The Sunday Blog is on I-95 as this is written. Another long trip back from another Gator loss. Been there before.
Florida may be the perfect example of the cyclical world of college football. It doesn’t happen at every porgram but it happens at a lot of them.
The Gators were 26-2 in 2008 and ‘09 and are 13-10 the last two years.
THE NOT-READY-FOR-PRIME-TIME
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
1. LSU: Amazing that Western Kentucky could do what Alabama could not — score a touchdowns against LSU.
2. Oklahoma State: Cowboys let off thr gas or they might have scored 100.
3. Alabama: Tide survived a trap game in Starkville.
4. Oregon: Are we headed for a rematch in the national title game?
5. Arkansas: Razorbacks put it on the mighty Vols.
6. Oklahoma: How did Texas Tech beat these guys?
7. Clemson: Headed to the ACC title game.
8. Virginia Tech: Hokies have regrouped to have another good season.
9. Houston: It would be interesting to see Coogs vs. BCS team in a bowl.
10. Stanford: Cardinal couldn’t handle the hype.
11. South Carolina: Gamies aren’t fun to watch but they keep winning.
12. Boise State: Boise is the new FSU when it comes to missed field goals.
13. Georgia: Dogs are heading to Atlanta once they handle awful Kentucky.
14. Southern Miss: Nine wins for Larry Fedora’s team.
15. Kansas State: Is Bill Snyder the Big XII coach of the year?
16. Michigan State: Sparty heading south for the holidays.
17. Wisconsin: Give the Badgers credit for recovering from two tough losses.
18. Nebraska: Huskers dealt with distractions in Happy Valley.
19. Michigan: Impressive win over Illinois.
20. Penn State: Tough finish for a devastated team.
21. TCU: Maybe Frogs should be ranked higher just for saving us from Boise.
22. Notre Dame: Is the Irish schedule really easy?
23. Southern Cal: Nice season for a team that cannot bowl.
24. Florida State: Miami dominated game but Semis got the win.
25. Arkansas State: Why not?
THE SEC FOUR-PACK
1. Vanderbilt appears headed for a bowl game if it can beat Tennessee this week and considering how poorly the Vols are playing that looks like a sure thing. Who had Vandy in a bowl before this season? There was something about James Franklin when we talked to him in Birmingham that told you he was something special. Sometimes coaches just have that “It” factor.
2. Franklin vs. Joker Phillips was historic in that it was the first-ever SEC meeting of two black head coaches. I’m not sure how many more we’ll have between those two. Kentucky is really awful and threy looked unprepared in a game that could have helped them salvage a season.
3. For all of Steve Spurrier’s giddiness over his win over the Gators Saturday, it’s important to remember that while he has indeed beaten Florida, Tennessee and Georgia for two straight years, the only significant of those wins was this year’s over Georgia. Those three teams are 19-27 in conference play over that two-year stretch.
4. We’re still not sure if the SEC will fill all nine of its bowl slots but it’s looking more and more like Florida is headed to the Gator Bowl if it beats Furman. The good news is it’s a cheap trip for Gator fans.
