lawgator1
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The author of the below is a guy named Mike Bianchi, a classic Miami Hurricanes fan working for the Orlando Sentinel and I roll my eyes at his articles about Florida and FSU. But, I thought that in celebration of the holiday I'd give my Vol fan friends a treat and so here is some Gator-bashing, fresh from Orlando:
GAINESVILLE -- Just so Urban Meyer knows what he's up against, let us remind him that Ron Zook scored more points than this in all three of his season-opening games at Florida.
Not that the expectations are high or anything.
Sorry, Gators, but I'm not ready to anoint the new ball coach as the second coming of the Ol' Ball Coach. Not even close. Not after Meyer's uneven, unimpressive 32-14 era-opening victory over Wyoming on Saturday. With all due respect to the crowd of 90,707 -- the largest to ever watch a football game in the state -- this contest proved nothing; absolutely nothing.
A reminder. Zook won his three openers by scores of 51-3, 65-3 and 49-10. And in case you forgot, Zook got the hook after 21/2 seasons.
At Florida, it's all about living up to expectations -- expectations that caused the school's last two coaches to leave. Steve Spurrier on his own. Zook on a rail.
Zook, the new coach at Illinois, found out Saturday about the massive difference in expectations between his new job and his old one. Giddy Illini fans rushed the field and carried Zook off of it after a come-from-behind victory over Rutgers. If Zook were still at Florida and had to come from behind to beat Rutgers, fans wouldn't have carried him off the field -- they would have buried him in the middle of it.
This isn't to say Florida fans shouldn't be going bonkers over Meyer. They should. After three years of constant negativism surrounding Zook, it's refreshing to see that old Gators smugness back in full pomposity.
And, believe me, Florida fans didn't spare any hype or hoopla Saturday. There were T-shirts that said "Urbanator" and "Urban Renewal" and "Urban Warfare" and "Urban Legend" and on and on. There was a new "Gator Walk," where thousands of fans gathered just to watch the team enter the stadium. Meyer even decided to come in with the players and opted against walking across nearby Lake Alice. (Do you think maybe he can't walk on water?)
There were other new traditions, too. Beforehand, the team ran onto the field through two lines of former UF players. Afterward, Meyer and the players stood in front of the band and sang the fight song.
I've got another great idea for a new tradition: Making extra points.
It's great fun. The ball goes through the uprights and everybody cheers. Meyer's team missed two PATs Saturday, and Meyer was none too happy about it.
In fact, Meyer was none too happy about many facets of the game -- a quality that has already endeared him to UF fans. Like a certain other former coach, Meyer is a persnickety perfectionist. Even though quarterback Chris Leak completed a school-record 17 consecutive passes and threw for 320 yards, Meyer wasn't impressed. When a reporter suggested that Leak had proven he could effectively run Meyer's spread offense, Meyer shook his head.
"No," he said. "In case you're wondering what the offense is supposed to look like, this was not it. . . . I keep hearing that Chris completed 17 consecutive passes, I must have been watching something else when that happened. . . . If we continue to run the ball like this, we're not going to win many more games."
Of course, they're going to win many more games. Unless you drive off the road and get upset like Oklahoma did Saturday, what happens in the opening game is immaterial.
Zooker's teams always looked well-oiled in the first game, and look where that got him.
It doesn't matter if Urban Meyer doesn't open as good as Ron Zook, just so long as he's a better closer.
GAINESVILLE -- Just so Urban Meyer knows what he's up against, let us remind him that Ron Zook scored more points than this in all three of his season-opening games at Florida.
Not that the expectations are high or anything.
Sorry, Gators, but I'm not ready to anoint the new ball coach as the second coming of the Ol' Ball Coach. Not even close. Not after Meyer's uneven, unimpressive 32-14 era-opening victory over Wyoming on Saturday. With all due respect to the crowd of 90,707 -- the largest to ever watch a football game in the state -- this contest proved nothing; absolutely nothing.
A reminder. Zook won his three openers by scores of 51-3, 65-3 and 49-10. And in case you forgot, Zook got the hook after 21/2 seasons.
At Florida, it's all about living up to expectations -- expectations that caused the school's last two coaches to leave. Steve Spurrier on his own. Zook on a rail.
Zook, the new coach at Illinois, found out Saturday about the massive difference in expectations between his new job and his old one. Giddy Illini fans rushed the field and carried Zook off of it after a come-from-behind victory over Rutgers. If Zook were still at Florida and had to come from behind to beat Rutgers, fans wouldn't have carried him off the field -- they would have buried him in the middle of it.
This isn't to say Florida fans shouldn't be going bonkers over Meyer. They should. After three years of constant negativism surrounding Zook, it's refreshing to see that old Gators smugness back in full pomposity.
And, believe me, Florida fans didn't spare any hype or hoopla Saturday. There were T-shirts that said "Urbanator" and "Urban Renewal" and "Urban Warfare" and "Urban Legend" and on and on. There was a new "Gator Walk," where thousands of fans gathered just to watch the team enter the stadium. Meyer even decided to come in with the players and opted against walking across nearby Lake Alice. (Do you think maybe he can't walk on water?)
There were other new traditions, too. Beforehand, the team ran onto the field through two lines of former UF players. Afterward, Meyer and the players stood in front of the band and sang the fight song.
I've got another great idea for a new tradition: Making extra points.
It's great fun. The ball goes through the uprights and everybody cheers. Meyer's team missed two PATs Saturday, and Meyer was none too happy about it.
In fact, Meyer was none too happy about many facets of the game -- a quality that has already endeared him to UF fans. Like a certain other former coach, Meyer is a persnickety perfectionist. Even though quarterback Chris Leak completed a school-record 17 consecutive passes and threw for 320 yards, Meyer wasn't impressed. When a reporter suggested that Leak had proven he could effectively run Meyer's spread offense, Meyer shook his head.
"No," he said. "In case you're wondering what the offense is supposed to look like, this was not it. . . . I keep hearing that Chris completed 17 consecutive passes, I must have been watching something else when that happened. . . . If we continue to run the ball like this, we're not going to win many more games."
Of course, they're going to win many more games. Unless you drive off the road and get upset like Oklahoma did Saturday, what happens in the opening game is immaterial.
Zooker's teams always looked well-oiled in the first game, and look where that got him.
It doesn't matter if Urban Meyer doesn't open as good as Ron Zook, just so long as he's a better closer.
