Rev had an idea about this week’s He Said She Said. It was that I argue the case the Florida Gators will beat my Kentucky WildCats in football this year and his debate will be the WildCats will beat his Gators. While I am a little scared, I agreed this could be a great approach especially for the debates we have on HSSS. It would be too easy and expected from me to fight….full out kicking and screaming that UK will beat FL in football and for Rev to, of course, take the Gator side. So, how shocking is this? 

I didn’t realize all the feelings I was going to go through writing this and now actually posting it for others to read. It is like I am being unfaithful. I even asked Rev to come find my body along U.S. 119 because I know my WildCat brothers and sisters are going to kill me! I hope everyone, including Florida fans (because I am worried about Rev’s safety after this) will understand what we are doing. It is a different look at each other’s teams; a fresh view from another’s aspect of the game; AND I did get an adamant Gator fan to admit UK will beat FL in football this year….lmao  I can’t wait to see what I can get him to do during basketball season!! I am joking! This is a wonderful idea and I have argued the case against my beloved Cats. 

Tradition: an inherited pattern of thought or action. 

Tradition is often overlooked or even snubbed for some reason these days. As a former basketball player I know how important believing you can win is to a team. A squad can have all the talent in the world but if they do not expect to defeat their opponent every time they step onto the court or field, they will lose. Don’t get me wrong, of course you need talent! However, you better have the mind-frame of a winner as well. The Florida Gators’ football program knows what I am talking about. This program is known and feared across the country. They have an inherited pattern of thought or action and that is winning. 

Their first meeting with the University of Kentucky was in 1917. The game was played in Lexington, KY and the Cats came away with a 52-0 win. Since that time the Gators have met the Cats on a football field 56 times. FL owns the series with 39-wins, 17-losses and 0-ties. The last time UK beat FL was back in 1986 in Lexington with a score of 10-3. This year’s meeting takes place on Oct. 20th at Kentucky. But before we can take a look into the future, let’s glance into the past… 

The Gators’ first snap was in 1906. Coach James Forsythe led the University to 3 winning seasons. During the 1910s the football squad acted as an independent team. In 1912, they became part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 1922, Florida joined the Southern Conference. They remained there until finding their permanent home with the SEC in 1933. 

It would be in the 1960s before the world got a glimpse of what would become a long run of dominance. Head Coach Ray Graves swaggered with a team record of 70 wins. The 1966 team is considered one of the best teams in Florida history. They were led by Heisman Trophy winner, Steve Spurrier. 30 years later in 1996, the Gators won their first ever National Title. The quarterback from that championship team was Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. During the title battle, Anthony Reidel set a record for the SEC player to score the most points -18, and touchdowns - 3, during a championship game. 

The Orange and Blue are known for winning a total of 8 SEC football conference championships. Only 7 are recorded because of NCAA violations, the Gators were officially stripped of their 1984 SEC championship. The 1985 and 1990 teams finished best in the SEC, they were not eligible to compete for the championship because of NCAA violations that previous coaching staff committed. 

Florida holds a handful of SEC records. In 1996, Florida scored the most points with 45. In regular season games, the Gators hold the record for scoring the most touchdowns (nine vs. Central Michigan in 1997). 

Before you can judge the 2007 team you must assess their leader. At the Helm of the 2007 Florida Gators is Urban Meyer, one of the most celebrated coaches in college football. His winning percentage of 83.1% is ranked 7th nationally among active coaches. Coach Meyer is the 3rd highest paid college coach with his current 6-year contract. 

Before Urban Meyer came to take the reigns of the Florida program, he had already won the;

2001 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year

2003 Sporting News National Coach of the Year

2003 and 2004 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year

2004 Home Depot Coach of the Year Award

2004 George Munger Award for the Collegiate Coach of the Year

2004 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

2004 Pro Football Weekly National Coach of the Year

2004 Woody Hayes Trophy Award

2004 Victor Award 

In just his first 2 seasons, Meyers led the Gators to finishes of 9-3 and 13-1, respectively. This, as we all know, took FL to a 2006 BCS National Championship victory over Ohio State. 

There is a problem with winning college championships. That is you usually lose a lot of star talent to the pros the next season. The 2007 University of Florida Football Gators did just that. They lost star QB Chris Leak (free agent with the Bears) and a host of others. However, Coach Meyer did find a replacement for Leak. His name is Tim Tebow. Tebow IS the FL offense. It is essential he stay healthy and as much as he runs this is highly questionable by the time the Gators face the WildCats. This Heisman candidate just earned his second Offensive Player of the Week honor after last weeks win over Ole Miss. Tebow accounted for 427 yards of total offense (best in the SEC this year), including a school record 166 rushing yards by a quarterback. He also had career-highs in completions (20), attempts (34) and rushing attempts (27) while throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Thus far, for the season, Tebow leads the SEC in passing efficiency, is 6th in rushing yards and leads the SEC in rushing touchdowns (7). Adding to this offense is WR Percy Harvin and RB Kestahn Moore. Harvin has 155 yds RUSH and 336 REC; a total of 491 yds offense after 4 games. Moore has netted 279 yds RUSH and 37 yds REC; a total 316 yds offense after 4 games.

The big question will be can the FL defense stop UK’s offense. After losing 9 defensive starters from last year’s National Championship team, the Gator defense is definitely in a rebuilding year. They do return pre-season, First Team, All-SEC selection, DL Derrick Harvey. But after 4 games the Gators D is led by sophomore LB Brandon Spikes. This young man has 21 solo tackles and assisted on 15 for a total of 36 tackles. With the loss of Marcus Thomas the Gators D has been solid but has not had the kind of success stopping the run that Thomas brought. 

The Florida offense is averaging 44.5 points per game while their defense is holding opponents to 22.0 ppg. The Gators are scoring 2 or more touchdowns each quarter. The WildCats have a hard time dealing the run especially against QBs. This along with their slow starts and having to “come-back” in the 4th quarter will be their downfall. There is no answer for Tebow. His 358 yds RUSH and 1096 yds PASS says it all. I do believe the game will be tight, but Florida will hold with tradition and beat Kentucky 31-30.

HE SAID: Lexington, Prepare Yourself for Kentucky Fried Gator