Tag: Steve Spurrier

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 fun facts about the Florida-South Carolina series

Take a look at the beef between these two schools ahead of Saturday’s Senior Day matchup in the Swamp.

Florida and South Carolina have had an interesting rivalry since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992.

Much of it revolves around [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag], which has always been an odd experience.

I remember giving him a hard time about coaching against the Gators every year and he said, “South Carolina was the only one offering me a job.”

Of course, Florida had an opening at the time, but chose to go with Urban Meyer. Things worked out for both teams. Meyer won two national titles and Spurrier had three straight 11-win seasons and became the all-time wins leader in Columbia.

Let’s dig in with Dooley’s Dozen and 12 things you need to know about… South Carolina (6-3, 3-3 SEC).

Washington has been owned by the Colts, losing four straight

Can you guess who the last Washington head coach was to beat the Indianapolis Colts?

Hey Washington fans, I have a question for you.

Who was the last Washington head coach to get a victory over the Colts?

We know it is not Ron Rivera, as this is the first time Coach Ron has faced the Colts. “Jay Gruden,” you guess? Nope, Jay did lose to the Colts. In fact, Coach Jay lost to the horseshoe twice.

“Then it has to be Mike Shanahan,” you confidently assert. Wrong again. Shanahan lost in his only game against the Colts as Washington’s head coach.

“No way! Was it really Jim Zorn?” Nope, you are going to have to go back further because Washington did not play the Colts in Zorn’s two seasons (2008-09).

“Why of course, why didn’t I think of this earlier? It’s our beloved Joe Gibbs!” The buzzer sounds loudly. Wrong again, my friend. Coach Joe Jackson Gibbs 2.0 came up short in his only trip to Indianapolis coaching the Burgundy and Gold in his second tenure (2004-2008).

Indeed, Washington has lost its last four games to the Indianapolis Colts.

Would you believe the last Washington coach to defeat the Indianapolis Colts was “The ‘Ole Ball Coach” himself Steve Spurrier? No, I’m not pulling your leg. Spurrier’s team defeated the Colts led by Hall of Famer QB Peyton Manning way back in 2002 in Landover.

Sunday at 4:25 p.m the Commanders will again face the Colts in Indianapolis. Frankly, the Colts have owned Washington, winning the last four games played. It’s time Washington breaks their four-game losing streak to the Colts.

It looks as if Cole Holcomb is out for Sunday, meaning David Mayo and Jon Bostic will be playing instead. Also, it looks like Trai Turner might be playing instead of Saahdiq Charles at right guard.

Both of these possibilities have me shaking my head, wondering, “Can Washington band together despite glaring needs at linebacker and guard?

The starters are now going to be Taylor Heinicke and Sam Ehlinger. Heinicke started his first regular season game just last season. Ehlinger was a rookie last season, and makes his first NFL start Sunday against the Commanders.

So it could be a low-scoring contest Sunday.

I’m hoping Heinicke can make enough plays to get the win and break this losing streak to the Colts.

*Hey, you will want to watch all of the highlights for the 2002 game, including the halftime show honoring the 70 Greatest Redskins.”

 

09/16/2018  Indianapolis 21 @ Washington 9          Game Highlights

11/30/2014  Washington 27 @ Indianapolis 49        Game Highlights

10/17/2010  Indianapolis 27 @ Washington 24        Game Highlights

10/22/2006  Washington 22 @ Indianapolis 36        Game Highlights

10/27/2002  Indianapolis 21 @ Washington 26        Game Highlights

 

Steve Spurrier discusses admiration for Vols’ offense under Josh Heupel

Steve Spurrier discusses his admiration for Tennessee’s offense under Josh Heupel.

No. 3 Tennessee (7-0, 3-0 SEC) will host No. 17 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Kickoff between the Vols and Wildcats is slated for 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

The Vols have recorded four top 25 wins during the 2022 season under second-year head coach Josh Heupel.

Ahead of Saturday’s divisional matchup at Neyland Stadium, former Florida and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier discussed the Vols under Heupel.

“I think they’re the best offense in the country right now,” Spurrier said of Tennessee on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” “Josh Heupel’s coach of the year, (Hendon) Hooker’s the leading Heisman candidate. I was watching that game, Alabama game, with some friends, guy looked at me and said, ‘Coach, you’re pulling for Tennessee?’ I said, well, of course I’m pulling for Tennessee. I’m from Tennessee, you didn’t know that? He said I thought we always pull against them. I said, well, if the division race depended on it, of course we would hope that would happen. Alabama, I think a lot of people in the SEC, the south, have said, hey, they’ve won enough, let’s get some other people with a chance to win some championships.

“I’ve admired what they’ve done up there. They throw it around maybe better than anybody in the country right now, so if that continues, I think they got a chance for that real big season.”

Tennessee’s offensive statistics under Heupel and where the Vols rank nationally ahead of Week 9 are listed below.

Expert Predictions: Can Florida snap LSU’s series winning streak?

LSU has owned this series in recent years. Can the Gators snap their losing streak against the Tigers?

Billy Napier finally got his first win in Southeastern Conference competition last weekend with a homecoming victory over the Missouri Tigers after coming up short on his first two tries. This weekend, Florida football looks to even its SEC record against the visiting LSU Tigers. But it will not be easy.

The Gators hold the all-time edge in the series with a 33-32-3 mark, though LSU has won the last three meetings as well as nine of the last 12 matchups since 2010. Had it not been for [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag]’s 11-1 run while manning the sidelines in Gainesville, this rivalry would look quite different.

Both programs are dealing with the turnover of their coaching staffs in 2022 as LSU lured former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to the bayou while Florida added a bayou boy of their own in Napier. Both teams are sitting on a 4-2 record overall coming into the game, though the Tigers have been a little bit better in conference play.

The Gators Wire crew converged to give their predictions for Florida’s upcoming matchup with LSU. Take a look below at what we think will go down this Saturday in the Swamp.

Here’s how CBS Sports sees things going down in Knoxville

Week 4 of college football action is nearly upon us and the Florida Gators are propping for their first road game of the season at Neyland Stadium against the Tennessee Volunteers. A historic SEC rivalry that has become an afterthought over the past …

Week 4 of college football action is nearly upon us and the Florida Gators are propping for their first road game of the season at Neyland Stadium against the Tennessee Volunteers. A historic SEC rivalry that has become an afterthought over the past couple of decades, this year’s matchup brings a bit of intrigue that has not been seen in a short while.

Both teams come into the game ranked in the top 25, though the Vols have looked much better than the Gators, both on paper with their 3-0 record (against UF’s 2-1) as well as the results on the field. The Orange and Blue have won 16 of the past 17 meetings between the two schools, but the winds seem to be changing directions in the second year of the Josh Heupel era.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli gave his take on what he expects from the two SEC East rivals on Saturday and projects a 35-24 win for the home team. Take a look at his reasoning below.

Remember when Florida beat Utah at home to start the season and [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] was suddenly a Heisman candidate? People were saying Richardson was a blend of Cam Newton and Vince Young, which would be an incredible combination — if true — but we haven’t heard many of those comparisons in the last two weeks. Let it be a lesson to all of us not to take anything we see in the first week of a new season too seriously. Strange stuff happens. Richardson is a talented player, but he’s young, inexperienced and has a lot of learning left to do.

As for this game, while Florida has been the dominant side in this rivalry for a while now (it’s won five straight and 25 of the 32 meetings going back to the dawn of the [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] era in Gainesville), it won’t be Saturday. While I was hesitant to christen Tennessee the second-best team in the SEC East during the offseason due to its defense, it’s looked like the second-best team. While I’m not ready to say the team’s defensive issues are fixed, they’re certainly improved. With an offense this potent, that might be enough.

The Florida defense has been solid, however, and should slow the Vols down a bit — enough to help keep this one under the total, anyway.

All of Fornelli’s points are completely fair and his 11-point margin of victory is not too far off of the Gators Wire expert composite prediction, which predicts a 14-point loss this weekend. The Vols still have a ways to go in a division that includes the juggernaut Georgia Bulldogs as well as an upstart Kentucky Wildcats club that pose a threat to both schools, but a win would certainly give the boys on Rocky Top a boost.

The nation will find out how things unfurl starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on CBS Sports as well as the Gators Radio Network.

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Is Florida-Tennessee the hottest college football ticket in Week 4?

It doesn’t get much better than a good old-fashioned SEC showdown, like the one between Tennessee and Florida.

Once upon a time, the college football world marked the annual meeting between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers as must-see TV. Back in the 1990s in particular, the matchup represented a battle of SEC behemoths that perennially had national championship repercussions.

A long time has passed since those halcyon days and the Orange and Blue have dominated the series since the turn of the century — save for a 2-3 record from 2000-04 plus a loss in 2016. Quite frankly, Florida also had the upper hand prior, putting up a 7-3 record during the [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] decade in which the off-the-field action was equally as exciting as on.

While the rivalry is in the doldrums, thanks to a weaker lineup of games in Week 4 the UF-UT game stands out from the others in terms of ticket desirability, according to Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney. He rated the matchup with an 😍 emoji listed at the top of his list, offering the following for his take.

Is Tennessee football finally back? After a strong first year under Josh Heupel, the Vols are off to a 3–0 start and look the part on both sides of the ball. Beat Florida on Saturday, and the UT hype train will go out of control. Hendon Hooker and the rest of this Tennessee offense are incredibly fun to watch, producing tons of explosive plays. Meanwhile, the Gators have looked shaky since a huge Week 1 win over Utah, struggling to get past South Florida last week as quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has dealt with accuracy issues.

This is the hottest ticket of Week 4, with the average price, per SI Tickets, at a college-football-high $554.

The bigger question at hand is, “Is the Tennessee-Florida rivalry back?”

After 16 wins in the last 17 seasons for the Gators over the Vols, the lopsided rivalry is getting a bit more attention than in years prior. A mostly moribund rivalry between a pair of original SEC members has a chance to be rekindled this season if the two teams leave everything on the field.

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Vols-Gators series: Ranking David Cutcliffe, Josh Heupel, Steve Spurrier’s offensive performances

Tennessee-Florida series: Ranking David Cutcliffe, Josh Heupel and Steve Spurrier’s offensive performances by the numbers

No. 12 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC) will host No. 22 Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Week 4.

Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT. CBS will televise the Southeastern Conference East matchup.

The Vols and Gators have played annually since 1990, Steve Spurrier’s first season as Florida’s head coach. Spurrier’s final season as Florida’s head coach came in 2001.

The 2022 contest against Florida will be Josh Heupel’s second as Tennessee’s head coach.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Vols Wire looks at offensive performances from Tennessee play-callers Heupel and David Cutcliffe, alongside Spurier’s in the series.

Cutcliffe served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator from 1993-98 and 2006-07.

Cutcliffe, Heupel and Spurrier’s offenses by the numbers in the Tennessee-Florida series are listed below from best performances to worst based on total yards.

SEC releases 2023 schedules, Florida to have six home games

The SEC announced its 2023 football schedule, with the Florida Gators playing six home games.

The SEC released its 2023 football schedule for all 14 member institutions, with the Florida Gators playing in multiple marquee games.

The Gators’ schedule starts off with a trip to Salt Lake City to face Utah in the return leg of their two-game series. Florida beat Utah 29-26 to open the 2022 season in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first game as the Gators’ head coach.

The 2023 non-conference schedule also includes games against McNeese (September 9, Home), Charlotte (September 23, Home), and the annual in-state rivalry against Florida State (November 25, Home). The Sunshine State Showdown makes its return to Saturday after the game will take a detour and be played on Friday night in 2022.

Florida’s SEC schedule consists of six games against SEC East division opponents and two games against teams from the SEC West. LSU is the Gators’ permanent crossover game, with that game being played in Baton Rouge on November 11.

The Gators’ rotating crossover opponent in 2023 will be the Arkansas Razorbacks. The November 4 matchup will be the fourth time since 2010 that the two teams have played. It will be the first time the Razorbacks come to Gainesville since Florida’s 63-35 victory in Sam Pittman’s first season as the Razorbacks’ head coach.

With Texas and Oklahoma expected to join the SEC by 2026 at the latest, the 2023 season has the potential to be the last season before the SEC changes its scheduling format. Conversations took place in the offseason to discuss changes to the schedule, with reports stating that a nine-game conference schedule and the elimination of divisions are possible. No official word has been released from the SEC office or the member institutions.

The 2022 Florida Gators will take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Neyland Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS. College Gameday, ESPN’s college football pregame show, will be broadcast from Knoxville on Saturday morning.

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CBS Sports has Florida playing in this bowl game after Week 3 win vs USF

The Florida Gators are projected to play a historic team in CBS Sports’ latest bowl projections.

CBS Sports has updated their bowl projections for the 2022 college football postseason, with the Florida Gators projected to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Gator Bowl.

The Gator Bowl is currently scheduled to be played on December 30 in Jacksonville, Florida, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. EST.

The Gators are coming off a close 31-28 win against in-state opponent USF which saw the Orange and Blue improve to 2-1 on the season. There were some concerns after Saturday’s victory, which saw the Gators lead 24-10 in the second quarter, go down 28-24, and avoid overtime after a botched snap on a USF field goal attempt with 23 seconds left in the game.

Notre Dame is coming off their first win of the season, sneaking by California 24-17 in a game where the Irish were down 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter. They moved to 1-2 and have a tough schedule that includes games against BYU (Las Vegas), Clemson (Home), and USC (Away).

Florida and Notre Dame share more than a few characteristics this season. Both teams are led by head coaches in their first season with their respective teams, both teams played a high-profile game to start the season (Florida’s victory over Utah, Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State), and both teams are underperforming relative to the standards of their passionate fanbases.

Notre Dame takes on North Carolina in Chapel Hill at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ABC. Florida takes on Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, where College GameDay is scheduled for Saturday morning, and game time is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports.

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Josh Heupel, Steve Spurrier’s offenses by the numbers in Tennessee-Florida series

Josh Heupel and Steve Spurrier’s offenses by the numbers in the Tennessee-Florida football series.

No. 12 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC) will host No. 22 Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Week 4.

Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT. CBS will televise the Southeastern Conference East matchup.

For the first time since 2016, ESPN “College GameDay” will broadcast from the University of Tennessee’s campus ahead of the Vols and Gators matchup.

The 2022 contest against Florida will be Josh Heupel’s second as Tennessee’s head coach.

How every Vols’ football head coach fared in second game against Florida

‘Josh Heupel’s Offense’ e-book now available

The Vols and Gators have played annually since 1990, Steve Spurrier’s first season as Florida’s head coach. Spurrier’s final season as Florida’s head coach came in 2001.

Ahead of Heupel’s second game against Florida, Vols Wire looks at Spurrier’s offenses by the numbers in each game from 1990-2001 against Tennessee.

The Vols totaled 423 yards in Heupel’s first game against Florida last season. Spurrier recorded three games of more than 423 yards during 12 contests with Florida against Tennessee.

Heupel and Spurrier’s offenses by the numbers in the Tennessee-Florida series are listed below.