I don't really think so. I have returned to Michigan from witnessing what was one of the most exciting finishes of a Florida game I have ever seen. It was a glorious SEC moment and a reprieve for Meyer with regard to the inevitable and ongoing comparison he endures to SOS. Man...was I impressed overall with the ability of SC to hang close and almost pull it out. It's a very different team than the one I saw get pummeled by Fla in Zook's last year. In any event there was a sinking feeling that this Gator team was not doing all it needed to do to get the coveted 3rd spot in the BCS standings. They tried hard..real hard but could not gain much in the way of style points because of a concerted effort by Spurrier's new team not to let them get separation. I don't think this team is ready for all the Bucs could throw at them. I have concerns they will beat Arkansas but I think they can and will in a very tough game. An SEC title and a Sugar Bowl win (ND?) would be a terrific ending for Florida this year. That's the best I see the Gators doing at this point.
MCG I feel the same way you do about my Irish. Obviously, Either OSU or Mich. will be in the championship game. I've seen our D line not get pressure on Smith and have seen Ginn smoke the same secondary last year. I don't need to watch that again. Likewise, I saw our O line fail to protect Quinn from the M front 4 and Maningham doing his best Ginn impression against our D backs. I don't see us bringing to the game what is needed to win. I'll be happy to take another BCS bowl. It would be nice to win a bowl for a change. At least I wouldn't have to look at a rerun of a painful beatdown. It might be a different one but at least it would be different.
Money talks.....B/S walks..... I guess... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/local/orl-fbcuf1406nov14,0,7487225.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines For BT and others...ask yourself if your own favorite school makes a practice of giving up that kind of revenue to go an the road and appease the fans of other schools who say you don't travel and likewise appease the BCS computers when your overall schedule is already a very BCS respected one anyway. I don't mean that one home and home series most big time programs do have (again...FSU for Florida) but that second travel game that means giving up the revenue and incurring the travel cost instead. Anybody out there regularly do this and more importantly have plans to do so in the future?
This sort or reminds me of 2002 when Miami was considered to be far and away the best team in college football. I think Ohio State was an 18 point underdog, Miami was good on both sides of the ball, they had a powerfull running game and they had a qb who rarely made mistakes, fast sticky fingered WR's, etc. They were unbeatable. Ohio State was a team that required a number of last gasps to go right for them to end up in the game. Yet they won. Or of course this could be like the Miami/Neb game where everybody thought Neb had no chance....and they didn't!! Terry
I don't mean to kick a dead horse (topic) and I am NOT a severe critic of Fla's schedule. (Except for the post I just made elsewhere in response you your ridicule of OSU's non-conf. schedule)... But I think that travel to play good teams in other regions is part of being a big-time program. It gives you recognition, helps with recruiting, etc...which in the LONG RUN helps you with revenue. I don't mean to imply that Fla. is not a big-time program so don't jump on my case...I am just saying that you are a bit short in that one department and all I'm trying to say is that perhaps it is a bit short sighted to get some revenue by playing the Western Carolinas at home...the long view would be to keep your program out front by travelling to a more noteworthy opponent's place once in a while.
Since 2000: Ohio State non-con road games: 2000 - Arizona 2001 - UCLA 2002 - Cincinatti, TexTech -(Pigskin Classic - neutral?...doubt it) 2003 - none 2004 - NCSt 2005 - none 2006 - Texas Florida since 2000: 2000 - FSU 2001 - None 2002 - FSU 2003 - Miami 2004 - FSU 2005 - none 2006 - FSU Care to take a look at the average season ending poll rankings of OSU's non-con road opponents vs. Florida's? It wouldn't be close.
Well they actually did leave the Midwest 4 times for non-conference games...I think that's the whole point. I don't think UF has had a wussy schedule, it's always a very good schedule, I just think it'd be nice if you guys left the Southeast once in awhile. I don't think you have to leave the Southeast to play ND or Ohio State or Michigan or USC etc, not as long as you have to play FSU but how about comming to Texas and playing in Houston or Dallas, or going to the Midwest and picking up Indiana, Illinois, Purdue? Trip to the Pallouse to play Wazzu? You don't have to play another elite level team.
Careful Terry...how many games out of 12 does Texas play this year in Texas...10 is it? So...in 2000 if Florida would have dropped the road game at Tallahassee with national title finalist FSU to play one single road non-conference game as Ohio State did at eventual 5-6 unranked Arizona then Florida would be off the hook with you guys? Lets see....5-6 Arizona or NC finalist FSU...hmmm...yes...that makes sense that you guys are right. I don't understand your logic....in fact it seems laughable that you are bent on ignoring your own team's schedule shortcomings. :lol: :lol: OK....you will never make sense of this or have a winning argument until you can prove without doubt that your team is significantly better at non-con competitive scheduling than Florida. Got that BT?
Given that we are in the Big 12 and 3 of our Big12 south opponents are in the State of Texas so we will always be playing 3 games in Texas, then throw in that the OU game is always played in Dallas that means 4 games always in Texas the other B12 South opponent is home/home so one year it's 5 in Texas and then 4 in Texas the next year. Now the other 3 games vs North teams are home/home alternating as well so this year we went on the road to Neb and KState and played Iowa State at home. This year normal conference schedule resulted in 6 Texas games and 2 games out of the State. The other 4 games were all at home as you noted, although to be fair last year we went to OSU and this year they came to our place. The other 3 games were with total patsies that had no chance when they played us, and personally I'm not very happy with that and won't defend it. But my point isn't that you replace FSU, keep them. Most Texas fans are embarassed by next years schedule which does not include a credible non-conference opponent. There has been enough mail to Mack and to Deloss Dodds about the lousy non-conf schedule and how most Texas fans are embarassed that we played a 1AA school, that they were actually forced to comment about it. They gave a lameass excuse that everybody does it and to not do it puts us at a disadvantage. BS is what most Texas fans said to that excuse. Replace one of the non-competitive games with a team that people recognize, play a home/home with a low ranked Mtn West or WAC team or maybe even home/home with Indiana or somebody like that. That's what Texas fans are pushing for...but hey if you guys enjoy watching W.Carolina that's fine, Texas fans were embarassed by playing Sam Houston State and let the AD know about it. Terry
How can it so completely elude you that you are only confirming our point? I have not criticized Fla's schedule, as you have mocked ours (and it ain't all that bad, thank you very much). Go ahead and look at the "final poll results" of the road teams, I don't happen to have them handy, nor do I care to look them up...you are still dodging the whole point. But since you brought it up... In three of those seven years our road non-conf. schedule was considerably tougher than yours.
re: Ohio State @ UCLA 2001 I was at that game with posters/lurkers Tom Silver and IrishDave Francis. The Bruins won that game easily over the Buckeyes. Bad things like that can happen when you leave the friendly confines of your home state...
when <t>you play teams like Ohio State or UCLA in your noncon, records like that aren't hard to come by.<br/> <br/> <br/> When your entire schedule is played between mamma's rose garden and the county library, you can roll up a pretty sweet win total and write off any losses as 'understandable' because no one knows how tough the games played in your neighborhood are.</t>
The year in question was 2001. Florida State won it's conference and played in the Sugar Bowl UCLA played New Mexico in the Las Vegas Bowl. Yeah...I would say it's apparent that OSU's non-con opponents compared to Florida's are incomparable.......but not in the way you imagine. Great imagination though.
I see that Urban was making his case to the Press about UF, now last year when Mack Brown did that everybody said he was whining. Is Urban whining?