ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Florida Gators' Urban Meyer doesn't rule vs. SEC West
BY JOSEPH GOODMAN
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
They are forecasting rain and a sea of humanity in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday for No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Louisiana State.
The LSU Police Department is expecting about 300,000 football fans, tailgaters and generally inebriated but good-hearted Cajun folk to converge upon LSU's campus before Saturday night's game at Tiger Stadium. Weathermen are expecting thunderstorms to converge on the area around the same time. That's a big bowl of gumbo.
The good thing about gumbo: There's something in it for everyone -- kind of like this weekend's robust offering of college football story lines throughout the state.
We will start at the top.
The biggest game of the weekend -- Florida (4-0) vs. LSU (5-0) -- also features one of the most intriguing subplots. Will UF quarterback Tim Tebow play after sustaining a scary concussion two weeks ago? Will Tebow's backup, the capable but untested John Brantley, receive the first start of his career? Will it even matter?
Last week, LSU needed some help from Southeastern Conference officials to squeak past Georgia (3-2). After scoring a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Bulldogs receiver A.J. Green was wrongly flagged with an unsportsmanlike penalty for celebrating with his teammates in the end zone. The SEC later admitted its officials made a major mistake in judgment.
The penalty led to good field position for LSU on the ensuing drive, which led to an unlikely touchdown, which led to a ridiculous amount of pregame hype for the undefeated Tigers' game against Florida. (Enter your SEC conspiracy theory here.)
The SEC's story: Apparently Green stumbled while jogging to the Georgia sideline and one official interpreted that as a gesture to the crowd and threw a flag. Lame, right? The final verdict: Don't expect too many flags this Saturday in Baton Rouge. (Except, of course, when LSU defenders accidentally breathe too heavily on Tebow.)
For all of UF coach Urban Meyer's perceived domination of college football, the fact remains that he hasn't been very good against opponents from the SEC Western Division. Meyer is a pedestrian 6-6 against the SEC West, and he is 0-2 against LSU at Tiger Stadium. Tebow hasn't won in Death Valley either. Consider those statistics if Tebow jogs onto the field Saturday as the Gators' starting quarterback.
IS FISHER THE ANSWER?
Here's another set of statistics to consider this weekend. Florida State is 18-13 since FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher took over for Jeff Bowden 31 games ago. What was FSU's record during Jeff Bowden's final 31 games as the Noles' play-caller? You guessed it, 18-13.
The question people in Tallahassee should be asking themselves this week isn't whether or not Bowden should stick around for one more season. More importantly, is Fisher, FSU's coach-in-waiting, really the right man to take over the program once Bobby Bowden finally steps down? Fisher has never been a head coach, and his only claim to fame is working for Nick Saban at LSU.
Fisher began his coaching career at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. That is pretty much all he has in common with Bowden, a legend of the game.
RATTLERS IN TOWN
It is not all bad news in Tallahassee. Florida A&M (4-0) is ranked No. 22 nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision and travels to Miami on Saturday for a game against the No. 11-ranked Hurricanes (3-1).
The Rattlers are led by quarterback Curtis Pulley, a transfer from Kentucky whose rugged running style is drawing comparisons to Tebow. Pulley is averaging 6.2 yards per carry (291 yards on 47 attempts) and his quarterback rating (162.7) is higher than that of UM's Jacory Harris (151.9).
Unlike Tebow, Pulley is definitely playing this Saturday.
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