Tag: Urban Meyer (Page 6 of 9)

      Urban Meyer stepping down as Florida head coach

      December 26, 2009 /

      Surprising news out of Florida, as Urban Meyer announced that he will step down as Florida’s head coach after the Orange Bowl.

      Florida coach Urban Meyer, who was admitted to a hospital because of chest pains following the Southeastern Conference championship game, is stepping down because of health concerns.

      Meyer resigned Saturday, calling it quits after five seasons in Gainesville and two national titles. He goes into the bowl game with a 56-10 record at Florida that includes a 32-8 mark in league play and a school-record 22-game winning streak ended early this month against Alabama.

      Meyer, 45, says he consulted with his family, his doctors, school president Bernie Machen and athletic director Jeremy Foley before deciding it is in his best interest to focus on his health and family.

      Meyer has been to the hospital multiple times since suffering chest pains after the SEC title game, a Florida source told ESPN. He has been diagnosed with a heart valve muscle defect, the source said.

      The problem is not life threatening, a Florida source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The same source said Meyer will remain in Gainesville in a non-coaching role to be defined later.

      This is a huge blow to the Florida football program, as Meyer had established himself as one of the best coaches of his generation.

      College Football

      Six Pack of Observations: Alabama crushes Florida in SEC title game

      December 5, 2009 /

      Here are six quick-hit observations for Alabama’s 32-13 shellacking of Florida in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game.

      1. Maybe Lane Kiffin had it right after all.
      Maybe that brash Lane Kiffin had it right when he said earlier this week that, “Florida has better players, and Alabama has better coaches.” And actually, Kiffin only had it half right. Nick Saban outschemed, outcoached and outsmarted Urban Meyer for four quarters and not only did ‘Bama have the better coaches, but they proved to have the better players as well. Meyer simply didn’t have his team prepared to play today – period.

      2. This was total domination at its best.
      The game wasn’t even as close as the final score wound indicate. Alabama’s backfield trio of quarterback Greg McElroy (12-of-18 passing, 239 yards, 1 TD) and running backs Mark Ingram (113 yards, 3 TDs) and Trent Richardson (80 yards on 11 carries, 7.3 YPC average) played near-flawless games. The Tide dominated the Gators in every phase of the contest and never let up after smacking Florida in the mouth from the very first drive.

      3. So much for Florida’s game plan.
      Coming into the game, pundits figured that if Florida stopped Ingram that the Gators come out victorious. But instead, Alabama’s game plan to stay balanced was executed to perfection because not only were the Gators unable to stop Ingram, but they were unable to stop McElroy too. Florida tried a variety of different looks and in the end they just had no answer for what the Tide was doing offensively. And it really didn’t even matter that defensive end Carlos Dunlap (who was suspended after arrested for DUI earlier in the week) didn’t play because Florida just had the wrong scheme.

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      College Football

      Lane Kiffin calls out Urban Meyer . . . . again

      December 2, 2009 /

      Lane Kiffin just loves jabbing Urban Meyer.

      Tennessee coach didn’t mind distinguishing between the two coaches, though he hesitated to predict a winner.

      “It’s kind of hard to call,” Kiffin said Tuesday in an interview on WNML-AM in Knoxville. “There’s a bunch of great players on both teams. Florida has so much speed. I think you’ll see Alabama will outscheme Florida, and Florida has given up 28 sacks this year when a bunch of guys come free. But the problem is Superman (quarterback Tim Tebow) is back there. It comes down to can you tackle him.

      “It will be a real interesting matchup. Florida has better players, and Alabama has better coaches, so we’ll see.”

      The message her is clear. Kiffin thinks Urban Meyer is lucky to have Tim Tebow, and that without Tebow Meye and Florida football will come back down to Earth. You know he’s just waiting for the rematch where he gets to play Florida without Tim Tebow. Next year should be fun.

      NFL

      Could Florida be in trouble on Saturday?

      October 23, 2009 /

      Considering No. 1 Florida opened as a 24-point favorite, one would assume that they won’t face much of a challenge this Saturday night. Mississippi State is just 3-4 on the year and has lost three of their last four games. Their most significant win came on the road against a Vanderbilt team that is just 2-5 on the year.

      But there are several factors that should concern the Gators as they get ready to do battle with the Bulldogs on Saturday night:

      – The Gators haven’t won in Starkville since 1985. They were defeated on Mississippi State’s home turf in 1992, 2000 and most recently in 2004.

      – Florida could be down three defensive starters, including linebacker Brandon Spikes, and defensive tackles Jaye Howard and Lawrence Marsh. Spikes re-injured his left groin last week and missed most of Florida’s win over Arkansas. With him on the sidelines, the Razorbacks rushed for 133 yards and finished with 357 yards of total offense.

      – Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen severed as Florida’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2008. If anyone knows how to exploit Tim Tebow and the rest of the Gators’ offense, it would be Mullen.

      – Despite their losing record, the Bulldogs have the 13th best rushing offense in the nation and are averaging 219 yards per game on the ground this season. Senior Anthony Dixon has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his last five games, including a 138 and a 139-yard effort in his last two outings.

      At the end of the day, Florida will have the better team on Saturday night. Even without Spikes, Howard and Marsh, they have enough depth defensively to limit how effective Mississippi State’s offense can be. But there are more than enough factors that should have Urban Meyer concerned about a potential upset, none bigger than the Gators’ poor showings in previous trips to Starkville.

      Will Mississippi State shock the college football word this weekend and knock off the No. 1 team in the nation?

      Will Mississpi State pull off the upset?
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      College Football

      More deserving of BCS top spot: Florida or Alabama?

      October 19, 2009 /

      With all due respect to Tim Tebow and the No. 1 defense in the nation, Alabama is the best team in college football right now – not Florida. Yet when the BCS recently released its standings for the first time in 2009, the Gators were ranked No. 1 and the Crimson Tide were No. 2.

      I realize at this point in the season we might be splitting hairs when it comes to which team should be first in the standings. After all, both Florida and Alabama are undefeated and the Gators were the preseason favorites so it makes sense that Urban Meyer’s squad would hold onto the top spot.

      That said, who is the BCS fooling? The Crimson Tide has beaten two ranked opponents the past two weeks and also beat a ranked Virginia Tech team in their opener. Alabama has also gone eight straight quarters without allowing a touchdown and Mark Ingram is running like a man possessed. (He rushed for 246 yards in Saturday’s win over South Carolina.)

      Florida, meanwhile, did beat LSU in Baton Rouge two weeks ago, but barely survived a potential scare against unranked Arkansas in The Swamp on Saturday. The Gators were also the beneficiaries of a couple questionable calls in the fourth quarter that probably saved them from their first defeat.

      ‘Bama has been far from perfect this year, but the Tide are the most complete team in college football right now. The Gators may be undefeated, but their offense hasn’t been as explosive this year as it has the past two seasons and the offensive line is having issues keeping Tebow’s uniform clean. (The Razorbacks sacked Tebow six times on Saturday.)

      I’m not surprised that Florida is No. 1 in the standings, but it would be nice if the BCS grew a pair for once and recognized which team actually deserves to have the top spot in the standings. I’m fully aware that Nick Saban’s bunch had the opportunity to beat Florida in the SEC title game last year and failed to do so, but that was last year.

      This is this year and Alabama deserves to be in that top spot right now.

      Which team should be ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings?
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      College Football

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