Saturday night in the Miami-Florida game, the Gators were ahead 23-3 and had the ball on the Hurricanes' 12-yard line with less than a minute on the clock. The game was over and it was time to run the clock out like every decent football coach does on a regular basis. Urban Meyer, Florida's football coach, couldn't do that.
Meyer was feverishly trying to score again, and on the game's last drive, he continued passing the ball. When the drive stalled on the Miami 12, he decided to kick a field goal to make the final score 26-3.
We already know how classless Urban Meyer has been since taking over the Florida head coaching job in 2005, but Saturday night was his lowest performance yet.
In 2005, he cried at a post-game press conference after losing 21-17 to LSU. We have seen Dick Vermeil cry tears of joy during his historic Super Bowl winning season with the St. Louis Rams but Meyer was crying tears of frustration.
He found out quickly that he couldn't win every game in the SEC the way he did with Utah in the Mountain West Conference.
In 2006, when Michigan and Florida were the two most likely teams to play Ohio State for the National Championship, Meyer actively campaigned for coaches to vote for his Gators.
Lloyd Carr of Michigan just let the system play out, didn't say anything and like the professional he was, accepted the decision of the BCS computer.
Now we come to last night's Florida-Miami game in Gainesville. Anyone who saw the game knows it was very close.
In the third quarter, the Gators were helped out by a horrible instant replay call that immediately changed the outcome of the game. Miami bottled up Tim Tebow all night and looked good doing it.
Why did Meyer kick the field goal at the very end of the game? To impress the pollsters... to impress recruits... revenge for six straight Miami wins over Florida or maybe to show a national television audience that he can soundly defeat the Hurricanes without Ron Zook's players. We don't know how the man thinks!
It didn't work. Anyone with an understanding of sportsmanship knows Urban Meyer blew it and by kicking the late field goal he only unleashed speculation about possibly trying to cover the 21 point betting line.
Yes, the possibility of covering the point spread has to be looked into. The NCAA must investigate this game. They must investigate to protect the honor of college football and because the fans deserve to know the truth.
This matter must be considered very seriously because, after all, Urban Meyer is an honorable man and would never intentionally run up the score, would he?
52 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Austin Thomas 10 months ago
Why couldnt Meyer take a very hard fought victory?He just had to put up more points than he needed to, the score should have been 16-3, 23-3 at the most, maybe less because they should have called roughing the kicker on that punt that was a safety. Good Article my POTD. Good thing I saw this because I almost wrote an article about it, mine would have been a little more fiery than yours though.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Austin - you cannot have a roughing the kicker penalty on a block.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Here:
http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/Football_Rulesadc982b5-03fb-4e27-828c-c2d26b95e6c1.pdf
Article 4.a.4. - The kicker and holder must be protected from injury, but contact that occurs when or after a scrimmage kick has been touched is not roughing or running into the kicker or holder.
As you can see, you can run into the kicker as long as you get a piece of the ball. Jeff Demps got all of the ball and then fell into the kicker. Pay attention.
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Austin Thomas 10 months ago
Oh man. Sorry about that, thats my stupid moment. So then never mind what I said. Now I feel stupid lol. Thanks for pointing that out to me, and again I am sorry.
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Justin Potts 10 months ago
I like it. I totally agree that any respectable coach would have just run off the clock in that situation. Meyer has shown over the past few years that, while he is a good coach, lacks the class that the great ones have. You could tell in Randy Shannon's look after the field goal that he wasn't happy about it, and rightfully so.
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Bob Zen 10 months ago
I though only Georgia was classless!?!?!?! at least our 'classless' act happened when Florida could do something about it. I'll watch this to see how many Gators try to justify Meyer's late field goal. Expect a lot of you need style points in the BCS era in order to make it to the big game babel from them. Good article.
Bob
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Robert 10 months ago
Bob, let's not forget to mention "The Flop"
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
He did it to cover the spread.
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Mitch at sportschatplace.com 10 months ago
Can I chime in? It wasn't classless at all, it was a ballsy move. Miami Did it to Florida several years ago when Florida announced they were ending the series except the score was more out of hand and Miami used a time out to get the kick in. He did it for the Alumn and for the history of the game, I respect the hell out of that, even as a Cane fan.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Exactly, and he covered the spread.
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Carson Howell 10 months ago
Best comment comment on this article.
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Yates Boykin 10 months ago
So, class is getting revenge? That sounds pretty backwards to me. Sorry, but I cannot say that running up the score, or getting revenge on a team is a respectable thing to do.
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Steven Resnick 10 months ago
You know why he kicked the field goal? Is because the BCS committe loves to see how big the score is when playing an opponent the bigger the victory the better. It has nothing to do with a point spread it has everything to do with the way the computers work for the BCS.
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Bat Rastard 10 months ago
This would be true if Miami is ranked. The BCS computers do not care about a 20 or 23 point differential for an unranked team. It is so blatantly obvious that he is covering the spread. You don't freaking run passing plays with 1:30 to go and you're up by 20, and you sure as hell don't kick a field goal with less than 30 to go. You down the ball and walk off with your dignity. No other way to spin this. Stop drinking Urban Koolaid!
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Robert 10 months ago
Jeff, I'm glad to see that someone wrote an article on this.
Urban must have had some money riding on that game.
I did too. So, I'm glad he did it. Mwa-hahaha!
Stay classy, Florida.
Go Dawgs! Sic'em!
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Aubrey Clark 10 months ago
Uhh Robert, you want to know why more GA fans watched the game than Miami fans? Because your scared ... I live in Atlanta. Every DOG fan that I spoke to this morning wasn't talking about the DOGS victory over a bunch of 14th graders.
They were consoling each other by telling one another that the Gators looked weak. No matter what your reply to this post is, no matter how you spin it, the dogs are scared of Florida, scared that we are going to ruin their "perfect" season, again.
Last year your dogs beat a virgin defense and a wounded Tebow without a back-field. Guess what, were coming for ya ... and were pissed, sleep tight.
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Robert 10 months ago
Wow. Touched a nerve?
All I can say is, we'll see. We'll see...
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GatorJon 10 months ago
As miamimitch says above, he did it to please the ONLY people he is accountable to as Coach of the University of Florida Gator Football Team - the people who pay his salary, the Alumni, Boosters and Fans of the University of Florida, the Gator Nation. For the record, I approve and applaud him for recognizing the opportunity to pay back a long overdue debt to Miami.
I don't understand why "classlessness" is such a popular topic in football other than a lame attempt to denegrate a team, coach or player you don't like. I thought Richt's tactic to fire up his team in Jacksonville last year was brilliant. It never, ever occured to me that he was "classless".
This article is silly.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Exactly. Classless is purposefully trying to injure your opponent. Trying to score is part of the game.
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Justin Potts 10 months ago
You don't understand why classlessness is such a popular topic? It's because of this thing called integrity.
Obviously every team wants to beat their opponent badly, and if Florida had won by the same score but done it before the game was already over, it wouldn't have been a problem at all. But when you're up 23-3 with two minutes left and you're still throwing deep balls into the endzone and tacking on an extra three points, that's showing up your opponent.
It's inexcusable for Florida, Miami, Michigan, or anybody. There are many, many coaches around the nation that would never have done that.
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GatorJon 10 months ago
And there are many, many coaches NOT coaching at the University of Florida.
Guess I don't see how what Meyer did lacked "integrity" either. The game wasn't over. There was time left on the clock. I'll bet Randy Shannon isn't the least bit offended by Meyer's actions. He would return the favor given the chance to do so.
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Aubrey Clark 10 months ago
wee-o wee o wee-o wee-o ... He added an extra field goal ... sniff sniff, they got a bad call reversed sob sob ... GROW UP you lost, we hate you and you hate us, THAT'S why we kicked the field goal.
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jeff kalafa 10 months ago
Aubrey,
I don't think you get it....It's not just that he ran the score up but in doing so he covered a huge betting line(21 points) in the last minute of the game.....That could be a real RED FLAG for the NCAA.
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Carson Howell 10 months ago
I don't think you get it, jeff, the objective of football is to score in the allotted time to do so, I'd understand if there were only seconds left, and he called a timeout, but that clearly wasn't the case.
You pointed out the "RED FLAG", id think it would've been much more suspicious, on that topic, to NOT score intentionally, when given the chance to do so, it goes both ways.
He was just playing out the game, to down the ball, and use a timeout to run out the clock, in order to not score a SHORT FG, would be ridiculous- and that's basically what your suggesting.
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Robert 10 months ago
I guess that's what you have to do when you don't score more than nine in the first three quarters.
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Edmon 10 months ago
Red Flag? Carson's comment pretty much summed it up. He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't kick the field goal. My guess is he wanted some extra work for his kicker. When you have a young team, which Florida still does, you try and get as much out of game as you can.
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
Teams run up the score, and the other teams deal.
Mark Sanchez was still playing in the fourth quarter against Virginia. Sam Bradford was playing in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati. Moreno scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter for Georgia. Everyone who is anyone does it, and the other teams deal.
The Florida-Miami series has plenty of stuff like this anyway: the Florida Flop, Howard Schnellenberger calling a timeout to tack on an extra field goal to a win, Ken Dorsey playing every snap of the blowout in 2002, etc. It fits right in with these two teams.
Here's a stat for y'all. The guy who kicked that field goal was Jonathan Phillips, a fifth-year senior yet a first-year starter. That was his first field goal attempt of his career. His backup is a true freshman who has yet to attempt one himself. You think the Florida coaching staff wanted to have zero field goal attempts among its kickers going into a game at Tennessee? Me either.
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
Also, Carl Moore did have a catch and the replay officials rightly reversed it. His elbow came down in bounds first, and in college that's all you need.
I have no idea what you're referring to with "Zook's players" in there; there are nine guys left who were freshmen in 2004 (Zook's last year), and among them three didn't play because of injury and two are walk-ons.
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Jay Schrimpf 10 months ago
Nothing good ever comes of running up the score. Except covering the spread. By the way, what was the spread?
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GatorTailgating.com 10 months ago
Give me a freaking break. He siad why he kicked the field goal in the Gainesville Sun. He kicked it because our place kicker hasnt gotten any game experiece except on extra points, so he wanted to get him in there. Quit your whining and realize that a loss is a loss is a loss. Whether it was 23-3 or 26-3 doesnt matter, it only shows as a L on Miamis record either way.
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Travis 10 months ago
I completely disagree. The score would have been higher if the last touchdown pass was not called back for a penalty. Until the clock runs to zero, every player should have the right to compete to their full potential. It's not Florida's fault that the Miami defense couldn't stop them in the 4th quarter. Heck Miami stopped the Gators the entire game up the last quarter.
The way I look at it, Florida needs all the practice they can get on offense. Their not looking very good at this point.
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Carson Howell 10 months ago
""The way I look at it, Florida needs all the practice they can get on offense. Their not looking very good at this point.""
You have nothing to support this statement...It dosent matter how long Miami stopped them, the gators won by 4 scores, and they didn't even allow the "U" inside their 30 yard-line. Who looked better? The dawgs? who beat a TERRIBLE C. Mich team...look who they lost to last year ...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teams/schedule?teamId=2117&year=2007
Hell, C. Mich, still managed to put up 3 scores on GA's D who's supposed to be 2nd to none, along with LeFevour who passed for more yards than Stafford and the same amount of TD. Georgia BARELY had more receiving yards, with 39 more. WOW so impressive, Moreno just ran around a slow, very sub-par defense.
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jeff kalafa 10 months ago
Travis,
Why don't you admit it-the game was over half way through the fourth quarter....At least he should have put in the back up QB. Tebow doesn't need the work, he's the Heisman Trophy Winner. What if got hurt?
Don't you think it's more important to show some class than give the starters as you say, "all the practice they can get?"
Take a look at the finish of any game in the NFL or a Penn State game and you'll see how to defeat your opponent soundly and not make a clown out of yourself......
Once again, the betting line was 21....you're up 20, an insurmountable lead at the time, and he kicks a field goal......Don't you think that sends a bad message to the NCAA like maybe covering the spread was important to Meyer for a reason. I'm not saying he had money on the game because I really doubt he would but what is one suppose to think????
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jeff kalafa 10 months ago
Travis,
I want to tell you one more thing that I think you don't understand.......You're playing Randy Shannon for the first time and you have a chance to establish a good relationship or a bad one.
Coaching is a "What have you done for me lately" business these days. You never know who you'll meet or need down the road.
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GatorJon 10 months ago
The game wasn't "over halfway through the fourth quarter". There was still time on the clock, 90,000+ fans in the stands and a team that needs all the work it can get going into to the SEC schedule.
The goal is not just to win. As Travis mentions, it is about a team playing up to its full potential. If you are capable of winning by 7 touchdowns, then you should win by 7 touchdowns.
Trust me, Randy Shannon would've thought less of Urban Meyer if he hadn't kicked the FG.
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Mark Rupert 10 months ago
He has no class but it pays off with ESPN, so why change, right.
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GatorJon 10 months ago
Mark, I would say
1) "class" is not even relevant to the issue at hand
2) it pays off with the Gator Nation
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Mark Rupert 10 months ago
1) It's relevent.
2) You just made my point.
3) Tebow can't do that, you know what I mean.
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Lou Vozza 10 months ago
Maybe you haven't been paying attention to the BCS for the last few years. This is a beauty contest. Margin of victory matters. It's not good sportsmanship, but the system is forcing it on us. As long as they don't cheat, every coach has an obligation to his players and his fans to do everything it takes to be no. 1 in the country. Which two teams play for the no. 1 spot is subjective determination by voters, most of whom don't even watch the games. Final score matters. Covering the spread matters.
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Brian Smith 10 months ago
Interesting debate. A Cane will agree with the article because they have a number 1 on the right side column now. A Dawg will agree with the article because they love to hate on the Gators and are very excited about just their 4th win in the last 18 matchups with the Gators. I hope they don't expect to get another one with the way the Gator run defense is stacking up. I wouldn't put money on Massaqoui to carry the Georgia receiving corps when Moreno and King can't turn it lose.
The fact of the matter is, you don't want to enter into your conference schedule with your kicker not attempting a field goal. It happened to the Gators before, and guess what, our kicker missed his first attempt against an SEC opponent, an opponent that truly matters. Without winning the conference, there is nothing to look forward to. I mean, come on, it's 4th down at the 12...do we go for it and make it 30-3...no, that would be running up the score. Or do we let Phillips make his first collegiate field goal? I think Meyer made the right decision here, and it's a shame Shannon had to make a comment against Meyer's character as a person just to try and win the recruiting battle. Go to Miami and have an on-field brawl against an abismal FIU team, whine when a team kicks a field goal, and learn how to shoot and get shot. Sounds like a place I would want to play. Come on, we let the Cane kicker get one field goal and the punter was able to really practice his punts as the ball touched his foot 9 times in the game. We are not so classless. Your special teams will benefit greatly from that.
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Mark Rupert 10 months ago
Will Fla fan's still sing his praise's when he ends Tebow's pro chances by over using him and causing serious injury, for lack of a real running back.
Fla fan's better hope they find a RB very soon cause yall need a healthy Tebow to stand any chance against the Dawgs, those mini scat backs won't get it done in the SEC. Will Meyer run tebow into the ground again this year.
I am not a hater and I respect Tebow as a player and a class act. Hope Meyer dosen't wear the guy out before we get to see what he can do in the NFL.
Daryl1. It is a beauty contest and you have a point but if more Coaches had the quts to not give into the temptation of running up the score, it used to be called Sportsmanship, they would quit rewarding teams for it.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Tebow rushes less and gets hit less than every starting SEC running back. Tebow is bigger than most SEC running backs.
Many SEC running backs end up playing on Sundays. Why wouldn't Tebow?
A 6'3", 240 lb guy who carries the ball less than a 5'11", 200-220 lb guy is going to have a fresher body. If SEC running backs are fresh enough for the NFL, why wouldn't Tebow be too?
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GatorJon 10 months ago
Mark, in that case its a good thing we kicked the FG instead of having Tebow run the ball. :)
I don't think Meyer will need to run Tebow into the ground, but we shall see. I think Emanuel Moody is the real deal and expect he will play @ UT.
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jeff kalafa 10 months ago
Brian, Brian, Brian,
Nice try! but the field goal attempt you are talking about was really nothing more than an extra point with a 10 yard penalty added.....this is commonly refered to as a "Chip Shot."
As far as not going for the touchdown.......yes, you are right about that. Meyer didn't try for the extra seven points but that was probably because the odds of making a touchdown were much greater than making the field goal.
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Lou Vozza 10 months ago
"Many SEC running backs end up playing on Sundays. Why wouldn't Tebow?"
Uhh, because running quarterbacks aren't successful in the NFL? Maybe Tebow can develop into a NFL pocket passer, I'm sure he'll get the opportunity. But he's sure not developing his NFL skills by bolting out of backfield the second he see some open space. A winning strategy on the college level and fun to watch, but it's not Sunday football.
Also Tebow is more vulnerable to injury because he is exposed in the open field more often than a running back. That's one of the reasons they don't let quarterbacks run in the NFL.
And Mark. That's a load. Your just another Dawg fan trying to pretend you are morally superior to Steve Spurrier when in fact you are just still angry because you lost to him so much. Get over it and play some football. He'll probably kick your ass again next week.
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steve spurrier 10 months ago
first off the line wasnt 21. it was 23 at game time. kicking that field goal pushed the spread
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Jeff Contizano 10 months ago
I can see both sides of the argument hear, and to be honest its interesting to watch the canes, dawgs, and gators all debate their sides fiercely. Personally, if my kicker had no previous experience then yeah, I would kick the field goal. Its a double-edged sword. You can say he was covering the spread or being ignorant, or whatever, but he did it, and its over. Maybe Mark Richt will have the dawgs dance all over his field again. Or maybe Moreno will punch Tebow in the face in a benches clearing brawl.
Most coaches probably would just take the knee and end it, but this is Urban Meyer. Nobody but Urban Meyer really knows whats going on inside his mind.
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German Murias 10 months ago
I find it comical how Gators fans can't stand the Canes. Why is this? I think it's the success of the Canes. Everyone loves to hate a winner, and UM has done more winning than anyone for the past 35 years. Thug U, scUM, convict U and all the other cute little names used. Gaytards, semiholes... can we cut it out with the stupid names?! Everyone is talking about payback for the Howard Schnellingueger field goal back in the 80's. So you now chose to kick a field goal to avenge that and 3 decades of asswhoppins!!! These are facts, look them up.
1. After 12 years of cajoling, the Gators finally agree to give the Hurricanes a game -- only to witness Florida Field in stunned silence as UM comes back with three second-half TDs. UM beat UF in their first matchup ever 19 to 7 in 1938.
2. 1971: UF 45, UM 16
The infamous Gator Flop. A late UM interception left UF's Reaves 13 yards short of the NCAA passing record, leaviHow many ng the Gators lobbying to let UM score so Reaves could get the ball back. Coach Doug Dickey consents, with CB Harvin Clark telling teammates to just ''lay down.'' The Gators do, giving John Hornibrook a free run to an 8-yard TD. Reaves then breaks the mark with a 15-yard strike to Alvarez. Gleeful Gators frolicked in Flipper's pool behind the Orange Bowl end zone, and UM coach Fran Curci refused to shake Dickey's hand.
3. 1980: UM 31, UF 7
An ill-mannered Gainesville crowd pelts the UM sideline with frozen oranges, ice and bottles, with one projectile dropping assistant Christ Vagotis to his knees. After the Hurricanes recover a UF fumble with one second left, coach Howard Schnellenberger sends on Danny Miller to kick a 35-yard field goal as a retort.
Think of one shady thing that UM has done to UF in a game. I am so tired of hearing about the game experience that the kicker got out of that fieldgoal (Myers reasoning for the kick). The field goal was only 8 yards further away than an extra point kick, which he's had plenty on them).
The thug image was cleaned up during the Butch Davis era by the way. Themany memories of that era are kept in the hearts of all college fans that were being destroyed by those UM teams of the 80's.
The FIU nonsense is FIU trying to make a name for themselves by picking a fight. Brandon Merriweither was way out on line by doing a riverdance on the pile along with the guy that swung his helmet (his name escapes me) but that whole mess was started by them. Not proud of it, but it wasn't UM's falt. Twice as many players were suspended by FIU and Miami.
By the way, how many players were arrested before the season from Miami. The answer is 0.
How many were arrested from the Gators? Wasn't it 8?
So you see Gator fans, you don't hate us... you just hate loosing.
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jeff kalafa 10 months ago
German,
When I wrote this article I wasn't aware of the game where Schnellenberger tacked on the field goal.
After hearing about it I'd have to say that that was the wrong thing to do and I don't think he'd ever do that again.
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German Murias 10 months ago
He did it because the Miami sideline was being attacked by Gator fans and he kicked the field goal in retaliation. Not very classy on Howards part, but I can see why he did it. A correction on the oranges, it was frozen peaches. I believe the winner of than game won a bid to the Peach Bowl.
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Brian Smith 10 months ago
Jeff, many chip shots have been missed to lose games in the SEC in front of the largest and wildest crowds in college football and in front of national tv audiences. Why not get a chip shot under his belt to give him confidence so when it really matters, he can remember how easy it can be. Even Tiger messes up chips now and then.
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N K 10 months ago
wow you couldn't really find a more biased and unfounded article than this one. get life man. you are the true definition of a Gator Hater, but what about FSU's game 69-0 and Georgia 56-17. Georgia was not a very good example, but it is the nature of college football to outscore the opponent so you are ranked higher. If you call it classless then you have no clue as to how the BCS works and should never right another article again.
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