The Cam Newton eligibility saga got a little more interesting today. First, it was reported that Newton was caught cheating at Florida, and left the school before appearing in front of the Florida Student Conduct Committee. Then, it came out that the FBI was getting involved, and would like to speak with John Bond.
Throughout the day, one thing has remained constant, the murmurs that somehow Urban Meyer and/or someone on his staff is behind this entire thing. Some theories paint Meyer as a jilted former coach that wanted to thrust Florida back into the spotlight while diminishing Newton's accomplishments. Others have him just being a "bad guy" that's looking to get Newton declared ineligible prior to a possible Auburn vs Florida SEC Championship Game.
In any case, what would Urban Meyer gain from leaking this info?
I'm not sure this season is exactly what the composer had in mind, but hopefully we can all stick together and make it through this perfect storm of ineptitude that's hit.
There's a lot of noise in the machine right now calling for various changes. Some want Addazio fired. Others just want him to go back to being strictly an offensive line coach. And still others want Brantley benched in favor of Trey Burton. Three straight losses, two at home, will cause that sort of loud displeasure when the fanbase is used to the success that occurred over the past 5 seasons. So, what moves can be made to get the Gators pointed in the right direction?
The Gators are 4-2, and many fans believe that lackluster offensive playcalling is to blame for much of the team's woes. Voicing displeasure about the way offensive coordinator Steve Addazio has run the offense is quickly becoming a tradition much like the Gator Walk. So, is it really his fault? How do the Gators stack up on both sides of the ball when compared to the first 6 games of last season?
Lane Kiffin has certainly made a splash in his short time in the SEC coaching ranks. Wait, before I go any further let's get a little background music going...
Anyway, his newest cannonball into the SEC pool produced allegations that Florida coach Urban Meyer "cheated" while trying to recruit Nu'Keese Richardson. Exactly what did Kiffin say?
"I'm gonna turn Florida in right here in front of you," Kiffin said, according to WVLT-TV. "While Nu'Keese was on campus, his phone kept ringing. One of the coaches says, 'who's that?' And he said, 'Urban Meyer.' "
Unfortunately for Kiffin, and the UT fans that rallied around his statement, there is no rule against that type of contact. NCAA and SEC officials confirmed that this afternoon.
So, not only did Kiffin try to pull a bitch move by "outting" Meyer over supposed cheating, but he did so without even being fully aware of what the rule did and did not prohibit. Now, he just looks like jackass, and has given Meyer and his team, you know the ones that won the SEC and the BCS last year, early bulletin board material for that September 19 showdown in Gainesville.
The Gators will be looking to extend their winning streak to four consecutive against the Vols, and Kiffin will probably be hoping that Meyer doesn't add too many more digits to those 126 problems that he's already dealing with. And exactly what are the 126 problems? That's the number of points that the Gators have totalled over that four game win streak, outscoring the Vols 126-53.
Welcome to the SEC, Lane. Try not to let your mouth write checks that your ass can't cash.
Urban Meyer isn't a big fan of the new clock rules in college football. You know, the ones that were supposed to give us, the fans, a more exciting experience, but have really just cut some more time off of the game. Meyer thinks they're "awful", and is upset that they're costing the Gators snaps on the offensive side of the ball.
Florida Coach Urban Meyer is upset at the new clock-rule changes.
After being limited to what he calls 46 competitive plays Saturday against Tennessee, Meyer came out firing Monday about the new 40/25-second and out-of-bounds clock rules that have reduced the number of offensive plays. He called them “awful.”
Unfortunately, Meyer's anger about the reduced number of "competitive plays" in the Tennessee game shouldn't be directed at the clock. Instead, it should be directed at the Vols coaches and players.
They were the ones that robbed the Gators of more snaps on offense by allowing Brandon James to return a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. The Vols also took away more snaps by giving the Gators starting field position on the Tennessee side of the field for 3 out of their 5 scoring drives.
If anyone is to be blamed for robbing Florida of more competitive plays it has to be the Vols. Though, when the score was 20-0 in favor of Florida at the half Meyer had to know that it wasn't going to be a very competitive game.
That's right, Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer has been found not guilty of murder...armed robbery...arson...making impermissible phone calls to a recruit and his girlfriend. Whew, with all of the hatred bubbling around the Interwebs regarding Coach Meyer it was difficult to track down exactly what he had done.
Yesterday, Coach Meyer was "cleared of any wrongdoing in the recruitment of junior college receiver Carl Moore and gymnast Maranda Smith". There had been allegations that Meyer helped recruit Smith, Carl Moore's girlfriend, to be a gymnast at Florida so that Moore would also want to head to Gainesville.
There was also speculation that Meyer had made improper contact through a phone call(though, not in the Chris Hansen sense) to Moore during Tim Tebow's acceptance of the Heisman Trophy. You know, something like "Hey Carl, don't worry about racking up stats, you're a receiver. Everyone knows that I always get the receivers the ball. Running backs are for blocking, and carrying Tebow's jockstrap(little known fact, it takes three of them and an offensive lineman to do it)."
While it is nice to see Meyer exonerated, I'm sure it will just increase the level of hostility from rival fanbases. I'm not sure of the exact moment when he became such a lightning rod for spite, though the perceived BCS title game lobbying and comments about seniors after the Michigan loss surely didn't detract from it. However, I think it mostly has to do with the success that he's achieved in the relatively short amount of time that he's been in Gainesville. People hated Steve Spurrier because he was successful, and didn't mind reminding you. They didn't hate Ron Zook, well because he just wasn't all that successful. They do hate Urban Meyer because he's brought Florida back to the top, and stirred up all those feelings of jealousy and malevolence that Spurrier gave to them years ago.
Oh well, he's turned into one of those "you love him when he's on your sideline, and hate him if he's on the other guy's" type of coach, and that doesn't really bother me. Hopefully there's enough room in that wambulance for all the whiners that are sure to come out of the woodwork following this ruling.
Lots more breakdown tomorrow, but for now just sleep tight knowing that the SEC is still the elite conference and Cheaty McSweatervest can't beat them.
Oh yeah, Urban Meyer is capable of smiling, even if he does look like he wants to snap Jai Eugene's arm off at the elbow.
Last week it looked like Billy Donovan had left Gainesville for the NBA. Now he's back, and his new deal will pay him more than head football coach Urban Meyer.
Both coaches have been offered new contracts at the same time, and Donovan's extra championship seems to add a little more value. Donovan is reportedly going to be paid $3.5 million per year over six years(with an optional 7th), and Meyer's contract is setup as $3.25 million over six years.
Both are nice increases for the coaches, Donovan had been making $1.7 million per year, and Meyer had originally signed a contract worth $2 million(guaranteed + incentives) per year. However, I am bit surprised that at a school where football has traditionally been king the head basketball coach will be getting paid slightly more than the head football coach. I always believed that there was a ceiling of sorts in place for the salary of the basketball coach that would keep him from being paid as much, or more, than the football coach. It appears that I was wrong in that assumption. In any case, both coaches are reaping the benefits of their recent championships.
