1 » The hottest topic of conversation right now is whether or not the Florida Gators and head coach Urban Meyer did enough to help quarterback Tim Tebow prepare for an NFL career. The two schools of thought are that (a) Meyer’s primary responsibility is winning college football games and that (b) Meyer got more out of Tebow than the player did out of his four years at the University of Florida.

Check out five more BITS on Florida football players…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow and Meyer, Brantley, Stamper

Tags: combine, Draft, John Brantley, NFL, Ryan Stamper, Sam Wyche, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, linebacker Ryan Stamper, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and kick returner Brandon James have received invites to the 2010 NFL Combine. Juniors who have declared for the 2010 NFL Draft have yet to receive invitations, but fans can expect DE Carlos Dunlap, cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Aaron Hernandez and safety Major Wright to participate in the event from Feb. 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis, IN.

2 » Three-star athlete Marcus Smith (Columbus, GA) had an outstanding scholarship offer from Florida and was prepared to take it…that is until Louisville Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong came calling. “If Louisville would have never been in the mix, I would have probably went to Florida,” Smith told the Courier-Journal. “But I’m glad Louisville came into the mix. I like coach Strong a lot, and I really wanted to play for coach Strong. Louisville is a great program. He wants me to play quarterback, he established that during our talk this morning. To tell you the truth, I just want to play, so I am good wherever he wants me.” Upon taking his position with the Cardinals, Strong said he would not poach recruits the Gators were interested in unless they initiated contact.

3 » The Gators hosted their biggest remaining recruiting weekend the past few days and a number of both committed and undecided prospects came away impressed. Four-star running back Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA), who at one point was wavering after head coach Urban Meyer announced his leave of absence, solidified his recruitment after getting extensive time with new running backs coach Stan Drayton. Brown also told Adam Gorney of Rivals that Meyer may return as soon as March. “He looked pretty fine to me,” Brown said. “He looked healthy. I know he wants to coach, so I know he’s going to be there. He’s going to take a couple weeks off in February, but he’ll be back.” Fellow four-star recruits offensive tackle Chaz Green (Tampa, FL) and wide receiver Christian Green (Tampa, FL) raved to numerous sources about their respective experiences.

4 » Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers with just two seconds remaining in the game, the Florida women’s basketball team gained a bit of revenge by taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs 55-52 on the road on Sunday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum. Sophomore guard Trumae Lucas scored seven points off of the bench in the waning minutes while senior forward Sharielle Smith led the Gators with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting while also grabbing seven boards.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Brandon James, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Christian Green, combine, Draft, Humphrey Coliseum, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Major Wright, Marcus Smith, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NFL, Ryan Stamper, Sharielle Smith, Stan Drayton, Tim Tebow, Trumae Lucas, Urban Meyer, women's basketball

1 » One year ago, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team upset the then-No. 12/17 Tennessee Lady Vols 66-57 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Looking to repeat history, a much younger Florida team (9-8, 2-2 SEC) had the game tied at 64 against a significantly more experienced No. 4 Tennessee squad (15-1, 3-0 SEC) until Lady Vols guard Angie Bjorklund hit a reverse lay-up with 2.3 seconds left in the second half to pull ahead and ultimately win 66-64. Four Gators scored in double figures, and Florida led for much of the second half but could not hold on.

2 » In a news item that OGGOA broke Thursday via twitter, former Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper was invited to be a participant in the 2010 East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Stamper is currently slated to play in the game but may have to pull out if the ankle injury he suffered in the 2010 Sugar Bowl flares up. The game will air live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. In other Stamper news, he has decided to sign with agent Garriet Blair of GMB Sports and Entertainment. Quarterback Tim Tebow has declined an invitation to the East-West Shrine and will instead participate in the 2010 Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.

All-Americans, Wuerffel, 2011 recruits and Gators in the pros after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tough loss, Stamper, Wuerffel, 2011

Tags: A.C. Leonard, Aaron Hernandez, All-America, Angie Bjorklund, Carlos Dunlap, Channing Crowder, Citrus Bowl, Danny Wuerffel, David Lee, De'Ante Saunders, Draft, East-West Shrine Game, Heisman Trophy, Jeoffrey Pagan, Joe Haden, Major Wright, Maurkice Pouncey, Miami Dolphins, NBA, New York Knicks, NFL, O'Connell Center, Ryan Stamper, Senior Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Tennessee Lady Vols, Tim Tebow, women's basketball

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive grades the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the final game of their season, the 2010 Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

QUARTERBACKS: A+
When the best player in school history plays the best game of his career in the final game of his career, it is tough not to give him an “A+” grade. And that is exactly what senior quarterback Tim Tebow has earned – not just for his outstanding performance Friday evening but for his career in the Orange and Blue. Pick your poison: was it the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award he was given before the game, the Sugar Bowl record 12 consecutive completions, the career-long 80-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper, the Sugar Bowl and BCS bowl game record 533 yards of total offense, the Sugar Bowl/BCS record 482 passing yards, the 31 completions which set a new Sugar Bowl record, the Sugar Bowl high four touchdowns or the 88.6 completion percentage that set a BCS record? The answer, of course, is “all of the above.”

RUNNING BACKS: A-
Tebow was once again the leading ball carrier for the Gators with 14 touches for 51 yards and a touchdown, but both redshirt junior Emmanuel Moody and redshirt sophomore Chris Rainey came up big throughout the game. Moody rushed eight times for only 14 yards but scored two touchdowns on the ground (he also had four receptions for 19 yards) while Rainey caught four passes for 71 yards and ran four times for 27 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Mike Gillislee cleaned up at the end of the fourth quarter and took a ball 52 yards for a final line of five carries for 78 yards. Sophomore Jeff Demps, the true starter, left the game after he dislocated his elbow on his third rush of the game. Though the attempts and yards were not there, three rushing touchdowns brought this unit up a half-grade.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the Sugar Bowl after the jump…
Continue Reading » Grading the Florida vs. Cincinnati game

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, BCS, Brandon Hicks, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Cincinnati Bearcats, David Nelson, Deonte Thompson, Dustin Doe, Emmanuel Moody, Janoris Jenkins, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Justin Trattou, Louisiana Superdome, Major Wright, Mardy Gilyard, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Scot Loeffler, SEC, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

Coming of a week filled with seemingly endless questions and distractions, the No. 5 Florida Gators (13-1) eased tensions and erased any doubts (at least temporarily) with a dominating 51-24 victory over the No. 3 Cincinnati Bearcats (12-1) in the 2010 Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome.

In the final game of his college career, Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow went 31-of-35 for a career-high 482 yards passing and three touchdowns through the air. He also carried the ball 14 times for 51 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Completing his first twelve passes in what was arguably the best performance of his entire career, Tebow finished with 533 total yards – more than anyone in both BCS and Sugar Bowl history. Tebow’s three touchdown passes went to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper, junior tight end Aaron Hernandez and redshirt sophomore WR Deonte Thompson.

“It was incredible,” Tebow said of his third BCS bowl game victory. “Just a great game. It was exactly how you want to go out with these seniors and these coaches in your last game and your last time together. It just really doesn’t get any better than this.”

Cooper caught seven passes for a career-high 181 yards, Hernandez brought in nine balls for 111 yards and Thompson snagged five for 63 yards. Redshirt sophomore running back Chris Rainey caught four passes for 71 yards; he also rushed four times for 27 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt junior transfer RB Emmanuel Moody had the first two touchdown game of his career though freshman RB Mike Gillislee ended up as the team’s leading rusher (79 yards) after taking a hand-off for 52 yards in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, junior cornerback Joe Haden once again shut down his assignment, allowing Bearcats senior wide receiver Mardy Gilyard to gain only 41 yards. Florida’s pass rush and blitzing was on-point all night, holding Cincinnati senior QB Tony Pike to 27-of-45 passing for 170 yards. Pike, however, completed three touchdown passes after the game was out of hand. Junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap earned two of the team’s three sacks on Pike, the secondary had numerous interception opportunities and senior linebacker Brandon Spikes was flying around the ball all evening.

The Gators outgained the Bearcats 660-to-246 in total yardage, though the time of possession battle was close to even because Florida scored quickly. The Gators’ 660 yards was also a Sugar Bowl record. With the win, Florida became the first school in Football Bowl Subdivision history to win 13 games in consecutive seasons.

Going into the game, the Gators were without senior kick returner Brandon James (foot), redshirt junior LB A.J. Jones (knee) and redshirt junior defensive tackle Terron Sanders (hip), though additional injuries piled up before and during the game. Junior center Maurkice Pouncey spent five hours in the hospital earlier in the day passing a kidney stone and left the game in the second half to pass another. Sophomore RB Jeff Demps dislocated his elbow early on and redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson hurt his shoulder. Sophomore CB Janoris Jenkins and redshirt senior LB Ryan Stamper were both down on the field for a while but would return to action.

Gators head coach Urban Meyer, who resigned on Saturday before changing his mind and deciding to take a leave of absence instead on Sunday, said at the trophy presentation after the game that he hoped to return to the sidelines for the 2010 season. “I plan on being the coach of the Gators,” Meyer said. On Tebow, Meyer said he “will go down as one of the great players, if not the greatest player, in college football [history].” Tebow won the game’s Most Outstanding Player Award, thanking the coaches, his teammates and Gator Nation while accepting it on the podium. He took a moment to specifically thank Meyer for making him a Gator, telling him that he loved him and hugging him.

Tags: A.J. Jones, Aaron Hernandez, BCS, Brandon James, Caleb Sturgis, Carl Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Chris Rainey, Cincinnati Bearcats, Deonte Thompson, Emmanuel Moody, Janoris Jenkins, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Louisiana Superdome, Mardy Gilyard, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Gillislee, Most Outstanding Player, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Sugar Bowl, Terron Sanders, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike, Urban Meyer

Location: Louisiana Superdome – New Orleans, LA [Capacity: 72,968]
Time: 8:30 p.m. (EST)
Weather Forecast: N/A

TV: FOX / FOXHD
Sirius: 120; XM: 140

Odds: Florida -13, O/U 57
Head-to-Head Stats: Gainesville Sun

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Florida’s 2009 senior class…the winningest group in Southeastern Conference history with a 47-7 overall record. The seniors will be playing in their third BCS game and fourth January bowl in four years.
- Seniors quarterback Tim Tebow and linebacker Brandon Spikes…two of the best players in school history who do not wish for their last memories in the Orange and Blue to be back-to-back losses.
- Junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap…who is returning from suspension for a DUI and, according to coaches, is raring to make up for his mistake to his teammates, coaches and Gator Nation. It is undecided if Dunlap will start.
- Junior cornerback Joe Haden and wide receiver Mardy Gilyard…who will face-off in what could potentially be the match-up of the game between one of the best CBs and one of the best WRs in the nation. Haden has already been a menace to Alabama Crimson Tide WR Julio Jones and Georgia Bulldogs WR A.J. Green this season.
- Head coach Urban Meyer…who is 3-0 in BCS bowls and a combined 5-1 in his career in bowl games. Meyer and his wife Shelley both attended the University of Cincinnati. As a player for the Bearcats, Meyer faced the Gators in the teams’ only previous meeting, a 48-17 Florida victory on Oct. 20, 1984.
- Experienced players…the Gators feature 19 starters and 44 players who saw action in the 2009 BCS National Championship.

STREAKS:
- The Gators are appearing in a bowl game for the 19th straight season, the second-longest active streak in the nation. Friday’s game is Florida’s sixth appearance in a BCS bowl game and eighth appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
- Though the Gators are 5-1 against teams from the state of Ohio (1-1 in bowl games), they are only 7-3-2 all-time against the Big East.
- Florida has allowed 15 touchdowns this season, tied for fewest in the nation; the 11.5 points per game it allows ranks No. 3 in the country.
- The Gators are the only team in the country that has posted over 2,800 rushing and passing yards and are only one of four teams in the nation to score at least 25 rushing and passing touchdowns.
- Florida’s defense has recorded interceptions in 11 of 13 games and 23 of 25 games.
- The Gators have not lost back-to-back games since Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, 2007.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Cincinnati Bearcats preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » BCS: 2010 SUGAR BOWL – (New Orleans, LA) – No. 5 Florida Gators vs. No. 3 Cincinnati Bearcats

Tags: A.J. Jones, Ahmad Black, BCS, Big East, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Brian Kelly, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati Bearcats, David Nelson, Draft, Dustin Doe, Janoris Jenkins, Jeff Quinn, Joe Haden, Louisiana Superdome, Major Wright, Mardy Gilyard, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Pouncey, NFL, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, SEC, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, University of Cincinnati, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Wondy Pierre-Louis

The Florida Gators defensive unit was made available to the press Tuesday, three days before they face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2010 Sugar Bowl. Aside from every player and coach being asked about the health of head coach Urban Meyer, one of the hottest topics was the defense’s collapse in the 2009 SEC Championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Special thanks to the Palm Beach Post and ESPN affiliate GatorCountry for providing the quotes below.

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong:
“Looking back, we just didn’t play well. We played well all the way up to that game, and just weren’t prepared. We didn’t do a good job of coaching that day and just didn’t play well, and it showed.”

“Guys understand we have to be prepared to play each week, and we didn’t do a good job of coaching that day. We always talk about, if there’s 10 or less missed tackles, you have a good chance of winning the game. We exceeded that in the first half.”

Senior linebacker Ryan Stamper:
“The last game was a disappointment, but we want to just come out and play hard and show that we are still one of the best defenses in the country. We just want to come out and play the way we are capable of playing.”

“Blown coverages, missed coverages, guys out of gaps – we’ve never had that many missed assignments all season. Guys just weren’t into the game. You could see that on film.”

Junior cornerback Joe Haden:
“I haven’t even looked at the game. We haven’t watched film or anything. The equipment staff, when Major [Wright] asked them for the DVD, was like, ‘Why do you want to see that?’ It’s like nobody wants to bring it up.”

Junior safety Major Wright:
“We didn’t play Florida defense. We weren’t playing physical enough. We usually go out and have fun, chest bump, every play. But it wasn’t happening.”

“[Winning the Sugar Bowl is] very important. For one, just getting the taste out of our mouth from our last game, and start the season off right. We’ve got a lot of young guys who can come out and get better, make plays and show what they got.

Junior safety Ahmad Black:
“I don’t think we were ready. They wanted it a little bit more than we did.”

Tags: Ahmad Black, Alabama Crimson Tide, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati Bearcats, Joe Haden, Major Wright, Ryan Stamper, SEC Championship, Sugar Bowl, Urban Meyer