Posts from the Florida Football Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.

Step back in time with me, college football fans, to an earlier era. Here we have the Seminoles of Florida State taking on the Florida Gators in 1973.



This is pre-Ben Hill Griffin stadium stuff, so that's just Florida Field. Note that the Swamp is highly recognizable. Back then the stadium was painted blue rather than orange but "This is... Gator Country!" is still scribed on those trademark vertical walls rising out of the east and west stands. The press box was a tad smaller back then, too, as you might notice.

Florida's mascot was in a woeful state in those days. "Albert E. Gator" looked like an inflatable green jalapeno with teeth and a tail.

As for the game itself? Florida routed the Seminoles 49-0. For the rivalry, it was an era which favored the Gators, who won 9 straight from 1968-1976. Today, Florida leads the overall series, 30-19-2, but FSU is 17-15-1 against the Gators under Bobby Bowden.

FanHouse is counting down the 10 best, 10 worst, and 10 weirdest moments in Big Ten football history.

There wasn't a more disappointing team in the Big Ten last year than the Michigan Wolverines. Players like Chad Henne and Mike Hart sacrificed twelve months of NFL-sized paychecks to stay in Ann Arbor for one more year, sincere in their belief that 2007 would be a special season.

Of course, "special" and "wonderful" are two completely different words. "Non-wonderful" would be a better way to describe how the 2007 season turned out for Big Blue. They entered the 2007 season ranked fifth in the nation, only to lose to ... well, I think you know what happened in the first game of the year. And the second. The Wolverines did manage to win eight games in a row after that, but closed the regular season with losses to Wisconsin and, of course, Ohio State. The day after the OSU loss, Lloyd Carr told his team he would be retiring after Michigan's bowl game.

When the bids came out and the college football world learned that Michigan would be facing the Florida Gators (defending national champions with the eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow starting at quarterback) everyone figured Lloyd Carr would go out a loser. The only real question was how many points Michigan would lose by.

Just stop in your local Hooters establishment and you might stumble across a Heisman Trophy Winner, his offensive line, and some of his speedy receivers:



This photo was taken at the Hooters in Gainesville, Florida -- as evidenced by the Gator helmet and Gator-head table -- and comes to us courtesy of our friends at SportsByBrooks.com. No word on whether Tebow likes 'em mild, hot, or super-spicy.

The wings, that is.

You. Why aren't you as fast as Harvin? Oh, I guess "I am not a mutant" is a pretty good answer.

You may remember Carl Moore from Urban Meyer's winter of discontent. He was the five-star JUCO wideout whose gymnast girlfriend got to know Meyer's recruiting pitch for UF real well. This is kinda sorta maybe against NCAA regulations and momentarily got Meyer in trouble before he was cleared of all wrongdoing, as per usual.

So you'd think he'd have to be awesome, right? Well, uh... no:

Florida receiver Percy Harvin, one of the most explosive playmakers in college football, can spot a speedy player. And he knows transfer receiver Carl Moore is not fast.

Although Moore, who played at Sierra (Calif.) Community College in 2007 and is listed by rivals.com as running a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, might not win any sprints the next few weeks during the Gators' spring football practices, the five-star recruit could earn a spot on Florida's first-team offense.

All this drama for a possession receiver? What, Chris Doering wasn't available?

Harvin, for his part, is using his speed on the Wii or something: he's got a heel injury that will keep him out this spring, but since his coaching largely consists of "you should run considerably faster than anyone on the field and many champion racehorses," Florida should not be unduly affected this fall.

Redshirt freshmen guards don't have people take their pictures, so here's Urban Meyer pointing at something.

Redshirt freshman guard James Wilson has decided that Florida isn't for him:

University of Florida offensive lineman James Wilson, a former Nease High School standout, is unhappy in Gainesville and will transfer. Wilson said Friday that he asked for a release from his scholarship but did not know which school he wants to attend.

"I've got a few schools in mind," said Wilson, who redshirted as a freshman last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee to repair loose cartilage.

"It [UF] really just wasn't for me. "[Coach] Urban [Meyer] tried to convince me to stay. I was supposed to start [in 2008] but my heart's not there anymore."

Unless you're a Florida fan who's into recruiting (or a jilted USC fan), you've probably never heard of James Wilson, but this is kind of a big loss for the Gators: Wilson was the nation's top-ranked guard a year ago and the #12 player nationally. Now he's transferring to somewhere like Wake Forest.

Recruits go busto all the time, but usually not after just one year, and offensive line is one of the few spots on Florida's team that might be something of a concern next year. Two starters are gone and would-have-been starter Phil Trautwein is returning from a stress fracture and did not play in 2007. Wilson was a sizable bullet in the chamber for Florida they no longer have.

The early theme of the offseason has been "uncomplimentary things said by or about Urban Meyer" -- for examples see the "Previously" section of the post -- and we've got another one for the pile.

This comes from Notre Dame recruit Braxton Cave after being asked what was the most interesting thing that happened to him during his recruitment:

"(He) had me talk to his wife, so that was kind of interesting," Cave said.

The context of the conversation didn't exactly wow Cave.

"Basically, the weather and how they were on the boat and all this stupid crap," Cave said.

If you couldn't already guess by his name, Cave is an offensive lineman. Who doesn't go in for your stupid hippy crap about boats and weather, thank you very much. Next time Urban should try that pitch on Michigan AD Bill Martin.

Previously On Fanhouse:
Urban Meyer Is Suddenly Concerned About Patrick Johnson's ACT
Urban Meyer Will Keep Tim Tebow From Winning Another Heisman
Urban Meyer's Recruiting Adventures

One of the more recent trends in college football recruiting has been for coaches to bring groups of players to their homes. Those visits tend to involve leisure (time at the family pool, perhaps), recreation, dinner and time with the coach's family and maybe several assistants and their families.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is a big practitioner of this recruiting method. Others I'm aware of doing so include Florida's Urban Meyer and Georgia's Mark Richt. The goal, perhaps, is for coach and recruits to all get to know each other a little more in a relaxed setting. It also probably helps quiet the alarm bells in concerned parents' heads who would rather their boys be staying out of trouble and in the care of adults than spending a night out on the town.

This also blends well with the more sanitized world of official visits detailed earlier. And so sometimes the most *interesting* stories emanating from formerly lurid trips is talk of a coach's prowess at . . . ping pong.

consider the wildest part of the biggest visit weekend at Georgia this recruiting season. On the night of Dec. 6, some of the nation's top players gathered at the home of Bulldogs coach Mark Richt and played ping-pong. That's right, ping-pong.

"[Richt] is pretty dominant. He didn't lose the entire night," said Bryce Ros, a Kennesaw, Ga., tight end who will officially sign next week to play for a coach who apparently is the best American table tennis player since Forrest Gump.

So there you go. Mark Richt will own you in ping pong. I'm not sure that's a good thing when trying to stroke the 17-year-old ego and encourage him to commit to your school, but it's safe and right in the wheelhouse of a sensible and decent coach and man like Richt.

Previously at FanHouse

Recruiting Tag
NCAA Recruiting Tag

Patrick Johnson is the best high school corner available this year, depending on who you listen to. Earlier in the year he committed to Miami, but he re-opened his recruiting, focusing on Florida, Florida State and LSU. He picked LSU and planned to enroll early, but those plans were recently kiboshed:

LSU's top-rated football recruit, cornerback Patrick Johnson of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Fla., said he still plans to join the Tigers even though he was unable to begin school this week as expected after his ACT score was questioned by the NCAA.

Johnson is qualified because his ACT score, previously stuck on 16 after multiple attempts, suddenly jumped to 22. The NCAA is supposed to review all such unexplained jumps, as they're statistically improbable. All well and good. Care to wonder why the NCAA is looking into this?

"I'm not upset," Johnson said. "Florida made an issue about the ACT score. They're cowards. They had to go behind my back. But that's OK. We play them this year (on Oct. 11 at Florida)."

Urban Meyer, or someone on his staff suddenly got real suspicious about that test score when Johnson committed to Not Florida. Anyone care to guess who Les Miles will declare LSU's newest f*#$ing rival?

You win some, you lose some.

Cornelius Ingram, a WR/TE for the Florida Gators, has decided to return for his senior season. Earlier reports indicated that the junior intended to enter the NFL draft, but apparently he changed his mind:

Ingram made the decision to stay at Florida after talks with his family and the UF coaching staff over the past few days, Bowie said.

"I think he's going to be a little more involved in the offense," Bowie said. "He's going to work on some things and put on a couple of more pounds. Whether he catches 40 or 50 passes next season, he's going to have to go to the NFL Combine and perform."

Meanwhile, running backs coach Stan Drayton has decided to leave Florida for the same job at Tennessee. (The Vols' RB coach position was recently vacated by Trooper Taylor.) Drayton was advised after the Capital One Bowl that he would "likely not be retained" for an additional year. In his three years at UF, the running back position was the achilles heel of the Gators' offense.

Finally, news broke today that secondary coach John "Doc" Holliday is taking a defensive coordinator position at West Virginia. Why do such a thing? Simple:

According to sources, Holliday was offered a contract that guarantees him $2 million over five years at West Virginia.

Holliday made $190,000 at Florida in 2007.

Holliday is best known for his recruiting, athough he did coach megasafety Reggie Freakin' Nelson. His work with Major Wright, a promising freshman safety for the Gators, proved he could develop talent at the highest level. I expect he'll do well with the Mountaineers.

Pat Forde, right.

In the aftermath of another not particularly close national championship game featuring Ohio State, the articles were inevitable. The most breathless belongs to ESPN's Pat Forde:

If you've ever seen lions maul a water buffalo, you've seen the last two title games. You've seen a fierce pair of SEC teams -- Florida last year, LSU this year -- blow the vulnerable Buckeyes back to the Bratwurst Belt by a combined 41 points. You've seen the best of one league flex, and the best of an inferior league collapse.

Forde goes on to suggest Ohio State be banned from future title games amongst a cavalcade of zingers like "when the SEC shows up, they should change O-H-I-O to O-H-N-O." As Fire Joe Morgan might say: at least Forde is super funny. It's a typical piece of media prattle that eschews nuance for LOUD NOISES.

Ohio State didn't lose because they were out-talented -- some four or five Buckeyes will go in the first round of the NFL draft, depending on who exactly comes out and that doesn't include terrifying sophomore Beanie Wells -- but because they are young and stupid.