to dip into for talent, but Florida has a backyard full of talent. He had a chance to go to one of the marquee schools in THE marquee conference with the most TV exposure and the richest talent pool in the country. Why on earth would he turn that down, especially after over 10 years at one school ? Perhaps there’s something at Florida, something he saw firsthand when he was an assistant, that has made him decide tornado land it way better than Florida. I’ll get to that.

So it’s 2004. Florida hires Bernie Machen as president, away from Utah. As the 2004 season comes to a close, Machen’s old school is making noise. Utah, this small program, is killing everything. It’s led by this young coach named Urban Meyer, a catholic guy in Mormon land, who is running some new fangled offense he calls the Spread Option. He didn’t actually create it, but he tweaked it and made it his foundation. Eventually Utah goes undefeated and gets a BCS bowl berth. Meyer is the hottest name in the coaching ranks since….well, I honestly can’t remember a coach being so in demand.

During Meyer’s ascension, it is learned that Notre Dame is his dream job. THE job for him. He’s a Midwestern guy. He has ties to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is just putting the finishing touches on a disaster of a season and release their coach. So, Urban Meyer is headed to his ultimate dream job at Notre Dame right ?

Wrong. Florida swoops in and magically secures Meyer’s services. How ? Well, for one, Florida’s new president Bernie Machen is the guy who hired Meyer at Utah. Florida obviously needed a huge splash after the Zook disaster and this time they needed someone with head coaching experience on the way up.

It’s still a mystery how they managed to coax him into choosing Florida over Notre Dame but there are a few obvious reasons. One of the reasons Meyer would later cite as a reason for retiring was missing his kids growing up. Well, coaching at Notre Dame, with no local talent pool AND strict academics, Meyer would have to spend pretty much all year on the road recruiting. At Florida, he can just hop in a car most of the time. So, coming to Florida means he could stay around his kids more.

So, if Meyer was to take his offense to Florida and run it with that talent base, big things would happen. Florida HAD to make a bang. And they did. In 6 years, Florida won two BCS titles. They are the only school to win 2. Meyer is one of two coaches to win two. Nick Saban is the other but he did it at two different schools.

However, one of the ugly pock marks on Meyer’s tenure is Florida’s arrest record. Over 30 arrests in 5 years. To me it’s not THAT big of a deal. The overwhelming majority of it is college kids being kids – beer in public, that kind of thing. Not to mention, a person has to think about where they are. Regions are different. States are different. Cities are different. Hell, counties are different. What I am saying is, do you think the police in Alucha County Gainesville, which is northern Florida, polices the same way as the police in, say Dade county Miami, which is on the southernmost tip of the US, would ? Do you think the police in Gainesville face the same challenges as those in Miami ? Do you think the police in Miami worry about the same things they do in northern Florida ? Of course not. To say that would suggest that the police in Kansas face the same challenges as those in LA, Phoenix etc. The majority of trouble in Gainesville is bored college kids trying to make excitement; in Miami there is actual gang violence, drug trafficking rings etc. There’s a reason Scarface made a point of emphasizing where and what Miami is. So, no, I do not worry about Florida’s arrest record because the police there target the things most other cities can’t be bothered with. However, make no mistake, I truly believe Meyer was given a “no matter what” mandate to win.

Now, I don’t believe Meyer ever really wanted to go to Florida. Meyer being a staunch catholic, he was as out of place in Florida as he was in Utah. But, Florida was an opportunity for him.

It is obvious Florida was never going to be a long term destination for him, that it was only a mutual agreement of “I’ll stay long enough to win and cement my name, and you’ll get a lot of money out of it” once he found out how things really work at Florida.

I believe he was slowly stripped of his power by the power brokers aka the boosters. Meyer needs a certain type of quarterback to run his offense. He recruited Cam Newton in 2006. Newton was bigger, faster and more fundamentally sound than Tim Tebow. By every indication, he was the future of football. The future that a Mike Vick or Vince Young never became. Then, out of nowhere at the last minute they secured a commitment from another highly rated QB named John Brantley. Brantley decomitted from Texas. Brantley is the son of John Brantley, nephew of Scott Brantley. The Brantley family is a Florida legacy. People were excited and a lot overlooked the obvious but some of us caught it and wondered – “wait a second. Brantley went out of his way to choose Texas because he is a pocket passer and wanted to start. He chose Texas because Meyer runs an offense that is the complete opposite of his skill set. Is Florida wasting a scholarship on this kid ? He’s a 5 star recruit so surely he doesn’t expect to sit on the bench and just be a backup. But Florida runs the spread and has Newton. Why is the 5 star recruit choosing to go to a school he’ll never play at ? Just because that’s where his family went?”

Right there is where it should have been obvious; Meyer didn’t recruit Brantley. Meyer was made to take Brantley. So in 2007 Cam Newton is the backup. He saw some time, but Meyer left Tebow to win the Heisman and to run his offense how it should be run. However, Newton saw some action and showed us glimpses of what to expect, so much so that some of us were left to say “we don’t really want Tebow to leave but damn this Newton kid will be better than Tebow”

Then, mysteriously, in 2008, Newton and Brantley are somehow tied for the #2 job, when Newton “hurts his ankle” allowing Brantley to ascend to #2. In spite of Tebow suffering injuries from being left in too long during the 2007 season, Meyer still rarely pulls Tebow from games already in hand, not allowing Brantley much time.

During the run to the BCS title game in 2008, after having just won the SEC title, at almost the exact same time the following two announcements came within HOURS of each other:
1. Offensive Coordinator Dan Mullen is going to be the next head coach as Mississippi State.
2. Urban Meyer says Notre Dame is still his dream job.

Um, what ? During a title run ? Meyer is a calculating man; there was clearly a motive behind that. So, with Meyer seemingly letting people know he’s already thinking about leaving, why wouldn’t Mullen stick around to assume control of the team he helped build ? Meh, probably a coincidence.

January 5 Cam Newton announces he is leaving Florida. January 8 Florida wins BCS title vs Oklahoma. January 11 Tim Tebow announces he is returning to try for a repeat.

So now we’re into 2009. Florida hasn’t recruited a QB suited to Meyer’s talents. They sign one in 2009. One. The primary backup is now Brantley, a guy whose skill set is the complete opposite of the system in place.

During the course of the year, Florida’s offense struggles. It is believed they are playing to not lose, rather than playing to win. During the year, Meyer withers away, and looks….ill.

On Boxing Day 2009 Meyer announces his resignation. The next day he announces he’s changed his mind and will take a leave of absence. Meyer hires an NFL guy as a DC, closes out the recruiting class, which is heavy on defensive players, the DC then leaves to go to the NFL, then Meyer vanishes, avoiding most of his public appearances and media obligations, the very things that are part of his salary.

What makes it fishy is Notre Dame had just fired Charlie Weis and hired Brian Kelly. Meyer missed his dream job because he was coaching elsewhere.

In the spring of 2010 Jeremy Fowler, the local beat guy, publishes a story where underachieving Deonte Thompson more or less blames Meyer’s offense, plus Tebow’s style, for his inability to live up to his ratings by stating that John Brantley is a “real quarterback.” Urban Meyer flips out at Fowler for this. Fans who’d worried that Meyer lost his fire are relieved. Shortly thereafter Jeremy Fowler is promoted to the NFL beat. The whole thing seemed like a WWE style work, where everyone wins – Brantley gets some props form the player, the underachieving player gets an excuse, Meyer gets to look committed to Florida, and Fowler, long considered a sycophant, now gets to appear as a hard hitting objective sports writer.
It is discovered in June 2010 that Meyer has not signed the extension proposed in 2008, and announced in 2009. Florida management tries to dismiss this as common. Myself, I found it more proof that he didn’t want to be there.

At the end of the 2010 season, Meyer resigns again for good and later joins ESPN. The Big Ten is home to Ohio State. Meyer was born in Ohio. He earned his undergrad degree at Cincinnati. He earned his graduate degree at Ohio State. He got his coaching start at Ohio State. Urban Meyer IS Ohio State. In May, legendary coach Jim Tressel is canned from Ohio State due to scandal. His replacement, Luke Fickell, is announced as INTERIM coach. We then find out Meyer is part of ESPN’s Big Ten team. Oh and by the way, Ohio State is one of the teams Meyer told everyone his wife has no veto power over should he be in line for the job. So, now Meyer is merely sitting in a tv studio, not tied to a team coaching, available at any time, should Ohio State, one of his dream schools his wife has no veto power over, being coached by an INTERIM coach, decide that he is just an interim coach and be in need of a permanent coach for 2012.

The closer you look at the chain of events, the more obvious it is.

Where am I going with all of this ? Well, I am torn on whether or not Meyer ever really wanted Florida, but the one thing I am certain of is that he got tired of Florida’s power mongers very quickly. Remember, John Brantley’s family are boosters but he does not fit Meyer’s scheme. Pretty obvious Meyer was made to take him. Then Newton, who was born to play Meyer’s offense, mysteriously regresses and Brantley catches up to him on the depth chart ? Newton eventually left the school of course. During his amazing run at Auburn, some reasons were tossed around, such as he didn’t want to wait behind Tebow. Problem is, he announced his departure before Tebow announced his return (and of course he didn’t just decide all in one second he was leaving; it must have been a long time coming). Now, you can say it was known Tebow was coming back inside Gators headquarters. Ok, so it must have been known Meyer was thinking about leaving right? Mullen would have known this ? Why didn’t Mullen stick around to take Meyer’s position ? Could it be that he was going to have to work with a QB that doesn’t fit his system, that an ill-suited QB was being FORCED upon the staff ?

The other problem with that is NCAA rules required Newton to sit out a year or play at a community college. He chose community college and returned to the big leagues in 2010. Tebow was already in the NFL then. So, he had to wait until 2010 to play in the big leagues anyway, somewhat poking a hole through the “didn’t want to wait” story.

During the course of the season, as Newton was becoming the Heisman favourite and, possible #1 overall draft pick and Auburn on the way to a title, more info started leaking, like Newton was going to be expelled from Florida for cheating on tests so he left before that could happen. He had bought a stolen laptop and gotten in trouble for that. All of this info came out as Newton, the former Gator, was excelling at Auburn in the spread option while Florida was tanking with the QB ill-suited to run the spread was tanking. Sure looks like Florida insiders were trying to protect their decision any way possible. Oh, and there was the story that Newton’s father asked Mississippi State for $150k for Newton to go there. Personally I think it wasn’t so much wanting to get paid as it was Auburn has national power potential and Mississippi State has been an outpost and it was more of a “you want my son to forgo national prominence to play in no man’s land ?”

So, in spite of all the other players getting in trouble at Florida, cheating on tests in the breaking point. Oh, and cheating on tests for football players is a no no at a football factory? When did this happen ? Now, in spite of all of this evil by Newton, Dan Mullen, former OC at Florida, wanted Newton.

Of course, then Meyer resigned for good. STILL Dan Mullen did not go to Florida to take the job. Why ? Was he not offered ? Why not ? Last time they chose a head coach with no experience it was a mess. They had a team full of players recruited for Meyer’s offense which Mullen built. They opted for Will Muschamp, a defensive coach who was a real up and comer. He then hired Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator. The same Charlie Weis who was Notre Dame’s Plan B when Meyer rejected them in 2004 is now Florida’s Plan B since Meyer rejected Florida.

Just looking on the surface, it seems like nobody wants to deal with meddlesome boosters. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I am partially right and there is much more to it than that.

Basically, what I am saying is that it seems like the coaches at Florida rarely get to be coaches for long, before they become administrators of the boosters’ whims.

In 2009, Meyer said he’d be the coach at Florida as long as they’d have him. Some viewed it as him being happy there. Others viewed it as a backtrack on his “dream job” comments in 2008. Me, I viewed at as him cleverly saying “Me, I want to be the coach here as long as they’ll actually let ME be the COACH”

Think about it – Urban Meyer himself became a lame duck coach, through no fault of his own.

Florida Head Coach Will Muschamp can’t be thrilled with the way things are going with his offense and quarterback situation or the way the defense gave up 181 rushing yards to Trent Richardson.

But the Alabama game is behind the Gators and they have a new opponent to worry about.

Led by the nation’s best defense, the top-ranked Tigers look to frustrate the 17th-ranked Gators, who are expected to start freshman Jeff Driskel at quarterback for the injured senior John Brantley on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

LSU is 5-0 and is on top of the poll for a second straight week after easily beating Kentucky 35-7 last Saturday. Incumbent QB Jordan Jefferson made his season debut after being suspended for the first four games following an arrest on a felony battery charge in connection with an Aug. 19 bar fight.

A grand jury reduced the charge to a misdemeanor last Wednesday, leading Miles to reinstate Jefferson as a backup to Jarrett Lee.

Jefferson scored on his first play back, diving over the goal line on an early fourth-and-goal to put the Tigers up 7-0.

Miles has yet to give Jefferson his starting job back but envisions his return adding a new wrinkle to the offense. He passed for 1,411 yards with seven touchdowns while running for 450 and seven scores last season.

“We will use Jefferson in a variety of ways,” Miles said. “At different times in the season, we will need every skill and every collective attribute of our team.

“We are excited about this season right now.”

The Gators who are 4-1, are likely not quite as optimistic after the way things played out last weekend.

Brantley injured his right leg on a sack late in the first half of last Saturday’s 38-10 loss to then-No. 3 Alabama, Florida’s worst home defeat since falling 36-7 to LSU in 2002. He was helped to the locker room and did not return, and Muschamp said Monday the injury won’t require surgery but will keep the senior sidelined at least a week.

Brantley, who has thrown for 942 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, had started 18 consecutive games. His injury opens the door for Driskel, but the highly touted freshman looked shaky last week.

Driskel completed 2 of 6 passes for 14 yards, fumbled a snap and was sacked twice as the Gators gained just two first downs with him under center.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in him,” running back Chris Rainey said. “He’ll be ready to go, ready to take that challenge.”

It would certainly help Driskel if the running game can get on track, but that could be difficult.

The Gators entered last week’s game leading the SEC in rushing at 259.0 yards per game but finished with 15. The Crimson Tide lead the FBS in rush defense with an average of 39.6 yards allowed, and LSU is almost just as stingy, ranking third at 60.4.

“Again, we’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Muschamp, who served as LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2002-04. “You got to get that taste out of your mouth. There’s no better opportunity than going to Baton Rouge and playing LSU.”

The Tigers have won 13 straight home games since losing 13-3 to Florida in 2009. The Gators were the top-ranked team at the time while LSU was No. 4.

This is the fifth time in six meetings one of the teams is ranked in the top 5, with No. 12 LSU defeating No. 14 Florida 33-29 last October being the lone exception.

Like the Gators, the Tigers also rely heavily on the ground game that could see a boost if Jefferson is inserted to run the option. LSU is averaging 172.6 yards a game and is second in the SEC with 14 rushing touchdowns.

LSU’s top tailbacks, Spencer Ware and Michael Ford, had subpar performances last week, but Miles was encouraged with what he saw from his backups.

Sophomore Alfred Blue had a career-best 72 yards on 16 attempts, while freshman Terrence Magee accounted for 38 yards on 12 rushes. Ware, who has a team-best 323 rushing yards, had four carries for five yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.

Miles is hopeful that Ware will be healthy enough to return to the running back rotation.

“We’ll have the opportunity to run the ball again with a number of guys,” Miles said.

LSU’s depth at running back could pose problems for Florida, which allowed Alabama to rush for 226 yards - the same number it allowed in its first four games combined.

This will be the toughest road test the Gators will face all year. Question is; can they answer the bell?

I seriously doubt there is a single Gator fan in existence that does not remember the fake field goal by LSU last year to save the game for the Tigers and seal a win in the Swamp.

That was one of the games that Steve Addazio got plenty of help from his defense and special teams and still lost. Of course, if the offense functions at all then there's a 50-something next to Florida's name on the scoreboard and there's nothing to worry about, but still, had the football not bounced like a basketball on Derek Helton's pitch to Josh Jasper the Gators would have won.

But forget that for a minute. There were obvious deficiencies that were concealed a year ago until Alabama exposed them, and instead of getting together to discuss the issues and how to solve them, Urban Meyer took a Tylenol for his chest pains and took a nap, and the rest of the coaches followed the leader. The rest of them, that is, but Addazio.

Steve Addazio isolated himself in his room and worked on a number of things in his free time. They included writing invitations to linebackers for free trips through the A-gap tunnel and into the backfield, drawing up more creative ways to throw 3 yard hitch routes, and how to turn one of your most explosive players (Trey Burton) into a QB despite his obvious inability to throw the ball.

This coaching staff is nothing like this, as they are all hard workers who follow Will Muschamp's (and, I guess, Nick Saban's) example of not leaving the office until the problem appears fixed. Then, it gets tested out in practice and if there are still problems, get right back in there and work on them some more until it's fixed for real.

So forget working on fake posters with phony quotes from Jarrett Lee. Forget stomping on the eye of the Tiger or telling your band to spell out "Geaux Heauxme You Heauxmeauxs" or anything silly like that. Don't even think about doing the Gator Chomp after a score. Just play football. Work on your issues.

This is what I want to see in Baton Rouge:

Better blocking

The blocking was simply horrendous against Alabama. Horrendous as in Steve Addazio horrendous. Maybe even worse. It's got be reversed against a nasty Tiger defense that will harass Jeff Driskel 24/7. If Florida wants any chance whatsoever, they have to block a decillion times better than they did last week. This will free up Rainey and Demps, who were grounded a week ago completely, which should open up one on one matchups for Driskel to exploit and slowly gain comfortability as Florida's QB.

More pressure

Not only did AJ McCarron have all day to throw, not only did Trent Richardson take handoffs and have enough time to play eenie-meenie-minie-moe over which gap to rumble through, the Gators often sent a heavy number of defenders and produced ZERO pressure. The Gators absolutely cannot allow Jarrett Lee any time to throw, because he can hurt Florida deep. And if Michael Ford or Spencer Ware get comfortable running up the gut... game over.

Driskel slowly worked in

Warm him up with soft, easy tosses to Rainey and Demps on screen plays, and if LSU covers them to start with, toss an easy hitch route to Burton or Jordan Reed. Slowly get him acclimated with being a Florida QB, and eventually begin to exploit those one on one mismatches that Charlie Weis is so fond of.

Great special teams

It was special teams that ultimately doomed the Gators last year, despite Andre Debose returning a kick for a TD. It could doom Florida once again if they aren't very careful of Lesprechaun Miles and his bag of tricks.

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It's a business. The Gators have issues that need fixing. This is a business trip to Baton Rouge, and if the business part goes well, then the fun can begin.

This Saturday, the Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide will continue their rivalry when the Gators host Alabama at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

Last year, Alabama hosted Florida in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and defeated Florida to a crushing score of 31-6. This year, the tables have turned in this rivalry and the game will be played in Gainesville. As many SEC opponents know, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is one of the most difficult venues to play in for any team. This Saturday, it will be one of the few challenges No. 3 Alabama must overcome to defeat one of the SEC's surprise teams.

It isn't too often the words "Florida Gators" and "surprise teams" are placed in the same sentence. However, with last year's disappointing record of 8-5, quarterback problems, turnover issues and an identity crisis on offense, the Florida Gators have struggled to make strides toward relevance. This year, the Gators have been pleasant to watch.

John Brantley seems to be more comfortable as the starting quarterback and has completed 64 percent of his passes, while throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions. Florida is also ranked 10th in the nation in rushing offense, rushing for more than 250 yards per game. Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps have spearheaded the Gator offense with a combined 731 rushing yards, 284 receiving yards and eight touchdowns total.

Gone is the Gator offense of last year, which utilized the spread option under former coach Urban Meyer. The new pro-style offense implemented by Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis has been more effective this year, and the Gators have scored on 16 straight red-zone trips. What is even more impressive is the fact UF has scored in 15 of 16 quarters this season.

As of Week 5, Florida boasts the 15th-ranked offense in the NCAA at 40.25 points per game. They are also doing much better on the other side of the ball as well, boasting the 20th-ranked pass defense in the NCAA at 175.25 passing yards per game. Perhaps the best stat for the Florida Gator defense is the fact their defense is allowing fewer than nine points per game.

However, Florida will face their toughest challenge this season when they face the Crimson Tide, who are ranked second in overall defense. As of Week 5, Alabama is only allowing a total of 184 yards per game.

On the other side of the ball is AJ McCarron, who has been more than suitable in the Crimson Tide's "game manager position" with a 66 percent completion percentage, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Alabama also hosts the two-pronged rushing attack of Trent Richardson and Eddy Lacey, who have run over opposing defenses for a total of 806 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns.

Needless to say, this should be the Gators biggest test yet. This is becoming a heated rivalry, with both of these teams ranked in the Top 15 and two schools who essentially mirror each other in skill set and statistics. This game also has SEC Title implications and very possibly National Championship implications.

If you're in Gainesville for the game, you will certainly see a bunch of crimson shirts and feaux "Bear" Bryant hats, as Alabama fans are known for traveling to the ends of the earth for their school.

Will Alabama "Roll" out of The Swamp, victory in hand? Or will they just become "Gator Bait" to a Florida team hungry for revenge and on the brink of greatness?

Conference realignment. Also known as The Great War of the B.S. Conferences.

Yes, B.S. Conferences. Not BCS.

The playground battle between greedy school children continues to bother college football fans from Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington.

Enough is enough.

It is time for Father NCAA to step in with a belt in hand and whip some sense back into the circus-loving conference commissioners who seem to have eyes bigger than their stomachs.

Nobody wants the madness to settle until 64 teams have lobbied, bullied and bribed their way into power so a "national champion" can be crowned in a 4-team conference champions' playoff.

The desperation is laughable.

Oklahoma regents meet on Monday to take their school into a conference that references the Pacific Ocean in its name.

TCU will be playing in a league that houses its closest neighbor nearly 900 miles away.

Texas is forgetting that Austin does not touch an ocean. Even if it did, the Gulf of Mexico is not a stone's throw away from the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific for that matter.

Give me a break.

Every realignment prediction out there projects that Boise State is left outside in the cold come New Years bowl game season. How then can we be sure that the winner of a 4-team playoff would truly be our nation's champion when an undefeated Boise team would not even be invited to the party?

Does anybody care about that slight oversight?

If Boise, Idaho were located four or five states further east, the injustice of the mere suggestion would have already gone before a Supreme Court judge—not a far-out prediction considering Baylor's recent litigation threats.

Apparently, the senseless NCAA is going to sit back with a bag of popcorn while Mike Slive and Larry Scott lie their way to the high throne of college football where ESPN will crown them with an inscribed 14-carrot golden hat, "Bow Down to the Worldwide Leader."

But in the words of the great coach, Lee Corso...

"Not so fast my friend!"

Here's my solution......

Bye Bye BCS.

Order is restored in my just and fair daydreams.

Ever logical, I have replaced the hapless NCAA president and the first thing I have done is destroy the BCS and reconstruct every FBS conference.

Mike Slive and Larry Scott are welcome to reapply for positions as conference commissioners, but based on their track records of "doing what's best for the student athletes" their chances for rehire are slim.

BUT WAIT!!! YOU WANT FOUR SUPER-CONFERENCES?

Ok...Wish Granted!

All 96 Teams are eligible for the Championship.

While I may not agree, I listen to the cries from the majority and grant you your wish.

Each conference consists of 24 teams split up into Tier A and Tier B divisions. Anyone familiar with European soccer leagues?

The 12 teams in Tier A of each conference will compete to send their champion to the beloved 4-team playoff to determine the national champion.

The 12 teams in Tier B of each conference will compete to send their champion into Tier A, replacing the school in the higher division with the most losses on the season.

Any school placed in a Tier B division of its conference, therefore, has the right to compete for a national championship within only one year. Win your conference and you move up with the Tier A boys. Lose your conference and you move down to Tier B.

48 teams will compete for the national championship in a given year. 96 teams are considered Division I, FBS, or whatever you want to call it.

The 48 teams playing in Tier B divisions play with the hope of a promotion into Tier A.

Take Colorado for example. After considering your past few seasons, I have placed you in the Tier B division of the Pacific Conference.

Are you going to cry about it?

Simply win your Tier B division and you earn the right to play with USC, Oregon and Arizona State again.

Be careful what you wish for, though. Losing eight conference games in a Tier A division will place you right back where you started, unable to compete for a national championship the following year while playing in the Tier B division.

Now, a message to the schools not included in my 96-team league. Utah State, New Mexico State and Toledo, that means you.

Any team performing consistently at the bottom of its Tier B division can be challenged by a Division II (FCS) program. In the challenge, the performance of both programs over a five-year period of time will be reviewed and considered.

Louisiana Tech, I have included you as one of my last selections in the 96-team league. If you consistently lose games and play at the bottom of the Tier B South Conference, someone will challenge you and you'll be booted from the league.

You will have your 4 Conferences.

Do not be shocked when you see the Big 12, ACC, SEC and Big East all broken up between conferences in the following slides. After all, I did say I used logic in creating the league. Rivalries, geography and tradition were the major factors considered in creating each conference.

Pacific Conference, Midwest Conference, South Conference, and East Conference.

Consider this hypothetical league a foundation of reason amid the mayhem and chaos of the disgusting politicking swarming around college football this season.

What would this season play out like with a strong structure holding it all together?

Which four teams would we see playing for the championship? Which four teams would earn a spot into a Tier A division by winning a Tier B league?

Sigh.

A structure this reasonable is not going to happen for college football. We can expect to see Bobo The Clown take over as the official college football mascot.

Bobo will also wear a BCS t-shirt.

Thank you, BCS, for placing college football in a ridiculously unjust state that has both AQ and non-AQ schools scrambling for a better solution. All signs indicate the problems will get much worse before they get better. (Florida State is proposing it is a fit for the Big Ten?!?)

NCAA, I have no words to describe your incompetence while college football destroys itself. Please prove me wrong by doing something proactive and take control.

Two days before the big game against the Volunteers, we look back at the five most memorable moments of this series.

10) Tale of Two Halves (1996)

The eventual national champion Gators jumped out to a 35-0 lead and simply took a nap in this game, perfectly content to watch the Vols slowly drive down the field, eat clock, sometimes score, and sometimes not. The final score is not indicative of how the game went, as UT's final touchown came with less than half a minute to play. Florida recovered the ensuing onside kick and won, 35-29.

9) SEC East Championship (2001)

Travis Stephens had always been told he was too small, but in Steve Spurrier's Florida regular season finale, his defense, well, forgot how to play defense and let Stephens run for 200 yards. This game was moved to the end of the season due to the 9/11 attacks, and a Florida win would put them in the SEC Championship Game and possibly in the National Championship Game as well. The Gators trailed 34-26 with time running out and the Gators scored to pull within two. But Rex Grossman's two point conversion pass fell incomplete. The Vols held on for the 34-32 thriller.

8) Hines Goes All Ballerina on Vols (2010)

Deadlocked in a dreary, ugly, 10-10 game only a year ago, Urban Meyer stepped in and boldly called for a fake punt to try to shake awake a sleeping Gators team. The ball was snapped directly to Omarious Hines and he was off the races. 37 yards and 3 spin moves later, he was finally tackled. Meyer's plan worked, and the Gators woke up, took advantage of UT turnovers, and walked out of Knoxville with a solid 31-17 victory. It was the first time the Gators had ever won three straight in Knoxville.

7) Tebow Seals Victory With Career Preview (2006)

In a fantastic, back and forth battle that included a catch-dive-touchdown by Jamalle Cornelius, a pair of insane interceptions by Reggie Nelson, and a comeback by Florida to retake the lead for good, nothing epitomizes this game more than the ending. The Gators were trying to run out the clock, and faced a critical 4th and 1. Urban Meyer elected to go for it, and backup freshman QB Tim Tebow came through, knifing through the line for the first down. The Gators held on, 21-20

6) I'm Just Making Sure We Win (1995)

Sophomore QB Peyton Manning led his Vols into the Swamp- and into a Trojan horse ambush. The Vols worked their way to a 37-24 lead- and then Steve Spurrier's Gators began to score. And score. And score. And score some more. When the smoke had cleared, the Gators had score 48 unanswered points to win 62-37. Spurrier denied running up the score, and Vols coach Phil Fulmer did too. He said, "It's our job to stop it. If I can get 62 on him, I will." And he did (took him three years, though).

5) Peyton Manning to Tony George, 88 Yard Touchdown Pass (1997)

Having never beaten Florida in his first three tries, Manning tried to get at least one victory over his tormentors. Trying to make something happen to boost his Volunteers, Manning made a big play- for the Gators. Tony George stepped in, picked off his deep pass and took it all the way for the score. The Vols never recovered, and Manning threw another pick later in the game that sealed his fate- he was going 0-4 against the Gators. Florida won, 33-20.

4) FaxGate (1991)

Before the 1991 game, reports swirled that former Tennessee assistant Jack Sells, angry at being fired for recruiting violations, faxed Gator defensive coordinator Ron Zook a copy of the Vols playbook. The game itself, won by the Gators 35-18, paled in comparison to this storyline, whcich turned out to have two guilty parties: both Florida and Tennessee had some copies of each other's playbooks. An SEC investigation that ended without any punishment concluded shortly thereafter.

3) Gaffney Game (2000)

A tight game in Knoxville slowly wound down with Florida driving for the win. Down 23-20, Gator QB Jesse Palmer threw an end zone pass to Jabar Gaffney, who briefly touched the ball with both hands and the ref signaled touchdown as the ball bounced through the end zone. Replays shown following the game were very questionable, but the ruling held. Tennessee failed to score on their last chance and Florida won, 27-23.

2) Tebow vs. Berry (2009)

The game in itself was boring compared to Kiffin's pregame trash talk. He first said he looked forward to singing Rocky Top all night long after beating Florida. Then he accused Gator coach Urban Meyer of cheating on the recruiting trail. This led for a great storyline... but the Gators were not up to the task... except for Tim Tebow, who took a shotgun snap, saw nobody, and took off. Eric Berry, the UT safety, took him on one on one and this resulted in a heavy bomb sound on the field in an epic collision. Sorry Eric Berry, but you got knocked back 15 feet. Florida won, 23-13.

1) Phantom Penalty/Redemption (2004)

A 21-21 tie became a Gator 28-21 lead on an 81 yard bomb from Chris Leak to Chad Jackson with 7:43 to go. The Vols came right back down the field and scored, but James Wilhoit, who had never done this in his entire life, EVER, missed the PAT. Florida got the ball back and stalled. Right before the ensuing punt, Florida's Dallas Baker and the Vols' Johnthan Wade got into a little girl fight, slapping each other. Somehow, only Baker got flagged. Tennessee QB Casey Clausen said thank you very much, took the 15 yards, and got into range for Wilhoit to redeem himself- which he did from 50 yards, and Tennessee won a controversial 30-28 thriller.

Two traditional SEC rivals collide as the Florida Gators host the Tennessee Volunteers in The Swamp.

The Will Muschamp era is off to a perfect start in Gainesville and while the Florida Gators have played less than SEC caliber competition, they have handled them easily. Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis’ system appears to agree with Gator QB John Brantley who struggled last season but appears to be in a groove this year as UF has outscored their opponents 80-3 in the first two games. The Gators have a two headed monster at running back as Chris Rainey has run for 207 yards and two touchdowns and Jeff Demps has run for 123 yards and two TD’s. The Gators have a stable of talented receivers who haven’t been called on much this season but Deonte Thompson has five catches for 67 yards and Adre Dubose has five catches for 64 yards. The Florida defense is generally inexperienced this season but they have allowed just three points and 349 yards combined in two games. This will be the Gators first big test of the year as while they have dominated the Vols of late, this isn’t a game to be taken lightly no matter what has happened in recent years.

The Tennessee Volunteers have gotten off to a 2-0 start in 2011 and Derek Dooley’s team will get a chance to see exactly where their progress is in their hopes to return to being a relevant team in the SEC landscape. Tyler Bray has looked sharp at QB for the Vols completing 78.5 percent of his passes for 698 yards and seven touchdowns and Tauren Poole is a reliable running back rushing for 199 yards thus far and Marlin Lane has scored twice gaining the tough yards. Justin Hunter already has 16 receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns and Da’Rick Rogers has 15 catches for 200 yards and three TD’s. Austin Johnson leads the team in tackles with 10 while Daryl Vereen, Brent Brewer, and Jacques Smith each have nine. The Tennessee defense allowed 23 point against Cincinnati but most of them were early and once the Volunteers settled in they were tougher than we have seen them in a while.

Prediction:

Florida has too many weapons and the noise in The Swamp will be unbearable for young Tyler Bray and the young offensive line, so expect several false starts for Tennessee.

Gators win 31-17

Sharrif Floyd had to sit out this most recent game due to questions about money. Ah money ... what some refer to as the root of all evil. Yet, Kiss' Gene Simmons always says that it's the lack of money that is the root of all evil. It's time to STOP ignoring this "lack of money" issue and make some changes to the NCAA rules and scholarships.

Y'know, it sounds like an easy gig if you've gotten a "full ride" athletic scholarship. But, there is another side to attending college when you're from a low-income environment. There are many kids across this country who get, what I'd call, an incomplete ride to the university of their choosing.

There's an old adage by which I live: What I can buy and what I can afford may be two very different things. In other words, I could go out tomorrow and buy a Porsche – brand new. But, once it's mine, so are the expenses related to that car; insurance & maintenance are the two expenses I probably cannot afford in the long run.

So, imagine this awesome opportunity to attend a great university on a full-ride scholarship and "all you have to do" is perform well academically & physically to keep that free ride.

But wait! What about if/when you become a star player – a celebrity – for your school's team? The accolades you receive from the press, the extraordinary cheers from the crowd when your name is called as compared to other teammates, and the simple recognition as you walk around campus are all awesome.

Now jump to the odd situation where your friends want to go out for a bite to eat at Applebee's or Outback ... and you cannot afford it. It's not covered in your free ride package. Regular living is not covered. How much more humiliating can it get than that? And, these are kids – not adults. Still very impressionable, managing humiliation is not any kid's strong suit.

To add insult to injury, I've been told that these kids are also not permitted to get part-time jobs while classes are in session. Well sh!t howdy ... did money start growing on trees outside these scholarship athletes' windows?!

It's time to give all scholarship athletes a stipend in the form of a managed debit card. They'd get $100/week while classes are in session. There would be someone/some group in the Administration Office who would audit the withdrawals constantly. The debit card could not be used for alcohol or tobacco (or firearms ;-). And, it cannot be used more than once in a 1-hour period for a purchase and not for anything more than what is a normal purchase (e.g.: to keep the card holder from buying lunch for everyone, a $50 charge at Mickey D's would throw up a red flag).

It's only fair – and barely fair, at that. I mean, look around at the kids who enter the ticket lottery for games solely to sell their tickets for the really big games. Funny (funny ironic, not funny ha ha) how the kids who have nothing to do with the success of the football team are free to make beaucoup bucks on the sale of tickets and team paraphernalia. But, the kids who have to juggle classes, intense practices and study time to make those game tickets so valuable & in-demand ... they get nailed if they make a penny while on that scholarship? That is so "messed up, dude!"

It's high time to realize that there is money and there is know-how to incorporate a well-managed stipend to all scholarship athletes. We should not be talking about this any longer; we should be incorporating this as of yesterday!

This year’s Gators look like a different team.

New attitude.

New plays.

New swagger.

After an impressive offensive display by both players, the 18th ranked Gators take on UAB in Gainesville on Saturday night on Charter Cable.

Florida won its first four games last season but finished 8-5 as Brantley struggled to follow in Tim Tebow’s footsteps and Rainey ran into trouble off the field.

Rainey was a significant contributor for the Gators in ’08 and ’09, combining for 1,227 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. However, Rainey was suspended for five games last year after being arrested for aggravated stalking and was limited to just 366 yards and two touchdowns in 8 games.

Rainey looks as though he’s put the drama behind him. In Saturday’s 41-3 victory over Florida Atlantic, he became the third player in the nation since 1996 to have a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a return for a touchdown in the same game.

“I thank God all the time that I’m still here,” said Rainey, who returned a blocked punt for 21 yards. “I stayed here one more year, and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s a pro offense, I’m made for it.”

Rainey, who touched the ball 18 times in all, is referring to coach Will Muschamp bringing in former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to lead the offense, which ranked eighth in the SEC last year with 29.8 points per game.

Although the Gators weren’t facing elite competition, the Gators finished with 468 yards of offense, scoring on their first four drives. FAU’s lone score came after an interception by true freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel, who entered late in the first half.

Coach Muschamp told the media after Saturday’s game, “I think we need to be realistic here, we’ll face better opponents throughout the season……We didn’t face as much adversity as we had hoped for, but I’m very pleased with the effort and energy of our players.”

Brantley looks like he’ll benefit from playing under Weis’ system. Florida ranked 88th in the FBS with 184.3 passing yards per game in 2010, with Brantley throwing nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

His performance was more promising last Saturday. Although he had two interceptions, Brantley went 21 of 30 for 229 yards and a touchdown. Last season he passed for more than 200 yards only four games.

Rainey said after the game, “Looked like the old John Brantley you saw in high school, being the leader, taking over, he’s got all his confidence back.”

Brantley’s confidence should be high Saturday with fullback Trey Burton and receivers Deonte Thompson and Omarius Hines expected to play after suffering injuries last week.

The Gators likely won’t face much more adversity against UAB, which opens its season after going 4-8 last year.

Tropical Storm Lee forced the Blazers to move the location of their practices earlier this week, but they are eager to face the Gators, even knowing they will be heavy underdogs.

UAB quarterback Bryan Ellis is back after starting the final nine games of 2010. He finished with 2,940 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Pat Shed also returns for the Blazers after rushing for a team high 847 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also had 471 yards receiving and four TD’s.

UAB scored 31 or more points five times last season and played close games against Tennessee and Mississippi State, losing by a combined eight points.

The two teams’ only previous meeting was a Florida 51-3 victory in 2002 in the Swamp.

OK, so I am going to give an early assessment after one single game against a cupcake.

Offense:

I liked the protection. It wasn't perfect and it was against a cream puff, but not bad for the first game. There certainly is some potential as they get more cohesion.

I liked the running game. Demps appears to finally have a little wiggle and Rainey looks great on his first cut. Seems having a FB is going to pay off for them.When Burton gets healthy, motioning him as a co lead with Joyer has great potential, especially against the 3-4 teams.

Reed looks ok as a TE in what limited plays we've seen thus far. Dunbar looks like a good one, as Hammond looks poised for a breakout. DT still looks hopeless, and Debose looks positively lost on downfield plays, but I liked Debose's willingness to lay a hat on people, so that counts for something.

It'll be interesting to see how Hines and Clark factor in.

Brantley still looks like a lost cause. When you take away his swing completions and yardage, his numbers were on par with last year. That's particularly disturbing since the apologists blamed it on him being miscast, a square peg in a round hole as it were. We heard non stop about how his skill set is better suited for Weis' offense, that it's similar to the offense he ran for Kerwin Bell.  I (and others) warned people that Bell's offense was prolific because it was a run first league that teams were not built to stop and Brantley's high school stats were inflated because of this - much like Shane Matthews' numbers when Spurrier first arrived were an illusion because of the opponents. We saw what happened when Matthews went up against elite athletes (read: FSU, Bowls) in top flight OOC games. The same can be said against Brantley - the defenses he is facing now are all geared to stop the run and the pass, so he'll have no advantage derived from scheme specific personnel.

Brantley just doesn't have "it."

Defense:

Hard to gauge based on the competition, but I did like a few things.

For starters, Easley looks like a beast. The level of competition doesn't play a factor in how one fires off the ball, and his first step is freakish. Whether he can knife past the better players he will face is another matter, but his first step automatically means teams HAVE to account for him.

Powell was still a non factor. Where is this freak we heard about ? He had a coverage sack on a cleanup play. Where was the steady menacing expected ?

I like the instincts of the D coming up to tackle. From the DBs to the LBs I loved the quick reactions and beelines they made on plays at or behind the LOS and the way they stormed up. This bodes well, as they seemed to have learned how to force the play, rather than let the play come to them while they are flat footed. They'll miss some tackles, but they'll also force some ballcarriers to the inside on occasion where they'll have their bells rung and/or cough up a turnover.

I like the way Elam patrolled the middle. He wasn't tested, but that has as much to do with his positioning as anything else.

All in all the season hold promise. While they stand no chance of winning the SEC title, they could challenge for the EAST. I don't think they will though. While they will most likely beat Georgia, Tennessee, and SC that triple header of Bama, LSU and Auburn will likely cause them to lose out on the east. They have to steal the Auburn game to have a chance. They need a 6-2 SEC record. Georgia has a cupcake schedule, with SC being the only other opponent of note. Florida needs Georgia to lose to SC, then they need SC to lose to Arkansas or MSU. This works on the idea that Florida beats both Georgia and SC thus having the head to head edge. I haven't mentioned UT because they have Arkansas, LSU and Bama from the west. They are losing at least 2 of those, plus I am assuming they lose to Florida and probably SC as well as Georgia.

Special teams:

Like the 51 yard bomb. Like Patton's block. Like the return (not the nullification)

So, all in all, decent first outing. Lots of potential for down the road. In reality, I think we should temper our excitement for this year, and think 2012-2013.

Imagine for a moment that there were a team in the NFL that was 3-10 entering week 14 of the season.  Now imagine that they had recently fired their head coach, and the QB play out of their starter in the last two weeks looked like this:

Now, continuing with this completely hypothetical situation, let's pretend that an unnamed rookie QB drafted within the first 2 rounds were asked to step into this situation for the next three games.  Rookie QBs already almost universally struggle in their first season, and this is far from an ideal situation to be walking into.  Now, let's pretend that the numbers he put up in these three games looked as follows:

Given this scenario, there would be no doubt in anyone's mind that the rookie should be starting the next game, and the media would be jumping all over him as if he's a lock to be the next big thing in the NFL.

Unless his name was Tim Tebow...

As I'm sure most people reading this site already know, that is in fact the exact situation that Tim Tebow walked into last year, and those are in fact the exact numbers he put up in his first 3 starts as a pro.  Sure, they're not world beating, set the league on fire stats, but for a rookie making his first three starts as a pro they are quite good.  Yet, while any other quarterback would be the unquestioned starter going forward and have an aura of support in the media (imagine the hubbub there would have been around a guy like Matt Stafford if he'd started his career that way), Tebow gets blurbs about how he is competing for the #4 job on the depth chart and gets hit with verbal lashings like "what has he done to deserve the starting spot" and "sorry, you can't live on your entitlement anymore, you have to earn it".

Some theorize that it's one giant media conspiracy to tear down Tebow.  I find that to be over the top.  It's not as if ESPN called together some giant corporate meeting where they all discussed how they can ridicule Tebow.

What we actually have here is a little effect that I like to call "media bandwagoning", which has also extended to "fan perspective bandwagoning".  Saying that Tim Tebow is not a good quarterback or that he's not ready to play in the NFL has become the "cool" thing to say.  It's almost as if, in order to prove that you're an "expert" and not just some casual fan, you have to lambast Tebow and cite all these traditional things that he doesn't do well.  It's the same reason that many media folks who were praising Tebow at the end of last season now speak as if he couldn't quarterback a PeeWee football team right now even though they've barely seen him play at all in the interim.  When they haven't really even seen him play since they were saying "wow, maybe this guy really can be a good NFL QB" a few months ago, how could their opinions have changed so much?

In this way, Tebow's own popularity has hurt him.  It has become accepted as fact that the only reason that Tebow has supporters is because of how loved he is off the field, and not because of his accomplishments on the field.  Tebow bashers look down on Tebow supporters as guppies that can't get past how good of a guy he is and see his oh so obvious flaws, when in reality it is them that can't see past their own old and irrelevant perceptions as to what a quarterback has to be.

Those people look at Tebow's draft position and say he would have been a 4th round pick were it not for one misguided coach, who is now out of a job, that took him way too early.  Their short term (or perhaps self-correcting) memory is incapable of remembering that Tebow was projected as a late 1st/early 2nd round draft pick even when no one thought he would end up in Denver.  In fact, I looked through every "expert mock" I could find from Scott Wright to Mike Mayock to Mel Kiper to a dozen others.  The latest anyone had him going was 44th overall and no one had him going to Denver, which means that even without McDaniels, they all believed he was set to be picked in that range anyhow.

Those people look at Tebow's throwing motion and see a guy that can't get the ball out quick enough to hit NFL passing windows, and are incapable of separating their purely speculative theories from actual reality.  No matter the fact that it had no effect on him hitting those windows when he actually stepped onto the field (or the fact that Brett Favre never had an issue hitting them even though he drops the ball even lower than Tebow does), it sounds logical in their head so it must be true.  Evidence be damned.

Among these folks are Tebow's own coach, John Fox, who seems so content to disregard actual on the field play in favor of how good or ugly something looks in practice that it took him three years to finally decide that DeAngelo Williams was a better running back than DeShaun Foster.

Look, Tebow has not looked good in practice.  I get that.  But it seems that Denver as well as the media seem to be operating under the very poor assumption that Tebow has to look like a perfectly oiled machine in practice to perform well in games.  That just isn't the type of quarterback that Tebow is, nor is it the type that he ever was.  He never has nor is he ever going to look like a prototype quarterback with great footwork, great mechanics, and bullet-proof accuracy in practice and if that is what Denver is waiting for then they'll be waiting forever.  He didn't have those things at Florida either, while John Brantley did, and we saw how that translated to the actual field of play.

If Denver wants to give Tebow one more year to learn, I'm ok with that, so long as they spend the year working on his true weakness (reading defenses), and not his perceived one.  I don't believe he needs another year, but it's worked well in the past for guys like Rodgers and Rivers.  What I have a problem with is this notion that it is now common knowledge that Tebow is a horrible quarterback.

In a way, you really have to feel bad for Tebow.  Sure, it's tough to feel bad for a guy who has millions of fans, millions of dollars, gets to do what he loves for a living, and could probably have any girl he wanted.  But with Tebow you have a guy who has succeeded at every level when stepping out onto the football field, time after time, and yet the universal opinion of him is still that he stinks as a quarterback.  It just has to eat the kid up inside that so many negative things are said about him and he just can't get out there to once again prove people wrong because of the stigma that polish is more important than production.

I think one of my favorite moments from this preseason was listening to the broadcast early on in Denver's week 1 game, as the broadcaster recounted just how awful Tim Tebow looked when he's seen him throwing around, and how he "couldn't even complete passes against air".  He stopped juuuuust short of saying that Dez Bryant would make a better quarterback than Tim Tebow.  As Tebow came into the game and went 6/7 throwing the ball he could do nothing but pick apart his mechanics, which just like Merril Hoge's now infamous report, was nothing more than regurgitated internet lingo that he was passing off as his own ideas.  Sure, those passes came against a second string defense, but surely Dallas' 2nd string defensive backs are better defenders than air, right?

That brings me to my final point.  Remember those stats that I showed you of Tebow earlier?  There are analysts out there that actually have the gall to claim they were indicative of a poor performance because of the 50% completion percentage, and use it as an example of Tebow's allegedly very poor accuracy.  Let's ignore that most rookie QBs have a poor completion percentage in their first few starts (Tebow's was not abnormally low) and really examine this deeper.

The number I want you to keep in mind here is 8.0.  That was Tebow's YPA in those three starts.  For the sake of reference, both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have each only eclipsed that number in one season out of their entire careers.  Mind you, I'm not using this to say that Tebow performed better than either of them, but rather to demonstrate to you the kind of passes that Tebow was throwing in those games.  Denver's defense was terrible, and as a result Denver spent much of those games throwing downfield.  As should make sense to anyone (especially a football analyst, which these guys claim to be), passes downfield are completed at a lower rate.  Tebow's yards per completion during those starts was an astounding 16.0.  For comparison, Peyton Manning's last year was 10.2.  It makes sense that Tebow's completion percentage was low (again even if we discount that he was a rookie making his first three starts), because Denver was throwing the ball deep an inordinate amount.  Tebow's completion percentage has always been high when he's played outside of "oh crap our defense sucks we'd better chuck it downfield every play" situations.

Tebow is seen as a guy with very poor accuracy because, in practice, he can't laser in 15 yard in-routes with 95% success.  Fortunately, there's a lot more to throwing accuracy than that, which is a fact that seems to be lost on many coaches, scouts, and analysts.  Many of these folks differentiate between "accuracy" and "touch", and my question is simply, "why?".  They're the same thing.  "Touch" is just another form of accuracy.  For instance, Cam Newton is seen as having adequate accuracy for the NFL, but he has poor "touch".  If he can't complete a pass over the top of the linebackers because it requires putting touch on the pass then that is poor accuracy.  They're the same thing, and "touch", or as I call it "vertical accuracy" is something that Tebow excels at, and is the reason that Urban Meyer was willing to let him throw a 30 yard go route down the sideline to Louis Murphy on a key 3rd and short late in the 2009 SEC Title game.

Tim Tebow is what he is.  He's a gamer who plays exponentially better in game situations than he does in simulated practices.  He's a guy that makes things happen on the field with a wide collection of talents rather than with precision accuracy or sound mechanics.  And last I checked, when Tebow threw that 50 yard bomb in week one of the preseason that hit his receiver in stride, they didn't take back half the yardage because his mechanics were ugly on the throw.

From the nanosecond the Big 10 made the announcement that it was including Nebraska, I knew the SEC would go to 16 teams. Not 14, but 16. Think: would the commissioner of a league that won (at the time) four straight BCS Championships just sit back and allow this? When Auburn won the SEC's fifth straight, it became official: the SEC was going to go to 16 teams.

Now, these are just rumors, albeit strong ones. But let's just say it's true, and official.

What does it mean to the Gators?

Let's go negatives first, and save the positives for last.

1) Recruiting in the state of Florida

This is a gigantic blow for the Gators' in state recruiting. Often, a decision for an uncommitted 17 year old kid from the Sunshine State comes down to wanting to play in the ACC or SEC, and of course the bigger stage is in the SEC. And Urban Meyer took advantage of that, pounding the Seminoles 5 straight times and then hitting the recruits with "do you want to play on the big stage?" Combine that with the bludgeonings Tim Tebow handed Bobby Bowden and it was an easy call.

Now, though, Florida will HAVE to beat FSU to get recruits. The line "it was a bad year and now we're starting over" might work this year and maybe next year but not for long. With the conference advantage now gone, the only way to really show recruits that Florida is better is to hammer Florida State with regularity. And that won't be easy.

2) More of a year long grind/injury risk

You'll never hear me saying what a tough out of conference schedule Florida has. Jeremy Foley is a wimp and will never schedule anybody not named Florida State (and Miami once) that's any good. Now, though, the Gators will likely have to play 10 conference games, as opposed to the 8 plus Florida State. As we saw in 2008, any one conference game could turn into a loss. The addition of an extra game increases the risk of a loss, decreases the chance of an unbeaten national champion, and increases the injury risk.

3) End of the Florida-Auburn and Florida-Miami rivalries

Once upon a time, Florida vs. Auburn was one of the fiercest and most evenly matched rivalries in the nation. The Tigers hold a 42-38 lead and many of those games hurt more than just one loss. The Tigers had a knack of beating the Gators by a field goal, as recently as 2007. But after 2002, these teams stopped playing each other every year and just played twice every five years.

The Gators and the Hurricanes also had an annual (but meaner) rivalry that was destroyed when the Gators got weak with their schedule and replaced the U with Montana State (shameful, nothing less). Steve Spurrier wanted them back but it could not be done with the SEC expanding to 12 teams. The two teams met sporadically (twice in bowl games, twice in the Swamp, and once in the Orange Bowl, and are scheduled to meet again in 2013... but who knows?)

Now, with the new additions, instead of the teams playing more often, they will play even less often, since the division alignments likely will not pair the Gators and Auburn together. The teams might play once every eight years or so. It also means the definite end of Florida-Miami unless they both make it to a bowl game. It's a shame, really as these used to be intense matchups and now they will be defunct.

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But there are positives, too:

1) Out of state recruiting

The Gators already had a strong hold on Texas since Will Muschamp signed with Florida. But now they will get their hands on the St. Louis area, one of the hottest big cities in the Midwest along with Chicago. Kids in St. Louis will now have a lot more access to watch SEC games, which gives Muschamp and the Gators a bigger audience to impress. And of course South Carolina has the same problem with Clemson that Florida has with FSU joining the conference, which can work to everybody else's advantage.

2) Florida-FSU rivalry will become more intense

Aside from in state bragging rights and recruiting, this rivalry means nothing. It doesn't determine which team will play for the SEC Championship, it doesn't determine bowl games, or anything like that. This is why I consider Florida-Georgia to be a bigger rivalry. Now, Florida-FSU will be even nastier. Watch out for plenty of the chippy behavior that has caused enough flags to cover a field during Florida-Georgia games.

3) More firepower, more BCS champions

These are four historically good, but not fantastic teams joining the conference. Winning a 16 team conference will have even more power with the pollsters, who cannot turn away a one loss team from the SEC even with 12 teams. That power grows a lot with each team in, and more conference games means more chances to impress the pollsters as well.

The SEC has released kickoff times for the Florida Gators football team in 2011.

The Gators open the season with a 7:00PM kickoff against Florida Atlantic on ESPNU.

The following week, the Gators again kick off at 7:00PM, against the UAB Blazers. That game will air on FSN/Sun Sports.

The third game of the regular season, against the Tennessee Volunteers, is slated to begin at 3:30PM on CBS.

After that, the Gators travel to play Kentucky, which is tentatively set for a 12:20PM kickoff on SEC Network.

Into October we go, when it starts to get really difficult for Florida. UF opens October against Alabama at home. CBS has to decide whether to air it at 3:30PM, or to use its 8:00PM primetime spot. Or they could give up the slot altogether (completely unrealistic, given that there's no other good SEC game that day. Arkansas plays Texas A&M, but it's technically a home game for A&M in Arlington. No way MSU-UGA or SC-Auburn kicks this game off).

Then the Gators travel to LSU, which is the same situation as the previous week. CBS could make it 3:30 or 8:00. I highly doubt UGA-TN, Auburn-Arkansas, SC-UK or Bama-Vandy looks any better than this one.

The week after, Florida travels to Auburn. This is one of the few games that's completely up in the air. Right now, it's between 6:00PM on ESPN2, or 8:00PM on ESPN, depending on how good these two teams are. Or it could wind up on CBS, since the next best game is LSU-Tennessee. This game easily has more power than that if both teams are at least 4-2 going in.

Two weeks later is the Cocktail Party. CBS will take that one at 3:30.

Then the Gators get Vandy, which is tentatively an SEC Network game at 12:20 but could be changed in a heartbeat.

Then comes the SC game. It's a pretty safe bet that this game winds up on CBS as well, unless both Georgia and Auburn are really, really good. CBS instantly regretted not having last year's game instead of Georgia-Auburn, and has said that they want this one back.

Furman is tentatively set for Sun Sports as well, with a 1:00PM kickoff time.

Both Florida and FSU would have to royally suck in order not to get the CBS slot at 3:30 on Saturday. CBS has aired every game of this rivalry in Gainesville since before I was born (March 7, 1994). Auburn-Alabama can wait, mind you. Let ABC get that. This one's every bit as intense, plus the friendship storyline is too much.

And the SEC Championship game is set for a 4:00PM kickoff.