Whether or not Urban Meyer left the Gators' program in shambles is a big issues trending among Gator fans, and often Muschamp's name comes up in this discussion. It goes one of two ways: Meyer crushed the Gators' program, not Muschamp's fault, or it wasn't Meyer's fault, 7-6 is inexcusable bottom line.

Meyer did leave Florida with some talent. There's no question about that. On offense, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps terrorized defenses when healthy and Rainey was even in the Heisman race a third of the way into the season. Trey Burton, Andre Debose and Jordan Reed proved to be solid contributors, and Mike Gillislee has showed flashes of huge potential. Defensively, Meyer left Muschamp the pieces to the 8th best defense in the nation.

So I don't want to hear this "Meyer left the cupboard bare" garbage. Maybe the Circle of Trust report hurt, but he definitely left Muschamp some talent to work with.

On the flip side, Meyer did allow the Gators' offensive production to slip- a lot. This comes back to Steve Addazio. Here's why I still hate him- had he been a good or at least competent offensive coordinator, Meyer's respite wouldn't have hurt Florida at all. For all we know, he was half asleep during the Dan Mullen years- we just don't know. But had Mullen remained onboard for 2009 and 2010, I'm betting Florida's offense would have been at least time and a half better than it was.

But here's what I'm getting at- all the good and all the bad that's going on right now was due to Meyer and his staff. Sure, Muschamp's defense was 8 in the nation but that was with Meyer's players. And sure, Muschamp is fully capable of recruiting the players to do even better, but he hasn't yet at Florida. His track record at LSU, Auburn and Texas doesn't help Florida at all. Brian Orakpo and Sen'Derrick Marx don't play for the Gators. So sure, he very well might build his own dynamic defense in the future, so he hasn't yet.

So hold off on all thoughts of him, good and bad. You can't blame the 7-6 record on him because he didn't have guys on offense to fit his philosophy. You also can't praise him for getting through it and merely surviving it, because it was with all of Meyer's players.

The true test will be next year.

But if you want something positive to end on, check this out. Some second year coaches at schools have unbelievable success compared to their first, especially in the SEC. Can Muschamp be the latest?

Nick Saban, Alabama

1st year: 2007: 7-6 (Def. Colorado in Independence Bowl)

2nd year: 2008: 12-2 (Lost to Florida in SEC Championship, lost to Utah in BCS Sugar Bowl)

Chip Kelly, Oregon

1st year: 2009: 10-3 (Lost to Ohio State in BCS Rose Bowl)

2nd year: 2010: 12-1 (Lost to Auburn in BCS Championship Game)

Gene Chizik, Auburn

1st year: 2009: 8-5 (Def. Northwestern in Outback Bowl)

2nd year: 2010: 14-0 (Def. South Carolina in SEC Championship, def. Oregon in BCS Championship)

Urban Meyer, Florida

1st year: 2005: 9-3 (Def. Iowa in Outback Bowl)

2nd year: 2006: 13-1 (Def. Arkansas in SEC Championship, Def. Ohio State in BCS Championship)

Even with 8 teams, a really good one loss Texas or Alabama team might be shut out, and remember, the whole point is to generate excitement and money. Excluding a high profile team that's really proven to be one of the best does neither.

With 16 teams, you start to get a lot of conference champions deserve an auto-bid arguments, which leaves you with two choices: deny a conference champion the chance to win the national championship, or you have the same problem as you do with 8 teams.

How about 25 teams?

The slots would all be determined by a committee, like the basketball and baseball tournaments. The 11 conference champions would get autobids, 14 at large bids go to the rest. Notre Dame, BYU and the service academies could receive one of the at large bids. Here's the really fun part: any FCS team with an unbeaten record AND that has beaten TWO FBS schools must receive one of the autobids.

In addition, the conferences are ranked by the committee from 1 to 11. The champions of the top 4 conferences get the top 4 seeds in that order with an exception: if the team that wins the conference has a worse overall record AND the team with the better record has one or no losses AND is ranked higher, the team with the better overall record gets the top 4 seed. For example, TCU won the WAC, but Boise gets the WAC auto bid because they have the better overall record- and it's 12-1 to 11-2 better, not 9-3 to 8-4 better, and Boise State was ranked higher. In this scenario, Boise gets the auto bid. This is not meant to snub TCU, but rather, it is meant to eliminate fluky situations where a 9-3 team gets the top 4 seed by winning the 4th best conference over a 11-1 team. It just comes out this way this time. TCU, as the conference champ, still gets an auto-bid, but much lower.

Under last year's rankings with these guidelines, the seedings would be as follows (*= conference champ):

1)LSU*

2)Oklahoma State*

3)Stanford*

4)Boise State

5)Alabama

6)Arkansas

7)Oregon

8)Kansas State

9)South Carolina

10)Wisconsin*

11)Virginia Tech

12)Baylor

13)Michigan

14)Oklahoma

15)Georgia

16)Clemson*

17)Southern Miss*

18)Michigan State

19)Houston

20)TCU*

21)West Virginia*

22)Nebraska

23)Arkansas State*

24)Northern Illinois*

25)Louisiana Tech*

The last two teams in, #24 and #25, will meet in a play-in on the home field of #24. The winner of that will play at the home of the #9 seed, the 23 seed will play at the 10 seed, 22 vs. 11, 21 vs. 12 and so on. The winner of 9 vs. 24/25 will play at the number 8 seed, the 23/10 winner will play at the number 7 seed, 22/11 vs. 6, and so on. The quarterfinals will take place at each higher seed's home field. The semifinals and the finals will be played in a neutral site- one of the five rotating Big Bowls. The first four you know- Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. The fifth is the Cotton Bowl, which was once upon a time one of the highest ranked bowl games in prestige. Anybody remember any of those Cotton Bowl Classics? Tommy Lewis's off the bench tackle? Billy Cannon's punt return? Yeah, me neither. That's because it's been irrelevant for the last few decades. Time to restore it to greatness.

The reason the higher seeds would host the games is simple. Money. Well, that and attendance. Sure, Boise State's 32,000 seat stadium is pretty small, and they definitely need to enlarge it for this playoff to happen, but even as it is, the game would attract more fans than if it were played in the Papajohns.com Bowl, which barely seats 40,000 (forgetting the fact that it always has trouble selling tickets) in a town that nobody wants to go to where there's nothing to do. And Boise is the exception- every other team that would host a playoff game this year has a stadium with at least 54,000 seats. The home school would be paid handsomely to host this playoff game, rewarding its football program for earning it.

But that's why the Final Four would be played at a neutral site- to ensure maximum fans in attendance as possible. Say Boise does make it. You can't host a national semifinal with 32,000 fans in attendance. Triple that figure, and you've got your average ideal attendance for the semis and championship. So it's that balance that keeps this playoff going.

The regular season would start the first Saturday of September or the last Saturday of August, depending on the dates. The regular season would conclude on Thanksgiving weekend, and the conference championship games would be played the following Saturday- the first of December.

The playoffs would start right around New Year's Day, giving the players nearly a whole month- at least to focus on their exams. The play-in game would be a week earlier, so the student-athletes on those teams would have "only" three weeks. The round of 16 would be played a week later- usually the first Saturday of January, the round of 8 would be played the next Saturday, the semis would be played the following Saturday, and the championship would be 8 days later- the next Sunday, to give diehard football junkies something to watch on Sunday before the Super Bowl, especially without the Pro Bowl anymore. True, the NFL playoffs are on those two Saturdays, but come on, Saturday belongs to college football. Sunday is for the NFL. The NFL can either lose views to the college games or reorganize their TV times. Too bad for them.

As for the bowl games? They wouldn't go anywhere. There would be ten postseason bowl games- Capital One, Outback, Chik-Fil-A, Gator, Independence, Liberty, Sun, Alamo, Fight Hunger and Holiday- and then the winners of each in order (Capital One vs. Outback, Chik-Fil-A vs. Gator, Independence vs. Liberty etc.) would play in one of the BCS Bowls- (in order) Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton and Rose, to legitimize the label BCS, which stands for Bowl Championship Series. Winning a simple bowl game doesn't really make anybody champions of anything, despite the t-shirts that proclaim "GEORGIA BULLDOGS: 2010 LIBERTY BOWL CHAMPIONS" (Oops... they lost that game.To UCF. Sorry.) You get the point. To become champions, a team needs to win one of these "four team playoffs" that the BCS brass is proposing. Except, you know, with teams that don't deserve a shot at a national title. These would be teams with records no better than 9-3, and usually worse.

The BCS bowls- Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange and Cotton- would pick the team they want most in a random order. It can be any team with 6 wins or more. Then they pick the team they want the second most, in reverse order. Then they pick the team they want third most, in the original order, and the team they want fourth most in reverse order. The first choice of each bowl will play the fourth choice, and the third choice will play the second choice in the play in bowl games. The winners would square off in one of the "Bowl Championship Series" games.

These games would be played during the week leading up to New Year's Day, and some on the few days before Christmas. The BCS games would be played the week of January 2nd, at night.

Now, to get those dying rivalries back together.

If a BCS bowl game wants to ensure that they get a certain game or matchup, there's a way to do that too. Say the Cotton Bowl wants to pit Texas and Texas A&M together in one of its play-in bowls, say the Alamo Bowl (obviously it would be better if they would both win their play-ins and both get to the Cotton Bowl, where there are many more fans, but if one of them loses, it won't happen, so to ensure the fans get to see a Lone Star Showdown at all, this is how to do it). They would tell the other BCS bowl officials. If they agree that it is a must-see game, the Cotton Bowl would get to select both of them with their first two picks. Then everybody else would select their four teams in a similar fashion as normal (except with only four bowls, not five) order, and the Cotton Bowl would be left with the last two picks to form their other play-in game. To ensure that this doesn't happen with each bowl game every year, each bowl is allowed to do this once every ten years- and only one bowl may do it per year. However, both teams must have 6 wins and not make the playoffs, so the chances of both teams a BCS Bowl wants having between 6 and 9/10 wins is minimal.

ESPN currently has the stranglehold on the BCS and all bowl games in general, so I'll just assume that they would televise the playoffs too. There would be 8 games a day for the first two weeks, 4 in the round of 8, 2 in the semis, 1 in the final... can you imagine how much traffic ESPN would get? They would use all their networks for the first two rounds- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC. ESPN Goal Line would be going nonstop. ESPN3 would have a remarkable amount of traffic, much like the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Except, you know, without millions of dollars in lost productivity due to everybody skipping work to watch on their computers!

A big argument people might have against playoffs in general is that it diminishes the regular season. Let's go back to 2010. Alabama jumped all over Auburn 24-0 in their annual blood fued. With a 25 team playoff, neither team had anything to play for, critics would argue. Alabama was ranked #11, Auburn #2. Auburn's clinched home field through the Final Four, and Alabama can't move up higher nor can they drop. Then Alabama goes up 24-0. Why should Auburn even try to come back? Why should Cam Newton even play?

There are about a million reasons why, and the BCS Cartel knows them all. Surely they've at least been briefed on the intensity of that rivalry. The biggest rivalry games are all played the last weekend of the season, so if seeds are locked up, it doesn't matter. Undefeated Ohio State would play its backups against 4-7 Michigan the whole game. 10-1 USC would call running plays to kill the clock and end the game quicker against 6-5 UCLA. Unbeaten Florida would try out a new play-caller against 7-4 FSU, and FSU would play its backups the whole way.

So that line of thinking goes.

We with common sense know that none of this would ever happen in a billion years. Be ranked #1 on the last weekend of the season and lose to a mediocre team, and you risk dropping out of the top 4 conference champions to #5 overall where you would have to visit another school in the quarterfinals, instead of hosting the #8 seed in the quarters. The difference is glaring.

There's only one possible scenario where a team would even consider tanking their final game- a team is undefeated and #1, and everybody else in the nation has at least two losses. This is about as likely to happen as Urban Meyer quitting Ohio State and kicking Will Muschamp out of office in Gainesville. Even if this situation did happen, it would take a coach who is willing to blow a huge rivalry game, with bragging rights and recruiting implications on the line.

The other thing it does to help the regular season is that it forces fans to follow the rest of the country. A 7-5 Big 10 team is facing a 12-0 team in the conference championship. There's a 10-2 midmajor team hoping to gain access with an at large bid. If the 7-5 team wins, they get the auto bid while the 12-0 team would settle for an at large- and the 10-2 midmajor could get shut out. This playoff forces fans to follow games around the nation, especially in November, with the hopes that their fellow playoff hopefuls lose, allowing them to jump back in it.

Then there's the excitement the playoff would generate.

Just take a look at the matchups. I have all the higher seeds winning, just to show what the matchups would look like. Tell me these matchups are not highly intriguing. Nebraska-Virginia Tech, Georgia-Michigan State, Michigan-TCU, Oklahoma-Houston, and Baylor-West Virginia highlight the opening round games. The less interesting ones include the winner of North Illinois and Louisiana Tech against South Carolina, Wisconsin-Arkansas State and Clemson-Southern Miss.

See? Those are the opening round games. Are they not really intriguing for even casual football fans? Does Case Keenum vs. Landry Jones not turn on fans who love an offensive fireworks show? How about Nebraska's defense, led by Jared Crick and Alfonzo Dennard vs. Virginia Tech's offense, featuring Logan Thomas and David Wilson? And who would dare pass up any chance to watch RG3 square off against any BCS school?

The second round match ups are simply orgasmic. Boise State, as the 4th best conference champ with a first round bye, would face the winner of Michigan and TCU. Think: a Big 10 national powerhouse (probably) going on the blue turf to play the Broncos. Alabama, with the #5 overall seed, also has a bye, and would face the winner of Baylor-West Virginia. Even if WVU wins, it's still exciting to watch Geno Smith go up against that Bama defense. How about if Baylor wins? That might get the most views of any sporting event ever: Robert Griffin III, Kendall Wright and co. vs. Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw, Robert Lester and co. How could anybody NOT watch that? The others are nearly as good: (pretending the higher seeds all win) Oklahoma at Stanford, Wisconsin at Oregon, South Carolina at Kansas State, Virginia Tech at Arkansas, Georgia at Oklahoma State and the Death Valley Tiger Bowl: Clemson at LSU.

Then we get to the quarters. If all the high seeds win, Oregon would visit Oklahoma State, Alabama would visit Boise State, Kansas State would pay a visit to LSU, and Arkansas would go to Stanford.

The Final Four (again, if the high seeds win): LSU vs. Boise State, and Oklahoma State vs. Stanford, and so on.

Please, tell me that those match ups are anything short of ridiculously exciting.

So to recap the plan: the schools get more money from happier fans, the players still have almost a month to take their exams, higher seeds are rewarded, the regular season and conference championship games are increased in value, and most importantly, we get a real method of determining a champion.

Unlike the current system.

Anybody know how the BCS standings are done? If not, it goes like this: the Harris Poll, the USA Today and the computer rankings are averaged together.

Anybody know how flawed both the human polls and the computer polls are?

Here's a hint: following the 2008 season, three voters were called and asked why they didn't vote Utah in the top 2. The response? The three men watched a combined 5 minutes of Utah football the whole year- all highlights. The computers are not allowed to use margin of victory, so a 59-3 win means nothing more than a 21-20 win. If margin of victory (maxed out at 35, to prevent teams from running it up for no other reason) was included, it would have been Texas going to the Big 12 Championship in 2008, not Oklahoma.

Did Texas and Utah both not deserve a chance to prove themselves to be the best in the nation? What more could they have done? Utah was unbeaten, and Texas' only loss was a freak play on the road against Texas Tech. OK, Texas could have won that game, but then Florida lost to Ole Miss and they got in to the title game.

This is a huge GATOR FAN saying this: following the 2008 regular season, following the conference championship games, what did Florida do that was so impressive that Texas, Utah, Texas Tech, and hell, even Alabama didn't do? We saw what happened in the 2012 BCS Championship: Alabama avenged a previous loss to LSU. So because Florida beat Alabama once, that automatically means Alabama wouldn't have won in a rematch? Because Oklahoma won some freaky tiebreaker in the Big 12 South, Texas and Texas Tech couldn't have won head to head matchups with them in a playoff?

And by the way, if the BCS wants to keep the BCS and the bowls the way they are, they might really want to reconsider. Without a playoff, what did Texas Tech have to play for in the Cotton Bowl? What did it mean? Nothing; they got thumped by a 9-4 Ole Miss team. Before you start chanting SEC!!! SEC!!! SEC!!! you might want to take a second to remember that Alabama had the same problem against Utah, and looked suspiciously inept all night.

And these are just the most prestigious bowl games.

At least the Sugar and Cotton Bowls were filled for these games. Not so lucky are the Papajohns.com Bowl, the Belk Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl or the Car Care Bowl. No, those games are so unattractive that the school can't even sell their share of tickets. As a result, they all lose: the bowl games lose because they have thousands of empty seats, the schools lose because they were forced by the bowl games to buy thousands of tickets and can't sell them to their students or alumni because the game is pointless and therefore lose lots of money and the fans lose because, well, who gives a (fill in the blank) about who wins pre-New Year's Day bowls?

Without a playoff, the bowl games the Cartel so desperately wants to protect are worthless. Mississippi and Utah were not upsets; they simply beat teams that couldn't have cared less about being there.

What's the BCS's reasoning for rejecting a playoff?

"Having carefully reviewed calendars and schedules, we believe that either an eight-team or a 16-team playoff would diminish the regular season and harm the bowls," the BCS said in a statement. Obviously, they haven't done any real thinking because if this 25 team playoff doesn't hurt the regular season, (it actually strengthens it) then 8 or 16 team playoffs surely wouldn't. As I've explained, tanking a regular season finale kills a team's seeding, recruiting, and bragging rights over a rival. Nice try.

That's bad enough, but even worse is when the BCS executive Bill Hancock said, "The system is working fine."

Right. Except for the blind writers' poll, the nonsense computer systems, and robbing schools and fans of a legitimate way to crown a champion, it's just fine and dandy.

I have uploaded a chart onto the facebook group of what last season's postseason would have looked like.

Enjoy...

Many people around the nation are bummed that Florida only had two players drafted. The school is falling off the map, they say. It aint what it used to be.

Oh yeah? Try finding another school that has had multiple players drafted every single year since 1980, when Scot Brantley was the only Gator drafted. It's not so easy to do, when you think about it. Every school has a lull at some point: a coaching change, two or three recruiting classes that aren't up to snuff, and one year where only one guy- or nobody is drafted. Oh, there are a few, like Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, etc. but that's about it.

So that's pretty cool when you think about it, but what's even cooler is when you think how many guys could be drafted next year.

In theory, the entire starting defense aside from sophomore corner Marcus Roberson (too young) could be drafted. If the juniors all declare, Florida would likely have 10 players selected. On offense, lineman Xavier Nixon, tailback Mike Gillislee, and receivers Omarious Hines and Frankie Hammond, all seniors, are likely to be drafted barring a highly disappointing senior season or an injury. Andre Debose, a junior wideout, could also declare. Finally, you never know with kickers, but Caleb Sturgis could get picked as well. He was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award last year, and if he can only work on his accuracy a little more, he could win it.

That's a grand total of 16 players that could be selected next year. If that number is accurate, then it's good and bad. Bad because, well, they won't be playing for Florida anymore, but good because that means they would have done well for Florida and therefore the Gators' season was a success.

Which, remember, is a real possibility...

Right now, the BCS brass is meeting to discuss a potential "playoff" to determine the national champion. Who do they think they're fooling?

Certainly not me, or any other college football fan with any common sense. You don't need to be a genius to figure out that a four team playoff does nothing at all, you just need a single grain of intelligence.

What does a four team playoff do that the current system doesn't? OK, it involves two more teams that would be left out- but so what? Within five years, I will guarantee, there will be five undefeated teams from different conferences, or at least one undefeated team that gets left out behind a one loss SEC team, and then the original problem is even worse- an undefeated team isn't in the top 4 in the country.

This is only one of dozens of playoff plans that won't work, and while the BCS Cartel doesn't know a whole lot about anything, they know enough to see that this type of doomed plan will keep the money in their pockets, the arguments and therefore "attention to the game of college football" stronger and the fans of all fan bases steaming.

At least the Cartel is not flat out denying this "playoff". They've shot down every somewhat possible proposal. They've denied Craig Thompson's 8 team playoff, Death to the BCS's 16 team proposal, and a bunch of others. And at least the Cartel appears to be a fair group of people. They gave Joe Paterno the same amount of respect they gave all the others- none- and shot down his plea for an extended postseason as well.

In order for a playoff to work, each of the following criteria must be met:

1) Protecting/increasing the importance of the regular season.

2) Conference championship games must still mean something.

3) Higher seeds must host early round games; not bowl sites.

4) TV ratings must improve; all games must be intriguing for random fans.

5) Schools must profit more than from bowl games.

So as I've said, my proposal will be available tomorrow right here on IAKOW, at about 1pm. It covers all the bases. The fans win, the schools win, TV wins, and I've even made sure the bowl games don't go down. The only people that lose is the BCS, and, well, that's too bad. Because this playoff actually uses logic.

Upon seeing this question, there are two main answers: Gators glory and Gator demise.

But what specifically was he responsible for? A lack of discipline? Recruits? Wins?

Here are the good things he was responsible for:

The 2008 BCS Championship

Using his own recruits, his own offense and his own coaching staff, Urban Meyer led the Gators to the national championship in 2008. Credit his assistants and his players too, but remember that Urban was responsible for bringing almost all of them to Florida. This goes to Urban, no doubt.

Tim Tebow

Without an offense so tailor made for Tebow, it's unlikely he would have had such tremendous success. He might have still won games, but not the way he did at Florida. Tim Tebow came so close to signing with Alabama, and if not for Meyer's great recruiting skills, he would have. Credit Urban Meyer 100% for making Tim Tebow a Gator.

NFL Pipeline

After the days of Steve Spurrier, many wondered who would be the next coach to lead Florida back to glory. It turned out to be Meyer after three years of Zook (who we as Gator fans owe a big sincere thank you, I'll get there later) and he did it by bringing in a truckload of future NFL players, such as Joe Haden, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Aaron Hernandez, Janoris Jenkins, Cam Newton (who, people forget, spent more time in Gainesville than in Auburn), Major Wright, Louis Murphy and many, many more.

Now, here are some negatives that Urban was responsible for:

2005 season

Many people forget it but the Gators were downright horrible in 2005 offensively and would have been under .500 if not for a dynamic defense led by Charlie Strong. If you don't remember, the 2005 season opener against Wyoming was actually worse than the 2010 opener against Miami Ohio. He tried to force a foreign offense on Chris Leak, who had enough trouble adjusting to a new staff, and the Gators really struggled. It raises questions about how good of a coach Meyer really was.

Steve Addazio Era

I made a few jokes in my Addazio to Gator Nation articles about Addazio recruiting 8th grade girls to run his offense. He might as well have- with all the talent he wasted with his awful "offense", he still couldn't run it for any success, so why not use the 8th grade girls? I also hinted at him being a Sandusky once. Well, I obviously hope he never molests a young girl, because that's disgusting and horrible- but if he had, Florida would have benefitted greatly. He would have been of more use sitting in jail on molesting charges- or any charges, for that matter- than he was calling plays. Quite frankly, he was the worst play-caller and coach I have ever seen, and his idiocy set the Gators back three years in prestige by killing recruiting.

Players' Character

Will Muschamp is rebuilding the UF program with character, not characters. Specifically, the kind of characters Meyer brought in. I'm not blaming him for a lack of discipline, but the players he brought in were just not the best people. His players' arrest record says that clearly. A few of them were silly mistakes, such as Chris Rainey sending a threatening text message, but a lot of them reflected the kind of kids Meyer wanted.

Here are some positives that Urban is not responsible for:

2006 BCS Championship

While nobody would argue that Florida could have pulled this off without three superb freshmen- Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Brandon James- this was a Ron Zook generated result. So Gator fans do truly owe Ron Zook in two ways. The first is the way he recruited. He brought in enough pure talent to field a national championship team- beating eventual champion LSU on their home field proved that. The other thing Florida fans must thank him for is employing Chrlie Strong, the brilliant defensive architect. Of course, Meyer did keep him on in 2006, but that's like crediting the people who built the Enola Gay for ending World War II. Thanks, Zook.

The 2009 season

No, this was simply a preview of Tebow's NFL career- great defense (Strong again), an OK offense around him and he just finds ways to win. If Florida had won it all, then you could credit Meyer for bringing Tebow in, creating the offense, etc. But Florida could have played Alabama 999 more times and they wouldn't have ever beaten them unless the defense pitched a shutout. The success that Florida did have was due to the defense for keeping Florida in it and Tebow for pulling it out.

Now, here are the bad things Meyer was not responsible for:

Discipline

You cannot blame Meyer for having such an arrest issue when he brings in so many thugs. You blame Meyer for bringing in the thugs, not for them misbehaving. It's really that simple.

The Broken Program Label

All good things must come to an end. Florida's NCAA dominance ended eventually, like all things do. While you can blame Meyer for letting Addazio ruin our program, you cannot blame him for not bringing in more Tim Tebows. Jeff Driskel was supposed to be the next one, and even if he does turn out to be a star, it won't help for 2010 and 2011. That's over. Tebow was made to run Meyer's system, and while that doesn't mean he can't succeed with other offenses, the focus on Meyer is that he can't simply reload. If you want to blame somebody, blame God for not littering the state of Florida with diehard Gator fan replicas of Tim Tebow. Without him, Florida really struggled, both before and after he got to Florida. The "broken program" is simply a synonym for "lack of Tebow". The defense is still great, the offense still has playmakers... but the Gators do not have Tebow.

Every Gator fan wants to know who will be the starting QB next season. It's by far the biggest question mark on the Florida football team.

The coaches are silent, neither QB really distinguished himself as a legitimate starter last year, so it appears to be dead even.

One thing that's for sure: whoever does get the starting job has full support from Will Muschamp, who has praised both throughout the spring. Muschamp says the Gators can win with either one.

My thoughts? If that's the case, pick one and move on. If you really feel you can win with either one, then just make up your mind. The two split reps with the first team offense, but it would benefit the starter to have 90% of the reps so he can really get accustomed to his fellow starters, rather than sort of have the hang of it. A starter must be picked by mid summer.

The other option is rotating QB's, which is really not an option but an absolute last resort. We've seen that before, and even with a much better offense than we had in 2010, it still is not a good sign. Only somebody who's lucky enough to have a football bounce like a tennis ball can pull that off, specifically Les Miles.

Both have their strengths; Driskel is really fast and a good runner, more like a Tebow type (but certainly not Tebow's level) and has a good arm while Brissett has good mobility and a great arm. Both can make smart decisions, and both can read defenses. There are slight differences, but no major ones.

Unless one goes a long way to separate himself in the summer, if they're really dead even, then do whatever you want to pick one. Use any of Steve Addazio's play-calling methods; have them play rock paper scissors, pick one of their two names out of a hat, use a magic 8 ball, ask jeeves or do eenie-meenie-minie-mo. I don't care. Muschamp, you really need to just pick one by mid-summer and ride him all the way. The extra practice with the first team will pay off.

See what happens.

The BCS is a disgrace for a number of reasons, and diehard college football fans know them all. It has robbed undefeated teams of a shot at a national championship, it has caused so much controversy that the whole matter has been taken to court multiple times, and most importantly, it has cheated fans- the ones who provide the majority of the money- out of a meaningful conclusion to one of America's greatest pasttimes.

The BCS doesn't care. In fact, they love the current system because it puts money in their own pocets. Who cares about the fans? As long as the suits win, it's all good. This is why the BCS has lasted as long as it has.

The only problem is, to get rid of a system that's in place, a foolproof alternative must be proposed. If there's one problem with a replacement model, it goes by the wayside.

If any of you have read Death to the BCS, then you know quite a bit about the BCS, the Cartel, the bowl games, their proposal, everything. The authors of that book did an excellent job covering what makes the BCS wrong from so many different angles. That said, I have an angle to give that they didn't- I was a GA for my high school team for three years.

I've watched guys lay everything out on the line week after week, day after day in practice, etc. The physical and mental ability needed to even play football is hard to understand for people outside the game. I'll get into greater details later in my war against the BCS, but let me assure those of you that don't know: it's very, very hard to play football. The heart needed is not present in everyone; only a select few.

Multiply that ability and heart needed a few times over and you've got a college football team. To win a college football game, the entire team must give everything they have. Literally, EVERYTHING in their bodies must be put to sacrifice. Guys get bruised up every day, and they must simply ignore it. Do this 12-13 weeks in a row and you've got an undefeated team, which is nearly impossible, since the letdown game can get the best team in the nation (Florida twice under Urban Meyer, for example).

My question the BCS big shots is: how can any person with a functioning brain or heart possibly be willing to explain to a team that did everything they possibly could that they're not worthy of a national championship? From a neutral perspective, Utah was dearly wronged in 2008. What more could they have possibly done? They were undefeated, and one of those wins came against a top 5 team. Sure, Utah might not have done so well playing big time opponents a few times in a row in a playoff but who knows? Cincinnati in 2009? Yeah, they got hammered by Florida, but they were still undefeated. Who knows if they even cared about the Sugar Bowl? Why should they have cared? It wasn't for a championship, was it?

There are others problems which I'll explain at a later date: the greed, the bowl games, the larger playoff income and how the actual system "works".

For now, though, I am putting the finishing touches on my alternate playoff plan. I've thought everything through: the dates/players' exam schedules, kickoff times, locations, TV telecasts, bowls, and money. In case this gets enough publicity and somebody in the BCS sees it and wants to shoot it down with some absurd question just to stall, I've even got the answer on how to paint the end zones if I need it. I'm that determined.

I've got this thought through.

In the meantime, though, I need your help. Spread the word around wherever you go. Whatever other sites you guys go to, message boards, spread the word. The plan I am about to propose will seem too crazy to be possible, but it really is. I can pretty much guarantee that nobody has ever tried to get something like this pushed forward. This is not an article I thought of overnight; this is a long time's work all coming together. It's awesome, in my own opinion, but it will only do any good if it's highly publicized. So alert everybody that a gigantic, never seen before proposal to destroy the BCS is on its way.

Check your calendars, because next Friday at 1:00pm, right here on inallkindsofweather, the plan will be released. So be here at 1:00pm to get the first look!

It's hard to get angry at anybody that brings your team success, especially the kind of success Urban Meyer brought to Gainesville, yet Meyer has done that with the majority of Gator fans. I personally don't hate him; I am grateful for all he did but I don't really think he is the best person in the world, to use an understatement.

Look, we all do it. We're all unethical at some point or another. Everybody makes mistakes, a lot of them out of greed and selfishness. Coaches are no exception. What Meyer did was certainly selfish, but it's not uncommon. Lane Kiffin did the same thing to UT, and he only stayed one year. Nick Saban fled LSU for the pros, Greg Schiano ran away from Rutgers for the same reason as Saban, Pete Carroll jumped USC for the NFL after many successful years, and Bobby Petrino jumped more ships than a Somali pirate.

The point is, Meyer's departure was different because he wasn't honest about it. At least the other guys I just mentioned came right out and said they were leaving for the NFL or for another job. The fan bases were upset, sure, but they didn't have the license to riot about it (with the exception of Kiffin, because he jumped ship after one year). Meyer's departure was very shady because, well, we Gator fans know why.

We all knew long ago that Meyer had something special for Ohio State. Something wasn't quite right when the Gators mauled the Buckeyes 41-14 in Glendale for the national championship. His autobiography even hints at it. He just wasn't all that happy; you could see it in his eyes.

When asked why, Meyer replied that he was worried that the Gators didn't have enough talent/experience for the future, which was pure garbage; Tim Tebow won the Heisman the very next year, Percy Harvin became the most explosive player in the nation (sorry DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin), and although the defense wasn't great in 2007, they became a unit to fear in 2008 en route to another BCS Championship- which I will pause to point out had Meyer much happier than the one two years ago- and 13 more wins in 2009, when the Gators "settled" for a Sugar Bowl win and a #3 ranking.

So he was dishonest about that. And it's OK. Really, it is. College football is full of coaches that only talk gamespeak language where only other coaches and highly perceptive (or at least experienced) fans know what the coach is saying.

But it was still speculation then. Even after he resigned the first time, it was just talk. After the 2010 season, and his second resignation, despite all the years of buildup, it was still just a rumor.

Then Stan Drayton resigned as the Gators' running backs coach, and took the job as Ohio State's receivers coach- because they already had a running backs coach. The most he ever worked with receivers was with Percy Harvin, and when you have talent like that, you almost don't even need a coach. Plus, he was a hybrid at Florida.

That was when I knew it would happen, and I braced myself for it every day. Sure, it could be coincidence, but how likely is that? Maybe Drayton didn't know the extent of the Jim Tressel downfall, but come on, he HAD to know that someday, Urban Meyer would become the head coach. WHY ELSE? Why Ohio State? Over 120 schools play D-I football, and about 5 of them are currently in serious trouble with the NCAA, and Ohio State is one of them. (Auburn, Penn State, Miami, USC are the other four, although USC is starting to come out of it). Why else would he pick Ohio State?

To be completely honest, I'm not at all angry at Urban Meyer anymore. He left our program in ruins, and admitted as much to Will Muschamp. He also brought us 2 BCS Championships, brought us close to a third, and developed many great NFL players. There are two sides to this coin, and right now, the bad side is not only up, but glinting in a bright light. It's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world in college football, and the last few things Meyer did for Gator Nation were: allow Steve Addazio to play with and mangle our promising offense (I am still, and might be for the rest of my life, furious with him), abruptly ditch us (twice) and then bolt for all the same reasons that supposedly forced him to retire.

That's all we remember when we think of Meyer.

We instantly forget all the wins he brought to our program. We forget that he brought in superstars such as Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Joe Haden, Ahmad Black, the Pouncey twins, Carlos Dunlap, and a slew of others. Even if you want to only credit the players for the championships, remember that Meyer and his staff recruited them.

So before you bash Meyer using all the techniques rival fan bases use- the arrest record, the lying, and the overall classlessness- remember that while they are all accurate to some level, they're not uncommon. If somebody you don't like is part of a violent gang that kidnaps the beautiful princess, do you start bad mouthing only your enemy, or the entire gang? Legally, they're all at fault. They're all getting arrested. They're all to blame, not just one. Gator Nation is just picking on Meyer because they all see him as the enemy. Let's go back to the List O' Liars/Ditchers: Lane Kiffin, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, and Greg Schiano- and these are guys that have lied/fled in the past three years alone.

I'm not defending Meyer. I'm only saying that you can't get mad at only him for doing something a bunch of other guys did. If you rip on Urban, then you have to unload similar insults at Kiffin, Carroll, Schiano, Petrino and Saban. And remember, he DID restore the Gators to national prominence.

Be honest, and be fair. Unlike those guys.

How mad can you really get at him when you think everything through?

I know Georgia won the SEC East last year, but you can't say they were the favorite, nor can you say they're the favorite this year.

Simply put, Georgia was the single worst team to ever represent a finalist for a conference championship contest.

In their defense, they did win 10 games- with a schedule softer than a feather. They beat Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State by an average of 9 points. Three of those teams they struggled against didn't even make bowl games. The other three were 6-6. So to sum it up: all six of these teams were .500 or below in the regular season. They also had a 31-17 win over a de facto mid major team in Georgia Tech, which was semi-impressive since you never take a win on the road lightly. In addition, Georgia blew out big bad Coastal Carolina and New Mexico State. Boring.

The two and a half games Georgia looked legitimate were: a 45-42 loss to South Carolina, a game that was yet was actually not their fault in a comic sort of way; the Gamecocks scored in some of the most unconventional ways possible (fake punt, pick 6, fumble recovery, another fumble recovery that put the ball inside the UGA 5), a 45-7 blowout over an Auburn team that had nothing whatsoever to play for (and boy, it showed) and the first half against an LSU team that seemed perfectly content to give Georgia a half to run up as big of a lead as it could before settling down and playing to win in the second half instead of showing a flair for botcher seldom seen in a Pee Wee game, let alone an SEC Championship.

Get the point?

The Dawgs are not a team to fear. If anything, they are a team to laugh at, mock, and dismiss in any national title talk.

See for yourself.

When you're done laughing, take a second to look at their schedule from a year ago.

See what I mean?

But now, in 2012, the schedules have halfway evened out. Alabama and Auburn are off the Gators' schedule, replaced by Texas A&M and Missouri, two mediocre ex-Big 12 teams. Then remember how close the Gators were in all of their losses to the teams not in last year's BCS Championship Game. Meanwhile, UGA's schedule is pretty much the same. The one difference is Missouri replacing Mississippi State, which is basically a lateral move. Neither team particularly impresses as better than the other one.

The only other possible threat to Georgia's SEC East repeat chances aside from Florida would be the obvious choice, Carolina. Losing Alshon Jeffrey is a blow, but never count out a Marcus Lattimore led team (as long as he's healthy.)

Here are my way too early SEC East projections for 2012:

1)Florida- This is strictly by default. Remember, Georgia was awful last year and won the East due to a nice schedule. Florida should definitely be better on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Even with the loss of Ronald Powell (I've heard he is targeted to return for the first SEC game against Texas A&M), this defense is simply evil. The offense has enough playmakers (Andre Debose, Trey Burton and Quinton Dunbar especially impressed) to put up winning point totals, but this team will ride its defense. The schedule sets up nicely, with the toughest opponents (LSU, South Carolina) coming to the Swamp. The road games are for the most part jokes. The Gators are a good, not great team, but will win the East not because they are so great, but because there's simply nobody better.

2)South Carolina- Cocky is never out of the race to Atlanta for one two word reason: Marcus Lattimore. Assuming this warrior is healthy, Carolina should ground and pound their way to the mid 20's every game. With their defense, that should be enough. Melvin Ingram, Stephon Gilmore and Devin Taylor have departed for the NFL, but Jadeveon Clowney is still a one man wrecking crew up front and should do his usual job of singlehandedly forcing the opposing QB to make quick and often bad decisions. Connor Shaw seemed to have a good grip on the offense last year. He'll need to if Carolina wants to get back to the ATL. It'll be a replay of last year- the SEC East title game in Gainesville. But this time around, the depleted Gamecocks don't have quite enough to win, despite a fairly easy schedule.

3)Tennessee- this is the bold pick of the article. If I'm wrong about this, then Derek Dooley begins to feel the heat in Knoxville. A third straight season in the bottom half of the SEC East, no matter how many injuries the Vols have, would spell doom for Dooley, one of the true class acts of the SEC (a grudging admission from a Gator fan). Last season Georgia was on the verge of firing Mark Richt in 2011, only to win 10 straight games (albeit against horrible competition, remember). The same could happen to the Vols this year. Tyler Bray may be virtually unknown now, but I don't believe that Tyler Bray's talent will be unknown to the world for long. His top target, Justin Hunter, will return with a special fire in him. Together, the two could send scoreboard numbers flying, along with help from a much improved offensive line. But the question marks on defense are too big and too many to seriously label this team a contender.

4)Georgia- this isn't really so much a slap in the face to Georgia, nor a hopeful plea from a huge Gator fan as much as I would like to say it is. No, this is simply a guess that all the close games UGA won last year will turn into heartbreaking losses in 2012. Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in particular could have easily beaten Georgia and Tennessee, Ole Miss and MSU were never out of it until the last few minutes. Their 2012 schedule is essentially the same, as is their roster, particularly on defense. Their lone big loss is their great tight end Orson Charles. Perhaps their real losses come due to suspensions- Alec Ogletree, Bacarri Rambo, Sanders Commings and Branden Smith are all out from a variety of 1-4 games. That means they might lose a game to a mediocre Mizzou team they shouldn't- and if they do, well, then they certainly won't win the East unless they can pull off a string of thrillers- again. Which is nearly impossible to do in the SEC- even in the weaker division.

5)Vanderbilt- the Commodores are no joke. Ask Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, or even Alabama. All four of those teams beat Vandy, but not without a serious fight first. And with Alabama and Arkansas off the schedule in 2012, the Dores have a real chance. For once, Vanderbilt, kick started by energetic coach James Franklin and QB Jordan Rodgers, appears to be a legitimate threat to win the East. The schedule even sets up nicely- South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee have to visit them, and they go to Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri. The only problem is that the rest of the SEC knows not to take them lightly, and when you're in the SEC and you suddenly have high(er) expectations, you tend to fall flat. Plus, you know, they're Vandy. They always make Vandy plays, even when they're good. Watch this good-by-other-conference-standards-but-not-by-SEC-standards-team this year and you'll see what I mean if you don't already know.

6)Missouri- say hey to the new kid on the block. Here's your schedule. Now go take your maulings. Truthfully, Mizzou is probably sick of hearing how good the SEC is by now and they're hungry to take the league by storm, but that doesn't mean they will. In fact, chances are they won't, no matter how good QB James Franklin (no relation to Vandy's coach) really is. They're in way over their heads. Even if heralded freshman DGB (Dorial Green-Beckham, the latest awesome three letter nickname in college football) turns out to be a stud, he and Franklin will never light up scoreboards against the nastiest SEC defenses. Good luck with that. Their defense actually wasn't bad last year, and should be good again this year, but they need more offensive playmakers before they can make a run, even with the element of surprise with them. They'll get there in time- Gary Pinkel recruits too well not to- but not yet.

7)Kentucky- fresh off their season ending triumph over Tennessee, Kentucky celebrated for hours on end. Now, they can play all the mediocre to good SEC teams and be reminded of why they like basketball so much. Josh Clemons emerged as a playmaker last year for them, but he couldn't carry them by himself. There are too many ghosts on this team- Derrick Locke, Randall Cobb, Mike Hartline and Micah Johnson. Now two more join them from last year's team: Winston Guy and Danny Trevathan. The defense can't be all that good, and unless Morgan Newton emerges as the next Cam Newton (there's no relation there) Joker Phillips is in for a long season.

It's very hard to recap a spring game with any excitement for one main reason. There's never really anything so great about a spring game, because what's good for the offense is bad for the defense, and vice versa. That said, I was very happy with the way both units performed. The defense swarmed to the ball quite often, and there were more big plays by the offense then there were in the last two seasons combined.

But there was nothing better to see than the emergence of two freshmen who played a huge role in the new (exciting, but I'll credit Pease later) offense- redshirt frosh tailback Chris Johnson and true freshman wideout LaTroy Pittman.

Simply put, the two dominated the spring game.

Pittman had several receptions, none bigger than a beautiful bomb thrown by Jacoby Brissett that set up the first score of the day.

And Johnson had several big runs, including a touchdown from 3 yards out.

Other new faces that had big impacts were linebacker David Campbell, recording the only turnover of the game (an interception of Tyler Murphy that he returned 16 yards), Mack Brown Jr., who scored a TD and had a couple other nice runs, and Jabari Gorman, who had a hand in almost every tackle, no exaggeration.

Then there were the familiar names on the offensive side of the ball that we're going to need big time come September- Andre Debose, Quinton Dunbar, Trey Burton and Jordan Reed, who each had huge impacts in the passing game... and the offensive line.

I'd like to take a second to compliment the o-line, last year's main offensive problem. Chaz Green, Xavier Nixon, Jessamen Dunker and DJ Humphries were excellent yesterday, giving their QB (whoever it was) plenty of time to throw and really getting some push at the line of scrimmage on running plays.

But forget all that. Let's keep this in perspective- this WAS just a spring game, us against us, so again, when there's a good play by one unit, it's negative for the other unit.

Instead, let's think about this- finally, FINALLY, we may just have the offense we've all been waiting for since Dan Mullen left in 2009. Brent Pease put together an offensive game plan that was truly masterful- mainly by getting speedy receivers the ball in space, whether that be by a reverse, end around, or a simple deep throw. The end result? Almost twice the point total from last year's spring game (41 to 23), many more big plays and much more excitement for fans.

I don't expect Pease to come in and immediately raise Florida's offense to tops in the nation. No, I learned that lesson with the whole Charlie Weis era. I do, however, expect Pease to eventually lead this team upward to that level, mainly because they looked so good against a defense that we know is nasty- 8th in the nation last year with 10 out of 11 starters returning. The offense started slow, but once the guys got into a rhythm, the points started piling up late in the game.

So there's a lot to be excited about Gator fans, but don't get your hopes up. This could easily be another 7-6 year. Honestly, though, the Gators' schedule sets up very nicely, meaning it could easily be a 10 win season. The toughest game of the year? That would be LSU, and it's right in the friendly (from Florida's point of view, obviously) confines of the Swamp, so there's a chance. We also get South Carolina at home, Georgia in Jax as always, we go to FSU- these three games will make or break our season. Do we win all three? If yes, then the Gators are off to Atlanta with a shot at the BCS Championship. 2-1 in these games and Florida still probably wins the SEC East, even if the loss is in conference, but BCS Title hopes are gone. 1-2, and you're looking at a 9-3 season- which is the most realistic. I don't believe the Gators will lose all three games, because you have to have faith in Will Muschamp at least once here.

The SEC road games are relatively easy- at Texas A&M, at Tennessee, and at Vanderbilt. The remaining home games are Bowling Green, Kentucky, Missouri, Jacksonville State and The University of Louisiana. Come on now. A loss in any of these games would be nothing less than a disgrace.

So it does look very good for the Gators, with a new offense, the same nasty defense, Caleb Sturgis and the special teams returning, and a fiery coach that is full of battle scars from year 1, looking for redemption.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for two major posts- a completely new, radical college football playoff proposal and chronicling the lifelong journey of Percy Harvin.

Oh, and if anybody wants to watch the replay of the spring game, you can do so here.

On another note, the Gator baseball team is choking. They were once 20-1; now they're 25-7. Cheer them on whenever you can.

Happy holidays!

Some people involved in this deal are morons.

Other people had no say.

Some others were simply apathetic.

Still others simply took what they felt was the opportunity available.

All of them lost.

We'll start with the Broncos, who fall into the moron category.

From their point of view, I really struggle to see the logic in dumping Tebow so soon- even for Peyton Manning. John Elway said he did it because he wanted to win now. But if he had stopped and thought about it, this wasn't the way to do it.

No, his best chance to win now would have been to keep Tebow, and draft some decent receivers- really, speed everywhere on offense. DeMaryius Thomas is one guy, but they need more. Load your roster with speed demons and run the offense Tebow ran at Florida. That won 8 games last year, admittedly with a strong defense to help out.

I can see why Elway wanted to get a guy like Peyton- because he's an icon. But how good is Peyton after his neck injury? Sure, the doctors SAY he's fine, but how about after Ray Lewis bodyslams him? How's his condition then?

Even if Peyton is completely healed, he's old. Really old. He just turned 36, which is old for any position, but especially for a QB. He only has two, maybe three more good years left. Considering the fact that Knowshon Moreno is in trouble with the law (shocker, a Georgia Bulldog in trouble with the law), the Broncos are very short on firepower- and thanks to Tebow's late game heroics, they don't even have a good draft pick to select a top college playmaker.

In order to win now, like Elway said, they need more than just Peyton. They need a big play hero.

They need Tim Tebow.

I would have no problem watching Tebow back up Peyton Manning, learning from one of the game's best. I have no problem with Peyton Manning, either, even though he is, well, a Vol (that I am quick to point out... never beat Florida... not in four tries). He handled the whole thing with class, even though the Broncos aren't a great choice to try to lead to a Super Bowl. They simply aren't equipped with the overall talent to win it all, even with Manning. And for those of you that want to point to how bad the Colts were last year without Manning... remember, Dwight Freeney, one of the game's best defensive players, was also out for the year. As good as Manning is, I don't like his chances of winning a Super Bowl in Denver.

But the Broncos foolishly ditched the guy that resurrected a 1-4 team and turned them into a playoff team... to the Jets.

Again, I have no problem with Tebow backing up Manning. That's one thing. Backing up Mark Sanchez, one of the game's worst QB's, is quite another.

As a long time Jets hater, I was disgusted with the Jets. They're at it again. Trading for big name players just to sell some jerseys. They're a lot like the Yankees. Except, you know, without the winning tradition.

But even looking at it without my orange and blue glasses, I don't see the logic in this.

Did Rex Ryan really just trade for Tebow because he expected him to "back up" Sanchez, or "run a special Wildcat package"?

No, the real reason he traded for him was because he wanted to learn a discreet way to check out people's feet, and what more surruptitious way to do it than by Tebowing? By learning how to properly do the Tebow, he has a week's supply of foot images.

Get real.

You really think this walking icon is going to sit around and play Sanchez's backup?

Why not?

Fair question.

For one thing, um, Sanchez absolutely sucks. He is very inaccurate, has horrible field vision and makes bad decisions. He was able to hide behind a great defense in 2009, and again in 2010, and "led" the Jets to the AFC title game in each of those years. The Jets proceeded to lose both of them when the Colts and Steelers, respectively, exposed Sanchez for what he is: CFL material.

Then, in 2011, with no defense to use as a shield, he went 8-8 as a starter and missed the playoffs. Now all the blame from the fickle Jets fan base rains down on him. Here's a bulletin: he didn't have a bad year. He was always bad.

Nothing the Jets' front office tried to boost his confidence worked: naming him the captain, a huge contract extension, hauling in big name receivers like Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress, etc.

Maybe last Thursday was opposite day for the simpletons in the Jets' front office. Maybe it was "Kill Sanchez's confidence after building it up for three years Day". Maybe they just got tired of trying to boost his confidence and wanted to see how much damage they could cause to it with one shot. Call it what you like, but somehow, I don't think that trading for Tebow is going to boost his confidence at all.

OK, so we've got the most obnoxious and impatient fan base in the NFL, and an icon playing backup QB. Now we're going to play a little game. It's called Guess What Happens Next? Maybe you're familiar with it from Tosh.o. This is where I give you a scenario, and you readers guess what happens next.

Sanchez throws a pick 6 on the first drive of the 2012 season- or at any moment, really.

Guess what happens next?

If you guessed that the Jets fans would be angry enough to voice their opinions in the form of boos, you're right? Other acceptable answers were: "Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!", "Sanchez sucks! Sanchez sucks! Sanchez sucks!" and "We Want Tebow!" Thanks for playing!

So we've covered how Sanchez loses, but how about the Jets themselves?

Well, that one is kind of tricky. They only lose as long as Tebow is not the starting QB as long as Sanchez isn't suddenly playing like Tom Brady. But until they make Tebow the starting QB, they lose big, because you can bet the fans will let Ryan have it. And as long as Sanchez is the starter with this kind of pressure on him, he won't play well, which means the Jets will probably lose.

What about Tebow?

He actually can win in this situation- but again, ONLY if he is made the starter. If he is a backup, he loses too, for obvious reasons (he was the starter for most of last season with Denver, and did well).

But, I guess we just have to wait and see how this plays out. We'll never know for sure until they play games.

Oh and bone- how about my boy Eli Manning?

One of Reggie Nelson's lasting images as a Gator was picking off John Parker Wilson and taking it 70 yards to the house to seal the 28-13 win over Alabama in 2006- and had dozens of other big time pass breakups in his final year at Florida.

Of course, Percy Harvin was a human highlight reel during his time at Florida, but especially in his last two years when he got more touches.

For two years, Janoris Jenkins locked down on some of the best young receivers (or future receivers) in the NFL, such as Julio Jones, Alshon Jeffrey, Brandon LaFell, and AJ Green.

Last year, Chris Rainey was unquestionably the Gators most explosive player, consistently breaking tackles and turning nothing into something.

What do all these guys have in common?

They all wore the number 1 on their jerseys once they really matured into excellent players.

Or, in some cases, when the coaches thought they needed to provide some spark in a player to make them really break out the way they envisioned when they recruited them.

Since I really started following Gator football at the rate I do now in 2006, it's worked every time.

Wideout Quinton Dunbar and linebacker Jonathan Bostic have been issued number 1 for offense and defense, respectively. Issuing number 1 for somebody on the Gators (and I'm sure for a bunch of other teams too) is similar to naming the player captain. It means the coach has high expectations or high trust in the player, and usually both. The difference between an actual captain and somebody that wears 1 is the physical ability of the player wearing 1 (obviously, exceptions are made for guys like Tim Tebow or Joe Haden).

Captains usually are appointed for leadership reasons- going the extra set of reps in the weight room, on the practice field, or encouraging the teammate that just missed a tackle or fumbled the ball away. Sure, Tebow was a beast, but if he had a poor attitude he might not have been named captain. The number 1 is given out to players that have tremendous physical ability AND is willing to go that extra mile to get the absolute most he can out of his talent.

But numbers are issued in spring practice (at least with Will Muschamp they are), and he has basically sent a message to his team that Dunbar and Bostic are going to lead by example and that he expects greatness out of both of them.

Credit Urban Meyer for this. This was his idea. Muschamp merely retained it as part of his winning formula- give number 1 to guys who you really have faith in.

Just like the guys before Dunbar and Bostic, these two have shown flashes of immense talent, but (especially for Dunbar) these moments have been few and far between.

Something that might help Dunbar get more action is the agreement of former Gator wide receiver Omarious Hines to play running back (and wear number 20) in his senior season. This is part of Brent Pease's new offense- crazy packages that confuse defenses to the point of busted assignments- but I'll get into that tomorrow. Hines switching positions clears the way for Dunbar to shine alongside Andre Debose, who has already proven to be not only a great receiver, but a legitimate threat to score from anywhere on the field if you mess around. And even if you don't mess around, he might still score.

As for Bostic, he has actually proven himself already. He co-anchored a defense that finished in the top 10 in the nation. Unfortunately for Florida, the offense sucked so much that holding Auburn, Georgia, FSU and South Carolina to 79 combined points ultimately meant nothing. With an offense, and wins in those four games, Florida is 10-2, in Atlanta, and Bostic gets some recognition.

But that's why these guys were given #1 anyway- to prove their worth.

And hopefully their worth will guide the Gators back to glory.

Muschamp seems to think that's exactly what will happen.

So let's join him.

Check out my new video. It should show you what I'm about to tell you.

I'm not sure how much you guys have followed football recruiting lately. I haven't a whole lot myself.

Credit Will Muschamp and his staff for that.

What's come to be known by some as Texas style recruiting is paying off in spades for Florida.

With each passing year, more and more teams do it, but Urban Meyer never really did quite like Muschamp, Saban, Mack Brown, or Bob Stoops.

In short, Texas style recruiting means hooking (no pun intended) kids early in the recruiting process, then holding onto them. This is a win win for everybody involved, even for the teams the kid didn't commit to, because usually they will not waste their time on the already committed recruit that they could use on an equally valuable, uncommitted recruit. The only loser is ESPNU, because signing day won't mean anything if everybody already knows where they're going. They may get one or two surprising flips, like Dante Fowler but they can't expect much more.

Most kids love to get the recruiting process over with early. Even the ones with big heads who love to play with the media and coaches get tired of it pretty quickly. It's really annoying after awhile. I had enough of it after a few weeks- and the schools that came after me were mainly DIII. I can imagine how much worse it is for football at the premiere level of DI.

The great thing is, Will Muschamp likes to get his kids to commit early. And when most recruits like to oblige him with early commitments, it's game over- because both sides are happy (I'm assuming the kid likes UF enough to play there).

Last year, however, Urban Meyer left us in a bad state. I've gotten over some of my anger toward Meyer- if he can get a job elsewhere- let him. Besides, his spread offense had run its course. It's not like there was any sign of promise that more greatness was coming after 2010, aside from the #1 recruiting class he pulled in for the 2010 class- and a bunch of those guys are gone anyway.

I still blame Addazio for this. He was the one who ran the team the entire 2009 offseason, meaning the recruiting class as well. While the #1 2010 class remained firm, future classes fell hard. Big time recruits, such as top running back Mike Bellamy, were scared off by the disgraceful offense he put out. Losing recruits means an ever so slight loss of prestige for future classes. It puts the thought in future recruits' heads, "There must be something better about Clemson than Florida."

So for Addazio (and Meyer) to be LOSING recruits during the time that more and more teams are GETTING them.... you can finish the sentence.

The other really destructive move Addazio made was crushing the confidence of John Brantley. Forget the 2011 season. He and Meyer share the blame for this one. Had Florida installed an offense that fit Brantley's style, who knows, he might have slung bullets everywhere en route to a Heisman. Is that realistic? Probably not. But the point is, nobody knows. That nightmare 2010 immediately segued into even greater embarrassment in 2011. Brantley had zero confidence heading into the season, and as a result flopped. Sure, go ahead and blame some of this on Charlie Weis, but remember his track record that had Gator fans giddy with joy.

For those of you that don't remember how talented Brantley appeared to be, refresh your memory here.

Neither the poor (by Gator standards; #13 in the nation isn't exactly chopped liver) recruiting class nor Brantley's horrible senior year can be blamed on Muschamp, or even Weis.

Nope, the blame lies on Meyer and Addazio. They were the head coaches from the end of the 2009 season to the end of the 2010 season- the 365 day period where Gator football fell off the top of the mountain. In order to get back up, Will Muschamp knew he had to drop back down another few feet, find a new, different route and take that one back up.

So Gators and haters alike, watch out for a return to the top by the Gators. A national championship appears to be at least a year away, but 10 wins (bowl game included) and a trip to Atlanta are very realistic for 2012.

Yes, Muschamp has absolutely earned that extension, if that's what you're wondering.

There had never been an overtime game in NFL history where a team got the ball after the other team scored- before yesterday. But when Denver and Pittsburgh ended regulation at 23 apiece, it looked like a certainty.

Tim Tebow made sure there still hasn't.

He fired a bullet to Demaryius Thomas, who caught it and outraced a pair of Steelers for an 80 yard touchdown- and the win.

Tebow then flashed a smile that has been missing for the past month, struck what is now known across the globe as the Tebowing pose, and took a victory lap.

He had every right to be happy.

Not only did he send arguably the most prestigious NFL franchise home with an early playoff exit, but he looked like the QB that Josh McDaniels envisioned when he drafted him. In fact, the entire offense looked just like what McDaniels envisioned.

No doubt, it will have to change somewhat for next season. But for now, Denver can ride it for the rest of the season because it produced 367 total yards out of Tebow and 29 points against what was supposed to be the best defense in the NFL.

I missed the first quarter because traffic coming home from the Giants game was bad. It's OK. I turned on CBS just in time to watch Tebow throw a perfectly on target ball to a receiver that Steeler coach Mike Tomlin lamented after the game, wasn't open. Tebow just fit that ball in beautifully.

He threw a bunch more like it, and people everywhere were going, "What's this?" Not Gator fans. WE watched Tebow thread the needle with surgeon like precision to pull off an electrifying comeback against Alabama in the 2008 SEC Championship Game. WE watched Tebow pick apart Oklahoma in the BCS Championship with similarly eerily accuracy a month later. WE watched Tebow pull of comeback after comeback a year later in 2009.

So WE know he's capable of being an NFL QB. Especially with an offseason working with John Elway to fine tune his skills. Yes, he does need work. Here are some things he needs to improve on:

-Throwing on the run to the right side

Tebow is a lefty, and it's naturally harder for him to throw while flushed to his weaker side. But he's going to have to do this if he wants to continue his journey. New England figured it out a few weeks ago, and no doubt they'll try to force him to his right again this week. Pretty soon, all opponents will send overload blitzes off Tebow's left side so there's nowhere to go but right. He needs to be successful enough to force teams to play him honest.

-Accuracy

There were some Aaron Rodgers type throws yesterday. Then, there were also some horrible throws that looked like they were thrown by a 4 year old. Those need to improve. He needs to be more consistent. And even though he was much better than he has been, it's still shaky enough to need improvement. Someday, one of those bad throws could turn into gift TD's- like they did in Buffalo.

-Decision making

Again, this was better yesterday. But just because it was better one week doesn't mean the problem has been completely fixed. He still needs to know when to pull it down and get out of the pocket and when to step up, sacrifice himself and let it go.

All in all, he's been much better in the fourth quarter than the rest of the game. That also needs to change. But it's not a strategical or mechanical problem. That's a mental problem, and if Tebow continues to play the way he did yesterday... and his defense plays well behind him... who says he can't go all the way? The Pats' defense isn't great, and while Baltimore's supposedly better defensively, we thought the Steelers were too. Plus, the Ravens' offense probably won't score a whole lot, regardless of what Terrell Suggs thinks.

And in the Super Bowl?

My bet is New Orleans, and they're beatable with solid defense and a chain moving type of offense. Which Denver has.

So yes, Denver can win the Super Bowl if the Broncos continue to play like this.

Specifically Tebow.

I'm back, at least for now. My personal issue was taken care of much, much quicker than I would have dreamed of. I'll take it, the same way the Gators will take their 6th bowl win in their last 7 appearances.

The game was played in Jacksonville, Florida, not Glendale, Arizona.

The game was sponsored by TaxSlayer, not Tostitos.

The coaching matchup was Will Muschamp vs. Luke Fickell, not Urban Meyer vs. Jim Tressel.

The game was a third tier bowl, not a BCS Championship Game.

The results were still the same.

Once again, the Gators' speed was way too much for Ohio State to handle. Once again, the Gators' defense ran all over the Buckeyes. Once again, the offense controlled the ball and killed the clock in the second half to limit Ohio State's possessions and make them start the few possessions they did get deep in their own territory (for the most part).

And once again, Urban Meyer was the mind behind the Gators' win. The special teams that Ohio State is so dearly looking forward to will get to Columbus in due time, but yesterday it was used against them as Meyer's players gave them a preview of what it might look like next year. The problem for OSU is that Meyer's old players still wear the orange and blue, not scarlet and silver.

I'll make the recap quick so I can touch on two very important topics: the Gators' future and John Brantley.

The offense, much like it has all year, was mainly ineffective aside from the opening drive of the game. It did just enough to win the game. There's a good and a bad to that. The good is, it was enough to win. The bad news is, it was BARELY enough to win and going forward, it needs to be changed. But in any case, the offense did kill the clock late in the game, didn't turn it over much and basically didn't lose the game.

The special teams won the game with a blocked punt by Chris Rainey that was returned for a touchdown by Graham Stewart and a kick return TD by Andre Debose. The defense also did its part, keeping Braxton Miller and the Ohio State offense in check all game. The offense didn't do much at all to contribute.

That's OK, though. You don't need an explosive offense to win a national championship. You just need great defense and great special teams. All the offense needs to do is bleed clock, not turn it over and rely on one explosive playmaker.

That's how championships are won these days.

The Gators had the great defense and special teams in 2006, and relied on Percy Harvin to create huge plays. The offense, whether with Chris Leak or Tim Tebow, would keep moving the chains at least once or twice per drive to change field position, Eric Wilber would then boom a punt and pin opponents inside their 20 and Charlie Strong would unleash his nasty defense and dare the opponent to beat them deep. For good measure, Brandon James would throw in a big return every other game or so to give Florida great field position. Oh, and the Gators would also block a kick every once in awhile.

In 2009, Alabama's defense stuffed even the best offenses for 60 minutes, and their special teams always came through in the clutch, whether Leigh Tiffin would boot a long field goal or Terrence Cody would block a game winning kick. The offense, highlighted by bruising tailback Mark Ingram, steamrolled past the best of them, then knocked down Florida for the SEC Championship and then Texas for the national championship. The Gators had the defense, but the special teams was merely good, not dominant, and that isn't enough.

This year, another SEC team will win it all thanks to a bruising defense and great special teams. No, I'm not talking about Alabama. LSU's kicking game is far better. It gave them in the edge in Tuscaloosa and unless Robbie Gould or Neil Rackers makes the Tide's active roster for the BCS Championship Game it should give them the edge in New Orleans.

Of course, it's nice to have an explosive offense. But it's better to have your defense be great and your offense suck rather than the other way around. Remember how that worked for Florida in 2007, and then remember that our special teams, aside from a punt return TD against Tennessee, wasn't especially dominant either. You need your special teams AND your defense to be dominant, and a game managing, chain moving offense.

We have the dominant defense and the dominant special teams. We should return at least 9 starters on our starting defense that finished 8th in the nation in total yards allowed. We will lose Caleb Sturgis, which will hurt. We do have one of the top kickers in the nation, Austin Hardin, coming to town, but whether he can replace Sturgis remains to be seen. Kyle Christy silently emerged as one of the nation's better punters as a freshman, and should only improve as a sophomore in 2012. Andre Debose might have been the best return man in college football over the past two seasons, with 3 kicks taken back for touchdowns and three others of 50+ yards. I see no reason why he wouldn't continue to return kicks unless he becomes the focal point of the offense.

Which is a work in progress.

I'll get to John Brantley's legacy in a bit, but for now, let's just focus on his performance on the field. He simply was one of the most overhyped recruits in Gator football history. It might not have been his fault, but that's just the way it is. He was immobile, he was inaccurate and he just wasn't a good fit for the spread, and no matter how hard Charlie Weis tried to turn him into a pro QB, it didn't quite happen. The other players were recruited to run a spread, so even if Brantley was ready, the speed guys like Demps and Rainey were not.

My prototypical Florida QB for the future: A pro style, drop back QB who has confidence, an accurate arm and intelligence who CAN run for first downs and CAN escape from a broken pocket but who will ONLY do it as a LAST RESORT. Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett and both athletic enough to fit that description, and they both have the arm. It's the confidence and intelligence that need to be developed. By intelligence I mean somebody who will take the sack or throw it out of bounds rather than try to force one into triple coverage, and well, by confidence I mean a level at the inverse of Brantley's.

Speaking of Brantley.

The last 3 Florida QB's were worlds better than him, and the next three might be too. Aside from Tim Tebow, I can't really think of anybody as loyal and as tough as Brantley.

I don't play football due to early arm injuries and my parents freaking out too much to ever let me, but I wanted to remain close to the game and the coach hired me as an offensive assistant so I'm as close to the action as anybody not actually playing. I see guys get nicked up in practice every day. There's always a player or two that needs a tape job from our trainer before every practice and at least five or six before every game.

I'm not praising the players for playing through cuts and bruises, but I have seen guys play with partially torn ligaments, partially broken bones and other semi serious injuries. During timeouts, I'll relay in a play-call and I can see when a player is hurting. I see things fans don't see, such as guys playing through bad cramps, stingers, etc. They never complain, and while I'm not exactly complimenting for that because that's the required toughness of football, that required toughness is not found in everybody and I do respect that.

This is at the high school level, and while my high school program is one of the better ones in New Jersey, it's nowhere near the levels of Don Bosco or some of the perennial Florida and Texas powerhouses. Everybody gets hurt at some point in football. But at higher stages comes higher pressure. Combine playing through pressure with playing through injuries. Think about how hard that is to do. It's only for the elite group of tough kids.

Now combine the pressure of playing at the University of Florida, one of the most prestigious programs in the nation, in the best conference in the nation with the beating Brantley took in 2010. The lack of an offensive line ultimately meant Brantley got sacked and sometimes took a stinger. The boos got louder, and Brantley took almost as heavy a beating from the fans as he did from opposing defenses- maybe even heavier than Addazio at times.

In 2011, the pressure slightly loosened with an offense that somewhat fit his style- kind of a hybrid spread/pro offense- but the beatings got worse. Against Alabama, Brantley was brilliant for a half, but late in the second quarter, he got nailed and his ankle turned in quite an ugly fashion. This was after being lit up by Kentucky the week before.

Now, I'm not in Florida's training room every day. I don't know for sure how much time he put into his rehab. I can only base my guess off of what I see in my high school training room. Obviously, UF's facilities are worlds ahead of my high school's, but I can understand the amount of time and effort put into the rehab. Let's just say that it wasn't easy. I've seen some of my players- my friends, really- grunting out stretch sessions, and I felt really horrible, thinking about how much it really took out of them.

Brantley must have gone through some of the same workouts that I've witnessed in order to play against Georgia. He took another solid beating, though, and I refuse to believe he didn't endure another difficult week in the training room to get back for Vandy. Another week, same deal for South Carolina, then for Furman and then for FSU. All Brantley wanted after all this grueling training was to win his last game in the Swamp- but it didn't happen. He got knocked out after throwing a bad pick, and his career in the Swamp was over.

Why did he endure all this misery? Why did he work so damn hard just to get back on the field? It's bad for his health, football critics say, and they're right. Football is a violent game, almost like war. If you aren't willing to kill somebody, or get killed to win for your side, then go home. That's just the way it is, the same way that Ohio State bows to the SEC (0-11 now. It's really a bad time to be a Buckeye fan with any SEC fan in your zip code).

Brantley exemplified a true soldier the whole time. Maybe he leaves a legacy of the most overhyped recruit in UF history, but he also leaves a legacy as a Gator with undying loyalty. He went all the way to hell and back in the training room, in the weight room, and on the practice field just to fight for his team.

It's easy to quit. Really easy. Garrett Gilbert did it without a second thought. And that's why Texas fans think of him as... um... let's just say a cat. That's a much nicer synonym for another word that Longhorn fans use on internet boards and on the streets.

It's much harder to never give up no matter what. I can't say Brantley is the toughest and most loyal Gator ever, because it's hard to put him behind Tim Tebow, who played with a broken hand in the Capital One Bowl and came back from a concussion to beat LSU when his coaches and doctors thought he should sit it out.

Brantley never wanted to be Tebow, but he always wanted to be mentioned in the same category as Tebow.

So John, you got your wish. You are in an elite class of true Gators to the very end. You always wanted to play for Florida, and you did. Even though you didn't have the success you dreamed of, you stuck it out to the end and that's respectable for even the most impatient Gator fan. And you were rewarded with a winning record as a Florida starter, something lots of other QB's cannot claim.

So I say with all my heart: Thank you, John. You stuck with UF til the very end. I appreciate all your efforts.

Now, though, it's time to move forward.

Here's a quick prediction for next year.

We should have the dominant defense and special teams, but whether that playmaker and that chain moving offense can emerge will be the question. With our schedule, I say 10-3 with an Outback Bowl win is realistic. We'll lose to LSU, we'll lose to either South Carolina or Georgia and then we'll lose one more game we shouldn't, though predicting a letdown game is impossible.

I just hope that our players all take the lesson of loyalty from John Brantley.

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.

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)

The Gator Nation expected a lot of fireworks this season offensively, and, well, it didn't quite happen that way. Now, there are fireworks going off in Kansas- from the local Krispy Kreme and McDonald's. Too bad we didn't get to experience any offensive improvement this year, and it's even more devastating to not have an offensive coordinator on staff for a huge bowl game against the team that we crushed five years ago for the BCS Title, Olieo State.

That's a huge concern, but the bigget concern of all is the mindset of this team.

Don't laugh.

I'd love to crush Ohio State and give Urban a bad memory to try to erase for recruits that are now on the fence about joining Meyer's elite army.

But I'm not sure the Gators all feel the same way.

The bowl game letdown can happen to any team, and for any number of reasons. The players might not want to be at that particular game, their opponent accomplishes a lot more in the extra practice than they do and unveil a huge bag of tricks, it's hard to get back in game day mode after being out of it for 5 weeks, etc.

Oklahoma and FSU are the worst of them all when it comes to big bowl games. Before last year, the Sooners lost 5 straight BCS bowl games/national championship games. FSU is even worse. They've played in seven BCS bowl games/championships since 1998. They've lost six of them. That's terrible (even for a girls' school).

But this isn't meant to make fun of FSU (well, maybe a little). This bowl game flop doesn't just apply to championship contending teams. It also happens to teams that believe they are too good for the bowl game they are in. See the embarrassing Sugar Bowl only three years ago where Alabama just fell flat on their faces as Utah cruised for a 31-17 shocker. This was partly due to Tim Tebow rolling the Tide in the SEC Championship Game, but whatever Alabama wants to say about it, they just didn't care. They didn't show up. SEC teams don't lose to midmajors, even good ones. Or do they?

Ask Georgia that. They've surely put the ugly memory of a 10-6 loss to our toddler cousin Central Florida in the Libery Bowl away for good, as they prepare for a much better bowl game this year, a rematch against Michigan State. But I haven't and I'm sure that Georgia Tech fans and Florida fans haven't either. UGA just didn't care. Let's face it. Georgia was good in 2010. They were much better than 6-6. They easily could have beaten Florida, easily could have beaten Mississippi State, easily could have beaten Colorado, and they easily could have beaten Arkansas. Auburn was a tough game but they played the Tigers well to the end, and they were never out of the South Carolina game. They just didn't care for an admittedly inferior opponent from a weak conference in a bowl nobody cares about.

Was that the most humiliated a team has felt in the past few years after a bowl game? Or was it when Texas Tech got upended by Ole Miss? The Red Raiders felt they had been raided of a BCS Bowl berth. They went up 14-0 on Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl- and then sat back and watched as Ole Miss went on a 47-13 rampage. As the Raiders scored one more meaningless touchdown, the Rebels were ecstatic on the sideline, jumping around, writing things on poster boards and showing them to the fans, etc.

The point is, the bowl malaise can hit any team for any reason. I'd much appreciate it if it didn't hit Florida, as recruiting is still going on and there could be some guys that might jump from Florida to Ohio State. A Gator Bowl win over OSU would at least make them think twice.

I'll get all my bowl picks out soon, but I'm not feeling too good about this game. We're just not a good team, plain and simple. Our one saving grace is that Ohio State sucks just as much as we do, so we could very well see a replay of the Florida-FSU mess instead of an LSU type blowout.

Please, offensive line, just please block for Brantley for just one game....