FLORIDA FOOTBALL: FOOD FOR A MAN'S SOUL
Smells Like Chicken ‘Round Here
Spurrier and his newest offensive wrinkle: Ric Flair
If you’re Steve Spurrier, you’ve got to love how this sets up. Florida’s Saturday date with the ‘Cocks is unheralded and will probably be extremely low on the hype-meter. It’s not a 12:30 game, thank heavens, but starting at 3:30 we won’t have the benefit of an evening Swamp crowd either.
Other reasons nobody’s getting worked up over this game: Tim Tebow made a Heisman statement last year when the Gators beat South Carolina in Columbia, 51-31. The ‘Cocks lost to Vandy this year, not to mention LSU and Georgia — Florida spanked all three by a combined score of 142-45. No one expects the Palmetto State Poultry to win.
Honestly, if you’ve got the unlucky draw of playing Florida, you couldn’t ask for a better way to slip into Gainesville completely under the radar.
Reasons to be nervous about this game:
1) After losing two games early, the Gamecocks have now won six out of seven.
2) Stephen Garcia is the best quarterback Spurrier’s had yet at South Carolina. After sitting out the early part of the season, he is now under center and getting better on a regular basis, although Spurrier intends to alternate between Garcia and Smelley.
3) South Carolina has the best overall defense — statistically, anyway — in the SEC.
4) It’s Steve Spurrier, and he’s always in the game.
5) It’s Steve Spurrier, and he would like to beat Florida over any other team on his schedule.
6) It’s Steve Spurrier, and he would dearly love to spoil Florida’s national title hopes despite gaining little if nothing in return for the victory, considering the ‘Cocks have already lost the East.
7) I hate Steve Spurrier. (Okay, that’s not a reason to be nervous, but I thought I’d throw that in there.)
Reasons to be confident about this game:
1) This team lost to Vandy, the team we destroyed 42-14, and Georgia, the team we beat 49-10. Oh, and they also lost to LSU, the team we beat 51-21.
2) Florida is playing at a level I’ve never seen before, on all three units. The Gators have been insanely good since the Ole Miss loss, pulverizing teams by an average score of 50 to 10.
3) It’s in the Swamp, with title implications on the line, so this and every remaining game is an absolute must-win. The boys will be ready to play.
4) South Carolina may have a good defense, but they will have no answer for Florida’s offense. I’m not sure there’s a team in college football that does.
5) Florida’s defense leads in scoring defense and in my opinion is better than their South Carolina counterparts.
6) Stephen Garcia has never played in an environment like this before.
7) I hate Steve Spurrier. (Okay, that’s not a reason to be confident, but I thought I’d throw that in there.)
Score prediction: UF 38, South Carolina 17. Go Gators.
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7 Comments so far
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It’s on baby. I’ll bet you’ll really hate Spurrier after this weekend.
By gamecock man on 11.12.08 7:53 pm
I still feel like USC’s defense is suspect… I would love to see Moody rip a 100 on them…
Go Gators!
By AlchemyIndex on 11.12.08 9:07 pm
South Carolina has a big physical defense but I don’t think they are particularly quick. Have you seen the size of their LBers??? They have like 3 guys in their 4 deep in the 270 range. I think we can attack the perimeter on them. Those big guys are going to wear down as the game goes along and a fresh 4.3 40 back will cause them problems.
Unless we shoot ourselves in the foot several times I don’t see this game being close at the half.
By Keltic Gator on 11.12.08 10:06 pm
I agree with Keltic Gator. (Great nom de guerre BTW.) I think So. Carolina learns Saturday, they really haven’t played anyone on our level as yet (Hell…..who has?!), and I’ve got a deep seeded feeling that Spurrier knows what he is up against — which will, of course, get his competitive juices going — and he will try to put up a good show. And if he had a Wuerffel and a Hilliard, or perhaps even the front wall that protected Wuerffel, he might be able to pull it off. But he doesn’t!
I just don’t think — and neither does he — that he has the talent nor the speed, and there’s another intangible; you may be sure, that Meyer WILL NOT lose another game in Florida’s house.
Having said that, if I may, I’d like to discuss another issue; I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand this “hate Spurrier” shtick. Why does anyone have to “hate” someone if they are playing “a game” against them? For three years — actually four if you count the freshmen games, which no one did back then — I played against Miami, FSU, Georgia, et-al and didn’t come away hating any of them. Admittedly, it was a different era — hell…..sometimes it fells like it was a different century. Hmmm…..come to think of it, it was — and we always played to win. But we didn’t “hate.” If a man/team beat us, that was our fault. He was only doing what we were trying to do, but he did it better.
Steve Spurrier put Florida on the map! Has everyone forgotten how bleak our program was before he arrived? (“Wait ‘til next year” was our battle cry. I heard it so many times I wanted to cry, and did so on several occasions.) I haven’t forgotten. I played in those bleak days and have lived with them since 1956. Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, and I’m paraphrasing; “Someday, Florida will find a coach to lead all of their great talent, and the rest of the SEC will live in fear.”
Well…..Florida DID find a coach, and the SEC DID “live in fear.” And then he left. (And until I know the exact reason why he left, I will not fault him.) But without his work, we wouldn’t be where we are today and likely wouldn’t have Meyer.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not going to cheer for him to win on Saturday — although I will for any other game — but I don’t “hate” him. He’s only doing his job. Nothing more.
Florida is big enough, has the history for, and certainly deserves more than one great coach. I don’t care what the cane, nole, dawg fans say, and I couldn’t care less what some shave headed hack of a sports columnist says. If I may coin a phrase; The Swamp is the “house” that Spurrier and Meyer “built!” And I will honor them both.
By Bull Gator on 11.13.08 10:21 am
Spurrier built the house (and even replaced the carpet for us)….Meyer is just the new President. Meyer needs to stop losing games to Ole Miss type teams at home before he earns the Master of the Swamp monikor.
By skigator93 on 11.13.08 11:07 am
“Hate” is figurative in this sense. I don’t hate the person, just the college football coach persona who chose to coach at a place where the only way he could have success was to take the Gators’. It just doesn’t have the same ring to spell it out every time. I have a lot of respect for Spurrier and his accomplishments, but I haven’t forgiven him for returning to the SEC East and I probably never will.
By GatorPilot on 11.13.08 2:34 pm
Spurrier has an axe to grind with Bernie M and Jeremy F. He clearly did not like the “invitation to apply” for the vacancy. It was the way he left Florida that bothers me, that job in D.C. was but a cell phone call away.
By NJGator on 11.17.08 4:18 pm
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