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Meyer Stays Mum About BCS Rankings

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2008

GAINESVILLE - Florida Gators football coach Urban Meyer spoke on Monday, among other things, about his 7-1 team's road trip this week to Vanderbilt, Saturday's big win against Georgia, quarterback Tim Tebow's gimpy ankle - "he's fine" - and defensive back Joe Haden's selection as SEC defensive player of the week.

He didn't say squat about the BCS.

If you thought the Gators turned "no comment" into an art form last week when questioned about Georgia, you haven't seen anything yet. And you certainly aren't going to hear it.

After the 49-10 trashing of Georgia, the Gators inched to No. 5 in the BCS ranking used to eventually determine the national championship matchup. In front of them are No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Penn State, all undefeated; and once-beaten No. 4 Texas.

And by the way, did Meyer mention that the Gators are tackling well?

As has become his habit, Meyer only sees as far as the next Saturday when looking ahead.

"It is the best Vanderbilt team we've gone against," he said. "They are very well coached. They started off 5-0. We have our hands full. They are a bowl team."

Not quite. After the hot start, the Commodores are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference. With one more win - Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest remain after Florida - the Commodores would be eligible for their first postseason appearance since 1982.

Meyer is right, however, about the quality of the Vanderbilt program under Coach Bobby Johnson.

The Commodores have wins this year over South Carolina, Ole Miss and Auburn. Their three consecutive losses have come to Mississippi State, Georgia and Duke.

FIELD POSITION: For a coach who builds his game plan around winning the field-position battle, Meyer could not have been happier about the Georgia game. The Gators forced four turnovers, recovered a surprise Georgia onside kick and downed a punt at the Dawgs' 1.

During competitive time, Florida's average starting spot on offense was the 50-yard line, while Georgia's was the 21.

TURN ABOUT, FAIR PLAY: After beating LSU last month in The Swamp, Meyer raved about the electricity and emotion generated by a nationally televised night game.

Now the Gators will be on the opposite side.

Saturday kickoff will be at 8 p.m. at Vandy on ESPN2.

"I saw the Vanderbilt-Auburn game when Vanderbilt beat them in every phase of the game," Meyer said of the Commodores' earlier televised night game this year. "They are fighting for a bowl game and fighting for a lot of stuff. They are playing the Florida Gators. We'll work crowd noise and we'll work on stuff we do for a typical SEC road game at night."

GATOR BITES: Florida is an early 231/2-point favorite. Interestingly, the most points scored by an opponent on the Commodores this year are 24 by Georgia. ... Haden earned the SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor with 10 total tackles (seven solo) and a pass interception that he returned 88 yards to the Georgia 1. ... Florida's plus-14 turnover margin leads the nation. ... The Gators have six turnovers, the lowest total in the country. ... Two of Florida's three games against Vanderbilt under Meyer have been decided by seven points or less.

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