Orange and Blue forever!

Well, ye socks, I guess I just became a Denver Broncos fan. At least they have the right team colors . . .

Still can't figure out why the Jacksonville Jaguars passed on drafting Tim Tebow. Instead, they used their 10th pick on Tyson Alualu out of California. Yeah, that's going to pack the stands . . .

I was half hoping #15 would end up in Minnesota, learning from Brett Favre and reconnecting with Percy Harvin. But, it became fairly obvious where he was going when the Tebow family was sporting Broncos hats well in advance of the team's 25th pick in the first round last night.

Somewhat ironically, Superman has the opportunity to show the Jags the error of their ways during his first game with the Broncos.

That's right, ye socks. Mark the calendar. Septhember 12th the Broncos will be playing the Jags in Jacksonville. Should be a good one.

Orange and Blue!

Salute to Urban Meyer

The Gator Nation was stunned last night by the news that our head football coach Urban Meyer will be stepping down after the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.

He cited health concerns.

Coach Meyer has only been the top Gator for five years.

But, in that span of time, he has brought us two national championships, and a lot of other great memories.

His leadership will be sorely missed, especially as it coincides with the graduation of Tim Tebow.

Let the speculation begin as to his successor. Whoever it is will have some mighty tough shoes to fill.

Orange and Blue!

Hardly a rivalry anymore . . .

Yours truly remembers a time, not so long ago, when we Gator fans had to chew our nails a bit when we had to play Coach Cornpone and crew.

Not so much these days.

Don't get me wrong, the Gators played well in the Swamp this fine November evening, ripping off a season-high average of 9.25 yards per play--nearly as much as the Tennessee and South Carolina games COMBINED!

But, it wasn't anything spectacular.

In fact, Coach Meyer's play calls were pretty vanilla.

It was the pathetic game plan on the other side of the gridiron that contributed most to the Gator numbers.

I mean, really. Opting for the field goal when you're on the 2-yard line and trailing your "rival" by 30 points?!?!

Bobby Bowden has clearly lost his mojo. And, he should lose his job, too.

There was indeed one legend in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium tonight: Tim Tebow. It sent chills up many a spine to watch all the flash bulbs going off in the endzone in anticipation of his last play before the home crowd . . . like fireworks.

Until FSU gets back on track, and that could be years, the guys in orange and blue need to seriously consider finding a new "rival."

In fact, given the last coupla seasons, perhaps 'Bama should fill those shoes. Next week's SEC championship game up in Atlanta will be the true measure of our team this year.

In the mean time, "IT'S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!"

Florida 24, South Carolina 14

Well, ye socks, looks like the Gator Haters are out in droves, whining and crying about how a win isn't a win if it's not pretty.

Piffle.

10-0 is still 10-0, and even more impressive if the record includes going undefeated in the SEC. The fellas in orange and blue haven't done that since 1996! This is a great team, deserving of its #1 ranking.

Three highlights from this afternoon's win over the Gamecocks:

1. Riley Cooper's 68-yard TD run cut thru the host's D like a hot knife thru butter.

2. Tim Tebow's rushing TD now has him tied with Kevin Faulk for the SEC's combined scoring record. (Remember, he already beat Herschel Walker's rushing TD record.) He is well on his way to winning another Heisman.

3. Justin Trattou took the wind out of SC's sails when they were threatening to hang some more points on the board. The lumbering defensive lineman intercepted a deflected pass and racked up 53 YAC's in what proved to be the nail in Steve Spurrier's proverbial coffin.

Get ready, Gator fans. Ignore the haters. Urban and crew have something cooking that I think you're gonna like . . .

Gators (9-0) school Vandy, 27-3

Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite the Romp in the Swamp that a lot of the Orange and Blue faithful were expecting out of this match-up.

But, at least it was a welcome distraction from all the disturbing news headlines.

The biggest news in Gator Nation occurred hundreds of miles away from Gainesville, though.

Alabama defeated LSU to clinch the SEC's western division.

That's right, Gator fans, we're gonna have to face The Tide in Atlanta once again.

The prospect has me shuddering . . . just a little.

And, that's probably because today's play at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium seemed so uninspired.

Steve Addazio's offense allowed Tim Tebow to get sacked no fewer than four times. Meanwhile, Charlie Strong's defense managed exactly ZERO in that category. Let's hope Urban Meyer can get them to flip those stats when we go up against The Evil Genius next week . . .

Sidebar: congrats to ye Northwestern, Navy, and Clemson fans out there in the blogosphere. You know who you are. I'll bet you all wished you had the same things to fret about at 9-0! XP

Orange and Blue!

The largest outdoor cocktail party in the world

Wow, things got pretty scary for the Georgia faithful up in Jacksonville yesterday.

41-17.

Richt and his Dawgs are just going to have to own those numbers.

Meanwhile, Superman . . . er . . . Tim Tebow now owns Herschel Walker's former record number of rushing touchdowns.

Can ye socks smell what Urban is cooking?!

Gators 29, MSU Bulldogs 19

It's becoming a Sunday morning tradition around this little corner of heaven, dismissing Florida's lackluster performance with the mantra "a win is a win."

There is some reassurance in all of it, of course. The boys in orange and blue have indeed improved to 7-0; stretched their winning streak to 17; ended the 24-year "Starkville Curse"; schooled their former offensive coordinator; and put their Heisman-winning QB on level with the legendary Herschel Walker's rushing TD record.

But, all that didn't make last night's victory over Mississippi State pretty.

In fact, the most exciting player to watch was the Bulldogs' freshman safety Johnthan Banks (#13) who intercepted Superman not once but twice, and ran both picks back for TD's of his own.

The pack of bulldogs that will attempt to ruin the largest outdoor cocktail party in the world next week will be of a more rabid variety than those who tussled with the Gators this go 'round. Let's hope the excuse-making is over.

The Great Escape

Hats off to the Arkansas Razorbacks this evening. They really gave the boys in Orange and Blue a run for their money up at The Swamp this evening.

With just 7 seconds left on the clock, kicker Caleb Sturgis put the #1 Gators ahead 23-20, preventing the type of embarassment Mississippi State dealt them last season (much less the disaster that the guys from Little Rock dealt Auburn just last week).

This was a real nail-biter of a game, ye socks--especially if you were a Florida fan.

Coach Meyer's squad trailed by 10-3 at the half, and things were looking pretty grim.

Brandon Spikes was out after only the 2nd series with an injured hamstring. Tim Tebow was getting sacked left and right. And, the Gator O suffered fumble after fumble in the red zone.

Yours truly had to take a walk at half time to cool off, or risk serious damage to the television set.

Fortunately, the reigning national champions eventually got their collective act together.

Some will say a win is a win, even if it's ugly. Unfortunately, style points still count in some polls, and I think this lackluster performance will sway a few waivering votes toward the Crimson Tide. (Probably not enough to actually topple the Gators, though . . . )

On the other hand, our Heisman contender did pad his already outrageous resume tonight by surpassing the combined rushing/passing TD record of another Gator great: Danny Wuerffel. Tebow now can boast 123 in that stat column, just one shy of tying the all-time leading Herschel Walker. If . . . nay, WHEN . . . he racks-up 125, I don't think anyone could deny him the second Heisman trophy he so richly deserves.

Orange and Blue!

Geaux Gators!

The excitement was palpable tonight, and not just in this little corner of heaven.

As the beloved boys in Orange and Blue returned from their bye week to confront the LSU Tigers, everyone in the Gator Nation was sitting on the edge of their seats to see how our star quarterback Tim Tebow would look following his recent concussion.

We were not alone.

Some 90,000-plus obnoxious Cajuns showed up to demonstrate their collective lung capacity within the reverberating confines of Death Valley.

If the Nielsen's are accurate, some 10 million more were glued to their boob-tubes to catch the CBS broadcast.

Truth be told, the Gator O looked about as trepidatious as yours truly has ever seen them . . . at least since the Era of Meyer began. They made so many dive plays that the commentators were speculating about Greg Lougainis having drawn up the game plan.

That being said, though, Florida controlled the game from kick-off to the bitter end--much more so than the 13-3 final score reveals. In my humble (!) opinion, the majority of the credit for said control belongs to Brandon Spikes and the Gator D.

A win is a win.

A win over the #4 team in the nation is much more than that.

How sweet it is!

Get well soon, Tim!

Last night's 41-7 Gator victory over the Wildcats up in Kentucky was overshadowed by concerns for our star quarterback Tim Tebow.



He took a pretty good hit from defensive end Taylor Wyndham. But, he's used to stuff like that.


What he's not used to is the unintentional double whammy he received from his own team mate Marcus Gilbert that caused his neck to jerk violently forward.


The crowd of 70,000+ went silent as the Heisman trophy winner lay motionless on the field, seemingly unresponsive.


ESPN quickly cut to a commercial, and yours truly began pulling his hair out.


When they returned to a live shot from Lexington, I was relieved to see Tebow on the sidelines talking with the medical staff. Unfortunately, he got sick soon thereafter, and had to be taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. I understand he was kept overnight with a concussion.


Although his replacement John Brantley was more than equal to the task of finishing out the game, and although the Gators have next Saturday off, I'm sure the Orange and Blue faithful everywhere are joining me in praying for Tebow's speedy recovery . . . and not just because we'll need him against LSU, but because his tremendous heart has made him such a fan favorite.

Gators grind out their first SEC win of the season

Despite all the pre-game hype predicting another romp in The Swamp, our guys in the Orange and Blue actually had their work cut out for them this afternoon.

Several things conspired against them:

1. Though Vols QB Jonathan Crompton is woefully outclassed by Tim Tebow in the statistics department, he has some formidable teammates. Hats off to safety Eric Berry and runningback Montario Hardesty. They earned our respect.

2. Tebow was not himself. He turned over the ball in the red zone. He threw an interception. And, he failed for the first time in 30 games to throw a touchdown pass.

3. Brandon Spikes was forced to sit out the entire second half due to tendinitis.

4. The officiating crew was something less than impartial. They penalized the Gators for defensive tackle Jaye Howard's "unsportsmanlike conduct," a very debatable call. Then, just minutes later they not only failed to recognize similar conduct displayed by the Vols following an interception. They also failed to penalize Tennessee for an obvious intentional grounding by Crompton.

It was an actual relief to many Gator fans in the final moments of the game when safety Ahmad Black intercepted another Crompton pass to put this ugly game to bed. No style points will be awarded for this win.

Nonetheless, Florida adds to their record-breaking win streak, improving to 3-0 while the Vols drop to 1-2. Hopefully, Urban's crew learned a few more lessons they can apply to games further down the schedule . . .

It's still great to be a Florida Gator!

Another romp in The Swamp

One of the things this particular Gators fan looks forward to on Saturdays is to see what Bible verse our star quarterback is going to wear into battle.

That's no doubt, at least in part, because I know it annoys all the secular humanists out there.

This week's verse was Mark 8:36. (What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?)

Though the mighty Orange and Blue destroyed Troy on the gridiron (56-6), they have got to be doing some last minute soul-searching in the lead up to next week's big showdown with the Tennessee Vols and their mouthy new coach Lane Kiffin.

I suppose that's why UF has the tradition of playing two relative patsies at the beginning of each season. (No offense intended to ye Trojan and Charleston Southern fans out there.)

It's much better to have the weak spots exposed early, so Urban Meyer, Charlie Strong, and staff can hone the skills of the fine squad of athletes they are coaching.

Coupla things this fan is hoping they work on this week:

1. Clock management. But for this, yesterday's 83-yard drive would've resulted in an extra 6 or 7 on the scoreboard before halftime. Definitely not the margin of victory in this match-up, but it could be the margin in one of the bigger games further down the list.

2. Turnovers. Our guys fumbled the ball 6 times. Against not-so-mighty Troy, this only resulted in 3 actual turnovers. But, against an SEC level defense, that ratio could prove deadly.

Still, hopes for big things to come are still very much alive and well in this little corner of heaven. How could they not be?!

GO GATORS!

Coach Corn Pone's latest ramblings

So, the sweaty dinosaur ye socks see lumbering up and down the sidelines at FSU football games has once again found himself unwittingly at the center of a debate in this little corner of heaven.

Who's better: Tim Tebow, or Charlie Ward?

Please.

Eventually, the records of the two athletes will stand side-by-side and a true comparison may be made.

But, the last time I checked, Ward was working as an assistant coach at some private high school out in Texas. And, Tebow was still racking up his stats.

The day will come when that question can be discussed intelligently. But, it's not here, yet.

The day has come, however, for some people to retire. It's starting to get more than a little embarassing . . .

The big race

That's right, ye socks, we've been enjoying Speed Week in this little corner of heaven, topped off this afternoon by the Daytona 500.

Yours truly is not the world's biggest NASCAR fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I've always admired how they put their biggest event at the start of their season. That would be like making the Super Bowl a season opener. Sorta.

Due to the ongoing economic malaise, attendance at the big event was down this year. But, Daytona is still a magnet for the die-hards like my friends Duran and Monica. And, they tell me there was nearly as much celebrity spotting to be had this year as in previous years. Here's a short list:

* Urban Meyer, Gators football coach
* Tim Tebow, Heisman trophy winner
* Steve Spurrier, former Heisman winner, Gators legend, and current South Carolina football coach
* Joey Galloway, wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
* Tony Sparano, coach for the 'Phins.
* Gene Hackman
* Tom Cruise

(What's with all the football guys and actors being so in to NASCAR?)

Anyway, I know why I was tuning in to the race. And, I think if ye socks were honest with yourselves, you'd admit to the same reason: We all want to see a big wreck. I'm not saying that we want to see anybody get hurt, far from it. But, we want to see a bunch of 360's and smoking tires.

Well, we weren't disappointed in this running of the 500. In Lap 123, Brian Vickers tried to block Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He failed. Some folks are wringing their hands and blaming Junior for the massive pile-up that followed. But, I was actually watching the tube when it went down, and the blame lies squarely with Vickers.

Later, the race was called due to rain, which was more than a downer. Didn't bother watching Matt Kenseth celebrate in victory lane. And, I probably won't spend much more time watching any more races this year, much less giving this sort of in-depth coverage in the dryer. I promise.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend, and stay out of Junior's way!

Marketing genius . . . or lack thereof

Ye socks know what a big Gator fan I am.

But, I still have to call 'em as I see 'em.

And, the current pest control commercial featuring UF basketball coach Billy Donovan that's airing in our little corner of heaven has got to be the worst bit of advertising I've seen since the A. Ivey's garage spots I was forced to endure back in Lubbock, Texas, years ago.

I mean, it is the most unbearable 30 seconds you can imagine short of a prostate exam.

Even if it weren't so poorly scripted and executed, someone could have told the pest control company that's paying the tab for this train wreck that Billy Donovan doesn't enjoy the sort of celebrity "credibility" in Orlando than he might have in other parts of our great state.

Remember how he wasn't going to coach the Magic, then he was, then he wasn't, then he wasn't sure?!

Please, Billy. Stick to the coaching and leave the endorsements to someone who's believable . . . like Urban Meyer or Tim Tebow.

VICTORY!

Well, ye socks, yours truly has been battling a nasty cold all week, and was afraid that would prevent him from staying awake long enough to witness the kick-0ff of the Gators' 3rd national championship.

I mean, the game didn't even start until 8:15 PM in this little corner of heaven, and I had been doing some serious Nyquil shots all day.

But, like the Gators, I persevered.

It was not the high-scoring affair many of us expected it to be, with the high-powered offenses on both sides.

Still, the Gators never trailed the Laters . . . er, Sooners.

Once again, the deciding factor proved to be Tim Tebow. He passed for 231 yards, including one of those little jump passes into the endzone that have become one of his many killer trademarks. He also rushed for 109 yards, making critical third down conversion after critical third down conversion.

The current Heisman Trophy winner was also impressive, and got within 6 yards of leading his team to two more touchdowns. Fortunately, the Gator D held. Imagine if they hadn't, Oklahoma would have had 28 points.

On the flip side, the Gators had to settle for a Jonathan Phillips field goal because a fan's whistle faked-out Tebow on third down. If he had punched the ball in for a TD instead, the Gator total would've been 28, too.

Can you imagine if the result had been a 28-28 tie at the end of regulation?!?

No such nailbiter was to be had, though. Nor, did the fans of Fun 'n Gun get to see the scoreboard lit up as had been promised.

Still, "It's great to be a Florida Gator!" And, we have another set of numbers to add to the mantra:

1996 - 52-20
2006 - 41-14
2008 - 24-14

ORANGE AND BLUE!

2008: The Year of the Uneducated Voter

I don't want to disenfranchise people around here, but I would like to see some minimal education requirement put in place.

I mean, you should at least know what the *()#@&) you're voting for before you cast your ballot, right?

It was bad enough so many people thought last month we were electing a motivational speaker instead of a commander-in-chief.

Now, this month, a bunch of haters handed the Heisman Trophy to a dude who is an excellent passing quarterback but certainly NOT the person it was intended to honor: the best ALL-AROUND college football player in the country.

Fortunately, the latter situation will be rectified in a couple of weeks when the better man will demonstrate the voters' folly.

The former is another story altogether . . .

How we know it's autumn in Florida . . .

We don't have changing leaf colors.

We don't have crisp morning air.

But, you can always tell that summer's coming to an end in this little corner of heaven when folks start turning their attention to FOOTBALL!

It's certainly a more gratifying fascination than politics this year.

I mean we have an incumbant Heisman Trophy winner at THE University of Florida.

I say we give him a 2nd term!

Thanks to Amy for sending this one!

The Man of Steel wears Orange and Blue!

Ye out-of-state socks may not be aware of this, but the running joke down here in Florida this year has been: "Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas to bed."



But, before you laugh too hard at that one-liner, can you tell me the last time you saw Clark Kent over at the Daily Planet?!



I have recently come to the conclusion that Superman has at long last ditched his reporter alter ego in favor of a much more dynamic modern alias:

TIMOTHY RICHARD TEBOW

(Or Timmy T, or Touchdown Tim, or any of a thousand variations of the name Gator Nation has grown to love over the last two seasons.)


I think what we love most about Tebow was evident this evening up in NYC when he accepted the Heisman Trophy at the Downtown Athletic Club - - the first sophomore to do so in the history of the most prestigious award in college football.


He was humble.


It wasn't all about him.


In fact, he acknowledged his faith first and foremost as the reason why he was standing up on that stage. Then repeated that and other acknowledgements several times over.


That's what has made this underclassman stand out as a leader on and off the football field. He gives credit for his amazing achievements not to his own abilities, but to the support he has had and continues to receive from others: his parents and siblings, his teammates, his coaches, etc.


And, that's probably why his win isn't just being celebrated in New York and Gainesville tonight. It's being heralded at the prisons and orphanages across this country that he visits on a regular basis. It's being lauded in the Philippines where his parents work as missionaries, and where newborn babies are being named Timothy in record numbers. And, don't forget Bangladesh, where his sister Christy took a brief break from fighting poverty to attend tonight's ceremony.


The appeal of this guy is wide spread. With Heisman in hand, he is not only an ambassador for the University of Florida or NCAA football. He has become a superhero for the modern generation.