- Welcome back to Championship Mode. We have missed you. Remember your lucky underwear, Gators shirt, hat and beverage of choice. Also, Michelob Light and lemon-lime Gatorade are the official beverages of Championship Mode.
- The Palm Beach Post and St. Petersburg Times both write about what the Florida-Tennessee matchup means to John Brantley. It's only been two games, but Gator fans are impatient and want to see the talent Brantley has. Brantley's problem will be that people will compare his performance today with Tim Tebow's first game in Knoxville. However, that start was in 2008. The 2010 Gators are not a national title contender.
- An interesting comparison between a paper with a close relationship with the Gators and one without; The Gainesville Sun says there is a sense of urgency for the Gators to win. The Miami Herald says there is a sense of urgency for Urban Meyer to clean up the football program. The Herald column makes an important note in that arrests of football players also reflect back on the University of Florida, not just the team. The academic status of the University is a whole other post, but if Meyer is as smart as we think he is, he will understand what these arrests (even if they are not charged) do to our chances to be a top-tier public university. Companies and rich people don't give research funds to schools with crooks on the football team.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel remembers the old days when the threats coming from Gainesville were to send the Vols to the Citrus Bowl, not threats to girlfriends. Meanwhile, Meyer has the kids pissing on Tennessee urinal cakes and drilling "Rocky Top" into their heads. In addition to the two titles, this is one of the reasons why young alumni cannot get too upset at Urban; he hates Tennessee and FSU as much as we do.
- The Vols are worried about short-yardage situations against the Gators rushing attack and fully healthy offensive line. Of course, the difference between this edition of the Gators is that traditional backs are asked to get two and three yards, not the quarterback.
- And finally, the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi notes that Urban Meyer vs. Derek Dooley is a coaching mismatch. This makes you feel better until you remember that Meyer once lost to Houston Nutt. Although, I will say that Dooley's reactions in the second half of the Oregon-Tennessee game were those of a high school coach playing it up for his team's first local cable access game.
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