travisduncan
Gator Fan
A last minute game-winning layup by Erving Walker was good enough for a W Saturday night over the Vols, and it also pushed the win total for the season to 21.
A last minute layup against a mediocre underachieving UT team just isn't what it used to be though.
For coach Donovan the last-minute win showed his team's fighting spirit.
“Even when things aren’t going well, they never quit on me,” he said after the win.
Even though Florida has won four straight (twice against ranked opponents) and has the best record in the SEC, you do have to question their bench depth and their ability to score against the best defenses in the country. 61 points against Tenn. is not a lot.
I think the Gators are the type of team that can get to the Elite 8, beyond that, they'll need to be clicking in every facet of the game to make it to Houston.
When the AP and Coaches Poll is released later Monday they should be in the Top 15. If Florida wins most of their remaining five regular season games and picks up a few wins in the SEC tournament, look for them to be in between a two-seed and a four-seed for the NCAA tournament.
Early losses to Central Florida and Jacksonville along with a perceived lack of quality in the SEC hurts Florida in terms of seeding.. If those early season losses are taken for what they are by the NCAA selection committee (which they likely will be) it could come down to how the committee then judges the Gators' two league losses against South Carolina, Miss State and any future losses. How would those stack up against a 6 or 7- loss team from the Big East or Big Ten?
It's easier said than done to finish the final five games with either four wins or to finish unbeaten. Besides a rematch against Kentucky in Lexington, the Gators will play Alabama, Georgia and Vanderbilt, all of which will be fighting for an NCAA tournament birth.
While we tend to look ahead to March, finishing strong will be important in terms of seeding and in terms of confidence for a squad that his relatively little NCAA experience.
You can begin to see the upward arc that Donovan's club is building.
"The last couple years it has just been holding on, maybe we get into the Tournament," Donovan said after Saturday's win.
"Last year we got in, but this team is dealing with stuff that they've never, ever had to deal with before in terms of understanding an expectation and what it takes to be a real winner and compete at a very high level."
Chandler Parsons injury
Parsons suffered a deep thigh bruise in the first half of Saturday's win. There is not timetable for his return but the Gators don't play again until next Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
Football Recruiting
Barry Sanders Jr., the son of the NFL Hall of Famer was offered a scholarship offer by the Gators on Friday afternoon.
Florida State has interest in Sanders, and among the other 12 offers he has already received two of them came from SEC rivals Alabama and Auburn.
The early consensus is that he may be faster than his father.
The junior from Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall told the Oklahoman that he is not in a hurry to do anything regarding his college choice.
“I'm going to take my time and see what's out there. This is going to be a well-thought-out decision.”
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP4SVVTCKT4"]YouTube - OHSSE Barry Sanders, Jr. Amazing Touchdown Run[/ame]
Urban Meyer talks about what's wrong with college football
Urban Meyer joined the Dan Dakich show in Indianapolis last week and again re-emphasized why he grew tired of the college game.
In essence, he is sick of the off-the field stresses and wants the NCAA to go harder after rule-breakers. You can listen to the segment at 1070 the Fan.com
Easley comments
One of the players who crossed paths with Urban Meyer last season was freshman defensive end Dominique Easley.
Easley missed an August practice and was bothered by an ankle injury. Easley was left off the travel roster for the Vanderbilt game.
He tells the Staten Island Advance that life at Florida took some adjusting and he even thought about leaving. Once Muschamp was hired it change his out look and he's ready to go for his sophomore season.
Muschamp again having to justify hiring a great offensive coordinator
Muschamp told the Palm Beach Post that he doesn't anticipate a problem working with Charlie Weis.
“I*heard Bear Bryant say one time that he wanted to hire people who were smarter than him,” Muschamp said.
“Charlie Weis is going to call offense better than I am. I want to hire guys that are confident in their profession and have confidence in their abilities and I have confidence in them. “
A last minute layup against a mediocre underachieving UT team just isn't what it used to be though.
For coach Donovan the last-minute win showed his team's fighting spirit.
“Even when things aren’t going well, they never quit on me,” he said after the win.
Even though Florida has won four straight (twice against ranked opponents) and has the best record in the SEC, you do have to question their bench depth and their ability to score against the best defenses in the country. 61 points against Tenn. is not a lot.
I think the Gators are the type of team that can get to the Elite 8, beyond that, they'll need to be clicking in every facet of the game to make it to Houston.
When the AP and Coaches Poll is released later Monday they should be in the Top 15. If Florida wins most of their remaining five regular season games and picks up a few wins in the SEC tournament, look for them to be in between a two-seed and a four-seed for the NCAA tournament.
Early losses to Central Florida and Jacksonville along with a perceived lack of quality in the SEC hurts Florida in terms of seeding.. If those early season losses are taken for what they are by the NCAA selection committee (which they likely will be) it could come down to how the committee then judges the Gators' two league losses against South Carolina, Miss State and any future losses. How would those stack up against a 6 or 7- loss team from the Big East or Big Ten?
It's easier said than done to finish the final five games with either four wins or to finish unbeaten. Besides a rematch against Kentucky in Lexington, the Gators will play Alabama, Georgia and Vanderbilt, all of which will be fighting for an NCAA tournament birth.
While we tend to look ahead to March, finishing strong will be important in terms of seeding and in terms of confidence for a squad that his relatively little NCAA experience.
You can begin to see the upward arc that Donovan's club is building.
"The last couple years it has just been holding on, maybe we get into the Tournament," Donovan said after Saturday's win.
"Last year we got in, but this team is dealing with stuff that they've never, ever had to deal with before in terms of understanding an expectation and what it takes to be a real winner and compete at a very high level."
Chandler Parsons injury
Parsons suffered a deep thigh bruise in the first half of Saturday's win. There is not timetable for his return but the Gators don't play again until next Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
Football Recruiting
Barry Sanders Jr., the son of the NFL Hall of Famer was offered a scholarship offer by the Gators on Friday afternoon.
Florida State has interest in Sanders, and among the other 12 offers he has already received two of them came from SEC rivals Alabama and Auburn.
The early consensus is that he may be faster than his father.
The junior from Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall told the Oklahoman that he is not in a hurry to do anything regarding his college choice.
“I'm going to take my time and see what's out there. This is going to be a well-thought-out decision.”
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP4SVVTCKT4"]YouTube - OHSSE Barry Sanders, Jr. Amazing Touchdown Run[/ame]
Urban Meyer talks about what's wrong with college football
Urban Meyer joined the Dan Dakich show in Indianapolis last week and again re-emphasized why he grew tired of the college game.
In essence, he is sick of the off-the field stresses and wants the NCAA to go harder after rule-breakers. You can listen to the segment at 1070 the Fan.com
Easley comments
One of the players who crossed paths with Urban Meyer last season was freshman defensive end Dominique Easley.
Easley missed an August practice and was bothered by an ankle injury. Easley was left off the travel roster for the Vanderbilt game.
He tells the Staten Island Advance that life at Florida took some adjusting and he even thought about leaving. Once Muschamp was hired it change his out look and he's ready to go for his sophomore season.
Muschamp again having to justify hiring a great offensive coordinator
Muschamp told the Palm Beach Post that he doesn't anticipate a problem working with Charlie Weis.
“I*heard Bear Bryant say one time that he wanted to hire people who were smarter than him,” Muschamp said.
“Charlie Weis is going to call offense better than I am. I want to hire guys that are confident in their profession and have confidence in their abilities and I have confidence in them. “
