SEC Championship: It was Fate

Some thoughts on the 2006 SEC Champion FLORIDA GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!

First, all members of the Gator Nation rejoice in the fact that we ARE Champions. There is a vast anti-Gator conspiracy, long unloosed upon the Nation -- first because Florida wasn't "part of the South" and then far more notoriously because of Steve Spurrier. The conspiracy continues because people just love to hate the Gators, as though we don't deserve to be a part of royalty in the world. Even Sports Guy, an otherwise intelligent commentator and judge in sports, refuses to give credit to people who owe their greatness to their Gator heritage.

Reasons for Concern

But having said, we must not rejoice in full: although the Gators managed to stay on top in victory, the coaching could not have been worse. It simply could not have been worse. After learning lesson after lesson of thrusting Lynch into the misconceived Option play, Herb did it again and saw an interception. The next opportunity, like a stubborn child who refuses to learn, he oversaw Don Muppins do it again as Lynch FUMBLED the ball.

To top if off, the Gators burned two timeouts completely unnecessarily. Herb seems almost insouciant as he watches the play clock tick off before he calls timeouts every single time there's a 3rd-and-1 or a 4th-and-1 or 2 and he is confused as to whether to play Lynch or Turbow. All season long, it has led to burned timeouts and delays of game. These are the coach's fault, not Lynch's or Turbow's. Herb has a lot of learning to do. He just doesn't have a good grasp of the game.

Further, as Steve demonstrated in his methodical destruction of Arkansas' defense, the way to burn man-on-man coverage is to throw at it: exploit its weaknesses and its athletes as much as humanly possible. For the Florida Gators to avoid doing this, in spite of its need to show the world it is a GREAT football team so as to be considered contenders, and despite Leak's proficiency in throwing long to taller, faster receivers, Herb and Muppins conspired to undermine the Gator Nation with weakness once again.

Fate Intervenes

The last time the Florida Gators won the SEC Championship was the year 2000. The Gators didn't make it in 2001 because of Osama bin Laden, Jack Farley, and Darnell Dockett so we will eliminate from consideration that year in the subsequent analysis.

In the five years since, the Gators have not even won the SEC East til now, if it is "winnable." Now, there are six teams in the SEC East, but until now, there have only been three with actual football programs. By the odds alone, Florida had a 1/3 chance of going to the SEC Championship for the past five years. If we carry this thought experiment further, let's say they'd have a 1/6 chance every year to win the SEC Championship because they'd have a 1/2 chance of winning once they make it to the championship. Therefore, in five years, the probability of Florida winning a SEC Championship is 5/6 (1/6 x 5). That's an 83% chance of winning!!!!!! Of COURSE we are SEC Champions!

Since we know the Herb Cryer didn't coach the Florida Gators to a championship, that he actively hindered our ability to do so, it can only be logically reasoned that Florida won the SEC Championship by sheer luck--

Fate, as it were, intervened. Maybe we can win another next year and put the probabilities to rest as a factor in our victory.

Perhaps God still is a Gator. If so, it will be proved by Steve Spurrier's resurgence.

SEC Championship

This is not the first time that the University of Florida Gators have met the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Championship. In the 1995 game Steve Spurrier's Gators beat the 'Backs 34-3.

This is the measuring stick for this edition of the game. The Gators must win by 31 points if they are indeed "back." We have laid down the gauntlet, Herb Cryer...beat Arkansas by 31 or more points and you will go up a notch in our eyes. Anything less than this is failure.

Spurrier Recruiting

Recruiting Update:

Although many ignorant folks often criticize SOS for his recruiting, intelligent recruits across the nation are flocking to Columbia, South Carolina securing a future with many SEC championship rings. The latest commitment was WR Jason Barnes of Independence HS in North Carolina (the same HS as Craig Lynch). When asked why he chose USC he simply replied, "“I chose USC because where else would a receiver go? Steve Spurrier has the perfect offense for a receiver and a quarterback."

Is Steve Spurrier some slick coach who makes promises he cannot keep to the recruits and their families?? No, says Barnes father. “I just felt that they were being sincere when they spoke with us. They didn’t promise us the world, that he was going to come in and play right away. They made sure they let us know that he was going to have to work and do the right things, but that they would give him the opportunity to play. They just made me feel comfortable being straightforward with me, instead of trying to promise him the world.

Steve Spurrier is simply a straight shooter who puts his players in the NFL. In fact, at the time he was stabbed in the back by Jack Farley (a second time) and had to take the USC job, the University of Florida had more active NFL players than any other college. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THESE PLAYERS WAS RECRUITED BY STEPHEN ORR SPURRIER. Although most of these players were not 5 star players, we must add in the Spurrier factor of +2 stars to each one of their rankings. That is to say, Steve Spurrier has always maximized his players' talents- he wont have a pocket passer try to run a silly option play, or expose his WR's by running them on ridiculous reverses every other play. He will do one thing-WIN.

The USA today states Spurrier's recruiting pitch is as simple as it is elegant. "He'll step into a recruit's living room and tell 'em what he always has during recruiting: 'You're either going to win with us, or we're going to beat you.'"

There are only a few scholarships left for the 2007 SEC Champs- recruits must decide to win with SOS, or get beat by him- and beat badly.

Believers

If you read this blog, if you put it into your feed, if you dare to read the words on this blog, I promise you, it is inevitable:

You will convert.

You will see the error of your ways (supporting Herb Cryer, supporting Jack Farley, not supporting the greater Gator Nation, thinking Craig is a great QB, thinking Turbow is yet better, thinking SOS is a traitor, thinking SOS shouldn't've left for the NFL, thinking SOS isn't critical to UF even today...).

You will praise Spurrier, you will extol his virtues to all your friends. You will make time to watch him, as the cameras always do, on Saturdays. You will do Google News searches on your own to find his latest exploits.

And you will love it because finally you will have a genuine, true passion for football again -- something you have missed, but didn't know it, for at least five years.

Spurrier Recaptures Fire

(( Published in The State on November 28, 2006 -- I have emphasized the good parts ))

Spurrier has recaptured same ol’ fire
By RON MORRIS
rmorris@thestate.com

JERRI SPURRIER HAD concerns about her husband throughout his final, ill-fated season with Washington in the NFL. She even wondered during his year away from coaching if he would capture the spirit and fire that characterized his coaching days at Duke and Florida.

She can rest easy. If anything was proved during South Carolina’s 7-5 regular season it is that the “Ol’ Ball Coach” is back. Steve Spurrier is back to his old self, back to garnering the fierce loyalty of fans on his side while at the same time getting those on the other side to intensely dislike him.

He is back to believing he will take his 11 players and beat any 11 you put up against him. He is back to believing his teams can win championships instead of shooting for winning seasons, as USC has done the past two.

Unlike the 2005 season, USC faced much adversity in 2006, and the only breaks the Gamecocks seemed to get were bad ones.

Under previous coaches, this season had 5-7 or 4-8 written all over it. Instead, Spurrier and his staff did one of its better coaching jobs. The youthful defense, under coordinator Tyrone Nix and with one returning starter, proved capable of keeping USC in games against superior teams.

The offense, of course, was Spurrier’s pet project, and he proved capable of changing his ways. Realizing his offensive line was incapable of protecting the quarterback, Spurrier scaled back his passing attack and inserted Syvelle Newton behind center.

Newton proved adept at directing a limited passing game, and USC went 4-3 with him as a starter. With the offensive line more seasoned at blocking, Spurrier switched back to Blake Mitchell down the stretch, and he caught fire the final three games.

On the sideline, Spurrier exchanged an old trademark for a new one this season. Although it waned in his latter years, he was known for tossing his visor at Florida. This season he took to flinging his play-calling sheets, including a toss on Saturday at Clemson that should have counted for another of the game’s numerous 50-plus-yard plays.

Off the field, it became apparent that adversity was the trigger to bringing out his personality. He called his team and coaches “stupid” following one game and “losers” following another. He criticized USC fans for cheering a losing effort. He called out assistant coach Ron Cooper during a postgame news conference. Twice, he publicly challenged Southeastern Conference officials, and drew a reprimand from the league office.

Spurrier rarely does or says anything that is not calculated, so we can safely assume all of his on-field and off-field actions contributed to USC’s success.

Back-to-back seven-win seasons and bowl games at USC mean Spurrier has not lost his touch. Knowing that, he naturally jumps to the top of any list of candidates for every top coaching vacancy in the country.

USC fans need to get used to it. Miami fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. Alabama fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. The same scenarios will hold true following the 2007 season, and 2008 and 2009 and ...

Spurrier is going nowhere. He hand-picked USC. This is where he wants to be. This is where he wants to build a championship program. This is where he wants to coach his final games during the next five to 10 seasons.

This is where Spurrier re-gained his old spirit and old fire for coaching.

When Spurrier arrived in Columbia two Novembers ago, he said he preferred to be referred to as the “Head Ball Coach” instead of the “Ol’ Ball Coach.” Despite his youthful appearance and his tip-top physical condition, Spurrier thought the “Ol’ Ball Coach” label made him sound older than his 61 years.

So, through his first season at USC, nearly everyone adhered to his request, and he was known around Columbia as the “Head Ball Coach.” This season, though, his on-field and off-field antics showed that Spurrier has returned to being the “Ol’ Ball Coach,” and it has nothing to do with age.

It has everything to do with him being the Spurrier of old, like him or not.

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The lesson from this article, for you new students of Spurrier, is that the Revolution is upon us. All the signs are there. The offense, the offensive line, the new recruits coming in -- over the next few months you will see, hear, and read much much more about this theme. Mark our words, South Carolina is going to be the 1990s Florida of this decade. Jack Farley and Beanie MacFarlane may never recognize the extent of their own humiliation and disgrace for passing on the number one Gator, but we will know.