Me too Stu, I’ve always been a Seminoles fan, just cause Bobby Bowden reminds me of my uncle. I’ve always hated the Gators, they were always arrogant and cocky, most of which had to do with Spurrier. Urban Meyer is a pretty respectable guy, he’s been a quiet coach, lets his team do the talking for him.
ermoore
on January 8, 2007 at 4:57 pm
No Stu, don’t do it. I’d rather put up with arrogant Big 10 fans than arrogant Gator fans. They’re all insufferable, but I know fewer Big 10 fans.
spike (back in the usa)
on January 8, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Ach, I too must hold my nose and take up for Florida. It makes Auburn’s beating them and LSU a pretty good salve for those losses to Ga and Ark.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 5:08 pm
At least arrogant Florida fans are right — they’re teams are that good. Arrogant Big 10 people make me much angrier, because they think their teams play in a tough conference.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 5:12 pm
*Their
Sheesh, that one was bad.
Marc Schneider
on January 8, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Of course, SEC fans aren’t arrogant at all!
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 5:29 pm
I didn’t say we aren’t, Marc — I said we have a legitimate reason for so being.
ermoore
on January 8, 2007 at 5:35 pm
You make a good point, Stu, but I think what it comes down to is whether you encounter more Florida fans or Big 10 fans in any given week. My ex-girlfriend is a Florida fan so it’s a pretty clear-cut choice for me (being the small petty person that I am).
Also I don’t much care for Chris Leak.
That’s the problem: I want to be arrogant about the SEC, but with Florida, I can’t get no satisfaction.
So perhaps Florida is the ultimate hushpuppy for obnoxious SEC people. We can’t really crow about ’em like we wanna.
mraver
on January 8, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Naturally I’ll be rooting for my home-town Gators tonight. I think it should be a good game. The Gator offense is absurdly explosive but infuriatingly inconsistent. If the mistakes are kept to a minimum, UF will have a good shot.
Responding to the McCann discussion, I’m all for leaving him there for another year or two (or really as long as we’ve got LaRoche). We can let guys like Bryan Penya and Salty develop more and re-evaluate when we no longer have an awsome hitter already at 1B. In the end, it might be better for McCann to play 1B. But we’ve seen more Cs with power in recent years (Lopez, Posada, Piazza). I credit it to better conditioning and that sort of thing, which suggests that McCann might be able to sustain his power better than earlier catchers with prodigious power. The move to 1B would be safer for his long-term numbers (although any position change is not without risk), but he would be far more valuable if he could sustain his power as a catcher.
So I guess my feeling is simply don’t move him unless we have another above-average hitting talent to play C as well as an opening at C.
Also, suppose something like LaRoche for Gonzalez/Snell goes down. If we could then flip Salty and Snell for Baldelli (making our net LaRoche/Salty for Gonzalez/Baldelli), would we want to do it? I figure it would actually probably take another arm of some sort (not a ML-ready starter, but maybe a B-level prospect in the low minors) to get Baldelli, but I think it would be quite a coup for the Braves long-term. The Rays are committed to getting a young starter with upside, and it seems like public/internal pressure to get LaRoche may force the Rays into a move. I’m more optimistic about something like this happening now (just from reading stuff linked on MLBtraderumors.com) than I was a week or two ago.
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I have no problems saying this: GO GATORS!!!
I tell ya what, I was 10 when Florida beat FSU for their first football title. And last year, I just kinda knew Florida would beat UCLA in the national title for basketball. I have never been so jacked up for a game in my life. I was going to skip the first class for my 7 PM class (only one skip allowed all semester; it’s a once-a-week class) for this, but my professor promised she would have us out really early.
I suppose I can see why Gator fans are so arrogant. Basketball title winner, competing for the national title in football, and we’re pretty solid in just about every other sport. We made it to the CWS championship two years ago for crying out loud. For me though, I’m just really happy my team is still playing, and people thought Florida was good enough to play in the championship.
I’ve read, watched, and listened to so much Florida-OSU stuff in the past week. I’m just ready for the game to start. GO GATORS!!
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 6:08 pm
mraver,
Do you live in Gainesville or something?
Jeremy
on January 8, 2007 at 6:15 pm
After Ohio St. wins tonight, the Big Ten will be 3-0 vs. the SEC this bowl season.
Yet the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference? Hysterical.
If you look at the all-time record for SEC-vs.-Big 10 in bowl games, you’ll be shocked to know how far behind the Big 10 is. It’ll take about 6 more 3-0 years to catch up.
If OSU wins, it’ll mean they were better than Florida & it means that 3 of their league’s top teams had one (unprecedented) good year vs. the SEC.
Jeremy
on January 8, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I’m not denying that the SEC isn’t the superior conference – it clearly is. However I do take exception with Stu constantly labeling every single conference in the world that’s not the SEC a bad conference.
Jeremy, it’s not that the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference, it’s that it’s not nearly as tough as the SEC. With all due respect to Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the Big Ten is pretty weak. The three mentioned teams plus Penn State and Purdue are the only teams with winning records. Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU all have winning records. We had more teams in the top 25 and more teams in bowl games.
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Stu isn’t saying any conference other than the SEC is bad. He’s arguing for the superiority of the SEC, that’s all. The WAC is a bad conference. The Big East is a bad conference. The PAC-10 is close. I don’t think anyone could say that the Big 10 is a bad conference, especially when you had 3 BCS teams from the conference.
The Big 10 had three (OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin) of the top eight or so teams in the country, but only one other team (Penn State) that was any good at all. The SEC had three teams of similar quality, probably a step lower (Florida, LSU, Auburn) but several good teams (Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, maybe Carolina). I don’t know which is superior, but I think they were unquestionably the two best conferences in America, either of which has more elite teams than the rest of the country combined.
Robert
on January 8, 2007 at 6:48 pm
After Ohio St. wins tonight, the Big Ten will be 3-0 vs. the SEC this bowl season.
Yet the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference? Hysterical.
That was nice, although deaf ears around here of course. Post 20 is just hysterical. Yes the Big 10 is 2-4 so far in bowls, they are awesome. The Big East is 5-0 and the Pac 10 is 3-3 so they suck. The SEC will wind up 5-4, BFD. It’s fun watching the Kool-Aid drinkers dance.
Well this is going to be fun tonight…isn’t if fellas…I picked Ohio State to win when the bowl selections first came out. So I guess i’ll stick with them. It doesn’t hurt that my favorite player went to “The” Ohio State and he just so happened to win “The” 1995 Heisman trophy. 😉
Whether the Kool-Aid tastes fruity or sour, here’s a fun fact for you. The SEC still has more NFL players on current rosters than any other conference.
How many more? 20 more.
Who’s second? Not the Big 10, it’s the ACC (much on the stength of FSU & Miami).
After third place, I quit counting leagues.
Jeremy
on January 8, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I’ve always wondered what conference has the most players in the pro football HOF.
That’d be interesting. Someone should check into that… 😉
I’d guess the Big Ten, since for much of its existence the NFL was a midwestern league. Probably the SEC next.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Jeremy,
Take exception all you want, buddy. The SEC is so far-and-away better than any other football conference that there’s not even an argument to be had. Other conferences simply don’t compare.
Mac,
You don’t honestly believe the Big 10 actually had 3 of the 8 best teams in the country, do you? I know I don’t. Ohio State is definitely up there and maybe, maybe Michigan, but there’s no way that Wisconsin team finishes with more than 7 wins in the SEC this year.
Pro Football Hall of Famers by college. Looking at the list of the schools with the most, it seems that almost certainly it would be the Big 10 even if you don’t count Penn State. I have no interest in counting them up.
The Hall of Famers or numbers in the pros would be the better measures. Heismans mean very little when evaluating the actual talent of the players.
mraver
on January 8, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Rob-
I’ve lived in Gainesville for about 18 years of my life. Moved here from California when I was 1, went to school in Sarasota, but other than that, nothing by Gainesivlle.
IMO, the Big 10 is probably better this year if you look at the top 3 or 4 teams. If you look at the top 8 (or anything bigger than 4, really), I think the edge goes to the SEC. The Big 10 may be better up top, but the depth of the SEC is unmatched.
Yeah, the Stabler thing is weird. Folks like SI’s Paul Zimmerman, who I really respect as an NFL watcher, has had it in for Stabler forever, refuses to vote for him & goes out of his way to tell everyone about it. Too many INTs, etc. Well, have you looked at Namath’s all-time NFL numbers?
FWIW and I agree that it’s a bit of an odd stat, but the SEC also has the most Super Bowl MVPs. It has 7: H. Ward (UGA); E. Smith (UF); T. Davis (UGA); J. Scott (UGA); J. Namath (Bama); and B. Starr (Bama) twice.
Not sure who’s second, but I’d guess the Pac 8/10 with the Plunkets, Swanns & Elways.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Seriously, mraver? You think Ohio State/Michigan/Wisconsin/Penn State beats Florida/LSU/Arkansas/Tennessee? I’m aware that their 3 and 4 beat our 3 and 4 in the bowl games, but bowl games don’t mean much when they aren’t being played for a national championship, IMO. The top, middle, and bottom rungs of the conference all favor the SEC over the Big 10 or any other conference.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I always forget that Bart Starr went to Bama.
Not sure if you guys knew this, but Jay Cutler went to Vanderbilt. 🙂
Starr didn’t just go to Bama, he was benched at Bama. Ears Whitworth made Mike Shula look like, if not Bryant, at least Wallace Wade.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Jay,
Just curious: how do you choose your favorite teams and players? You’re live in St. Louis, right? Yet you’re a Braves/VaTech/Eddie George fan…do you draw from a hat?
When I was a kid in Columbus, Ga., I had a friend who rooted for the Dallas Cowboys, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Los Angeles Lakers & Pittsburgh Pirates. Of course, back then, all those teams were good.
Hahahahaha…actually my dad was in the military so I moved around alot when I was younger. I’ve lived in Virginia, California, Illinois, Mississippi, Florida and now Missouri. I guess that’s why I have so many favorite teams/players all over the place.
MLB:Atlanta Braves
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons
NBA: New Jersey Nets (mostly because of Vince Carter)
NCAAF: Virginia Tech Hokies
NCAABB: UConn Huskies and Virginia Tech Hokies
Jay,
Yup, my friend & I were Army brats, too, but I stuck with the Georgia teams, even the Falcons & Hawks.
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Robert, if you don’t like your “facts” and “opinions” falling on “deaf ears” so badly, then why do you continue to argue the credibility of the PAC-10 to a bunch of SEC fans?
If your final metric is each conference’s 2006 Bowl Record, then of course the Big 10 and SEC are mediocre and the PAC-10 and Big East are amazing. Shoot, since the Big East beat Wake Forest, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, and Western Michigan, according to your logic they must be the best conference in America. Right.
A nut. There’s a shirt you can buy in Gainesville that says something like, “But the NUTS out of the Buckeyes!”
By the way, in the previous thread, doubledawg called Gator fans north Florida rednecks (by the way, “Florida” is a proper noun and should be capitalized) and wished ACL tears on Tebow and Harvin. Real nice fella…
flournoy
on January 8, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I’m torn. If Florida wins, it would piss off a lot of UGA fans, which would be great. UGA fans are about 100 steps below Yankee fans in my book.
But the SEC is a bunch of baloney, and I’d prefer the champion came from elsewhere.
I guess either way, I win! Actually what I enjoy most about football is just getting under other folks’ skin.
Am I crazy or is it shocking how superior Florida’s line of scrimmage is? On both sides of the ball, so far.
emmoore
on January 8, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Wow, I figured Florida would win by about 10, but they’re just making OSU look awful right now. I am both kinda proud and hating this right now. Dammit!
Jemalle Cornelius – 3 catches 30 yards
Cornelius Ingram – 2 catches 40 yards
emmoore
on January 8, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Really this is just setting up for my best-case scenario. UF showing its superiority only to somehow lose the game due to horrendous play by Chris Leak.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt — Robber Baron, founder/benefactor of the greatest school in all the land.
emmoore
on January 8, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I guess we’re still waiting on the Chris Leak part, but the OSU comeback (somewhat lacking at this point) is a start.
Chris Hetland actually made it…I guess this Florida team really can do no wrong…
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 9:59 pm
ububba,
Florida is definitely the better team; however, there’s still time for Leak to make a critical mistake, which he’s been prone to do this season. However, FLORIDA IS WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!
Rob or any other UF fans,
Do you know anything about Hetland the person? I’m definitely pulling for him, but I was wondering if anyone knew whether he was generally regarded as a good kid.
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I was hoping we wouldn’t get the third down. I wanted to see Hetland kick it. That can be a huge confidence boost for the rest of the game.
Rob Cope
on January 8, 2007 at 10:00 pm
A couple female friends I graduated with hang out with him, and they say he’s a solid guy. I’ve watched him almost cry on the sidelines. The dude has a ton of heart, and I REALLY want to see him succeed.
Jeremy
on January 8, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I don’t care what you guys say, that Urban Meyer is as good a coach as there is in the SEC.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Wow. That decision shows me that Tressel knows he’s out-manned.
Indeed it is. Might the SEC be the best football conference in America? Might it not even be close?
If this holds up, it’s great for the league in the next few years, too, I think. It’ll be awfully hard to argue again that an undefeated SEC team doesn’t get a shot at the title, or that a one-loss SEC team is less worthy than a one-loss team from a lesser conference.
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Yeah, Rob. Be the exception to the Gator Fan Rule. Enjoy yourself, though.
beedee
on January 8, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Rob,
enjoy!
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I just can’t wait to hear Kirk Herbstreit analyze this game.
beedee
on January 8, 2007 at 10:24 pm
man…is it just me or does Jimmy looks a little chinese?
Stu,
You know you’re preaching to the choir, brother.
Here’s my soggy take: This is another example of why voting for a champion is ridiculous.
You do not know who is better until you actually play the game. Let’s have a real playoff. Wanna debate or vote who’s No. 8 & No.9? Fine. Debate or vote between No. 4 & No. 5? Maybe.
I said this to my co-worker today, an Ohio State alum: The Buckeyes have never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game. Never. I think they’re 0-5 coming into tonight.
beedee
on January 8, 2007 at 10:55 pm
i guess the SEC has the pictures
Stu
on January 8, 2007 at 11:20 pm
You call them “pictures,” I call them “superior players and coaches.”
if you would have told me Florida would be up on OSU 41-14 in the national championship game after the Auburn game, i’d a told you to get sober.
congrats gators!
I do a lot of business travel with an Ohio State grad, so I’ve seen this OSU bunch a lot in the last three years. (We both thought they were better last year with Holmes, Mangold & Hawk, BTW.) But I didn’t think that their O-line would get pushed around like this.
I knew Florida’s speed to the outside & the blitz packages would cause them trouble. It causes everyone trouble—you gotta name your poison with Florida. But OSU got beat man-up between the tackles on rushes & passes. Florida didn’t need to blitz half the time. It didn’t matter. Their front guys dominated.
I also was surprised that Leak played as well as he did. Hell, even their lousy FG kicker nailed a couple.
Regarding OSU’s all-time bowl record vs. the SEC, I was off by a couple games. They are now 0-8.
Since 1978, they’ve lost to both Carolina & Bama twice, plus UF, UGA, Auburn & UT.
urlhix
on January 9, 2007 at 12:29 am
You are so right, it really was Florida’s line play on both sides of the ball that won the game. Impressive, actually. And yeah, Leak make good decisions all night. I’m a big fan of the short dump pass and he hit them over and over.
Rob Cope
on January 9, 2007 at 12:35 am
Thanks fellas. Man, what a win. We had to play as good as we had ever played to win, and I think we did. No turnovers, no bone-headed plays from Leak, our kicking game was solid, and we won all night at the line of scrimmage and in field position. Troy Smith was off-balanced all night and we kept them under 100 yards of total offense. We had no 100 yard rusher or 100 yard receiver; we just had everyone getting in. This was a great way to send our 21 seniors away. They earned it.
Troy Smith was very classy at the end of the game, and that was great to see. Too bad some Florida players were struggling with keeping their class. What a great season though. A repeat for basketball?
Rob Cope
on January 9, 2007 at 12:37 am
Oh, and this isn’t meant to be a punch at all against Ohio State, but how much was the final score reflecting of how good Florida really was, or perhaps Ohio State being a little bit overrated? Obviously you’d have to say a little bit of both, but how much either way?
Well, I’m not going to help Florida pile on here, but the football game vs. Ohio State was as much of a mismatch as the basketball game vs OSU was a few weeks ago.
Rob Cope
on January 9, 2007 at 12:52 am
In fairness to the OSU basketball game, Oden was definitely not himself. Watching that game in person, he just couldn’t make his presence inside. Noah and Horford shut him down easily because of his bad hand. He still had the cast on then. Without Oden, it was tough for OSU to compete.
Well, yeah, if you can’t catch the ball, it’s tough. But Florida was ahead by 30 points at one juncture. I’m not sure Jerry Lucas would’ve made a difference for OSU that day.
urlhix
on January 9, 2007 at 1:07 am
A Florida b-ball repeat is probably in the realm of likely at this point. It’s their title to lose, IMHO.
Stephen in the UAE
on January 9, 2007 at 1:11 am
I got up an 5:15 to watch and I am ever so glad–it will make the memory all the sweeter.
Congrats to Rob and all other Gator fans.
As an SEC fan, I am not that surprised that Florida cleaned their clocks, but I do respect Jim Tressel and his team.
That said, I doubt that a playoff will ever be feasible, but where are all of those people who were so loud about the national title being between Michigan and Ohio State?
I think they can do a playoff, even if it’s only 4 teams.
I mean, just for fun, wouldn’t it be great to see UF, OSU, USC, LSU, Boise and 3 more in an 8-team tournament? Let the higher ranked teams host the first 2 rounds & have your title game on a neutral field.
And I’m not going to rain on Florida’s parade, but I’d love to see a game with them & USC, or Boise. Not that I don’t think they’d beat them, but it’s not something we’ll ever know for sure.
Read through some game forums and, of course, UF people were raising knuckle-dragging hell on the OSU sites. But this was my favorite post-game comment from an OSU blog.
“I know it’s just a game, but I want to claw my eyeballs out and poke corndog sticks in my ears.”
Sad to say, but I know what he means.
mraver
on January 9, 2007 at 2:57 am
Awsome, awsome, awsome. I watched the game with a bunch of friends and then went down University Ave. to hang out with the (rather tame) mob. I think the most significant vandalism was a small tree getting ripped apart for no appearnt reason.
Most people have talked about FL’s line play and how they dominated the run and the pass. IMO, the secondary deserves a heaping scoop of the credit, actually. At least half of the sacks were “coverage” sacks, and when Smith did get the ball off, it was rarely to an open reciever. I’m really not sure how much of it was the lack of Ted Ginn, but it just seemed like there was never, EVER anyone open for Smith to throw to. The defensive effort was superb, and there’s not really a lot more to say about it.
Also remarkable is that I don’t think I ever heard the announcer mention Reggie Nelson, Florida’s Safety and best defensive player. The ball was just never thrown anywhere near him, mostly because no one was open downfield.
Was anyone else really impressed with Chris Leak? I don’t think he made a single mistake, large or small. At least half of his incompletes were deliberate throw-aways where the coverage was too good. The confidence and patience he showed was very impressive.
A few words on Hetland (the FL fieldgoal kicker): He was exceptionally good last year. I think he had the highest kicking percentage in the SEC. This year, for no apperant reason, he stunk to high heaven. He was like 3/13 going into the SEC championship with more than a couple botched PATs. From everything I’ve heard about him, he’s a really good guy. I’m pretty sure he walked on, and everyone was rooting for him. The SEC championship was on his birthday, and he performed well, making a short FG and going 4/4 or 5/5 or whatever on PATs. Tonight, he was in 2005 form, and you could see from the reaction on the sidelines how happy everyone was. I for one am really glad that he’s able to leave on a high note.
Anyhow, great game, go Gators!
Smitty
on January 9, 2007 at 8:45 am
Ohio State would be the 5th best team in the SEC east.
Smitty
on January 9, 2007 at 8:50 am
I am just glad I don’t have any kids that have to live in this world where the Gators are Champs. I know it is good for the SEC, but their fans, my God!
Stu
on January 9, 2007 at 9:00 am
I’m one of the few — at least among those to whom I’ve talked — that knew Ohio State wasn’t nearly as good as they were hyped to be going in, Smitty. It seemed so obvious. Oh, well; at least everyone else now knows, too.
Johnny
on January 9, 2007 at 9:13 am
Mass suicide watch here in Buckeye land. I haven’t drank the OSU Koolaid and never will but I thought that the Bucks would have given UF a better game.
Next thread baseball I hope.
csg
on January 9, 2007 at 9:13 am
Jarvis Moss sums it all up for us. “Honestly, we’ve played a lot better teams than them,” Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss said. “I could name four or five teams in the SEC that could probably compete with them and play the same type of game we did against them.”
Lee Corso needs to quit talking about the 50 day layoff. He kept saying that OSU was slow during the game, my guess is that Florida is just that much faster on both sides of the ball. Corso did go on to say that Florida would win 9 out of 10 against OSU. Also, nice interview with Reggie Nelson after the game. Some reporter asked him if Ginn would have made a difference in the game and his quote….
“Yeah he’s fast and he should be in the SEC.”
Stu
on January 9, 2007 at 9:18 am
I agree on all counts, csg. The layoff excuse is tiresome and bogus. They got outplayed and outrun by better and faster players. And that Reggie Nelson line was awesome.
csg
on January 9, 2007 at 9:30 am
I was impressed with all players that were interviewed…They could have just simply taken all the glory, but yet they kept giving props to the SEC conference. I think they might have gotten their point across! Oh yeah, Troy Smith and Chris Leak are very classy individuals. Smith didnt make any excuses and just congratulated Florida on a great game. Leak had the opportunity to take some shots against all the fans who doubted him, but he didnt and just thanked all the players on his team for supporting him. Good job guys…
Stephen now in the UAE
on January 10, 2007 at 12:12 am
Yeah–Malone as well (if memory serves me correctly). it was fun to watch the replay last night. I particularlly enjoyed Barry Alvarez’s comment: which was somthing to the effect of “the Florida defense will have to play very well… to have ANY CHANCE to beat this great OSU team.”
Thanks CSG for the Jarvis Moss quote–I am glad that it made into this thread, which I do not want to see end soon. This was too much fun….
It pains me greatly to say it, but Go Gators.
Me too Stu, I’ve always been a Seminoles fan, just cause Bobby Bowden reminds me of my uncle. I’ve always hated the Gators, they were always arrogant and cocky, most of which had to do with Spurrier. Urban Meyer is a pretty respectable guy, he’s been a quiet coach, lets his team do the talking for him.
No Stu, don’t do it. I’d rather put up with arrogant Big 10 fans than arrogant Gator fans. They’re all insufferable, but I know fewer Big 10 fans.
Ach, I too must hold my nose and take up for Florida. It makes Auburn’s beating them and LSU a pretty good salve for those losses to Ga and Ark.
At least arrogant Florida fans are right — they’re teams are that good. Arrogant Big 10 people make me much angrier, because they think their teams play in a tough conference.
*Their
Sheesh, that one was bad.
Of course, SEC fans aren’t arrogant at all!
I didn’t say we aren’t, Marc — I said we have a legitimate reason for so being.
You make a good point, Stu, but I think what it comes down to is whether you encounter more Florida fans or Big 10 fans in any given week. My ex-girlfriend is a Florida fan so it’s a pretty clear-cut choice for me (being the small petty person that I am).
Also I don’t much care for Chris Leak.
Marc,
That’s the problem: I want to be arrogant about the SEC, but with Florida, I can’t get no satisfaction.
So perhaps Florida is the ultimate hushpuppy for obnoxious SEC people. We can’t really crow about ’em like we wanna.
Naturally I’ll be rooting for my home-town Gators tonight. I think it should be a good game. The Gator offense is absurdly explosive but infuriatingly inconsistent. If the mistakes are kept to a minimum, UF will have a good shot.
Responding to the McCann discussion, I’m all for leaving him there for another year or two (or really as long as we’ve got LaRoche). We can let guys like Bryan Penya and Salty develop more and re-evaluate when we no longer have an awsome hitter already at 1B. In the end, it might be better for McCann to play 1B. But we’ve seen more Cs with power in recent years (Lopez, Posada, Piazza). I credit it to better conditioning and that sort of thing, which suggests that McCann might be able to sustain his power better than earlier catchers with prodigious power. The move to 1B would be safer for his long-term numbers (although any position change is not without risk), but he would be far more valuable if he could sustain his power as a catcher.
So I guess my feeling is simply don’t move him unless we have another above-average hitting talent to play C as well as an opening at C.
Also, suppose something like LaRoche for Gonzalez/Snell goes down. If we could then flip Salty and Snell for Baldelli (making our net LaRoche/Salty for Gonzalez/Baldelli), would we want to do it? I figure it would actually probably take another arm of some sort (not a ML-ready starter, but maybe a B-level prospect in the low minors) to get Baldelli, but I think it would be quite a coup for the Braves long-term. The Rays are committed to getting a young starter with upside, and it seems like public/internal pressure to get LaRoche may force the Rays into a move. I’m more optimistic about something like this happening now (just from reading stuff linked on MLBtraderumors.com) than I was a week or two ago.
I have no problems saying this: GO GATORS!!!
I tell ya what, I was 10 when Florida beat FSU for their first football title. And last year, I just kinda knew Florida would beat UCLA in the national title for basketball. I have never been so jacked up for a game in my life. I was going to skip the first class for my 7 PM class (only one skip allowed all semester; it’s a once-a-week class) for this, but my professor promised she would have us out really early.
I suppose I can see why Gator fans are so arrogant. Basketball title winner, competing for the national title in football, and we’re pretty solid in just about every other sport. We made it to the CWS championship two years ago for crying out loud. For me though, I’m just really happy my team is still playing, and people thought Florida was good enough to play in the championship.
I’ve read, watched, and listened to so much Florida-OSU stuff in the past week. I’m just ready for the game to start. GO GATORS!!
mraver,
Do you live in Gainesville or something?
After Ohio St. wins tonight, the Big Ten will be 3-0 vs. the SEC this bowl season.
Yet the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference? Hysterical.
Rob,
I can’t imagine you’re in the same universe as the some of the UF fans I’ve encountered over the years, esp. those in Jax.
So, to you & other forum GatorFolk, gulp, good luck tonight.
Jeremy,
Don’t go there.
If you look at the all-time record for SEC-vs.-Big 10 in bowl games, you’ll be shocked to know how far behind the Big 10 is. It’ll take about 6 more 3-0 years to catch up.
If OSU wins, it’ll mean they were better than Florida & it means that 3 of their league’s top teams had one (unprecedented) good year vs. the SEC.
I’m not denying that the SEC isn’t the superior conference – it clearly is. However I do take exception with Stu constantly labeling every single conference in the world that’s not the SEC a bad conference.
The Big Ten is a tough conference. Jeez.
Jeremy,
Very good. Here’s a dollar…
Jeremy, it’s not that the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference, it’s that it’s not nearly as tough as the SEC. With all due respect to Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the Big Ten is pretty weak. The three mentioned teams plus Penn State and Purdue are the only teams with winning records. Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU all have winning records. We had more teams in the top 25 and more teams in bowl games.
Stu isn’t saying any conference other than the SEC is bad. He’s arguing for the superiority of the SEC, that’s all. The WAC is a bad conference. The Big East is a bad conference. The PAC-10 is close. I don’t think anyone could say that the Big 10 is a bad conference, especially when you had 3 BCS teams from the conference.
as a Miami Hurricane fan (covers head and tried to avoid being pelted)…I don’t mind saying… GO GATORS!
tries*
The Big 10 had three (OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin) of the top eight or so teams in the country, but only one other team (Penn State) that was any good at all. The SEC had three teams of similar quality, probably a step lower (Florida, LSU, Auburn) but several good teams (Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, maybe Carolina). I don’t know which is superior, but I think they were unquestionably the two best conferences in America, either of which has more elite teams than the rest of the country combined.
After Ohio St. wins tonight, the Big Ten will be 3-0 vs. the SEC this bowl season.
Yet the Big Ten isn’t a tough conference? Hysterical.
That was nice, although deaf ears around here of course. Post 20 is just hysterical. Yes the Big 10 is 2-4 so far in bowls, they are awesome. The Big East is 5-0 and the Pac 10 is 3-3 so they suck. The SEC will wind up 5-4, BFD. It’s fun watching the Kool-Aid drinkers dance.
Well this is going to be fun tonight…isn’t if fellas…I picked Ohio State to win when the bowl selections first came out. So I guess i’ll stick with them. It doesn’t hurt that my favorite player went to “The” Ohio State and he just so happened to win “The” 1995 Heisman trophy. 😉
http://www.heisman.com/winners/e-george95.html
Whether the Kool-Aid tastes fruity or sour, here’s a fun fact for you. The SEC still has more NFL players on current rosters than any other conference.
How many more? 20 more.
Who’s second? Not the Big 10, it’s the ACC (much on the stength of FSU & Miami).
After third place, I quit counting leagues.
I’ve always wondered what conference has the most players in the pro football HOF.
That’d be interesting. Someone should check into that… 😉
I’d guess the Big Ten, since for much of its existence the NFL was a midwestern league. Probably the SEC next.
Jeremy,
Take exception all you want, buddy. The SEC is so far-and-away better than any other football conference that there’s not even an argument to be had. Other conferences simply don’t compare.
Mac,
You don’t honestly believe the Big 10 actually had 3 of the 8 best teams in the country, do you? I know I don’t. Ohio State is definitely up there and maybe, maybe Michigan, but there’s no way that Wisconsin team finishes with more than 7 wins in the SEC this year.
Pro Football Hall of Famers by college. Looking at the list of the schools with the most, it seems that almost certainly it would be the Big 10 even if you don’t count Penn State. I have no interest in counting them up.
Also there should be seven from Alabama in but don’t get me started on Ken Stabler.
I don’t know the Hall of Famers…but if you want to know which conference has the most Heisman winners here’s the Top 5:
T-1st – Big Ten (12 winners)
T-1st- Big 12 (12 winners)
3rd- Pac 10 (7 winners)
4th- SEC (6 winners)
5th- ACC (5 winners)
*I did this quickly so if anyone wants to check it out for themselves here’s the link.
http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html
The Hall of Famers or numbers in the pros would be the better measures. Heismans mean very little when evaluating the actual talent of the players.
Rob-
I’ve lived in Gainesville for about 18 years of my life. Moved here from California when I was 1, went to school in Sarasota, but other than that, nothing by Gainesivlle.
IMO, the Big 10 is probably better this year if you look at the top 3 or 4 teams. If you look at the top 8 (or anything bigger than 4, really), I think the edge goes to the SEC. The Big 10 may be better up top, but the depth of the SEC is unmatched.
Stu,
Very true.
You’re counting the SWC winners for Texas and TAMU under the Big 12, though.
Yeah, the Stabler thing is weird. Folks like SI’s Paul Zimmerman, who I really respect as an NFL watcher, has had it in for Stabler forever, refuses to vote for him & goes out of his way to tell everyone about it. Too many INTs, etc. Well, have you looked at Namath’s all-time NFL numbers?
FWIW and I agree that it’s a bit of an odd stat, but the SEC also has the most Super Bowl MVPs. It has 7: H. Ward (UGA); E. Smith (UF); T. Davis (UGA); J. Scott (UGA); J. Namath (Bama); and B. Starr (Bama) twice.
Not sure who’s second, but I’d guess the Pac 8/10 with the Plunkets, Swanns & Elways.
Seriously, mraver? You think Ohio State/Michigan/Wisconsin/Penn State beats Florida/LSU/Arkansas/Tennessee? I’m aware that their 3 and 4 beat our 3 and 4 in the bowl games, but bowl games don’t mean much when they aren’t being played for a national championship, IMO. The top, middle, and bottom rungs of the conference all favor the SEC over the Big 10 or any other conference.
I always forget that Bart Starr went to Bama.
Not sure if you guys knew this, but Jay Cutler went to Vanderbilt. 🙂
Look at my boiii….Eddie looks like he could still play! 😀
Starr didn’t just go to Bama, he was benched at Bama. Ears Whitworth made Mike Shula look like, if not Bryant, at least Wallace Wade.
Jay,
Just curious: how do you choose your favorite teams and players? You’re live in St. Louis, right? Yet you’re a Braves/VaTech/Eddie George fan…do you draw from a hat?
When I was a kid in Columbus, Ga., I had a friend who rooted for the Dallas Cowboys, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Los Angeles Lakers & Pittsburgh Pirates. Of course, back then, all those teams were good.
Hahahahaha…actually my dad was in the military so I moved around alot when I was younger. I’ve lived in Virginia, California, Illinois, Mississippi, Florida and now Missouri. I guess that’s why I have so many favorite teams/players all over the place.
MLB:Atlanta Braves
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons
NBA: New Jersey Nets (mostly because of Vince Carter)
NCAAF: Virginia Tech Hokies
NCAABB: UConn Huskies and Virginia Tech Hokies
Jay,
Yup, my friend & I were Army brats, too, but I stuck with the Georgia teams, even the Falcons & Hawks.
Robert, if you don’t like your “facts” and “opinions” falling on “deaf ears” so badly, then why do you continue to argue the credibility of the PAC-10 to a bunch of SEC fans?
If your final metric is each conference’s 2006 Bowl Record, then of course the Big 10 and SEC are mediocre and the PAC-10 and Big East are amazing. Shoot, since the Big East beat Wake Forest, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, and Western Michigan, according to your logic they must be the best conference in America. Right.
Go Gators.
Btw, what the hell is a buckeye?
Oh ok…nevermind…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Buckeye
A nut. There’s a shirt you can buy in Gainesville that says something like, “But the NUTS out of the Buckeyes!”
By the way, in the previous thread, doubledawg called Gator fans north Florida rednecks (by the way, “Florida” is a proper noun and should be capitalized) and wished ACL tears on Tebow and Harvin. Real nice fella…
I’m torn. If Florida wins, it would piss off a lot of UGA fans, which would be great. UGA fans are about 100 steps below Yankee fans in my book.
But the SEC is a bunch of baloney, and I’d prefer the champion came from elsewhere.
I guess either way, I win! Actually what I enjoy most about football is just getting under other folks’ skin.
Damn….that old guy in the yellow jacket just got trampled as the Gators ran out…
Thom Brennaman? Just. . . why?
Ugh.
Ouch.
Wow….Ted Ginn…..wow!!!
Well they made that look easy.
The old guy in the yellow jacket is Mr. Two Bits. He’s been doing “Two Bits, Four Bits” for a LONG time.
Oh ok…
Wow, what’s going on here…
Ok, that was a bad call, his knee was clearly down.
sit on it potsie!
Am I crazy or is it shocking how superior Florida’s line of scrimmage is? On both sides of the ball, so far.
Wow, I figured Florida would win by about 10, but they’re just making OSU look awful right now. I am both kinda proud and hating this right now. Dammit!
And Fluornoy,
Tech had a nice year & all, but be serious.
Florida’s d has got to stay disciplined…these past 3 plays looked weak…TD…
still a lot of football left
It’s good to be named Cornelius right now…
Jemalle Cornelius – 3 catches 30 yards
Cornelius Ingram – 2 catches 40 yards
Really this is just setting up for my best-case scenario. UF showing its superiority only to somehow lose the game due to horrendous play by Chris Leak.
Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt — Robber Baron, founder/benefactor of the greatest school in all the land.
I guess we’re still waiting on the Chris Leak part, but the OSU comeback (somewhat lacking at this point) is a start.
I’m not exactly going out on a limb here, but Ohio State is not winning this game.
not but it that was a good sign. we’ll take the 3
Chris Hetland actually made it…I guess this Florida team really can do no wrong…
ububba,
Florida is definitely the better team; however, there’s still time for Leak to make a critical mistake, which he’s been prone to do this season. However, FLORIDA IS WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!
Rob or any other UF fans,
Do you know anything about Hetland the person? I’m definitely pulling for him, but I was wondering if anyone knew whether he was generally regarded as a good kid.
I was hoping we wouldn’t get the third down. I wanted to see Hetland kick it. That can be a huge confidence boost for the rest of the game.
A couple female friends I graduated with hang out with him, and they say he’s a solid guy. I’ve watched him almost cry on the sidelines. The dude has a ton of heart, and I REALLY want to see him succeed.
I don’t care what you guys say, that Urban Meyer is as good a coach as there is in the SEC.
Wow. That decision shows me that Tressel knows he’s out-manned.
I would love to see us put it in right here.
Get it Hetland…
Atta boy…
Nice message to send to your defense, Tressel.
2 for 2 in three point land!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yessssss!
Stu,
I hear you, man, but this game is a mismatch.
if they don’t punch it in here, it’s gonna bite em later.
No worries, beedee.
wow…what’s next? onside kick?
Heading out to watch the game somewhere else. Enjoy the rest of the game.
Rob,
Have fun. I know you will.
ububba,
Indeed it is. Might the SEC be the best football conference in America? Might it not even be close?
If this holds up, it’s great for the league in the next few years, too, I think. It’ll be awfully hard to argue again that an undefeated SEC team doesn’t get a shot at the title, or that a one-loss SEC team is less worthy than a one-loss team from a lesser conference.
Yeah, Rob. Be the exception to the Gator Fan Rule. Enjoy yourself, though.
Rob,
enjoy!
I just can’t wait to hear Kirk Herbstreit analyze this game.
man…is it just me or does Jimmy looks a little chinese?
Stu,
You know you’re preaching to the choir, brother.
Here’s my soggy take: This is another example of why voting for a champion is ridiculous.
You do not know who is better until you actually play the game. Let’s have a real playoff. Wanna debate or vote who’s No. 8 & No.9? Fine. Debate or vote between No. 4 & No. 5? Maybe.
But this No. 1 & No. 2 stuff, I’ll never buy it.
Just for yucks: Does anyone notice the song played by the Ohio State marching band?
“Theme from Titanic.”
ububba,
I tought that was rather ironic.
thought that is…
let the collapse begin
Late to the party again. Boy, Florida looked mighty good in the first half. Wonder how the halftime adjustments are going to shake out…
Herbstreit is probably crying in a corner about right now.
I said this to my co-worker today, an Ohio State alum: The Buckeyes have never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game. Never. I think they’re 0-5 coming into tonight.
i guess the SEC has the pictures
You call them “pictures,” I call them “superior players and coaches.”
hey, what ever works…just win baby!
I had a good hunch Florida could win this game, but I honestly didn’t think it would be like LSU-ND.
turn out the lights
Beedee,
I think the lights have been out since halftime.
Me either, ububba.
And honestly, I thought OSU would win in a close one. Boy was I wrong.
Pointless fact: UF, USC, and Auburn are the only teams to beat 2 BCS bowlers this year.
Another fact: The SEC is 6-3 in its 9 bowl games.
if you would have told me Florida would be up on OSU 41-14 in the national championship game after the Auburn game, i’d a told you to get sober.
congrats gators!
If you can’t block the other team, you can’t beat ’em. That’s what this game was about.
I was telling Jay the past couple of days that I had a feeling that Florida would win…
But I never ever expected this. Amazing.
Congrats Rob, and all other Braves Journal Gator fans. What a great win.
Nice. Fox cuts away right when Meyer was about to get doused.
Bang up job as always, morons.
I actually expected this. But everyone here knows my position on the SEC relative to the other conferences. Just no comparison.
I do a lot of business travel with an Ohio State grad, so I’ve seen this OSU bunch a lot in the last three years. (We both thought they were better last year with Holmes, Mangold & Hawk, BTW.) But I didn’t think that their O-line would get pushed around like this.
I knew Florida’s speed to the outside & the blitz packages would cause them trouble. It causes everyone trouble—you gotta name your poison with Florida. But OSU got beat man-up between the tackles on rushes & passes. Florida didn’t need to blitz half the time. It didn’t matter. Their front guys dominated.
I also was surprised that Leak played as well as he did. Hell, even their lousy FG kicker nailed a couple.
Regarding OSU’s all-time bowl record vs. the SEC, I was off by a couple games. They are now 0-8.
Since 1978, they’ve lost to both Carolina & Bama twice, plus UF, UGA, Auburn & UT.
You are so right, it really was Florida’s line play on both sides of the ball that won the game. Impressive, actually. And yeah, Leak make good decisions all night. I’m a big fan of the short dump pass and he hit them over and over.
Thanks fellas. Man, what a win. We had to play as good as we had ever played to win, and I think we did. No turnovers, no bone-headed plays from Leak, our kicking game was solid, and we won all night at the line of scrimmage and in field position. Troy Smith was off-balanced all night and we kept them under 100 yards of total offense. We had no 100 yard rusher or 100 yard receiver; we just had everyone getting in. This was a great way to send our 21 seniors away. They earned it.
Troy Smith was very classy at the end of the game, and that was great to see. Too bad some Florida players were struggling with keeping their class. What a great season though. A repeat for basketball?
Oh, and this isn’t meant to be a punch at all against Ohio State, but how much was the final score reflecting of how good Florida really was, or perhaps Ohio State being a little bit overrated? Obviously you’d have to say a little bit of both, but how much either way?
Well, I’m not going to help Florida pile on here, but the football game vs. Ohio State was as much of a mismatch as the basketball game vs OSU was a few weeks ago.
In fairness to the OSU basketball game, Oden was definitely not himself. Watching that game in person, he just couldn’t make his presence inside. Noah and Horford shut him down easily because of his bad hand. He still had the cast on then. Without Oden, it was tough for OSU to compete.
Well, yeah, if you can’t catch the ball, it’s tough. But Florida was ahead by 30 points at one juncture. I’m not sure Jerry Lucas would’ve made a difference for OSU that day.
A Florida b-ball repeat is probably in the realm of likely at this point. It’s their title to lose, IMHO.
I got up an 5:15 to watch and I am ever so glad–it will make the memory all the sweeter.
Congrats to Rob and all other Gator fans.
As an SEC fan, I am not that surprised that Florida cleaned their clocks, but I do respect Jim Tressel and his team.
That said, I doubt that a playoff will ever be feasible, but where are all of those people who were so loud about the national title being between Michigan and Ohio State?
I think they can do a playoff, even if it’s only 4 teams.
I mean, just for fun, wouldn’t it be great to see UF, OSU, USC, LSU, Boise and 3 more in an 8-team tournament? Let the higher ranked teams host the first 2 rounds & have your title game on a neutral field.
And I’m not going to rain on Florida’s parade, but I’d love to see a game with them & USC, or Boise. Not that I don’t think they’d beat them, but it’s not something we’ll ever know for sure.
AJC’s Mark Bradley, post-game from the desert.
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2007/01/09/gators_swamped.htm
Read through some game forums and, of course, UF people were raising knuckle-dragging hell on the OSU sites. But this was my favorite post-game comment from an OSU blog.
“I know it’s just a game, but I want to claw my eyeballs out and poke corndog sticks in my ears.”
Sad to say, but I know what he means.
Awsome, awsome, awsome. I watched the game with a bunch of friends and then went down University Ave. to hang out with the (rather tame) mob. I think the most significant vandalism was a small tree getting ripped apart for no appearnt reason.
Most people have talked about FL’s line play and how they dominated the run and the pass. IMO, the secondary deserves a heaping scoop of the credit, actually. At least half of the sacks were “coverage” sacks, and when Smith did get the ball off, it was rarely to an open reciever. I’m really not sure how much of it was the lack of Ted Ginn, but it just seemed like there was never, EVER anyone open for Smith to throw to. The defensive effort was superb, and there’s not really a lot more to say about it.
Also remarkable is that I don’t think I ever heard the announcer mention Reggie Nelson, Florida’s Safety and best defensive player. The ball was just never thrown anywhere near him, mostly because no one was open downfield.
Was anyone else really impressed with Chris Leak? I don’t think he made a single mistake, large or small. At least half of his incompletes were deliberate throw-aways where the coverage was too good. The confidence and patience he showed was very impressive.
A few words on Hetland (the FL fieldgoal kicker): He was exceptionally good last year. I think he had the highest kicking percentage in the SEC. This year, for no apperant reason, he stunk to high heaven. He was like 3/13 going into the SEC championship with more than a couple botched PATs. From everything I’ve heard about him, he’s a really good guy. I’m pretty sure he walked on, and everyone was rooting for him. The SEC championship was on his birthday, and he performed well, making a short FG and going 4/4 or 5/5 or whatever on PATs. Tonight, he was in 2005 form, and you could see from the reaction on the sidelines how happy everyone was. I for one am really glad that he’s able to leave on a high note.
Anyhow, great game, go Gators!
Ohio State would be the 5th best team in the SEC east.
I am just glad I don’t have any kids that have to live in this world where the Gators are Champs. I know it is good for the SEC, but their fans, my God!
I’m one of the few — at least among those to whom I’ve talked — that knew Ohio State wasn’t nearly as good as they were hyped to be going in, Smitty. It seemed so obvious. Oh, well; at least everyone else now knows, too.
Mass suicide watch here in Buckeye land. I haven’t drank the OSU Koolaid and never will but I thought that the Bucks would have given UF a better game.
Next thread baseball I hope.
Jarvis Moss sums it all up for us. “Honestly, we’ve played a lot better teams than them,” Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss said. “I could name four or five teams in the SEC that could probably compete with them and play the same type of game we did against them.”
Lee Corso needs to quit talking about the 50 day layoff. He kept saying that OSU was slow during the game, my guess is that Florida is just that much faster on both sides of the ball. Corso did go on to say that Florida would win 9 out of 10 against OSU. Also, nice interview with Reggie Nelson after the game. Some reporter asked him if Ginn would have made a difference in the game and his quote….
“Yeah he’s fast and he should be in the SEC.”
I agree on all counts, csg. The layoff excuse is tiresome and bogus. They got outplayed and outrun by better and faster players. And that Reggie Nelson line was awesome.
I was impressed with all players that were interviewed…They could have just simply taken all the glory, but yet they kept giving props to the SEC conference. I think they might have gotten their point across! Oh yeah, Troy Smith and Chris Leak are very classy individuals. Smith didnt make any excuses and just congratulated Florida on a great game. Leak had the opportunity to take some shots against all the fans who doubted him, but he didnt and just thanked all the players on his team for supporting him. Good job guys…
Any more doubts about the SEC?
None.
0
Ask Robert.
Yeah–Malone as well (if memory serves me correctly). it was fun to watch the replay last night. I particularlly enjoyed Barry Alvarez’s comment: which was somthing to the effect of “the Florida defense will have to play very well… to have ANY CHANCE to beat this great OSU team.”
Thanks CSG for the Jarvis Moss quote–I am glad that it made into this thread, which I do not want to see end soon. This was too much fun….