Lane Kiffin Has 126 Problems

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's Misguided Anger

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.

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere: Blowout Edition

Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.

Sorry, this post is totally unrelated to Johnathan and his salon, and I know that some of you hair afficiandos are devastated(*cough*Jimmy Clausen*cough*). However, it has everything to do with Florida beating Tennessee 59-20 last year. So sit back and enjoy the asswhooping.



Happy Friday!

Bringin' The Wood: UF vs UT

Every year when Florida faces Tennessee I dig up two images from the past that perfectly represent what I want to see the Gators do on the field.

Exhibit A



Exhibit B



Yes, the appropriate response to both is "oooooooh....(silence)...that's gotta fuckin' hurt".

Hopefully Saturday there will be lots of big hits being placed on the Vols. In fact, Tennessee's o-line might want to take extra special care of Johnathan Crompton because who knows how many hits that gimpy ankle will be able to take. With any luck, Jermaine Cunningham will make some appearances in the UT backfield, and if we're lucky he'll pick some sacks and maybe a loose helmet or two.

What To Watch For Wednesday: UF vs UT

Here's a little segment that may or may not show up every Wednesday during the college football season. To start, it's going to focus on some things to watch for during the UF vs UT game.

Who will replace C.I.? This game is probably going to be the first one where Florida could struggle with the loss of Cornelius Ingram. Sure, they have a ton of playmakers, but in last year's contest C.I. tallied 3 receptions for 56 yards and caught one of Tebow's two passing touchdowns. I have no doubt that Hernandez and Casey can put up similar stats, and hopefully they'll answer the call should Tebow need them for some crucial plays.

Is this when Emmanuel Moody breaks out? Seriously, is he still on the team? He's gotten two carries so far this season, eventhough Coach Meyer was seemingly touting him as the feature back during the spring. However, even with those paltry stats a part of me can't help but feel that Meyer is waiting for just the right moment to unleash him. It just seems like it's a big secret that only the team knows about, and after he runs for a good amount of yards and some scores they'll be telling all the reporters about how they had to keep it on the DL. Though, after last year's shenanigans it might not be unveiled until the Georgia game.

Will Florida's rushing Medusa outgain the Vols' tandem? Foster and Hardesty are strong runners, and we all know how important the rushing stats are in this series. But will they be able to put up more yards than a group that's made up of Tebow, Harvin, Demps, Rainey, James, Moore and possibly Moody? That's a lot of bodies to throw at a team in the rush game, and a lot of different looks that can be used to trick the defense. Even more than the amount that the Gators had last year when they won 59-20.

Can Florida's secondary remain scorch free? Last season, Florida's secondary should have been playing in Nomex jerseys because they got burnt constantly. If there's one bright spot it's that when Jonathan Crompton came in last year against the Gators he went 2-for-5 with an INT. UT's receiving corps isn't quite as strong as past seasons, though, the opposition's talent hasn't always had to be high in order for Florida to give up big passing numbers. This year the unit does seem much more cohesive, and there's no doubt that they can ballhawk sideline to sideline.

All in all, it should be another exciting SEC opener for both teams. Florida seemingly is the more talented team, and should pull out a win. Hopefully even better than the 39 point drubbing they dropped on the Vols last year.

Let The Hate Begin: UF vs Tennessee

So, we're officially on the second day of UF vs Tennessee week, and I thought that it would be a good time to get it going here.

After all, Percy Harvin seems to be ready for the game, so we all should be ready for the game. In fact, Mr. Harvin may be more ready for this game than any of them between 10th grade and now:

After missing the spring and most of the preseason recovering from heel surgery, Harvin said he’s 100 percent now and feeling better than he ever has in his Florida career. Better than he has in a long time.

When asked when was the last time he’s felt this good, Harvin said, “My 10th grade in high school. (The heel) has been nagging me since high school. I did the long jump and played basketball and ran track. All those years it was tearing the bone in my heel. We’ve got it all figured out now. I feel 100 times better.”

Yeah, so all of those plays where he made some moves and outran the defense? He wasn't at 100%. Including last year's Tennessee game where he had 75 yards rushing(20 of which came on the play below...down in front!) and 120 yards receiving.




Honestly, at this point the scariest thing about the Vols is Eric Berry. But he isn't going to be putting points on the scoreboard(hopefully), so he's not as threatening as a gamebreaking receiver or running back. Though, Foster and Hardesty are a good tandem.

If all goes well, the Gators will be tallying up another win against Tennessee. The fourth straight for Coach Meyer since he beat them 16-7 back in 2005.

It's Rocky At The Top

Alright, Tennessee beat previously unranked Memphis in their home gym on Saturday night. They moved into the #1 spot, poised to make a run for the tourney in the top spot. And they followed all that up with a loss at Vanderbilt.

Wait! What?!?

Yep, the Vols will likely spend one week ranked #1 thanks to their loss on Tuesday night against #18 Vandy.

So, how did it happen? Well, Vandy, the strong 3-pt shooting team that is, shot 37.5% from behind the arc. Compare that to the 29.6% that UT held Memphis to, and you can see how the Vols dropped this one. Vanderbilt also shot their free throws much better than Memphis, 67.6% as opposed to 47.1% for the Tigers.

Luckily, Tennessee shouldn't drop too far, so a #1 tourney seed is definitely within their grasp. And if they play the way they did against Memphis on a consistent basis they should do pretty well. Though, that game against Florida next Wednesday, the one that I said was huge for the Gators, has become just as big for the Vols.

ESPN, Hatin' On The Vols

Today, I logged onto my ESPN account to make my picks in the Deadspin College Pick'em league, and noticed something a bit odd. If you're unfamiliar with the league, basically you select a winning team for each of the 10 games presented then assign each one "confidence points"(a scale of 1-10) based on how sure that they'll win their game. For each game there's a summary telling you some tidbits about how each team's season is going, and how they've fared over the past few games. This is where I noticed the oddity.

As I finished reading the Kentucky/Georgia summary I realized that whoever had written it was predicting a Tennessee loss in either of their last two games. You can see in the screen capture that I underlined the word "inevitable" which is used in referencing UT losses to Vandy or Kentucky. In fact, here's the direct quote:

Georgia just has to get past the Cats and wait for the inevitable Tennessee loss to Vanderbilt or Kentucky.

And as any fan of the Matrix(You hear that Mr. Anderson?... That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death), or anyone with access to a dictionary, can tell you inevitability means:

"incapable of being avoided or evaded"

So basically they're saying that a Tennessee loss to either Vandy or Kentucky is unavoidable. That it's guaranteed. The problem with that is that the Volunteers have traditionally played pretty well against both Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Against Vanderbilt, the Vols are 23-2 over their last 25 meetings. The most recent loss was in 2005. Prior to that, Tennessee had not lost to Vandy since 1982.

Against Kentucky, the Vols are 24-1 over the last 25 meetings. The last time they lost to the Wildcats was in 1984.

Sure, the way this season has gone anything could happen, but Tennessee losing either(or both) of its last two regular season games isn't a foregone conclusion. Though, it appears like someone out there, either through a grammatical error or because they hate the Vols, would like you think otherwise.

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - Florida vs Tennessee Edition

Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.

In honor of the great rivalry that is Florida vs Tennessee this week's "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" is devoted to getting you, the reader(hi mom!) amped for the game. Obviously, this is going to be heavily slanted towards Florida, but whatever. Urban Meyer is 3-0 against the Vols, and that's far enough back into history for me. Well, that's not entirely true because we're going to step into the wayback machine to see Lawrence Wright say "hello" to Joey Kent. It's like shaking hands, but waaaay better. If you haven't had your fill of hate this week head on over to EDSBS for some second helpings. Happy Friday!

The All-American Football League: Taking Graduates Of Your Favorite College, Leaving Phone Messages

An onslaught by the common cold has precluded any updates(unlike Disturbed, I am not down with the sickness), but I have managed to post up one golden nugget.

While Mark Cuban's idea for a football league got a good amount of press, the All-American Football League has flown under the radar a bit more. However, the marketing efforts are starting to pick up steam as it approaches the proposed launch date next April.

The league is doing its best to embrace the college atmosphere, which is probably to be somewhat expected since it's being created by guys like Cedric Dempsey(former NCAA president) and Doug Dickey(former University of Tennessee AD). Supposedly the league is even going to have "colleges' bands and cheerleaders" attending games(FAMU FTW!).

As far as prospective players, the only stipulation is that the participant must have graduated from a 4-year college or university in the state where the team is based. In that respect, it is very different from the XFL, AFL or the proposed Cuban Football League that are seen by many as just using NFL castoffs. While most of the guys eventually paid to play in the AAFL probably did participate in the NFL, for a short time at least, using only "homegrown" talent(no Marcus Thomas, not that kind of homegrown) will help add to the college-like atmosphere that they're hoping to create. Also, seeing guys who were once fierce rivals come together in a team setting to beat another state's team will just add to the buzz. Right now, the plan is to have the league be comprised of eight teams.

Also, the AAFL isn't trying to compete directly with any existing football leagues in terms of scheduling. The games will be played in the spring into the summer, and won't try to go head-to-head with the NFL, NCAA or even high school. They've also got a set up in place where the games will be played at "universities known for college football"(the University of Florida is already on-board), and the games could be broadcasted on a private netowrk with no commercials. Though, there's no TV deal just yet.

Since tryouts are slated to begin tomorrow, July 3, receiving a phone call today regarding a scrimmage between former Gators and Vols piqued my interest. As did the tailgating encouragement, though college football fans don't usually need too much encouragement in that department. Anyway, here's the message that was left on my answer machine today. Replace the University of Florida fanfare with your favorite school's, and let me know if it increases your interest. I am curious how they got my telelphone number, as I don't contribute enough(know of any blog related opportunities? hit me up!) to be considered a big time booster by any means.

AAFL Phone Message