BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Two Penn State football players were ordered Wednesday to stand trial on refiled felony assault charges in connection with a campus fight last year.

Police said defensive tackle Chris Baker and linebacker Navorro Bowman beat up a man during a party in October.

District Judge Carmine Prestia dismissed the felony counts last month and ordered the players to stand trial on misdemeanor charges.

But the Centre County District Attorney's office refiled the felony charges in late December, saying that Prestia erred. Prosecutors also requested a new judge.

Blair County District Judge Fred Miller came in Wednesday to oversee the preliminary hearing on the refiled charges.

Prosecutors must now decide whether to try the cases against each player separately. A trial is scheduled for spring.

Baker, 20, of Windsor, Conn., and Bowman, 19, of District Heights, Md., were suspended the last two games of the season because of their legal trouble.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane said prosecutors will decide in the next two weeks whether to charge a third suspect.

Prosecutors are also weighing whether to ask a judge to revoke bail for Baker, Sloane said. The player was already awaiting trial on charges related to an off-campus fight in April when he was accused of the assault.

That decision could come by the end of the week, Sloane said.

In an unrelated case, defensive back Willie Harriott, 20, of New Haven, Conn., waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges of driving under the influence and speeding, stemming from a Nov. 11 arrest. A trial will be scheduled for spring.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The director of Florida State's athletic academic support program is the latest casualty of the cheating scandal that stripped the football team of two dozen key players in its bowl loss last month to Kentucky.

Mark Meleney was told his contract would not be renewed, although he will be kept on the payroll until its expiration this summer to help with the transition.

"Meleney was not fired," Florida State President T.K. Wetherell said Wednesday. "He's got the option to apply for anything."

Meleney, who was informed of his dismissal Tuesday, did not immediately respond to a phone message Wednesday for comment. He was head of the program for nine years.

Wetherell said he thought the personnel changes were largely completed.

Two of Meleney's employees were dismissed last year after it became known that answers were called out to students taking a music history class last spring. Many of those in the class were scholarship athletes.

"It's not physiology, it's a music course. Open book, online," football coach Bobby Bowden fumed last month during a preparation for the team's Dec. 31 Music City Bowl game. "Anybody could pass an open book test, gee whiz."

Athletic director Dave Hart Jr., and several of his assistants have also left in recent months, although those changes weren't directly related to the present investigation of academic wrongdoing by the school and NCAA.

Florida State is finalizing its report to the NCAA that involves nearly four dozen athletes in several sports who had answers provided to them on the exam in the three-credit hour class.

"We'd like to do it sooner than later, but that's up to the NCAA," Wetherell said. "We want to make sure we've got everything in it that they want."

He thought the report would be on its way by the end of the month. The university reported its initial findings in a letter to the NCAA in September after a six-month investigation by the school.

Wetherell has put interim athletic director Bill Proctor in charge of reshaping the academic support program.

"The president has high expectations about athletes attendance in class," Proctor said. "We are working on restructuring our academic support system. We want to make sure it functions."

Proctor said he didn't believe Florida State's issues were different than any other school, but that Wetherell -- a former Seminole football player -- wants the academic and conduct standards for athletes bolstered.

Meanwhile, junior linebacker Geno Hayes announced Wednesday that he would leave school earlier for the NFL draft.

The players forced to sit out the bowl game will also be suspended for the first three games of the 2008 season.

Federal privacy laws prohibit the school from releasing names of the suspended athletes.

Sad, but true, Ohio State needed to make many adjustments to have a chance of beating LSU, and unfortunately for all you Buckeyes, there was only one adjustment made, and we are lucky enough to have an opportunity to view how important this one adjustment was.

If you are a Buckeye fan, this loss has really got to hurt. Last year's blow out loss to Florida in the BCS Championship was bad, but the loss to LSU tonight has to be worse. This was THE game that OSU was working towards all year long. Redemption. How many times did we hear on tonight's FOX broadcast that Tressel had changed the combination on the athletic facilities to 41-14, so that no one would forget last year's beating at the hands of the Gators.

I would hate to be in Columbus tonight. Depression must be about 3 feet deep right about now. The people up there must be scratching their heads raw trying to figure out what has gone wrong with their beloved Buckeyes.

Just like last year, OSU came out on fire and burned out quickly. As the game wore on, LSU just seemed to get sronger, making the big plays when they counted the most. But what had to really hurt the Buckeyes the worst, were the 5 personal fouls, although, I felt the roughing the kicker penalty was bogus. Certainly, the OSU player was only trying to block the punt, not trying to rough the punter in anyway, and I think it is entirely possible that the OSU player did touch the ball. It just seemed to take all the life out of the Buckeyes from that point on.

The monkey is still on their back. OSU is now 0-9 against SEC teams in bowl games Michigan fans have to asking themselves, how come we can't beat OSU, but we beat Florida, who lost to LSU. And just maybe, somewhere in the back of their minds, Michigan fans have to be wondering, how they failed to get Les Miles.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Another championship game, another disappointment for Ohio State fans.

Hundreds of fans with heavy faces emptied out of campus-area bars Monday night following the Buckeyes' 38-24 loss to LSU in the BCS national championship game, one year after losing the title game to Florida.

"I'm a little shocked. I thought that coming off the Florida loss, and being the underdog, we would have been more pumped," said Keith Homstad, a 20-year-old junior from Mount Vernon who watched the game in a movie theater near campus. "We just couldn't get the ball moving. Our offense just didn't show up to play."

Plainclothes and uniformed police officers patrolled the streets around campus to guard against drunken disorderly conduct, said Lt. Tom Quinlan.

Nine people were arrested, mostly for fighting, and would face yet-to-be-determined charges of disorderly behavior, police Lt. Tim Becker said. Four trash bins had been set on fire, he said.

Precautions were all around. Permanent street lighting installed over the past year would help police better monitor people coming out of bars, Quinlan said.

Also, a parking ban on three campus-area streets was in effect until 4 a.m. Tuesday. Ohio State fans overturned cars after a 2002 victory over rival Michigan.

"We have enough officers to respond to any disruption," Quinlan said.

The scene along High Street -- the main drag on the edge of campus -- was somber, with people walking quietly to their dorms and homes. The raucous partying that usually follows big victories was absent.

Ohio State jumped out to an early lead but self-destructed with turnovers and penalties.

"Stupid mistakes, little things that cost us big," said Maggie Labraney, 18, a high school senior from Howard who plans to attend Ohio State in the fall.

The only break in the post-game silence was the singing of "Carmen Ohio," Ohio State's school song, at Eddie George's Grille, a bar-restaurant named for the school's 1995 Heisman Trophy winner.

"This era of students isn't as crazy as past students. I mean, yeah, we lost, but I'm not going to act out because of it," said Chris Thomas, 20, a junior from Cincinnati, as he walked up the street.

His friend, Miken Shellhammer, a 20-year-old junior from Toledo, said the beefed-up police presence also had an effect.

Monday started out like an unofficial holiday in Ohio. Thousands of people used up sick days or exhausted an early vacation day -- some to travel to New Orleans, some to gear up for the game on TV -- to watch their Buckeyes in the national championship game.

Government meetings throughout the state were postponed or shortened. Some colleges canceled night classes. Ohio State students started winter quarter Monday -- with many of them in the Louisiana Superdome or on Bourbon Street, not in classrooms in Columbus.

It's official - OSU has beaten LSU ...... in the halftime Alumni Kickoff Challenge! Former OSU Kicker Huston beats former LSU left footed kicker Browndyke with a kick from the 45 yardline. Browndyke gave it his best shot from the 46 yardline to go for the win, but his kick went off wide right (shades of FSU vs Miami!). Go Buckeyes!



Buckeyes everywhere can now rejoice and claim that they have gotten the monkey off their collective back by finally beating an SEC team in a bowl game (well, they beat one guy anyway).

So, you're the head coach of a team that just played its last game. You're asked to say a few words to (or about) your seniors - your captains - that have sacrificed so much for your program. Young men that have worked hard for you. Men that could have played for other coaches, but chose you to be their mentor, to be the person that honed their skills, the one they trusted to prepared them for the future.

How do you handle it?

Like Lloyd Carr?

Losing to Georgia was bad. Losing to Michigan… far worse.

This is the team that lost to Appalachian State. The team I've picked on mercilessly. Karma's a bitch.

Florida just embarrassed the SEC, and the 'mo' for the Big 10 vs. Southeastern Conference wars has swung decidedly back to the north.

Hell, Tennessee was able to beat Wisconsin, for crying out loud.

I'm having a hard time understanding how we lost this game. How our offensive line was manhandled. How we lost despite being +4 in turnover margin. How our players looked unprepared. How Michigan seemed to want it more.

How we went 4-and-out two consecutive freaking times to end the game.

One can always play the youth card, but jeez, we played horribly on both sides of the ball. I guess the Heisman Curse lives on.

Michigan commenters, and I'm sure we'll see plenty of you guys, enjoy. Your team deserved to win and Coach Carr was able to go out in style. No excuses, Michigan is the superior team. (I just vomited in my mouth when I wrote that.) Commenting has been opened up so you can wag it in our faces all you like. We deserve it, I s'pose.

I'm probably going to take a break from blogging for awhile. Dive back into work. Spend more time with the family. I can't really think about what just occurred because my frame of mind is… dangerous. Unstable.

I want to blame the coaches. I want to say Florida and the SEC is way overrated. I want to say that our defense is the worst I can remember seeing, and they were playing against a team that could only score a field goal against Ohio State. I'm wondering if LSU can restore some vestige of SEC pride in the championship game, or if Ohio State is licking their chops in wait for them there, too.

All that was assured is now suspect. Where once we stood on steady ground, we now find an undulating sea of uncertainty beneath us. Ugly speculation. Painful introspection.

And we get to do this for anther 9 months? Oh, joy.

Florida football coach Urban Meyer didn't receive any of his desired commitments during Saturday's two high school All American games, but the Gators did get a big offensive lineman with a Miami pedigree.

Seffner Armwood's 6-foot-7, 265-pound offensive tackle Matt Patchan, whose father (also named Matt) was a Hurricane standout from 1984-87, committed to UF over UM. And if the younger Patchan's athletic ability is near that of his father, who still owns one of the fastest 40-yard dash times ever recorded for a Miami offensive lineman, the Gators picked up a player with a potentially bright future.

Listed as a five-star prospect, Patchan is rivals.com's No. 11 overall player nationally and its No. 3 offensive lineman. He also is listed on that site as having been clocked at 4.6 in the 40.

Originally scheduled to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Patchan pulled out in late December after coming down with mononucleosis. He made his college announcement Saturday from the Club Tampa Palms.

Patchan was Florida's 16th commitment and second on the offensive line.

The news wasn't all good for UF on Saturday, as Pompano Beach Ely cornerback Patrick Johnson and Monroe (La.) Ouachita Parish tight end Tyler Edwards selected LSU, Ellenwood (Ga.) receiver Josh Jarboe picked Oklahoma (after teasing Florida was his pick), Chandler (Az.) athlete Gerell Robinson selected Arizona State, New Brunswick (NJ) athlete Brandon Smith chose Michigan and Louisville (Ga.) Jefferson County offensive guard A.J. Harmon decommitted to Clemson and picked Georgia. All six athletes listed UF among the schools they were considering.

All commitments are nonbinding. National signing day is Feb. 6.

In other news, Gainesville High School defensive end Earl Okine, a Gator commitment, was named defensive MVP of Friday night's Offense-Defense All-American Bowl from Miami. No longer a member of the Hurricanes' basketball team, Okine has said he will be enrolling at UF for the upcoming spring semester.

Continue to 2nd paragraph Florida football coach Urban Meyer didn't receive any of his desired commitments during Saturday's two high school All American games, but the Gators did get a big offensive lineman with a Miami pedigree.

Seffner Armwood's 6-foot-7, 265-pound offensive tackle Matt Patchan, whose father (also named Matt) was a Hurricane standout from 1984-87, committed to UF over UM. And if the younger Patchan's athletic ability is near that of his father, who still owns one of the fastest 40-yard dash times ever recorded for a Miami offensive lineman, the Gators picked up a player with a potentially bright future.

Listed as a five-star prospect, Patchan is rivals.com's No. 11 overall player nationally and its No. 3 offensive lineman. He also is listed on that site as having been clocked at 4.6 in the 40.

Originally scheduled to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Patchan pulled out in late December after coming down with mononucleosis. He made his college announcement Saturday from the Club Tampa Palms.

Patchan was Florida's 16th commitment and second on the offensive line.

The news wasn't all good for UF on Saturday, as Pompano Beach Ely cornerback Patrick Johnson and Monroe (La.) Ouachita Parish tight end Tyler Edwards selected LSU, Ellenwood (Ga.) receiver Josh Jarboe picked Oklahoma (after teasing Florida was his pick), Chandler (Az.) athlete Gerell Robinson selected Arizona State, New Brunswick (NJ) athlete Brandon Smith chose Michigan and Louisville (Ga.) Jefferson County offensive guard A.J. Harmon decommitted to Clemson and picked Georgia. All six athletes listed UF among the schools they were considering.

All commitments are nonbinding. National signing day is Feb. 6.

In other news, Gainesville High School defensive end Earl Okine, a Gator commitment, was named defensive MVP of Friday night's Offense-Defense All-American Bowl from Miami. No longer a member of the Hurricanes' basketball team, Okine has said he will be enrolling at UF for the upcoming spring semester.

Send home the extra ER staff at Shands Hospital. Tell the EMT's with Jacksonville Fire & Rescue they can stand down & go home. The Jacksonville Sheriff's office can stand down, too. There will be no suicides, no Matthews Bridge jumpers, no wife beatings tonight.

After what appeared to be a sure fire choke by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who pissed away an 18 point lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers to fall behind by 1 point, 28-29 midway thru the 4th quarter, David Garrard proved why he is THE quarterback. On 4th & 2, with a little over 2 minutes left in the game, Garrard took off on a 32 yard run, no only getting a life saving 1st down, but he saved the Jags season on this one play. The Steelers were forced to use up all of their remaining timeouts in an effort to save as much time as possible, knowing that Del Rio was going to run the clock down in order to send Scobee in to kick the game winning field goal. With 40 seconds left, Scobee nailed the 3 pointer, putting Jax up by 2 points. On the first play after the kickoff by the Jags, Big Ben was forced to fumble and the loose ball was recovered by the Jags, sealing their victory. The Steelers season is over, and the Jags move on to the next level in the playoffs.

At least the St. John's River will be body-free for one more week!

Some people I've talked to were stunned by the whipping Michigan put on Florida on Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl. I was not.

Late last week when Urban Meyer compared Michigan's offense to Georgia's, I had a real strong feeling the Gators were not going to be able to stop the Wolverines, and that's exactly the way it played out.

Michigan has an offensive top three as good as any in the country " quarterback Chad Henne, tailback Mike Hart and wide receiver Marion Manningham. With a month to break down UF's young defense on tape, the Wolverines came up with an almost infallible game plan for shredding the Gators.

This was a Florida defense that seemed to be righting itself toward the end of the season, with some of the young players starting to come on and make a significant contribution. The performance against FSU was viewed as a breakthrough by some, but the bottom line is FSU's offense has had problems scoring most of the season.

The defense we saw Tuesday is the same one that couldn't stop Georgia or LSU or South Carolina or just about everybody else on the schedule.

I have a feeling this will be a much different looking defense in 2008 as Urban Meyer and his assistants start breaking down the personnel and what went wrong this season. Meyer hinted the defense will be coached differently in some ways. That does not mean changes are coming on the coaching staff (they're not), it just means UF will try to take a different approach to certain aspects and come up with a better plan to help the players succeed.

There's no question the line will be better, even if Derrick Harvey leaves for the NFL, which I'm pretty certain he will do. UF has some talented young kids waiting for their shot (including John Brown, Carlos Dunlap, Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens) and they'll be bigger, stronger and more mature in 2008.

As for the secondary, it remains a huge question mark to me. If Joe Haden is the best cornerback UF has, that is not a good sign. It's nothing against Haden, but he didn't start playing defensive back until he arrived at UF this past spring. Jacques Rickerson, Wondy Pierre-Louis and Markihe Anderson did some good things at times, but I question their ability to cover and break on the ball. And I really wonder about the speed of Rickerson and Anderson, especially Rickerson.

The cornerback positions will be the biggest concern heading into the spring " and most likely all the way into next season.

One thing is for certain: the expectations will not be off the charts like they would have been had the Gators won in Orlando.



Actually, that may be a good thing as this young team tries to move forward.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl's East roster includes inside linebacker Brendan Beal of Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty, the only UF commitment in the game. However, UF targets also playing for the East are receiver DeAndre Brown of Ocean Springs (Miss.), Tallahassee Lincoln cornerback T.J. Bryant, Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military defensive end Quinton Coples, Hoover (Ala.) Spain Park outside linebacker William Green, Dunnellon linebacker Lerentee McCray, Seffner Armwood offensive lineman Matt Patchan, Jeannette (Pa.) quarterback Terrelle Pryor, North Charleston (S.C.) Fort Dorchester defensive end Robert Quinn, New Brunswick (N.J.) athlete Brandon Smith and Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha athlete Kenny Tate.

Potential future Gators on the West roster include Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton all-purpose back Covaughn DeBoskie, Muskogee (Okla.) receiver Jameel Owens, Chandler (Ariz.) athlete Gerell Robinson, and the No. 1-rated running back prospect in the nation, Darrell Scott of Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure.

The Under Armour All-American High School Football Game will include four Florida commitments.

Safety Dee Finley (Auburn, Ala.) is a member of the Silver team, while safety Will Hill (West Orange N.J. St. Peters), cornerback Janoris Jenkins (Pahokee) and kicker Caleb Sturgis (St. Augustine) will suit up for the Red.

In addition numerous players considering the Gators also will showcase their talents.

Jacksonville Trinity Christian running back Jamie Harper, Christchurch (Va.) wide receiver Deion Walker, Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure offensive guard Vaughn Dotsy (on the roster, but won't play due to injury) and Anniston (Ala.) offensive lineman Antoine McClain are silver team offensive players listing UF.

Silver defensive players considering Florida are Thomasville (Ga.) defensive tackle Brandon Thompson, Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback Brandon Harris, Matthews (N.C.) safety Spencer Adams and Lakeland Kathleen athlete T.J. Lawrence.

Red team offensive players listing Florida are Foley (Ala.) wide receiver Julio Jones, Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove receiver Joshua Jarboe, Missouri City (Texas) Hightower receiver Martin Bayless, Monroe (La.) Ouachita tight end Tyler Edwards, Lakeland Lake Gibson center/guard Ricky Barnum and Clayton (Ohio) Northmont tackle Zebrie Sanders.

The only defensive player from the Red team looking at UF is Gadsden (Ala.) linebacker Jerrell Harris, who attended the Gators' preseason Friday Night Lights.

If you're looking for DEFENSE, best to look elsewhere!

The highlights & lowlights from the Michigan - Florida Capital One Bowl played in the Orlando Citrus Bowl, New Year's Day 2008.

The plan was to come to the Capital One Bowl, enjoy a nice afternoon and a big victory under the Florida sun, then dance happily into 2008 with a lot of momentum and national championship aspirations.

Instead, the Florida Gators find themselves limping into a new year seriously wounded. And with some serious questions.

Like, can anybody here play defense?

That has to be the most troubling uncertainty about the future after the way Michigan messed up Florida in the Wolverines' 41-35 victory before 69,748 fans in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day.

"I am very disappointed in some of our performance," a dejected UF coach Urban Meyer said. "We have some glaring errors that need to be corrected real fast, personnel-wise and coaching-wise. I don't think we tackled very well and we certainly didn't cover very well.

"I'm very disappointed in the pass coverage. We have to do a lot better and we have to get some things corrected."

So much for opening 2008 on the right foot.

Instead, the Gators (9-4) woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

With a hangover.

A Heisman hangover.

An overall hangover.

Florida's defense simply had no answer for a balanced Michigan offense that was at full strength for one of the few times this season. With plenty of time to find holes in the UF defense, the Wolverines did. And they exploited every one.

"Some coverages were messed up a little bit," true freshman cornerback Joe Haden said. "And when they were, the quarterback ( Chad Henne) did a great job of exploiting us."

Percy Harvin gave the Gators a chance to win the game with a 10-yard touchdown run with 5:49 left in the game. But Florida never really had a chance because the Gators had no chance of stopping Michigan. And that's exactly how the final minutes played out.

A little more than 90 seconds after UF went up 35-31, the Wolverines were back on top with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Henne to a wide-open Adrian Arrington. Heisman-winner Tim Tebow and the Florida offense fizzled on the ensuing drive, failing to convert a fourth-and-6 from the UF 24, allowing Michigan to kick a field goal for a 41-35 lead with only 2:21 to play.

The Gators still had plenty of time to launch a possible winning drive, but UF had no offense to speak of, going a quick four-and-out against the blitzing Wolverines.

Michigan had monster performances all over the place on offense. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, Henne threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns and tailback Mike Hart rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

It all added up to Michigan coach Lloyd Carr ending his career with a sweet victory.

"After the first drive of the game (that saw UM march 93 yards for a touchdown), I told our guys only we could stop ourselves, which we did a number of times," Carr said.

They didn't stop themselves enough to allow the Gators to snatch the victory.

Even though UF piled up 35 points and 399 total yards on only 66 plays, the Gators didn't have the firepower to keep up in a shootout.

Tebow was pressured, harried and sacked into his worst performance of the season. He threw for only 154 yards and the offense converted only two third-down plays out of 11.

It was a very un-Heisman-like day for Tebow.

"I don't think more so than any other teams this year," Tebow said when asked if Michigan had gotten after him harder and hit him harder than any other team during the season. "They were playing hard and physical, but not anything different than I have already experienced this year.

"We just have to work harder and use this as motivation."

Trailing 21-14 at the half, the Gators put themselves in a deeper hole in the opening seconds of the third quarter when UF failed to field a sky kick on the kickoff and Michigan recovered. It took UM only seven plays to find the end zone (on a Hart run) for a 28-14 lead.

For the rest of the game, the Wolverines were flying up and down the field and would have put things away early in the fourth quarter if not for mistakes and turnovers.

"We had a lot of great matchups there and our offensive line did a great job," Henne said. "It was an amazing feeling to send Coach Carr out in the right way. He deserves it so much."

The Gators probably got what they deserved, too, Tuesday — a painful loss brought on by a sporadic offense and an almost inept defense.

It's not the way Florida wanted to head into the offseason.

"We weren't getting to the quarterback and contesting throws," Meyer said. "That's something we have to do a lot better.

"On offense we also had some errors protection-wise and we didn't throw the ball very well. We've got to coach better."

And, obviously, play better defense.

Because coloring with the old Crayolas sure is alot more fun than learning to spell in college, and besides......a picture is worth one thousand words!

Unfortunately for Lloyd Carr, Michigan waited until yesterday to play their best game of the year against Tim Tebow and my Florida Gators in the Capital One Citrus Bowl yesterday. If Michigan had played this way all year long, they would have been playing in the BCS title game, instead of Ohio State, and Loyd Carr would still be at Michigan. Down by 6 points with less than 5 minutes left in the game, Tebow and the Gators still had a chance to still pull out a win and avoid the upset. But Michigan came to play a full 60 minutes, right up until the end of the game. Superman Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow just couldn't pull off the win in the end, though. Too many missed FG's, too many stupid mistakes, always playing catchup, and more importantly, Florida probably just didn't take Michigan seriously enough.

I was there, sitting on the 35 yardline, on the Florida side of the field, and except for those last 5 painful minutes, watched one hell of a good game. Probably the best game of this year's bowl season. Henne absolutely played his best game of the year, most probably his best game of his Michigan career. The football Gods had to be pulling for UM, as Henne and his receivers were on fire all afternoon. Unbelevable catches, the kind that the Gators were supposed to make...but didn't.

I haven't seen a replay of the game yet, but watching Michigan kick off to Florida to start the 2nd half from my seat in the stands, almost caused me to suffer my 2nd heart attack. I couldn't believe it. Michigan kicks off short and all the Florida players seemed as if struck dumb & paralyzed, and just watch the ball as Michigan recovers the kick and then goes on to score to start the 2nd half. Gator special teams absolutely sucked yesterday, and this boo-boo was too much. What the hell were these guys thinking? To quote Bugs Bunny, "What a bunch of Maroons!"

How the hell does Urban Meyer expect the Gators to be a contender for the SEC title next year, much less a national championship contender, when the defense and special teams are so woefully inept??? the Defensive Coach, Charlie Strong, should have been let go when Meyer took over from Zook. This guy comes from a loser program at USCarolina, and continues with his bozo defense at UF. I just don't buy the lame explanation that the players are learning, or that they are freshmen, etc. This is where coaching steps up, but not at UF. It's the same nightmare defense we used last year, but lucked out with. The best offense, starts with a great defense, but maybe Charlie Strong is just learning about that. Right - he'll be better next year. Right.

And whoever coaches the special teams, needs to take that hike to somewhere else (as in anywhere but Gainesville!) with Charlie. These guys SUCK. Come on, Meyer, fix the problem!

You gotta hand it to Michigan. They played like they wanted this win badly. When the game ended I watched the UM players go beserk. They rushed out on to the field, with Carr carried upon the players' shoulders, jumping & shouting, then running to their fans in the stands in the NE corner of the stadium, and doing Green Bay leaps into the stands. Total bedlam on their sidelines. Would the Gators have been as happy and ecstatic? I doubt it.

You had to feel happy for these guys. Even as a diehard Gator, watching the UM players, I, too, had to smile. They deserved this win. They played like champions, on a day when they were 10 point underdogs, and few gave them any chance at all to win. But they proved why Michigan is one of the storied programs in college football, and I was glad that I was there to be a part of that.



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