Are the Florida Gators Gaining Ground on the 'Dawgs?

by T Kyle King on Jul 27, 2007 10:35 PM EDT in Football

Evidently, I have riled up the Gator faithful by quoting Urban Meyer accurately. I'm not worried, though; the Florida fans will agree with me when Coach Meyer bolts for the N.F.L. in the next couple or three years.

In the meantime, though, Mike Farrell gushed earlier this evening that "a stroke of genius on the part of football coach Urban Meyer" has doubled the Gators' tally of verbal commitments for the 2008 signing class . . . which means they now have four.

Not only does he do a good job covering recruiting, but he was great on "M*A*S*H"!

I have no doubt that the Orange and Blue will close strongly when February rolls around, but, for now, let's not forget who is chasing whom. As Farrell put it:

With Georgia, Florida State, Ohio State and USC all on the board early with commitments from top-20 players, landing Hill will allow the Gators to keep pace.

"Hill" is Will Hill, reputedly the country's seventh-best high school prospect. Farrell lavished praise on Coach Meyer for obtaining a "near commitment" from Hill, who "came close to ending the [recruiting] process." Hill has an official visit upcoming in mid-September but he has not yet given that most tentative of pledges, the verbal commitment.

When and if Hill's declaration of fealty to Florida is forthcoming, that will, in Farrell's estimation, "allow the Gators to keep pace" with in-state rival F.S.U., national championship game opponent Ohio State, top-ranked U.S.C., and the leading athletics institution in the Southeastern Conference.

Let's not forget who is chasing whom. We in Bulldog Nation are, as always, looking forward to facing the defending national champions in the fall.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know . . . 15 of the last 17. Guess what? Trends end.

Go 'Dawgs!

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Gator fans

I clicked the link; I read the Gator fans thoughts about you. The first burst of laughter came when you were so accurately described as "uneducated." Also, direct quotes are anything BUT objective, apparently.

It frustrates me very much to lose to them so frequently, and I'm not old enough to recall the days when we had the upper hand. I am optimistic, however, because I know that this whole thing is about to come crashing down on them. Not just because I think Meyer's reliance on Tebow will prove a mistake, but because I fully believe that the Dawgs are on the verge of retaking Jacksonville. If I'm wrong, oh well, I hate Auburn more anyway.

by Bodey on Jul 28, 2007 12:01 AM EDT 0 recs

Cody . . .

. . . you had me at "first burst of laughter."

by T Kyle King on Jul 28, 2007 12:19 AM EDT 0 recs

meyer is the new evil genius

Meyer has one thing in common with Spurrier: he is definitely already in Georgia's heads bigtime. Gator Nation apprectiates the compliment of you paying so much attention to our coach and going to such great lengths to put a negative spin on his comments. We will continue to wave goodbye to Georgia's fans as ya'll leave Jacksonville before the fourth quarter is over for the next 17 years. Leaving the town to us to celebrate is mighty nice of you.

by 15of17andcounting on Jul 28, 2007 4:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

Thanks

It's a trick we learned from y'all in 1997. By the time the fourth quarter was over, there wasn't a Gator fan within 50 miles of Jacksonville.

Yes, clearly, Urban Meyer is in Bulldog Nation's head. That's what caused D.J. Shockley to be injured against Arkansas in 2005, what enabled the eventual national champion to eke out a seven-point victory over a team that lost to Vanderbilt at home in 2006, and what has kept Florida's offense from scoring on the 'Dawgs in the second half during Coach Meyer's tenure. Truly, I marvel at his acumen.

It's good of you to be confident in your team's ability to remain dominant in the historically streaky series that is the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I know the feeling well; I felt similarly self-assured about the Bulldogs' continued ownership of the Gators in 1989. Alas, worms turn, trends end, and pendulums swing.

By the way . . . it's "y'all," not "ya'll." It's short for "you all," not "ya will." To paraphrase Mike from "Monsters, Inc.," if you're going to insult me, at least do it properly.

by T Kyle King on Jul 28, 2007 6:54 PM EDT up 0 recs