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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida's scrappy 23-13 win over Tennessee on Saturday could have been attributed to a bug.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said a couple of players battled flu-like symptoms the past few days.
"There's some tough guys on this team now," Meyer said.
Tight end Aaron Hernandez was in isolation Friday and had four catches for 26 yards Saturday.
Meyer said running back Jeff Demps battled a 102-degree fever Saturday and had to be taken out of pregame warmups because of the heat. Demps ran the ball four times for 31 yards and a touchdown.
"Demps is a warrior," offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey said. "Just to see Demps go out there and do that (says) he'll give anything for Florida football."
Defensive end Jermaine Cunningham was in isolation for two days last week because of a stomach flu, Meyer said.
Pouncey said having a couple players sick threw the team off a bit Saturday.
"It affected it a lot," Pouncey said. "Some of the key players were out today. I hope it doesn't keep going on. I hope this sickness passes real quick and everybody gets healthy."
Hurting Gators: Florida All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes missed most of the second half because of tendinitis in his Achilles' tendon.
The team's defensive captain limped off the field early in the game, got his left ankle taped and tried to return. But Spikes ended up getting pulled and replaced by Dustin Doe.
Meyer said Spikes' injury is "not a major deal."
Meanwhile, receiver Deonte Thompson, slowed by an injured hamstring, did not dress.
Tebow In Cool Company: Tim Tebow joined former Gator quarterback Danny Wuerffel and Alabama's Jay Barker as the only quarterbacks to go undefeated against Tennessee in a four-game span.
"If you told me I could come to the University of Florida and go 4-0 against Tennessee, that would be a dream come true and it is," Tebow said. "It's great to go undefeated against Tennessee."
With his 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Tebow's now tied with LSU running back Kevin Faulk for second all-time in the Southeastern Conference for career rushing touchdowns with 46.
He's three touchdowns away from tying Georgia running back Herschel Walker (49) for the SEC lead.
"It's pretty surreal," he said. "Herschel Walker and the guys who are up there, that's pretty cool. That company is special, so just to be mentioned with those guys is really cool."
Basketball Stars: Former Florida basketball stars Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard, Marreese Speights, Dan Cross and Brian Thompson were at the game. Noah and Speights were hovering around the autograph session for the UF's men's basketball team outside of the O'Dome. Florida commitment Patric Young was also there.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 87
Big_Orange_Country writes:
BS
Big_Orange_Country writes:
GO BIG ORANGE !!!
VOL03_NC writes:
BOO HOOO!!
Yeah right, what other excuse can you come up with. If if was not for Tebow himself, UT would have won this game.
GO VOLS!! see you next year...
commonsense32 writes:
I think Eric Berry is one of the best defensive football players the SEC has ever seen. That being said I think we have a freshman who especially "grew up" tonight. Janzen Jackson looked scared to hit somebody last week, but he absolutely BLEWUP Brandon James on a play that James already had reeled in but when he got a lick laid on him he laid the ball on the ground! Great to see that freshmen are ready to step in and lead us to the promise land soon enough!
jphilli5#240013 writes:
What a gracious winner Meyer is. I never really disliked him that much before, but what a crybaby. He wins and discredits our effort with excuses. I hope someone can humiliate them sometime while Tebow is there. That is my sincere heartfelt wish. Good Luck Meyer, you don't desrve your lofty position, and I hope you don't end up like your Karma reads to me. Enjoy it while you can. You are soon washed up.
Sincerely, as life seems to be. I wish you well for your sad self.
jphilli5#240013 writes:
I love the vols and I especially am proud of the team effort. You guys are awesome.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
I'm really disappointed in Meyers, but it shows how desperate he is to try and shore up the damage UT undoubtedly caused to UF's recruiting ability. Trying to rationalize the score just proves that he's scared of Kiffin and knows how close he came to losing a national championship today.
Mobbdeep4life writes:
Blah! Blah! Blah! Florida was suppose to beat Tennessee by 50 points but didn't. Now they say players were sick. Gimme a break. Excuses.....Excuses are tools of the incompetent used to build monuments of nothing and those who use them seldom amount to anything else. Keep using excuses and the SEC's poster child will amount to nothing. Tennessee came to play and didn't roll over so now Urban Whiner wants to say the swine flu had something to do with it. Priceless!!!
pabashia#208095 writes:
Let the excuses begin!
FWBVol writes:
Hey Cryer, news flash here, you make excuses when you lose, not when you are unable to run up the score as you are accustomed to doing against the likes of Troy and Charleston Southern.
You didn't hear Lane say he was playing without Josh McNeil when we lost to UCLA last week or that Mark Jones wasn't 100 percent.
Get over it Cry Baby, you lost.
VOL03_NC writes:
As concerned as Meyer sounds about about his poor beat up guys, I think he knows he was beat, regardless of the scoreboard! It appears the Charlie Wise job maybe looking good after all. ND expectations are slightly less than THE ORANGE NATION
New Sherif in town, we call it the Lane Train...GET ON WHILE YOU CAN :)
GO VOLS!!
Vol_USArmy_Soldier writes:
Wow. You have to make excuses when you WIN?
Any Florida d****bags care to defend this?
What respect that I had for Meyer as a coach is gone. This is pathetic.
Go Vols!
DannyVol writes:
That shows the level of class in that program to even bring it up. We were much tougher than they were and kept the score respectable only by being so. I would gladly trade a few sniffles for a serviceable passing game. We stayed in the game with a one-dimensional offense. Tebow had two turnovers and had a gash over his right eye. We are coming to get Florida...and you know it. It's all about cycles and your's is on the way down.
knoxvol865 writes:
102 degree temp? Yeah right! Anyone who has has a temp at 102 knows what that feels like. BS
DrJCrown_theMagicMan writes:
What did I tell you FLORIDA WAS NOT GOING TO BEAT US BY 62-3...WHERE IS THE MORON WHO POSTED THaT ALL YEAR?
FLORIDA BARELY BEAT US.
YOU JUST wait all you BAMA and FLORIDA fans we are coming if your smart you know this.
GOVOLS!
LOVE THE COMMENT by Kiff at the end of the game when the reporter asked him I thought you were going to be singing rocky top and he said "I can't hear you what was that" (rocky top was playing)
PRICELESS!
give_him_6 writes:
Ha Ha Ha...LoL!!! You mean they were slowed by the VOLS!!! Grow up Urban Cryer. You won. Just not pretty or by the margin you thought. The Vols are coming for you boy. Next is in K-Town. And you have no Teabow and no excuses. Heck, you may just leave the gators and move to your next "project" team. LoL!!
2407westTN_VOLSfan writes:
The BIG ORANGE VOL virus came to town and slowed the Gators to a crawl. All of them had there TBOW panties wedgied up their tails.
Freshmen Jackson, meet Brandon James. James would shake hands, but you knocked him into next week! LOL
kabulvol writes:
Urban the wiener - you stay classy.
mm29680#645909 writes:
If Myer had an ounce of class, he wouldn't have started with these BS excuses for his team and T-Boy. What a jerk.
Displaced_Vol_Fan writes:
where are all those Gator fans that like to come on here so much?
pullingguard98 writes:
Florida was slowed by the flu alright. The Monte Kiffin Flu. Brandon James talked to Jabar Gaffney after the game, and Gaffney swears that he thinks that the James/Janzen Jackson play was a Gator touchdown.
OldNumber7 writes:
Meyer was full of excuses on the CBS postgame. He immediately starting explaining all SEC "battles" are tough fought (when asked about the sub-par performance); as if he needed to make a case to recruits for their embarassing performance. Now this flu garbage (he needed extra time to think that one up). I think he knows he just lost a major recruiting war because UT, paper thin deep with freshmen and no QB just went in there and made it close. Florida was clearly outcoached and out-hit. It was obvious which team will be in the therapy bath this week from getting hit all day...and it isn't the Vols. I'd say Tebow is worth 10 points...but he's gone. Looking forward to the future.
yeavols#228407 writes:
Poor Meyer..has to make excuses for his beat down that never happened. What's wrong meyer, have to make an excuse because you can't humliate the VOLS? I don't understand, you have an awesome team with depth, why let the "flu like symptons" bother you? If your players are sick, whey arn't they at home and in bed? Save it Meyer, no one is listening.
Al_the_Dawg writes:
I sincerely hope my Bulldogs can oblige you.
Kudos to the Vols on this game. As a Bulldog fan living in Knoxville, I have had a front row seat for the ups and downs of the program over the past few years. I think the Vols have their feet under them again.
At least I can go to work today and the place won't feel like walking into a funeral home. The Tennessee fans have nothing to be ashamed of.
See you October 10th. Looking forward to a good game.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
...and most of our play was slowed by Cromptonitis but we're not crying
WhitePineVol77 writes:
I liked what I saw Saturday, with a few exceptions. Tebow single handedly beat us with his running and offensive line. I believe the VOLS can go bowling this year. If we don't, we can blame the Gators for giving all the players a flu bug
CrankE writes:
Amen! I thought the same thing, I mean, the Gaffney rule is that if a Gator touches the ball in the end zone, it's a TD....right? Bwhahahahahahahahahaaaahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
What a freight train hit that was!!
vance2002#327500 writes:
Tebow is all that have..where Tebow goes, Florida goes !
CrankE writes:
So essentially what Meyer is saying is this:
Excuses 45
Gators 23
Tennessee 13
You know, if you forego that all those inter-team kisses (like Tebow and his LB a few years ago on the sidelines) , you can stop a lot of the spread of the flu. Just sayin...
I forget who said this, but it's a great war-time quote and it applies; "Those poor ba$tard$, they've got us surrounded!"
Where are the Gatrolls? Not often that you hear excuses after victory. Gators win the game, but with UF's performance I've got two questions; Is any rival intimidated by Florida? Is any recruit impressed with Florida?
lamigravol writes:
I thought uf was three deep at every position? The Janzen hit will be the one that changes the tone of this rivalry. Much like the hit on Kent down in the swamp. Anyone see the replays on CBS or ESPN. They totally skipped EB and his hit, as well as tbow and his fumble and int. Only showed positive plays for tbow. CBS even wrote that tbow knocked Rogan's helmet off. Rogan's helmet came off when HE hit tebow, not the other way around. Verne Lundquist get off your knees!
CadmiumOchre (Inactive) writes:
It was disappointing to see Meyer drag out the flu excuse, whether true or not. But you want to talk excuses? Here are some:
1. The Vols from season start are shorthanded due to losing several offensive linesmen who were quitters, discipline problems or both.
2. We lost experienced players such asBJ coleman and Lennon Creer further weakening the team in key positions. For all intents and purposes due to the condition the team was left in for Kiffin's tenure, we were no longer SEC caliber. Not the players fault, mind you, coaches are responsible for making their team a team or failing to.
3. The new coaches came in belatedly and had to win over the team, recruit, make do with patch working the offense and defense lines, getting players in shape to play, deal with some players who were for wont of better words, morale-challenged and need(ed) serious nurturing (they are still kids remember), and deal with the fan and booster bases. All this on short notice.
4. This was and is a team with one hand tied behind its back and barely a leg to stand on. Indeed, 1 -2 injuries away from practically being too shorthanded to even think of being competitive, not to mention staring down the number 1 team in the nation.
5. Meyer's team is said to be 2-3 deep in positions and talent so good they'd be first string anywhere else. Certainly not shorthanded like the Vols.
With all this, Meyers drags out the flu excuse? Until now, I didn't dislike Meyer. Actually, I had no feelings about him one way or another. He was just a coach at a non-Vols university. I was SEC proud of his team. Beyond that he was irrelevant to me. But this excuse is insulting in the light of the above, demeaning, unsportsman-like, and downright dishonorable. I'd expect better of him as a professional. Maybe he will realize what he did and apologize (even if only in private) to both his own team and ours for this fake excuse. It insults the fine performance showed by both teams during the game. Oh yeah, what'd he say after the game? "Coaches say a lot of thing." Uh-huh.
smokey_vols writes:
I agree. If this Flu was the case they would have talked about it on TV. They always do.
ibvolman writes:
Excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oscar Meyer isn't even man enough to admit the facts. The Vols came to play, and they dished out all the Gators could handle. UF won on the scoreboard, but were handled often in the trenches. Be a man Urbie!!!! Stop the excuses and admit the truth. A team came into your house and gave you more than you wanted. That is a team that is barely 1 deep in several key positions, a starting center out with knee problems, and an average at best QB. It was a team with a very thin D-line, and a thin LB corps. Did you hear Kiffin offer any of that up as an excuse for not coming out with the W? Nope, didn't think so.
panties4tebow writes:
EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES.....This seems to be the fl panties players, coaches and fans EXCUSES!!!!!! JUST MORE of CRYIN meyer's TEARS (CRY ME A RIVER)!!!!!
BBBBBBBWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
GET OVER IT PANTIE GUYS.........YOU DID NOT GET THE HUGE REVENGE YOU PREDICTED YOU WHERE GOING TO GET.....BUT YOU DID GET MORE FEAR AS YOU DID SEE WHAT KIFFIN IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!!.............FEAR KIFFIN & COMPANY!!!!!
GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
heyitsme writes:
Urban is only appeasing his fan base. Had it been 63-0, as many fans anticipated, not a sentenced would have been spoken that contained the word 'flu'...
Atuss writes:
What a desperate group this is. You can only hope the biggest difference between the UF and UT program is Tebow. You LOSE a game by only 10 and think you are on the way back.
allntl1#565211 writes:
WOW what a great staff and future UT has. I was worried after the UCLA game but man we are sure looking good down the road. Freshman are playing like superstars and a top 5 recruiting class coming in next year. FL was outcoached, if Tebow was not around FL loses. Tebow will be gone next year, maybe Notre Dame job will open up.
Madkels writes:
Good question Smokey. Usually during the pre-game analysis by the commentators, you would here about an illness. We heard none b4 todays game. So either Meyer kept it under wraps to hide it from us or he is using it now for damage control. I have a feeling that any recruit leaning toward UF b4 that game is not as committed this morning.
RJ_Vol writes:
UF certainly played like it had the flu...Let's hope it doesn't last all season. I think one of the UF players had a bad case of the flu when they were levelled in the end zone - and dropped the TD pass. Monte Kiffin = reptile flu
Atuss writes:
If you watch the video of Meyer's comments about the flu he was asked if any players on his team have been suffering from flu like symptoms. He simply answered the question. At no point did he say the reason they had a tough day was because of the flu.
oldsmokey67 writes:
Florida is in desperate need of some playmakers as we are in need of a Quarterback.With a real QB we win that game. Kiffin has no choice but to call a conservative game to keep Crompton from making mistakes.We have playmakers but no one to get them the ball.That is the difference in the game and i don't care what any troll says.And if any troll does'nt think it's true they are living in denial.Right now if florida and bama played bama wins by 14-17 points easy.Florida is more predictable this year than last and it about cost them yesterday and it will cost them a couple games this year.Rome was not built in a day and i am behind Kiffin 100%.Some team we play is going to have a long day with this defense and we will pull an upset.GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eventsule writes:
Thank goodness those who watched the after game respect showed by both Florida and Tennessee players and coaches are somewhere out there, because they sure are not here. No Excuse! No... It's what coaches do when they have fans who wonder why playere did not play in a game. Why players only played in the first half. Why players did not get the ball as much as expected. Why..... coaches tell the media of players not quite physically up too par, after the game, Lane Kiffen probably would have liked to know before the game if a player on the other team was running a temp of 102! Excuse!!! I would think it was Pride in his players commitment to the Team! I, for one am always proud to find out a player overcame the pain in order to help his or her team win. I also respect those who know their injury is keeping them from being able to play to the point they take themselves out and let another player have the chance to play. Sometimes.... that player who gave the other player a chance, never gets the chance to play another down. Seems like there has been a few players at Tennessee like that. Seems like Payton Manning got a chance like that. Florida 23 - Tennessee 13, There are no points given for the almost won games. Not for Florida when they lost to Ole Miss or Georgia and not for Tennessee who has lost to UCLA and Florida! Next week is Next Week! Next Year......
kd45music writes:
Things bode well for the Vols in upcoming years. I'm still not convinced Kiffin is the man for the job. I would have preferred someone else say in Cincinatti or Chapel Hill, but I'll wait to see if he becomes a true Tennessee man. Maybe if we had a competent quarterback instead of an "incromptonent" one, things may have been even better. I don't doubt his willingness; he just isn't an SEC quality quarterback.
Docrok writes:
Classy post and rest assured I will be pulling for Dawgs upset of gators!! Great game vs Arkansas also
Atuss writes:
This fan base is just dying to be relevant again. These posts are about as giddy as bunch of teenage girls saying "I think that guy looked at me." I'm a UF fan and I believe your program is on the way back, but this is big boy football as you all know and a loss is a loss. I've not seen a fellow SEC member with the resources UT has carry on like they have accomplished something by losing by ten.
pammyvol1000 writes:
Next year in Knoxville guys!! It's coming!! It will be the game of the year. I wonder if Stephens will be QB or if they will let Bray have the reins for 4 years.
pammyvol1000 writes:
Also, did anyone else notice there was not much news coverage about Flordia NOT beating us by 50?
DevilVols writes:
Keep lying to yourself. We are rebuilding and it takes a few years to get back to national prominence. We are well on our way to being relevan again if you haven't noticed. LOL florida wasn't revelant in college football untill the 90's. Tennessee has been breaking jaws for over a hundred years. We lost by ten but we were supposed to lose by 50. The days of Tennessee embarrassing themselves to FL and AL are over. The days of Fulmer are over. Now we fight from whistle to whistle on every play. There will be no more 59-20 games as long as the Kiffins run things.
Atuss writes:
Nobody's lying to themselves devilred. Who cares how long UT has been breaking jaws.That has no relevance today. FWIW UF has the best winning % in the SEC for the last 35 years. But that means nothing. I said I believe UT is on the way back. Glad your just happy to not be embarrassed.
rootin4volz writes:
Excuses, excuses, Urbane.
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