1 » On Oct. 29, 2010, one day before the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs square-off in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, FL, four former student-athletes will be inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame. Representing the Gators are linebackers Wilber Marshall and Scot Brantley, while LB Knox Culpepper and quarterback Zeke Bratkowski will be honored as former Bulldogs.

2 » A quick blurb from friend of OGGOA, former Florida football player and host of “The Morning Drive” on ESPN Radio in Ocala/Gainesville, FL, Brady Ackerman via his Twitter account Monday evening: “I am hearing that [head coach] Urban [Meyer] has made [the] team accountable for everyone this offseason. In an effort to develop leadership – a mistake hurts everyone. Meyer is trying to develop leaders and accountability with his team this summer. That will be put to test with the arrest of Hammond. The rule is if one guys messes up – everyone pays. Hammond, who is now suspended, is causing the team a little ‘extra’ running this week. I think the message will get home with the team this week and expect the rest of the summer to be quiet from ‘nonsense.’”

Two more BITS on Joe Haden and Maurkice Pouncey…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Hall of fame, accountability, NFL

Tags: Brady Ackerman, Cleveland Browns, Eric Mangini, Georgia Bulldogs, Hall of Fame, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Joe Haden, Knox Culpepper, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Tomlin, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Scot Brantley, Urban Meyer, Wilber Marshall, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Zeke Bratkowski

Round 1 – No. 25
Tim Tebow, QB
Denver Broncos

Height: 6’3″ – Weight: 236 lbs.
Age: 22 – Class: Senior

For the first time since 1989, three former University of Florida student-athletes were picked in the first round of a NFL Draft. Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow completed the trifecta for the 2010 NFL Draft, being chosen by the Denver Broncos with the No. 25 overall selection.

Tebow becomes the fourth Florida quarterback drafted in the first round and the first since Rex Grossman was picked by the Chicago Bears in 2003. Denver made four trades in the draft before eventually winding up with the opportunity to select the Heisman Trophy winning signal caller.

Months of debate about whether or not he was worthy of a first round selection were only fueled Thursday by the Broncos’ decision. Now the story changes to whether or not Tebow will be able to live up to the slot in which he was picked.

Things got rolling between the two parties early in the process but intensified this Monday when general manager Brian Xanders and head coach Josh McDaniels visited Tebow for a private meeting in Gainesville, FL.

He will join former Florida wide receiver Jabar Gaffney and defensive linemen Jarvis Moss and Marcus Thomas who are already on Denver’s roster. The team, which happens to use orange and blue as its two primary colors, recently made the No. 15 jersey available after trading wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for two second round picks.

Should Tebow get a chance to play in week one of the 2010 NFL season, he will take the field at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in his hometown of Jacksonville, FL, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

WHAT TEBOW SAID
Press Conference Transcript
“A lot of people said it was going to be a hard process or a long process and that it was going to be very frustrating for me but I loved it and I enjoyed the working process. All the critics and negativity only pushed me that much more and made me work that much harder and made me better. I think that was a positive thing for me, to be honest with you. I believed in myself and the people that were around me and supporting me. I thank my quarterback coaches for the work that they put in and trying to constantly get better. Not only get better but show that I was coachable, to be humble and learn to do what someone says and I think that is something that I tried to show and I think I showed that to Coach McDaniels and the staff there.”

WHAT THEY SAID
Press Conference Transcript
Press Conference Video
Head coach Josh McDaniels: “The player obviously has all the traits that you’re looking for in terms of toughness and competitiveness. He’s intelligent and he’s won a lot of games. He’s a leader, he works hard and he’s got all the intangibles that you look for in a player at that position. He’s produced a lot of numbers and statistically – I’m not even going to talk about that because he’s one of the best in a long, long time. We need that player in that position to be a good player, a real good player. If we can make him a special player, that’s what we’re looking for. Now we have a deep group of quarterbacks and we expect the competition to be incredible. It hasn’t changed anything in terms of our depth chart right now. We’re looking for that position to be the best player on our team if we can make it that way. Competition is only going to make each one of those players better and that’s what we expect him to come in and provide us with.”

Head coach Urban Meyer: “I’m sure Tim and his family are glad the process is over. The Denver Broncos are getting a winner. Tim will show on the field what he is capable of doing and more than anything Tim has a competitive fire that will constantly push him to get better and do whatever he can to help his team win.”

THINGS TO READ
- ESPN: The wait is worth it for Tebow
- ESPN: Josh McDaniels’ legacy is Tim Tebow
- SI: Tebow’s Mile High landing, a sour night for Clausen
- AP: Tebow taken in Round 1 by Broncos, joins QBs Orton, Quinn
- FOX: Round 1 shows character counts
- CBS: Broncos’ McDaniels can kiss job goodbye with Tebow pick
- CBS: Broncos will regret falling for Tebow’s good-guy reputation

- Denver Broncos: Broncos Pick Two in Primetime
- Denver Post: Broncos pick QB Tim Tebow at No. 25 in NFL draft
- Denver Post: By Josh, McD got it right
- Gainesville Sun: Broncos make first-round pick Tebow feel a mile high
- A lot of Gator fans just became Broncos fans

VIDEO

NFL Network interview with Tim Tebow

ESPN interview with Tim Tebow

Gainesville Sun interview with Tim Tebow

Broncos coach McDaniels’ press conference



OGGOA will continue updating this story.

Tags: Brandon Marshall, Brian Xanders, Chad Jackson, Chicago Bears, Heisman Trophy, Jabar Gaffney, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jarvis Moss, Josh McDaniels, Marcus Thomas, Miami Dolphins, Rex Grossman, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

No. 1 Florida Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) senior quarterback Tim Tebow totaled four touchdowns on the day and broke two Southeastern Conference all-time records as his team went on to rout the Georgia Bulldogs (4-4, 3-3 SEC) 41-17 in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on Saturday. Florida has won 17 of the last 20 against Georgia and took their second consecutive game in the series by at least 24 points.

Tying Bulldogs running back Herschel Walker‘s SEC record of 49 rushing touchdowns last week, Tebow broke it Saturday with 1:32 left in the first half on a beautiful 23-yard TD run. He would add a four-yard TD rush in the third quarter to finish the day with an SEC-record 51 rushing scores. Tebow is now two touchdowns behind RB Kevin Faulk formerly of the LSU Tigers who has the most touchdowns rushing and receiving (53). Additionally, Tebow broke former Arkansas Razorbacks QB Matt Jones‘ all-time SEC record of rushing yards for a quarterback.

On top of to Tebow’s two rushing scores, he completed two more through the air to wide receiver Riley Cooper, who finished with a team-leading four receptions and 78 yards. Cooper had a spectacular catch for his second touchdown, a one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone. Tebow lead the team in rushing with 18 carries for 85 yards, and no running back received more than seven carries (Emmanuel Moody).

Defensively, the Gators were just as dominant. Redshirt junior linebacker A.J. Jones grabbed a pair of interceptions and has now picked off three balls in two weeks. One was an athletic move where he tipped the ball and then dove to come up with the turnover. Senior LB Brandon Spikes added a pick-six in the fourth quarter, and redshirt junior LB Ryan Stamper also grabbed one with 11:54 to go in the game. Florida’s secondary held Georgia star sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green to three catches for 50 yards, though it did allow two TDs.

The special teams unit was also special Saturday, with sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis hitting two field goals including a career-long 56-yard shot and punter Chas Henry totaling three kicks for 145 yards – two inside the five and once again no return yards given up by the coverage unit.

On the injury front, Spikes appeared to hurt himself early in the game but returned while RB Chris Rainey left in the second half with what seemed to be a serious left shoulder injury. Redshirt senior safety Dorian Munroe, who missed the 2008 season with a torn ACL and had not yet played in 2009, made his debut on special teams and looked good.

The Gators continue to own the nation’s longest winning streak at 18 games. Florida will return home to Gainesville, FL, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium next weekend to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-6, 0-5 SEC). The game will air on ESPN/2 at 8:15 p.m.

Tags: A.J. Green, A.J. Jones, Arkansas Razorbacks, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Dorian Munroe, Emmanuel Moody, Georgia Bulldogs, Herschel Walker, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Matt Jones, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, SEC, Tim Tebow, Vanderbilt Commodores, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

Location: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium – Jacksonville, FL [Capacity: 84,000]
Time: 3:30 p.m. (EST)
Weather Forecast: 83°F – Partly Sunny

TV: CBS
Online: Live for FREE at CBS Sports.
Sirius: 217; XM: 200

Odds: Florida -14.5, O/U 48
Head-to-Head Stats: Gainesville Sun

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow…who is currently tied with former Georgia Bulldogs running back Herschel Walker in all-time Southeastern Conference rushing touchdowns with 49. He needs one more to break Walker’s record.
- Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green vs. Florida cornerback Joe Haden…whose battle could be the highlight of the game. Haden will try his best to match-up with the Bulldogs’ greatest weapon who has already caught 41 balls for 682 yards and six touchdowns on the season including individual performances of 137 and 152 yards. Green has scored touchdowns in five of Georgia’s seven games.
- Florida’s kicker…as Caleb Sturgis has missed two 37-yard field goals and an extra point combined over the last two weeks. Jonathan Phillips could step in for Sturgis and take his job back.
- The I-formation…which the Gators worked on all summer and found success with last week against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Florida may use it more extensively this week, especially in the red zone where the team needs to be more efficient.

STREAKS:
- The Gators are in the middle of the longest winning streak in school history with 17 consecutive victories. They also hold the longest active winning streak in the NCAA and the longest of any SEC team since the Auburn Tigers won 20 straight from 1993-94.
- The Bulldogs are 6-1 when playing the defending national champion, including victories over Florida in 1997 and 2007.
- Meyer is 13-1 in rivalry games against Georgia, Tennessee Volunteers, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. His sole loss came against Georgia in 2007.
- Georgia leads both the all-time series against Florida (46-38-2) and all games played in Jacksonville (40-35-1).
- Florida leads the SEC in total offense (457), rushing offense (258.3), scoring offense (36.3) and third-down efficiency (.460). The Gators have converted 48.6% of their offensive drives into points including 34.7% into touchdowns and have 33 runs of 10-plus yards on first down, including 13 for 20 yards or more – all tops in the SEC.
- On defense, the Gators have only surrendered six touchdowns all season (fewest of any team in the nation) and average 10.1 points per game (No. 2 in the nation). Florida has held its past three opponents to a combined 16% on third down conversions and have forced opponents into a three-and-out on 57.3% of their drives – best in the SEC.

Read OGGOA’s complete Florida vs. Georgia preview after the jump…

Continue Reading » Week 9: No. 1 Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Tags: A.J. Green, Brandon Antwine, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Georgia Bulldogs, Herschel Walker, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Jonathan Phillips, Justin Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, Mark Richt, Moses Jenkins, OKefenokee Oar, SEC, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Wondy Pierre-Louis

A new college football rivalry trophy named the “Okefenokee Oar” will be presented to the winner of the annual Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs game Saturday at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. According to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald, the creation of the trophy was “a collaborative idea of the University of Florida and University of Georgia student governments.” Each season, the winner of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will take home the trophy for display before fighting over it the following year in Jacksonville, FL.

Fashioned from a 1,000 year old cypress tree harvested in the Okefenokee Swamp (which borders the two states), it will be introduced live on CBS by the Florida and Georgia student government presidents and awarded to the winning team after the game. Both universities hope to make the trophy as important as other college football rivalry trophies (like the Little Brown Jug for Michigan-Minnesota and Paul Bunyan’s Axe for Minn.-Wisconsin).

Florida currently holds two rivalry trophies. It possesses the Seminole War Canoe after defeating the Miami Hurricanes (2008) and has held the Governor’s Cup (in title alone) for defeating the Florida State Seminoles consecutively since 2004.

A picture of the Oar has been swiped by OGGOA provided courtesy of the Herald.

Tags: Georgia Bulldogs, Govenor's Cup, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Little Brown Jug, Miami Hurricanes, OKefenokee Oar, Paul Bunyan's Axe, Seminole War Canoe, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party