Forget giving credit where credit's due. . .how about any freakin' credit?

Inside Dish: Grossman's predictability costs Gators
By Tom Dienhart -

Credit Ole Miss LB Matt Grier for making a key adjustment in the Rebels' 17-14 win over Florida. With Mississippi double-teaming Florida WR Taylor Jacobs, Gators QB Rex Grossman looked time and again to Carlos Perez. After Perez made five catches in the first half, Grier started leaving his man to help double Perez in the second half. That move resulted in Grier's snagging two key interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Gators coach Ron Zook says Grossman often didn't check to the right plays and wasn't focused. . . .

Un-freakin'-real! Never "the Rebels just flat out-played them" but instead "yeah, we sucked today."

Zook takes blame as offense shuts down in another Florida loss

By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer
October 6, 2002

This time, it was the offense's turn to disappear at Florida. As usual, coach Ron Zook took the blame.

The Gators lost 17-14 to Mississippi despite allowing only 191 yards, one of the most dominating defensive performances in recent memory. Saturday's defeat dropped Florida to No. 16 in the AP poll.

Blame it on the offense, which had one more punt (three) than first downs in the third quarter, and which didn't produce a single point in the second half.

Or, more to the point, blame it on Zook, who admitted he didn't have his team prepared to play the Rebels, who were giving up an average of 322 yards per game and allowed 38 points to Vanderbilt two weeks ago.

``The whole bottom line is that as a coaching staff, it's my job to get the football team ready to play and I didn't,'' the first-year coach said.

Quarterback Rex Grossman tried to shoulder the blame after a four-interception game that left the Gators (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) in second place in the SEC East, behind Georgia.

``It's a team sport, but I didn't do my part to help this team win the game,'' Grossman said.

But really, his poor play was merely a result of other major problems.

His receivers didn't get open, and when they did, they dropped a number of catchable balls -- most notably Taylor Jacobs' key drop on a long pass that could have turned the game around in the third quarter.

Grossman's offensive line might have been most guilty, after exposing him to more than a dozen hits from an unchecked Ole Miss defense and leaving him too skittish to step up in the pocket and throw.

Center Mike Degory was also called for being ineligibly downfield on a trick play -- a pass from Earnest Graham to Grossman that would have given the Gators the ball at Mississippi's 12 late in the fourth quarter.

That was one of 11 penalties Florida committed.

``Unacceptable,'' Zook said.

On the plus side, Florida solved some special teams problems. Turns out backup quarterback Ingle Martin really can punt. He averaged 46 yards on seven kicks.

But Matt Leach had a 35-yard field goal blocked. Then, with a chance to tie the game with a 47-yard kick after Degory's penalty in the fourth quarter, Zook chose not to put Leach out there.

Why?

``I wasn't going to put him in that situation,'' Zook said.

It was a pressure situation that could have been avoided had the Gators' offense done more.

Now, speaking of pressure, Zook is under plenty.

Sure, the Gators lost at least one SEC game three out of the six times they won the championship under Steve Spurrier.

Still, with every game of this wildly uneven season, it's becoming clear: These aren't Steve Spurrier's Gators. They're Ron Zook's. And the new coach knows they've got to get much better for the Florida tradition to continue.

Second-tier school. . .like Mizzou, OK State? Huh?

ROSENBLATT ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Parity strikes

RICHARD ROSENBLATT, AP Football Writer

College football: Second look

By Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 7, 2002

Quit your cryin', Jackie
Instead of whining about teams running up the score, perhaps Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill should worry about improving his own team.

Of course, for Sherrill, that would mean burning the rule book or, like many of his Southeastern Conference rivals, just ignoring it all together.

Twice in the past three weeks, Sherrill has complained that his Bulldogs were unnecessarily humiliated by the opponents. Sherrill wasn't happy South Carolina threw a touchdown pass with 1:34 remaining in the Gamecocks' 34-10 victory Saturday, and let Lou Holtz know.

After Auburn's 42-12 victory in Starkville two weeks ago, Sherrill questioned Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville's character, which is like Tony Soprano calling the Feds scumbags.

Sherrill, of course, can't hide from his history. Just two years ago this humanitarian hung 61 points on Middle Tennessee State.

Air Force touchdown on BCS bowl bash?
Air Force is on its way to a sixth consecutive Commander-in-Chief's Trophy after beating Navy 48-7 Saturday.

But the bigger challenge is crashing the BCS New Year's party, which the Falcons could do with victories over BYU, Notre Dame and Colorado State, whom they play in the next month.

Since the BCS started, pollsters have become enamored with teams like Fresno State and Marshall. But after Marshall was crushed by Virginia Teach, the 5-0 Falcons are the non-BSC team du jour.

As far as Bowling Green? Not a chance. The Mid-American Conference (along with the Sun Belt) does not belong in Division I-A. Sure, schools from the conference will pull off occasional upsets as Bowling Green did against Missouri, but nobody from the MAC, including Marshall, ever will have a legitimate Top 25 team, nevermind one that has a chance of playing in a major bowl.

Just call 1-800-NEWPOST
Used to be the price of playing Florida or Florida State at home was humiliation, for being whipped in front of 80,000 alumni and students.

Now, the costs are much more tangible. A pattern is developing when either the Gators or Seminoles walk into an opponent's stadium. Along with both teams' mystique and championship hopes, the goal posts seem to be exiting the stadium.

Last year North Carolina and Auburn had to spring for new posts. This season students at Louisville and Mississippi paraded them around campus after big upsets.

Granted, the ultimate sign of respect is when students storm the field and climb the crossbars after your team has been beaten.

North Carolina, Auburn, Louisville and Mississippi are respectable opponents. If Vanderbilt and Wake Forest are ordering new goal posts after their games against Florida and Florida State this season, then the two schools have much more to worry about.

Hey, you're not Northwest-Colorado
Kansas State fans who take offense to criticism about the Wildcats' embarrassing schedule should be taking their anger out on coach Bill Snyder for not preparing his team for the rigors of the Big 12.

Loading up with teams that include hyphens and directions in their names does two things: It hurts your power rating in the BCS and it gets you beat when you start playing decent competition.

Kansas State proved that Saturday against Colorado. Now, 6-0 N.C. State is next.

Dye-in-the-wool 'Bama basher
Pat Dye can't stand to see Alabama win, even when the Crimson Tide football program is on not just probation, but life support after the NCAA considered giving it the death penalty for a series of infractions that made SMU blush.

So when Dye, the former Georgia All-America and Auburn coach, said the Bulldogs were not "man enough'' to beat Alabama, his intent clearly was to motivate his alma mater.

Dye made coach Mark Richt's job easier. The oddsmakers fired the first insult by making the seventh-ranked Bulldogs a three-point underdog against a team that was 4-1 and whose victories were against Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Southern Miss and Arkansas.

Blame it on the Seminoles
Leave it to Florida State to ruin what would have been a first this week.

Just 10 days ago, this was shaping up as Semifinal Saturday -- Miami vs. Florida State; Texas vs. Oklahoma.

But Louisville's upset of the Seminoles took care of that. Now, is there any way the Hurricanes can move their Dec. 7 game against Virginia Tech to this week so we have a true Semifinal Saturday?

Sorry, but Bowling Green hands down claims the "no respect" award. They've already defeated BCS Conf. Teams, they're undefeated, and they've been putting up Steve Spurrier like scores. They have the #1 offense in the nation.

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about there, Swagger. Bowling Green is 4-0, beating only one team that is even half-way noteworthy, Missouri. Even that is not front page news. Their other very impressive wins have come against TN Tech, Kansas, and the ever-powerful Ohio U.

I hope I just missed your sarcasm in that post, and that you weren't being serious. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> Besides, you don't deserve much respect when you play in the MAC, teams like Kent St, N Ill, Akron, Buffalo, UCF, etc, etc. They've got Marshall, woohoo!!! They are very comparable to C-USA in that regard!

<small>[ October 07, 2002, 08:40 AM: Message edited by: 10MAN ]</small>

Yeah, GTS, please be sure to mark your sarcasm for the benefit of us heathens over here in the Sahara of the Bozarts. . .cuz I'm quite sure you're not making a serious argument that the MAC even approaches the SEC.

When did we become a second-tier school, 10? Did I miss something?

I like all your posts on this thread, JBR. The thing that gets me, like you said earlier, is that it was like Florida just lost it...that Ole Miss did help in winning. BOO HOO for Rex...I don't feel sorry for him. Come on Grossman, if we hadn't been on the field, do you think you would have had 4 interceptions or would they have been four more incompletions? <img border="0" alt="[Puke]" title="" src="graemlins/puke.gif" />

<small>[ October 07, 2002, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: REBstill ]</small>

No sarcasm. I welcome you to say that Ole Miss is the most under-rated team on MAC Conf. Talk -- there's probably over a 100 fans of the various MAC schools that would disagree, and I would too.

The "ever-powerful" Ohio U. put up a fight against Florida, but lost late due to lack of depth. The score was like Florida 34 - Ohio 6 -- or something similar. And that was in the Swamp.

Bowling Green 72 - Ohio 14.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to see them go undefeated.

Also, Ole Miss is now ranked in one poll. Bowling Green has yet to see the same consideration.

I'll go tell the local yokels on MAC Conf. Talk to take a looksie at this thread.

<small>[ October 07, 2002, 08:59 PM: Message edited by: georgia_tech_swagger ]</small>

Bring 'em on, Swag, but I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree here with you. Not taking anything away from BGU, or the MAC period, but it's not the day in and day out brutality of the SEC, nor the level of play.

But, bring 'em on. My knowledge of the MAC doesn't extend far past Marshall, so maybe they could teach me something that I'm not aware of.

Bowling Green is by far the most underrated and ignored team. Read the columnists, Dienhart hasn't mentioned them, they're ignored by ESPN, and the most attention is by Peter King as he mocked Mizzou for losing to(well, getting crushed by) BG.

BG leads the nation in scoring w/ 50+ pts/game, and this team is playing w/ injuries to key starters. Josh Harris hasn't lost as a starter, see his name on any Heisman lists? I wouldn't trade him for 2 Eli's.

<small>[ October 07, 2002, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: DrTorch ]</small>

Of course, if you had more than one Eli there'd be a QB controversy. <img border="0" alt="[laugh]" title="" src="graemlins/laughing.gif" />
I really can't weigh in on this one. I know too little about BG.

Well that's a good thing because there is only one Eli, and I think we'll keep him!

Just one question, DrTorch: Where are y'all ranked in strength of schedule? I'm not knocking the MAC at all, but you must admit scoring 50+/game isn't exactly going to draw national recognition when you're doing it against teams of MAC caliber. Missouri was impressive, I'll give you that one, but who else?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by cant_think_of_a_witty_name:
Of course, if you had more than one Eli there'd be a QB controversy. <img border="0" alt="[laugh]" title="" src="graemlins/laughing.gif" />
I really can't weigh in on this one. I know too little about BG.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm not quite sure how I got involved in this either, Witty! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" />

These things happen, man. No shame in bowing out with dignity. Or you could give it the old college try.

(in this case) old college try = "I know more than you." <img border="0" alt="[laugh]" title="" src="graemlins/laughing.gif" />
Either way is acceptable. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by 10MAN:
Well that's a good thing because there is only one Eli, and I think we'll keep him!

Just one question, DrTorch: Where are y'all ranked in strength of schedule? I'm not knocking the MAC at all, but you must admit scoring 50+/game isn't exactly going to draw national recognition when you're doing it against teams of MAC caliber. Missouri was impressive, I'll give you that one, but who else?</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Strength of schedule will kill BG, no doubt. Kansas? Ugh, lost to Baylor? Tenn Tech (decent IAA, but still IAA) and Ohio.

Recently I'd argue that the MAC SoS is ok. Toledo, Marshall, Miami and WMU have been winning...but this year it's down. A bit schizophrenic, as teams have had close games against the Big 10, but losses. BG doesn't get any of the top 3 from the MAC East, unless they get to the MACC.

So a tougher schedule and they'd be averaging 40 pts/game. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

But if you talk about the roughness of the SEC, then give BG the $ and media exposure too, to balance things out a bit.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by DrTorch:
I like your style. Didn't Toledo go 10-1 a in 2000 and not even get a bowl invite? Hell, they were the first team to really take out Penn St. that year.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">(edit: fixed the quote)

<small>[ October 07, 2002, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: georgia_tech_swagger ]</small>

I butchered that quote <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by cant_think_of_a_witty_name:
I butchered that quote <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" /> </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You just had some nesting problems -- i fixed ya up.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by 10MAN:
[QUOTE]
"Is this Heaven?"
"No. It's Oxford, MS."
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You know I would like to say this: I did a post-doc at UGA, so I drove cross-country. Louisiana is so-so, 'Bama is ugly and Ga even uglier. But the part of Miss I drove across was beautiful. I was handily surprised, and I'm trying to be inoffensive, began to understand some of that love of Dixie. Yeah, Miss was hot and humid, but I hope to have a chance to go back and tour around sometime.