Considering so much has gone on over the past week in regards to the Florida Gators, the OGGOA Week In Review returns for its second edition. (Yes, it covers an eight-day period, but let’s just all agree to ignore that.) Be sure to check out all of the posts that have been written this week just in case you happened to miss a thing or two.

OGGOA COLUMNS
» An in-depth look at former Florida head coach Urban Meyer going to the Ohio State Buckeyes was published in the latest edition of The Silver Lining. The 3,500-word piece looks at Meyer’s decision from every possible angle (some tidbits you will not find elsewhere are included) and provides you with all the information you need in order to draw your own conclusion.

» OGGOA had the unique opportunity to review “The Play That Changed College Football,” the latest edition of the ESPN documentary series SEC Storied.

» Following Florida basketball’s loss to the No. 3/4 Syracuse Orange, former Gators forward Adam Allen posted the latest edition of Allen’s Alley, explaining in what areas Florida has room for improvement.

EXTRA
While Al Michaels and Bob Costas are discussing the Denver Broncos improving to 6-1 this season with quarterback Tim Tebow starting, former Gators wide receiver now NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth does the Gator Chomp. (Thanks to OGGOA follower Chaz.)

FOOTBALL
» Meyer agreed to coach the Buckeyes beginning in 2012. His signing was officially announced prior to OSU introducing him at an on-campus press conference. In between, UF athletic director Jeremy Foley wished Meyer the best of luck with his new employer.

» Two Gators – redshirt freshmen safety Joshua Shaw and defensive end Lynden Trail – decided to transfer on Tuesday. Shaw and Trail each chose to transfer for different reasons, and OGGOA also spoke with Trail for an exclusive interview about his decision and promise to remain a Florida fan.

» Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was announced as the cover athlete for the premiere edition of NFL Magazine, set to go on sale Dec. 13 for $4.99.

» OGGOA confirmed that strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti would join Meyer and has already left the program for the Buckeyes.

» Florida announced that it accepted an invitation to the 2012 Gator Bowl.

» While on the media teleconference to officially accept the bowl bid, Gators head coach Will Muschamp confirmed Marotti’s departure, said sophomore defensive tackle Dominique Easley will undergo surgery on his ACL Wednesday and discussed a number of other topics relating to the bowl game.

» Florida four-star running back recruit Mike Davis (Stone Mountain, GA) decommitted from the Gators after a significant miscommunication with the coaching staff and completely eliminated UF from his list.

BASKETBALL
» One of the greatest television commercials to feature a college coach was published on OGGOA for your enjoyment. Florida head coach Billy Donovan does a press conference praising the variety of offerings from Florida Gulf Seafood.

» Donovan earned his 400th career win as UF routed the Stetson Hatters 96-70 Monday evening. Freshman guard Bradley Beal led the way with career-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds. He also discussed what winning his 400th college basketball game meant on a number of levels.

» It was determined that junior forward Erik Murphy did not tear his meniscus but rather had a deep bone bruise and may be able to return for the Arizona game on Wednesday.

» Despite it being a close game throughout, the Gators fell to the Orange 72-68 on the road in Syracuse, NY. Junior G Kenny Boynton started slow but finished with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

» Following Florida’s loss to Syracuse, Donovan pointed to turnovers, poor rebounding and players missing in action as the reasons why UF struggled. Redshirt junior G Mike Rosario was benched during the contest because Donovan was not pleased with where his head was at heading into and during the game.

Tags: Adam Allen, Bradley Beal, Cris Collinsworth, Denver Broncos, Dominique Easley, Erik Murphy, ESPN, Gator Bowl, Gator Chomp, Jeremy Foley, Joshua Shaw, Kenny Boynton, Lynden Trail, Mickey Marotti, Mike Davis, Mike Rosario, NFL, Ohio State Buckeyes, Stetson Hatters, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp

The second of four documentaries set to air on ESPNU this year as part of the SEC Storied documentary series, “The Play That Changed College Football” is an intricate look at the first Southeastern Conference Championship Game played in 1992 between the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0) and No. 12 Florida Gators (8-3).

Directed by Jeff Cvitkovic and narrated by Luke Perry, the film is centered on the thesis that one game – and more specifically one play – “helped shape how conferences are constructed and championships are decided.”

When the SEC expanded to 12 teams (adding Arkansas and South Carolina) nearly two decades ago, then-commissioner Roy Kramer chose to format the conference into two six-team divisions and add a championship game that was previously unheard of in Division I college football.

The prevailing thought was that a SEC team would never win a national championship because even if one got through the regular season undefeated, the team could be canalized in the title game and ruin its chances at national glory. What Kramer saw, however, was not the risk but instead the rewards of increased exposure, television revenue and conference prestige.

“You had a chance to have a team play for the national championship. Now, all of a sudden if they lose this game, they’re gonna lose their shot at a national championship. I was concerned we had shot ourselves in the foot,” he admitted.

The former commissioner is honest and forthcoming when admitting that, while he may be considered a visionary now, he was one play away from potentially being a pariah. Luckily for him, the former came true and not the latter.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s review of ESPN’s latest documentary…after the break!
Continue Reading » Review – ESPN documentary series SEC Storied: “The Play That Changed College Football”

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Errict Rhett, ESPN, Florida Gators, Shane Matthews, Steve Spurrier

Updated Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.

Rumors have been circulating seemingly since the day he stepped down from his post with the Florida Gators that Urban Meyer would return to being a college football head coach sooner than later. When Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel resigned on May 30, it appeared as if Meyer’s next destination was a certainty.

Throughout the last six months, Meyer has spent his time working as a college football analyst for ESPN, doing speaking engagements across the country, making appearances and spending time with his family. He has also – on numerous occasions – denied any specific intent on returning to coaching in 2012 though he has admitted more than once that he does miss carrying a whistle.

Over the last few days, however, the murmurs regarding Meyer’s future and Ohio State’s coaching situation have gotten louder. It appears inevitable to many that he will be donning the scarlet and grey sooner than later.

Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: ESPN, Jim Tressel, Ohio State Buckeyes, Urban Meyer

Each night ESPN compiles a Top 10 plays of the day and airs the segment on SportsCenter. Thursday evening, a pair of plays made by Florida Gators held the top two spots. The No. 2 play featured is an alley-oop from senior point guard Erving Walker to sophomore center Patric Young in the Florida-North Florida basketball game. The No. 1 play, of course, was Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow‘s 20-yard, game-winning touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.

Tebow’s touchdown was also SportsCenter‘s Highlight of the Night:

Tags: Denver Broncos, Erving Walker, ESPN, Patric Young, Tim Tebow

ESPN’s Outside the Lines, an “Emmy Award-winning investigative series [that] examines topical issues off the playing field,” will center on one person in particular on Sunday – Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Below is the network’s preview for the program along with a video clip:

Tim Tebow is currently a backup QB whose jersey ranks among the best sellers in the NFL. To some, he’s the greatest college football player ever. To others, he’s an overrated product of media hype. Is his well-publicized faith at the center of his polarizing nature?

Tags: ESPN, Tim Tebow

ESPN reporter and former Florida Gators dazzler Erin Andrews filled in for Kelly Ripa as co-host of Live with Regis & Kelly Wednesday morning in an appearance met with rave reviews by fans of the television program.

Andrews, who has extended her brand recently by appearing on Dancing with the Stars and Good Morning America while also doing endorsements for Reebok’s ZigTech brand and helping raise awareness for prostate cancer and the implementation of anti-stalking laws, spent all morning with notorious Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan Regis Philbin on the nationally syndicated program.

Below are two videos of her appearance courtesy of Timothy Burke. The first is the beginning of the show, and the second is a five-minute clip of Andrews playing with a bunch of puppies. You can view them after the break.
Continue Reading » Erin Andrews fills in for Ripa on Regis & Kelly

Tags: Erin Andrews, ESPN, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Regis Philbin

ESPN and the Southeastern Conference have announced the match-ups set for their 2012 Super Tuesday showcase, and Florida Gators basketball will be featured in four of the contests. Below is the official 2011-12 non-conference schedule with the four additional ESPN Super Tuesday games added at the end:

Tags: ESPN, SEC

*NOTE: Videos below are on “autoplay” so pause each to play one at a time.

On Monday, ESPN took a special look inside the Florida Gators football program with complete coverage on their television shows, radio station and website. OGGOA is following the coverage step-by-step throughout the day. Stay tuned.

Interview on Mike and Mike in the Morning:

Though ESPN‘s All-Access piece did not technically begin until 9 a.m., head coach Will Muschamp did a little promotional work in the morning by jumping on the radio (listen here) at 7:20 a.m. Asked by the hosts about redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley, Muschamp once again reiterated his confidence. “I don’t have a whole lot of concern,” he said. “The first two days he has been really on. I think he is much more comfortable in what we’re asking him to do maybe as opposed to last year.”

Jesse Palmer says “good morning” to the team:

Opening up SportsCenter at 9 a.m. was a video of Palmer in the hallway of Florida’s team hotel at 7:30 a.m. in the morning. He proceeded to introduce the Inside the Program feature before blowing an air horn and subsequently waking up the team.

View this post in its entirety by clicking the link below.
Continue Reading » ESPN’s Inside the Program: Live with the Gators

Tags: Charlie Weis, D.J. Durkin, Dan Quinn, ESPN, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Demps, Jeff Driskel, John Brantley, Jon Halapio, Mack Brown, Mo Collins, Shane Matthews, SportsCenter, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp