Florida coach Urban Meyer spent Saturday night reveling in his team's 23-20 victory over Arkansas, a game that included a clutch drive, a last-second field goal and a raucous locker-room celebration.
He spent Sunday evaluating the other side of the win: four turnovers, three dropped passes, six sacks and problems in the red zone.
"We kind of operate around here on urgency. That's not something we're ashamed of," Meyer said Sunday. "We can sit back and say, 'OK, we're the No. 1 scoring offense (in the SEC), the No. 1 rushing offense, the No. 1 scoring defense, total offense, pass defense, pass-efficiency offense, pass-efficiency defense, third downs.'
"You're leading all these categories, but you still don't feel like we're operating at the highest level of efficiency."
Not even close.
The Gators (6-0, 4-0) struggled against Arkansas (3-3, 1-3), which had the league's worst-rated defense.
Tim Tebow was sacked on the first two possessions. Riley Cooper dropped what looked like a sure touchdown pass on the next drive, then the turnovers cropped up.
Florida fumbled on three consecutive possessions, two of them inside the Arkansas' 10.
Nonetheless, the Gators regrouped and put together a 69-yard drive that set up Caleb Sturgis' 27-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining.
Brown Update: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier doesn't think receiver Moe Brown will be cleared to play Saturday against Vanderbilt after suffering a concussion against Alabama.
Two defenders hit the senior captain after an 8-yard catch in the first half.
Suspended defensive back Akeem Auguste and running back Jarvis Giles would be available.
QB Issue Unsettled: Kentucky's win against Auburn didn't solve the Wildcats' quarterback competition.
Freshman Morgan Newton, Will Fidler and receiver Randall Cobb, who operated the Wildcat formation, all scored touchdowns in Kentucky's 21-14 win Saturday but coach Rich Brooks said none of them performed well enough to be named the starter Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.
"It's the same as it was last week," Brooks said. "It'll be a work in progress."
Brooks said that while Newton showed poise and explosive speed in his first game, he lacked accuracy throwing.
Brooks praised Cobb, the former Alcoa High star, in the spread offense and his ability to orchestrate the game-winning drive, including a 61-yard run.
"Although he was beat up, he's still making special plays," Brooks said.
Brooks has said Cobb will not be a viable option filling the position full-time.
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Comments » 52
TommyJack writes:
Cobb can't be any good. FHCPF didn't want him.
tE8OwPHELch35 writes:
Why is this on here? we all know that the officials gave the game to florida. do none of you KNS guys have the balls to say something? I know its a AP article but seriously, you KNS guys need to grow a pair, we all know the refs threw the game, do you have the guts to say it out loud?
smashmouth98 writes:
how many blown/ non calls were in the UF game. It was unreal & couldn't be any more obvious. I want to hear the official grades for the refs from the SEC. UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
I wonder what Rocky Goode will say when asked about it on sports talk Mon evening!!!
GreeneVol_TN writes:
I wouldn't say the whiners were limited to GVX as I was following a live blog on ESPN during the game and that was all I heard was complaints about the officiating. I wish I could have seen the 2nd half but got to make a paycheck every now and then.
chad_t31 writes:
I hear it's because most of the AR media has the flu.
GreeneVol_TN writes:
I am glad to see Randall Cobb doing well at KY. He is definitely one explosive athelete. I think he's going to be a smaller version of a Percy Harvin. The problem is finding enough ways to get the ball into his hands. His passing skills are definitely going to keeping him from being a full-time QB but KY needs to get him the ball as many ways as possible.
chrisw2967 writes:
Fla got that game handed to them by the refs and of course your not going to get a troll say they seen it but if they were at the game or watched it then they know it happened.ESPN knows it happened and anybody except for a Gator knows it happened.
volfalcon writes:
If you don't like the truth then leave. Simple solution. Bye!
Baryon writes:
Even the know-nothing CBS commentators (who have huge man-love for Tebow) could tell there were problems with the officiating. The only people who thought the officiating was fair are Gator fans and people who didn't watch the game.
kabulvol writes:
Did you watch the game? Because I caught part of the 4th quarter and the pass interference and personal foul against ARK was horrible. If that was pass interfernence then the play in the end zone with Timmy heaving it up for grabs was CERTAINLY offensive pass interference.
That's three calls that I saw that went UF's way.
CrankE writes:
Must be the flu bug coming around for a second pass. Can't spell FLU without FL-U.
Maybe the refs had the flu as well.
marinevol writes:
Meyer knows that the only reason this game was close was because Arkansas wasn't playing to win. Evidently this actually makes sense to him. If a team doesn't play to win, it will be a close game. If the opponent does play to win, Florida wins in a blow-out.
ChurchHillVol67 writes:
Could you please send me the link that shows Tennessee taking a knee. I was at the game and have since watched it on replay and have yet too see this so called play.
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
The only person I saw taking a knee on 9/19 was Timbow ... with a big sigh of relief.
ChurchHillVol67 writes:
Amen too that.
rocky_topper writes:
it is truly a sad day for our conference when games are thrown just for the almighty dollar! sec refs knew exactly what they were doing to help florida get into the game and ultimately win!
PATHETIC!
orgbleglory writes:
Goes well with that moral victory u boys enjoyed!!
rocky_topper writes:
one doesn't routinely have 45 yards in back-to-back judgement calls within one series to benefit the home team until they can score within the final 2 minutes of a ballgame! it was blatant and plainly obvious what was going on. it makes our conference look nothing more than CHEATS on a national scale.
corrinebrown writes:
I agree this SEC officiating is out of control!In fact college officiating is awful!When you watch games on Saturday I am amazed the amount of favoritism that is shown to certain teams.Bring back my youthful days of watching "wresslin",wondering how can miss that call?
TommyJack writes:
The gator "win" should have an * beside it.
rocky_topper writes:
we called it a moral victory due to the fact that you failed to hang the 50-70-100 points on us that you had boasted about all summer long. your team really isn't as good as you thought before 9/19 now is it. ha!
JWilly writes:
What is it with the officials???? The only TD Fla scored in the LSU game should have been a 15 yd penalty on Fla. The SECCG last year included two, 4th quarter "judgement calls" that handed Fla the game. Now the mess with the Ark game.... What is it? Are the refs trying to assure an undefeated Fla team for the NC game? This really vacuums!
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
Yup, we survived the beatdown to beat all beatdowns ... and then had the pleasure of hearing all of lil' Urbie's whiny excuses.
When are you clowns going to start acting like the '08 national champs rather than a bunch of crybaby brats?
gnm53108 writes:
"Meyer takes look at Florida's faults"
Thats easy.They're gators.
kman29 writes:
Its pointless to even argue the point with them. As Vol fans they are going to continually think there is a conspiracy theory to anything related to their rivals winning a game. Like you said, were there some judgement calls that when viewing instant replay look like the wrong calls? Sure. And in regards to the 15 yarder for unsportsmen like conduct on the Arkansas player. I could be wrong, but I don't think it was throw for the hit. When you watch the replay, after he hits the Florida guy, he stands over him and pointed. Did the ref hear him say something toward him? who knows. But even though I do not agree for refs to be that quick to throw a flag for that, under the rules, that can be considered taunting. On the flip side, you can look at the play where Rainey fumbled because the Arkansas player whipped his leg toward him and kicked the ball out of his hands. That should have been a penalty, but wasn't called. That was a huge play at the time missed in Arkansas's favor.
All this complaining about officals of course come from the same fan base that will tell you the 2004 UF/UT game was legit at the end. lol!
WytheVol writes:
I was only able to watch part of the second quarter of the FL-Ark game, so I didn't really see much of the ref issues... What I did see was the SEC's worst defense layin the wood. Ark filled the gaps defensively and made some big hits. I was impressed w/Ark for their defensive efforts (again, what little I watched...). Props to FL for the win.. Props to Ark for making it a game to the finish!
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
lol! Stop your bluster and whining about how many calls were missed for/against both sides. Champions don't bother with such things. Thought you guys would have shut up after UF couldn't deliver the promised beatdown to UT! lol!
UF rode it's one trick pony to a squeaky win ... again. Better schedule more city colleges for the next few years. Or maybe you can play UK 2 or 3 times a year if the city colleges are unavailable. lol!
kman29 writes:
The only people whinning about officials are Vol fans. Nice try though in attempting to deflect this issue toward Gator fans. Im really starting to believe that a lot of you Vol fans are closet Gator fans. On every article and every subject on here, you all talk about Florida. (a big reason Gator fans are on here..where else can we talk about Florida so much?) After every Gator game, you all whine about why they won or something that happened in the game.
Week 1: UF played a D1AA team. If they played a D1A team they would have lost.
Week 2: Troy would have won that game if it wasn't raining.
Week 3: Tennessee would have won that game if they had an offense.
Week 4: Meyer should have pulled Tebow out of the game when it was 7-0 in the 1st qtr. He was trying to run up the score when he made it 14-0.
Week 5: Why is Florida off? They are lucky they have a bye week before LSU. The SEC must have set this up so that they can beat LSU.
Week 6: Florida wouldn't have won if LSU had a better QB and the refs didn't help Florida win. Its a conspiracy because they want Bama vs. Florida.
Week 7: See above for week 6.
Week 8: ???? Im seeing something along the lines of "Florida only won because Dan Mullen is at Miss. State and he let Florida win because he wants Florida win win another national title as part of the SEC conspiracy."
kman29 writes:
Sorry to inform you, but the only poll that has Florida as the #2 team, is the irrelevant AP poll. The rest of us in the college football world follow the actual rankings who help decide the champion and that is the BCS in which Florida is #1 in, with addition to #1 in the Coaches Poll, Harris Poll and computers.
You enjoy your AP poll though. lol!
TommyJack writes:
In case I failed to mention it, HAWGS GOT HOSED.
kman29 writes:
Slanted toward one side? lol! The only call that was probably a bad call was the personal foul, which came on a 2nd and 8 from I think around the 38 of Arkansas. As for facemask penalty, not really sure what you are refering to there. And the PI in the endzone, if you look at the Arkansas defender he is holding the WRs left hand while backing up. By rule that is interference. But lets just say that was a poor call.....2 calls make an entire game slanted toward one side in penalties? wow! ok! My message to Arkansas next time then is..
1. Mallet, hit your WRs when they are wide open in the endzone.
2. Don't miss 2 FGs, both under 40 yards.
3. Make sure you score when you have the ball to start a drive twice in a row inside the Gators 40 yard line.
4. Capitalize on having a +4 turnover margin.
5. Try covering Deonte Thompson 40 yards deep with somebody.
6. Stop Tebow on the final drive. Fans at home knew he was going to run the draw, announcers said before the first play of that drive, Tebow would run the draw. Stop as UT fans call him, an "average" QB from running.
WaltGoVols writes:
I saw a thing on ESPN Sunday morning of the non-existent pass interference call on AR. And the announcers called it as such - a phantom.
The refs gave this game to UF.
Walt
UT '81
jsm67vol writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
kman29 writes:
uh yeah tripping is a penalty whether its a ball carrier or not. How many times do you see a kicker try to tackle a kick returner and instead throws his leg out and gets a 15 yard tripping penalty. "Thats called a tackle." LOL! Yeah alright!
Im on here because of the daily Gator articles and Vol fans like yourself who can't stop talking about Florida. You say you don't watch UF on tv, yet you and me both know you were sitting there on your couch saturday watching and praying for Arkansas to win. But you play it off as if you didn't see any of the game and could careless about what Florida does. The fact that you clicked on this article and even replied to a post regarding the gators shows differently.
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
lol! Do you even read the post you are responding to? No? Didn't think so. You just see a post from a known Vol fan and you wind up your B.S. machine and spew some fantasies and made up stories! lol!
Did I say anything about your week 1,2,3, etc ... opponents? No! I guess your paranoia and guilt about puffing your stats with city colleges caused you to spout that junk. I DID say that UF should make sure that UF can still schedule them after Timbow leaves! lol!
As far as "On every article and every subject on here, you all talk about Florida." Check the title of the artcle. Some of us do try to stay on topic! lol! Perhaps it confuses you when we address the topic rather than be like you and just arbitarily dump out trash to cover your paranoia and disappointment in your team. Outside the two city colleges and UK, UF cetainly has not played like a championship football team. Or, maybe, the other SEC teams you played are a whole hell of a lot better than most people give them credit for. lol!
Whatever! Still say UF is riding Timbow like a one trick pony and without him you would be, and will be, just another average college football team. lol!
VolunteerLifer writes:
Your contention that any of those three fourth quarter calls that were all so devastating to Arkansas' chances were not blatantly wrong calls is a lie.
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
In your next to the last sentence, did you mean to say "could not care less" rather than "could careless?" Just wanted a clarification so we will know how to respond to your mindless post.
VolunteerLifer writes:
If a defender on the ground throws a leg at a ball carrier and only hits the ball, then he hasn't tripped the ball carrier or leg whipped him. All he has done is used his foot to punch the ball out. You say that's a penalty. How about a citation from the rule book, Homer.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Then send your tape with commentary narrative to SEC, NCAA, ESPN, and anyone else you think will consider your nonsense and see what they say.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Look, Homer, this has nothing to do with the UT program or its animosity toward florida. This has to do with the national image of the SEC. It is said that our conference plays the best brand of football, but it appears we have bush league officiating. Our conference is going to be a laughingstock if the SEC doesn't get a quick handle on this. You saw the national reaction to the horrible call for celebrating near the end of the lsu/ga game. You even saw the SEC homers Lundquist and Danielson lament the terrible calls in question in the arky/fl game. Then there was the offensive interference that allowed fl its only touchdown in a close game with lsu that wasn't called. This is a travesty and a growing scandal. You cannot have a league with a reputation for fair competition when it does nothing about this kind of horrid officiating.
VolunteerLifer writes:
That's becasue we're smarter and more honest than the media outlets you're surveying.
BTW, you're telling me that Arkansas fan sites are not going crazy over the officiating?
ShreveportVol writes:
Did you think slive would allow his precious gators to be tarnished w a loss? Be alert vols, we should expect the same thing against bama! Think about it.......how big would it be to see two undefeated teams ranked 1&2 play in the SEC championship game? Huge!!!! It's all about the mighty dollar and slive won't let an Arkansa or Tennessee team get in the way of that! Crazy conspiracy theory? Sure. But from what I saw saturday it sits closer to the truth for me! Here's to crashing the party!! Go Vols!!!!!!
jimr07 writes:
one reason is that it never happened. just Gators trying to excuse poor play on their part.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
As good as the Gator's are, the only thing I think they need to work on the the Urbane-Tebow nuzzlin!
calvolfromkingsport writes:
The zebras cheated the hogs out of their victory. Pigs should have won without the the sec zebras trying to match the gators and tide into a NC matchup(after the sec champ) to gain more $ for the confrence.Shame on the zebras. Any ol skank lizard can tell you that!
99gator writes:
i was in attendance for the game and was on the other side of the field from where the penalties were called.
i did however record the game.
so, i fast forwared to see the plays and the calls.
the pass interference call is debatable. if no flag had been thrown, it would have been fine. but, i can at least understand how that flag was thrown.
however, the personal foul penalty was horrible. i would not even begin to debate the fact that it was a bad call.
but, to claim the game was given to florida or decided on those two calls is ludicrous. both penalties were called on first down.
so, it's not like florida was going to have to punt or kick a field goal and the penalty kept the drive alive.
now, i understand that the penalties gave florida valuable yardage. but, we don't know what would have happened if there were no penalties.
one can not assume that florida would have scored. but, one can not assume that florida would not have scored.
i, however, have no sympathy for arkansas as it is. florida handed them the game and arkansas never should have been in a position for a bad call to effect the game.
arkansas did this by also commiting costly errors of their own. missing two fg's, an open receiver in the endzone, and blowing a coverage in the secondary giving florida an easy td.
so, hate on florida for the officiating all you want. but, florida handed arkansas the game and arkansas couldn't take it.
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
chuck, let me splain this to you. Being #1 in BOTH polls is the ultimate. But, if UF is NOT #1 in both polls, the only poll that counts is the one that UF is #1 in. This is Gata logic as defined by their highly esteemed graduate, Rep. Corrine Brown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9...
But, not to worry. Next year when their one trick pony Timbow graduates, they will be debating the importance of being listed in the Top 25.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Another Homer. Sigh. Please see my response to another gatorloper Homer (ThePhantom......) of 1:06 pm today. It destroys your ridiculous arguments that this is driven by hatred of florida. (I do hate florida, but that's not the only reason why I'm pounding on this matter)
Whether Arkansas should have overcome the horrid, one-sided officiating by kicking more field goals or completing more passes is completely irrelevant to the fact that three (you only mentioned two, but there was an offensive pass interference on a florida receiver that was blatant and not called, also at a critical moment in the fourth quarter) terrible calls all went against arky at critical times and most likely determined the winner. That, coupled with other blatant calls in recent SEC games, creates the impression that we can't be comfortable that SEC teams are going to get an even shake on the fields of competition. That could be a very damaging thing to this conference.
Let's examine the one that even gator fans are saying was a terrible call, the unsportsmanlike conduct call against Arky. Watch that one over again, and tell me that the official who made that call shouldn't have been fired on the spot. That official is either a) dishonest, or b) hopelessly incompetent. There is no c) alternative in the above. either way, he should be fired.
I say that heads should roll for this bush-league officiating. We cannot have these kinds of stains on the SEC product and remain a credible football league for long. The SEC office must step in and stop this.
kman29 writes:
Did you really just type that? I understand some of you may still be stuck in the 60's and 70s, but yes in TODAY'S game the only rankings that matter is the BCS. Does the AP poll decide who plays in the NC game? No. The BCS poll does. Florida could be unranked in the AP poll for all I care, if they are #1 or #2 in the BCS rankings, they are playing for a national title. So yes, the BCS rankings are the only ones that matter.
calvolfromkingsport writes:
I agree with you lizard, when it comes to the gators...hate is good!
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