So the Gators kick a meaningless field goal up 23-3 with 25 seconds left in the game… was it really meaningless?
Henry doesn’t think so. Neither does LD (good to see him back, by the way).
What say you?
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UPDATE: More thoughts on this over at Catfish and Cornbread.
Get The Picture 
Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t have Tebow run for the TD, this makes two weeks in a row without one.
Does that count as a new streak?
It was either:
a) To pad Mr. ESPN’s stats
b) To rub it in Miami’s face
c) To cover the spread
d) All of the above
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So, Saint Urban kicks a 23 yd FG with virtually no time left. Yet, he complains that a team shows bad sportsmanship by running on to the field to celebrate during the 1st quarter. Could it be that there is a little bit of hypocracy. NO, NO it could not be. They had a good reason to kick a meaningless field goal instead of taking a knee. You see, they thought that is what Miami circa 1980’s would do. Since Miami would have done it, we can do it. Well, personally, I don’t think you can have it both ways. Georgia’a act of “poor sportsmanship” occured in the 1st quarter and Meyer had plenty of time to respond by coaching his team to a win over UGA. Against Miami, his act occured when he could run off without Miami having any chance to respond.
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If Henry’s right, it’s an understandable — if still tacky and classless — move. But Urban acting like a baby is to be expected, and if anything, it’s also what Spurrier would’ve done back in the day. (I’m focusing on the “Miami used to do this to us!” argument rather than the style points argument, since it seems like he doesn’t really buy that himself.)
But… if LD is correct… I think that represents the worst of sports, especially college sports. ESPN’s TMQ (I think) complained about this sort of thing awhile back, saying that an advantage of pro sports is that the coach is accountable only to the owner, not donors (who may be into gambling or who knows what else). It’s not as bad as point-shaving, but it does tend to de-legitimize the sport for some people, especially under these circumstances. Of course, I’m sure a lot of coaches don’t know the spread, so this could happen accidentally and they’d never know.
I hope a reporter asks (or asked) Urban about this. I’d love to see him explain, “No, it wasn’t about gambling, I was just being a jerk.”
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We did the same thing against UF back in the sixties and one of the reasons why Spurrier hates us so much.
http://photontorpedotube.blogspot.com/2007/08/georgia-way-crush-your-enemies.html
But I think as a whole, things have changed in college football since then. Most coaches just don’t do that kind of thing anymore, and if they are, they at least do it with their second string.
I don’t really buy Henry’s excuse. I don’t think Miami could’ve just ran the ball out and even if it was in the fourth, how much time was left is important there. Three tds in half a quarter is not unheard of, Three tds in two minutes is.
The fact is, most coaches these days who can kill the clock and the game do. Urban could have he chose not to.
IYAM, it was a foolish, foolish decision. He had Tebow running plays with no one in the backfield. He had Tebow running through the line for meaningless points. I wonder how those big boosters who bet on the game would’ve felt had Tebow gotten hurt. I bet they wouldn’t have been too happy with Urban’s decision.
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Stay Classy Florida.
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I think part of the reason he did it was to try and win as big as possible to impress voters (though I don’t think there is much to be gained there, it’s not surprising to see a coach everything he can). But the point-spread popped into my mind when it happened as well.
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Didn’t we just get bumped to the #2 spot last week because we didn’t beat Georgia Southern enough? So can you blame the gators?
Pains me to say it, but I can’t.
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Since it was Florida I’m a bit more negative on this issue than I would be if it were a Big 10 school or something. Watching it unfold I thought it was a scumbag move. However after further review I still think it was a scumbag move. Hopefully this will come back to bite him down the road. Karma can be nasty when she wants to be.
With all that said, it couldn’t have happened to a better program. No offense to Randy Shannon, who I think is a class act, and the strides he’s made to bring Da U back to respectability but Miami is not synonymous with class.
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Man I bet on the game but got a 23 point spread, so I was happy to get my money back. One point in my life when I loved Urban being a douche. However, I only wish I had found a 22.5 spread that I hear people speaking of, then I would be a huge Myer fan. Gotta go with Colin’s picks even if it is the gators. Oh well, I hope Colin’s picks don’t involve our rivals winning any time in the future.
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