The Coach we could have had

[SirJohn]

:D
:lol: :lol:

Urban Renewal whining about difficuties in the SEC. Notice anything different between Weis and him? "You schedule em we play em." Per Weis.


'Unbeaten' is rare in SEC, Meyer says



By JOHN PATTON

Sun sports writer
October 30. 2005 6:01AM

ACKSONVILLE- Urban Meyer knows what it's like to finish a season perfect, having finished 12-0 last year at Utah. He's not sure if it's realistic to think you can do so at his current location, saying it's near impossible with the talent and depth of the Southeastern Conference.

After Florida knocked Georgia from the ranks of the unbeatens Saturday, Meyer praised the 13-0 Auburn team of 2004, saying, "To think Auburn didn't play for No. 1. ... I can't imagine that."

He then added about the SEC's only remaining club without a loss: "With all due respect to Alabama - they put it to us (in a 31-3 win Oct. 1) - but I think it's too hard to go undefeated in this conference."

Gone, but still quoted
ator senior outside linebacker Todd McCullough said Florida-Georgia is the game he enjoys most each year.

He said he isn't alone and that is a mentality instilled when he was redshirting, just months removed from graduating from Jacksonville Bolles.

"I just remember coach (Steve) Spurrier saying, 'You've got to beat Georgia,' " McCullough said. "That has been passed down."



Gameday guys


hen Meyer was deciding whether to take the Florida or Notre Dame job around 10 months ago, he asked ESPN Gameday's Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit their advice on which position to take.

In an offseason question and answer session with a UF fraternity, Meyer passed along that Corso and Herbstreit said the decision was an easy one - Florida, based on the facilities, recruiting base and potential to contend for national championships.

"They said there was no doubt, and I'm so glad I made that decision," Meyer said.

Corso and Herbstreit attended their first Meyer-era Gator game Saturday.




Good for a laugh


eyer was in a jovial mood following the game and even offered a few zingers at his postgame news conference.

When asked about DeShawn Wynn's second-quarter fumble on the Georgia 6, Meyer chuckled and replied, "Why would you bring that up right now? Give me two minutes."

Later, when talking about Eric Wilbur's successful fake punt run in the third quarter, Meyer said, "I thought Eric Wilbur... That was the slowest 20 yards..."




Replay to the rescue


Vernell Brown appeared to have fumbled the ball away to Georgia in a second-quarter punt return only to have the call reversed by the replay system implemented this season by college football. The fumble would have given the Bulldogs the ball deep in Florida territory and could have been a turning point in the game.

"That's a play that we would have missed last year," said Bobby Gaston, the SEC's coordinator of officials. "(Replay) continues to work the way we had hoped it would."

Gaston said Division I-A conferences plan to meet after the season to discuss ways to speed up the replay system in 2006.




Safety sacker


Reggie Nelson entered the game as UF's season leader in sacks with four, despite having no career starts.

The Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College transfer earned his first start Saturday against Georgia. He made himself known in the second quarter, crushing Mohammed Massaquoi on a play in the end zone and later, intercepting a pass.

Nelson finished with three solo tackles, four assists and the interception, though he did go sackless.




Extra points


lorida finished the game with three injured starters. Receiver Dallas Baker sprained his right ankle in the first half, but returned in the second. Linebacker Earl Everett and safety Jarvis Herring suffered thigh bruises. Meyer praised Brian Crum, who replaced Everett and had 1.5 tackles, half of which were for loss. ... When he was asked after the game if he would become an Auburn fan in two weeks when Georgia plays the Tigers, Gator running back DeShawn Wynn said "a real big Auburn fan." If the Tigers beat the Bulldogs and UF beats Vanderbilt next week and South Carolina on Nov. 12, the Gators will win the SEC East. ... Redshirt freshman offensive guard Jim Tartt, who has started three games this year, didn't dress against Georgia. He has a shoulder injury. ... Ray McDonald played both defensive end and defensive tackle for UF on Saturday. He has been recovering from a knee injury and finished with a solo tackle and two assists. ... This was the third time in school history UF has beaten two top-4 teams in the same season. The other years were 1991 and 1996. ... Meyer called the environment in Jacksonville one of the best he had ever seen.

UF-UGA NOTEBOOK
Injury spoils Palmer's return

[SirJohn]

Gotta just toss this in :lol: :lol: What's Urbans contract and for how long?

FLorida you got what you wanted and I am on my knees so grateful. :lol:

[SirJohn]

From Miami Hearld.
*********************************8888

Posted on Mon, Oct. 31, 2005




ets his own era at Notre Dame - starting now

JIM LITKE

AP Sports Columnist


The man is guaranteed an era.

Rockne, Leahy and Parseghian weren't, and Ty Willingham wasn't even given the chance.

Loyalty is in such short supply in college football these days that plenty coaches think seeing through a 5-year contract with a courtesy car thrown in is like stealing money. But over the weekend, the higher-ups at Notre Dame didn't just hand Charlie Weis a contract running through 2015; they opened the bank vault and warmed up the getaway car.

Reports peg Weis' salary over the life of the deal in the $30-40 million range. If correct, that makes him the highest-paid member of the college fraternity, even though Weis is barely through rush week. And if that sounds like rapid advancement, consider 10 months ago he was barely a blip on Notre Dame's radar screen.

But then the dominoes fell his way in quick succession. First, Steve Spurrier spurned Florida and opted to resurrect his reputation at South Carolina instead. And then Urban Meyer, who seemed destined at birth to one day become the coach at Notre Dame - and even had an "out" clause in his contract at Utah for just such a contingency - turned down an offer from the Golden Domers and latched onto the Florida gig instead.

The only person who wasn't surprised at the time, apparently, was Meyer's father, Bud. He told a newspaper a few days before his son officially became Gator bait, "Unless he's still drawn to the aura of Notre Dame, the better job is Florida. ... If you go where you can't win, you won't be coaching long."

Spurrier and Meyer both proved again Saturday they can still win, even though it's not quite as often as they'd like. The old ball coach scraped together just enough offense to beat up an old patsy in Tennessee. The new ball coach, meanwhile, throttled back his ambitious spread option and got his season pointed in the right direction with an upset of Georgia.

But Weis had a better weekend than either, even though the Fighting Irish enjoyed a bye.

"It is important when you are doing things like this," he said, after signing the new deal, "to set your priorities. What is the most important thing? For those that know me, they know the more important thing to me is my family and being true to your word.

"I have been both good to my family and true to my word at the same time," Weis added, "without this being about money."

Noble as that sounds, it's not entirely correct. Weis was making a handsome living as an NFL assistant - arguably the best offensive coordinator in the game - working for Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Still, it wasn't this kind of money, and maybe not even this kind of security.

But the speed with which Notre Dame doubled Weis' five-year deal should make a few heads spin. For one thing, rumors that he was being wooed by the NFL were hardly more than that at this point. For another, the people in charge beneath the Golden Dome are still paying plenty for terminating Willingham after three seasons of a lucrative 6-year deal.

"In a very short period of time, Charlie has clearly and impressively demonstrated the ability to take the Notre Dame program where we all want it to go," athletic director Kevin White said. "Whether you talk about on-field results, off-the-field understanding of the Notre Dame athletics and academic culture, recruiting, public relations or any other area, Charlie already has indicated that he possesses the abilities to position our program to compete at the elite level of college football."

It took almost 30 years for Weis to transition from Notre Dame student to distant admirer to head coach, but only a few months to prove he grasps the unique demands of the job. He can dazzle - whether serving as master of ceremonies at the pep rallies, parrying questions at news conferences, or out on the recruiting trail, Even his retro look - brush cut and generous waistline - fits.

Still, Notre Dame is expecting more than appearances for that kind of cash. The decision to lock up Weis for the long haul most likely was sealed during the heartstopping loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Southern Cal two weeks ago. But moral victories don't count much with Weis and they'll get old with his bosses soon enough.

And if you don't think they're expecting a return on their money, consider something else: Right now, the Fighting Irish are 5-2 and squarely in contention for a BCS bowl. Under the current contract, qualifying as an at-large team means Notre Dame picks up a cool $14 million and shares it with no one. Next year, in the first year of a new BCS pact, that figure drops to $4.5 million.

"When I came here," Weis said Sunday, "the thought of people thinking that I was here for a short time fix, those type of things do affect me. It is very important for me to be loyal to this university."

The Irish, too, expect him to stay for a long time, and win. But make no mistake - the sooner, the better.

---

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org.