Florida Gators Linebacker Brandon Spikes Suspended for Vanderbilt Game

Brandon Spikes, the undisputed leader of the No. 2 ranked Florida Gators defense, has been suspended for the first half of the upcoming Vanderbilt game due to an apparent eye-gouging incident during the Georgia game.

Coach Meyer: "I don't condone that.  I understand what goes on the football field, but there's no place for that.  We're going to suspend Brandon for the first half of the Vanderbilt game."

After checking with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, Meyer passed the sentence on to Spikes who supposedly agreed with the decision. 

Big deal.

Seriously, anyone with any knowledge of college football knows that things like that happen constantly during a football game.  If it weren't for HDTV 1080p no one would have even seen the transgression. 

Eye balls are not the only thing reached for or grabbed during a game.  And no, I'm not going to provide examples.  Use your imagination if you please.

Surely the Gators will say that they are not the same without Spikes on the field, but we are talking about Vanderbilt here.  I won't be surprised if Florida is up by four touchdowns at halftime, and Meyer decides to put the second string in the game while Spikes continues to watch from the sidelines.

Why not suspend Spikes for the entire game?  By doing so, Coach Meyer will silence those who feel the discipline is not enough, and he will allow Spikes the necessary rest for bigger and more important games.

The conspiracy theorists will be back in full force due to Meyer's decision.  Sure, everyone wants Alabama and Florida in the SEC Championship game so one is guaranteed a trip to Pasadena.  But come on, even if this was a big game coming up for Florida, is one player that important to the overall team's performance?

Well, this is Brandon Spikes.

He passed on leaving for the NFL to return for his senior season so he could help Florida win another National Championship.  The offense has Tim Tebow who also returned for his senior season, and the defense has Spikes.

But the game Spikes is suspended for is against lowly Vanderbilt.  So again, is it that important that Spikes is eligible to play during the second half of that game?  Did Meyer even consider the fact that the next game is against Vanderbilt?

Or does he too think it's no big deal?  Maybe he should.