It was, once again, not the prettiest of wins, but it was a decisive one. Vandy played hard and picked up a few yards, but never got a shot at more than 3 points.

While the offense showed some of the same drive-killing tendencies it has all year, and the 375 combined yards Tebow & Co. put up was rather a low total against a team of Vandy’s caliber, Tebow’s stats are surprisingly good. Little Timmy completed 15 of 20 for 208 yards and 1 TD, plus ran for another 27 and a rushing TD. His rushing totals would be much higher if he hadn’t been sacked four times. Florida’s pass protection, plus Tebow’s willingness to hold onto the ball for many seconds after it should be launched downfield, were both contributing factors.

Still, UF converted only 4 of 13 3rd downs, and shot themselves in the foot with 9 penalties for a loss of 68 yards. Tebow’s lone TD pass sanguinely bounced off of Riley Cooper’s hands and into David Nelson’s open arms in the end zone — last time that occurred, the Bulldogs of Mississippi State ran it back for six. But hey, we’ll take it.

Let’s sum up the questions with which Gator Nation is tormenting itself:

1) “Why isn’t this offense playing better when we have All-World players?”

2) “Why is Tim Tebow holding on to the ball so long, and looking so hesitant in the pocket?”

3) “If Florida can’t wipe inferior squads off the map, how will they beat teams like Alabama or Texas?”

4) “Why does a 9-0 record and a 19-game school-record winning streak feel so ‘bleah’?”

Now, take the first three of those questions, scrunch them up into a tight little ball of paper, and throw that negativity blob into the trash.

Yes, the offense has issues, and yes, we’d all like to see this unit ring up pinball scores like they did in years past.

Will this offense suddenly explode at this point? Unlikely. What we see is basically what we’ve got. Offensive line play rarely shows dramatic improvement throughout a season, and that’s probably the weakest link on this unit — not the receiver corps. No, I fully expect Florida to continue grinding out close wins against good competition, and slowly pull away from weaker teams like Vandy.

So, I’ve got a suggestion for you: forget about it. Because the answer to 1-3 is: “It doesn’t matter.” Because our defense is that good. Because Caleb Sturgis is starting to fulfill the promise and potential he brought to the Gators’ kicking game. Because we still have the best player in the history of college football lining up under center. Because we have a tough, physical, grind-you-to-dust rushing attack. Because our players expect to own the 4th quarter, and have excelled each and every time the crowd stops swaying to ‘We Are the Boys’. Because we have the best coaches in the business, coaches who have already adjusted our scheme and gameplanning to accentuate Florida’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses.

Because, at the end of the day, Florida is still the best team in the country, warts and all. Which team has clearly proven that they deserve #1 instead of Florida? I’d be happy to acknowledge it if it were true. But if you think Florida’s offensive woes are troubling, it’s far worse at ‘Bama. Texas? Sure, they’re good, and Colt McCoy is a great quarterback, but the college football institution learned a lesson about the value of wins against Big 12 defenses vs. their SEC counterparts at the conclusion of the 2008 season.

Florida is undefeated in the nation’s toughest conference, has survived everything from flu, to off-field distractions, to on-field distractions, and has secured a berth in Atlanta.

There’s a lot to be happy about, folks.

We have to let this offensive ennui we’ve collectively endured reach its nadir and then disappear. This is our team. Our team is not perfect. Our team will not reach the offensive heights they did in ‘08. If you’ll recall, our ‘06 team is one of the greatest in Florida history, and that was a team that was far more troubled offensively than this one. Defense wins championships, ladies and gentlemen.

By playing tough. By playing with discipline. By squeezing the life out of our opponents. This is how our team wins games. And I fully expect them to win five more.

The answer to the fourth question? “It’s all in your mind.” So get your mind right, Gator Nation.

Hi, I’m Trevor Matich.  Recently I made some public comments regarding the Brandon Spikes eye gouging incident from the Florida-Georgia game that I’d like to expound upon.  On ESPN’s College Football Live show I stated that what Brandon Spikes did was far worse than the actions of LeGarrete Blount against Boise State.  And there’s a reason I made that comment.  It’s because I’m an idiot.

You see, it has been so long since the Blount incident that I guess I’d forgotten exactly what happened.  Whether that was caused by having so much work on my plate or excessive drinking . . . I can’t say.  My initial thought was that Spikes was even MORE responsible because he was retaliating for a previous incident rather than reacting in the heat of the moment like Blount did.  Since Blount was suspended for the whole season, in my convoluted mind I used that as the standard and felt Spikes should be suspended the rest of the season.  And quite frankly, that’s ridiculous.

I guess I “misremembered” what happened that night in Boise.  You see, Blount was just suspended for the season because of the punch.  While that in itself should have drawn a multiple game suspension, it was much more than that.  After watching the footage I remember that punching the Boise player was only part of what Blount did that evening.  After sucker punching Byron Hout, Blount backed away and went to the sideline where he flung his helmet in disgust.  Then everything deteriorated quickly.  The next thing you know LeGarrette was being restrained by players, coaches and police officers because he was attempting to RUN INTO THE STANDS AND ATTACK BOISE STATE FANS!!!

Holy cow!  What was Blount thinking?  I have no idea.  Not to mention this was Blount’s 5th strike with the Ducks after having TWO PREVIOUS suspensions.  For me, Trevor Matich, to somehow equate what Spikes did against Ealey to Bount’s actions that night is borderline negligent and shows just how little research I do for my opinions.  It is quite possible the most ridiculous statement I have made since I suggested that NFL defensive lines should “dive” at Tom Brady’s legs in a spike or victory formation because Tom Brady once faked spiking the football and threw a touchdown to Randy Moss.  God knows what I was drinking the day I came up with THAT beauty.

So while I do feel Spikes should be punished and suspended for his actions, no longer am I trying to equate his behavior with that of LeGarrete Blount.  And for that ignorant statement I would like to offer my apology.  Perhaps part of it is jealousy.  See I never played big time college football, I went to BYU instead.  I spent my NFL career as the “long snapper”, basically doing a job that real athletes don’t want to do.  I don’t have a third of the athletic ability of Brandon Spikes.  In fact I probably don’t have a third of the athletic ability of the backup punter at Vanderbilt.  And I’m hoping that this clarification will keep Brandon from pounding me into the ground if we ever meet up in the future.

But hey, as stupid as my comments might have been you have to admit it’s still not as bad as fellow ESPN analyst Desmond Howard.  How about when he said it was Byron Haut’s fault that Blount hit him and that Haut should be the one suspended?  Seriously, what kind of crack do you have to be smoking to make a comment like that?  At least now we all understand why Desmond spent his career as a special teams guy and was never smart enough to figure out how to run passing routes.

Sincerely,

Trevor Matich

Note: “I’m Desmond Howard and I approved this message.  But I don’t do crack.  I just say a lot of stupid things but because I can’t think of anything else to say.”

Last night I had the privilege of appearing on a podcast for Team Speed Kills with Brandon Larrabee of TeamSpeedKills.com and Phillip from Save The Shield discussing Florida, the Florida-Georgia game and the SEC PowerPoll.

Click Here to link to the Podcast.

By now you’ve probably heard that Andre Debose is out for the season; the speedy freshman’s hamstring needs surgery and playing will not be an option this year. Debose will undoubtedly redshirt to preserve a year of eligibility.

The greatest shame about this is that we’ll never see Debose catch a pass from Tim Tebow in the Swamp — which would, in some ways, be a passing of the torch from one era of Gator greatness to the next.

Nick Calathes has left the building, ladies and gentlemen. If my shock over the matter seems rather lacking, it’s simply because we’ve all seen this one coming for a long time.

He’s going to Greece.

The short-lived Nick Calathes era is over at Florida.

Calathes confirmed in a text message to The Sun on Saturday that he will forgo his junior season at Florida to play professionally in Greece. He did not return additional calls seeking comment.

A source close to Calathes’ family said the 6-foot-5 guard from Casselberry had agreed to a three-year contract with reigning Euroleague Basketball champion Panathinaikos. The source said the deal, with incentives, could pay Calathes up to $2 million per season.

Hey, in today’s economy, a $2 million dollar paycheck is hard to pass up. We understand the dollars and cents part of the equation.

Calathes leaves behind an incomplete legacy at Florida, likely to be buried as a brief two-year interlude of brightness in otherwise forgettable, downtrodden times for Gator hoops. Calathes, despite his brilliant play, never competed in the NCAA Tournament, never won a championship of any sort and must bear the somewhat uninspiring mantle of “best player on a mediocre team.” In fact, Calathes was often the best player on the court regardless of whom the Gators happened to be playing any given night. He was that good. But for all his individual highlight reel no-look passes, he was never the catalyst that charged and inspired his team to greatness. Timmy Tebow, you are not, sir.

Enjoy the great pay and life on the road in Europe. We here at Orange and Blue Hue wish you the best of luck. And we mean that sincerely.

P.S. May the blinding and seemingly constant glory of Florida football continue to keep our hoops issues in the shadows.

Alex Tyus, welcome back. We hardly noticed you were gone, to be honest — maybe that’s because you were hardly gone! Gatorsports.com has the skinny:

“The University of Florida is where I want to be,” Tyus said in a statement released by UF on Tuesday. “I truly feel this is the best place for me to continue to grow and improve and I look forward to this upcoming season.”

Tyus had announced he was transferring on April 17, but apparently changed his mind. In starting all 36 games at center last season, the 6-foot-8 Tyus finished the year as Florida’s second-leading scorer (12.5 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.2).

We’ll be honest, Alex. We’re glad you’re coming back, but the main reason for that is we need you so damn badly that you’re by far our best option. You’re a small (power? maybe) forward playing Center for a team that can’t seem to stop self-destructing thanks to defections, a failure to compete down the stretch, and skinniness.

(Yeah, skinniness. It’s not a real word as far as I know.)

We don’t know exactly why you decided to leave, and then came back. But frankly, we don’t really care. Here’s your locker. No questions asked. Let’s make this the last time we go through this little exercise though, okay?

You come back, you get to play with Vernon Macklin next year. If they gave All-American honors just for how good you can look in a basketball uniform, Macklin would be a first-teamer. Dude’s sculpted. And that should take some heat off of you. When you have to look to Chandler Parsons and Dan Werner for help down low, I understand how the frustration can grow.

But that’s the old ball squad. 2010 begins anew. As a third year F/PF, you have more court experience than Macklin. You’ve been through the ringer, and you say you want to win. That’s great. Here’s your chance. I like the idea of putting Macklin in down low to defend the paint and smash people around. I like the idea of you, Alex, flitting around the basket, making little jumpers, laying it in, and maybe developing a decent 12-foot shot. Hey, Horford and Noah were an amazing duo. They fed off of each other, and drove opponents nuts because they had to pick their poison. Maybe you and Macklin are the next great C-PF/PF-C combo at the University of Florida.

Now, you start talking about getting Nick Calathes back (which is in the ‘definite maybe’ category) and ‘10 hoops is starting to sound pretty good. Maybe not great, although you just never know. But I think I can safely speak for Gator Nation when I say that we’ll take a team that competes for an SEC title and a earns decent berth in the NCAAs. That is what we call “getting back on track.”

Are you back on track, Alex?

This is awful news.

From the Gainesville Sun:

The University of Florida announced this morning that basketball player Alex Tyus intends to transfer from the Gators.

It is unknown to where Tyus plans to transfer. This was announced during Billy Donovan’s press conference at the UF basketball practice facility.

What the sam hell is going on here?

Given that frosh F Allan Chaney is out for the SEC Tournament after aggravating his heel injury, you might be wondering why Eloy Vargas isn’t tabbed for some playing time. Billy Donovan makes it short and sweet:

“Eloy has got a long, long way to go. I am just telling it like it is. It is not necessarily his foot condition anymore, it is his overall conditioning.”

So there you have it.

Dear Urb,

Far be it from us to think ahead to the future. You know, the one that exists at some point in time after the BCS National Championship game. We know you’re dreaming of nothing other than new special teams wrinkles, offensive plays and schemes to whip our team into a frothing frenzy when they play the Sooners. Thanks for that.

But we can’t help but think about our boy, and the incredible significance of keeping him for another year. We’re talking about the best player in college football, hands down, and 25% of his career is on the line. Even more if you don’t count his freshman year, when he backed up Chris Leak.

And let’s be clear about something, Urb. We know that if the right opportunity is there, Timmy could and should take it. If he brings home a crystal football on January 8th, his job is complete. We, Gator Nation, release our favorite son to wherever his dreams may take him next. And we will support him wholeheartedly.

There’s just one thing, Urb. You know, and we know, that Timmy’s not ready to take that next leap. Not yet. And the opportunity isn’t right; not now, anyway. Despite being the greatest college quarterback in the last quarter century — and arguably among the greatest of all time — his skills don’t translate well to the NFL. He needs another year of prep so that he can get what he richly deserves: a first-round draft selection.
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From Gainesville to Starkville for Mullen.

Reactions:

1) We all knew he’d move along sooner than later. Competing for two national championships in 3 years was sure to shatter this coaching staff. It is the natural order of things.

2) I’m rather shocked that Mullen wouldn’t hold out for something better than Mississippi State. His career is at a logical crossroads: he’s probably ready for a head coaching job. He’s had great success in the SEC. But he now takes on a massive challenge at Mississippi State, the kind of challenge that young up and coming coaches don’t always survive. Three or four miserable years at Mississippi State could end his coaching career early. And Starkville is… well, rough.

3) The timing is rather bad; this will be a distraction as the Gators prepare for Oklahoma. It also portends poorly for Tebow’s return to Florida as he is closer with Mullen than anyone else on the coaching staff. I am personally of the opinion that Tebow needs to return regardless of how anticlimactic it would be if Florida won another national championship; he needs a year of solid NFL prep. As it stands, I’m not sure he’d be drafted in the top 2 rounds as a quarterback.