Franz Beard:
Thoughts of the Day: Meet Mr. Spikes
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday
Fast forward to November 1, 2008. Georgia came to Jacksonville 7-1, with only a 41-30 loss to Alabama on its 8th-ranked resume. The Bulldogs were a very confident lot after the way they beat the Gators in 2007. Florida, on the other hand, spent an entire year reminded of Georgia’s entire bench storming the field after a first quarter touchdown, complicated by Georgia coach Mark Richt flat out lying that he was shocked that the Bulldogs would do that. He repeated the lie at SEC Media Days in July 2008. His nose grew at least eight inches.
In Florida’s locker and training rooms, a loop of Knowshon Moreno scoring that first touchdown and Georgia storming the field afterward played over and over, a thousand times over, right up to the time the Gators boarded the buses for Jacksonville on October 31. Moreno ran for 188 yards in the 2007 game. From the moment Georgia stormed the field, Urban Meyer was seething. He wasn’t the only one. Brandon Spikes spent a year planning to decleat Knowshon Moreno.
On the 2008 game’s second play, Georgia ran that same play that was so successful the year before. Moreno off right guard was so successful in 2007. This time it was meet Mr. Spikes. Spikes hit Moreno high around the shoulder pads with such force that Moreno landed on his back with Spikes in his face letting him know what was going to happen the rest of the day. It took Ahmad Black and at least five other teammates to pull Spikes off Moreno.
From that moment, the tone for the entire game was set. Spikes played like a man possessed as the Florida defense carried out a seek and destroy mission. The Gators picked off three Matt Stafford passes (by Joe Haden, Dustin Doe and Ahmad Black) plus Terron Sanders picked up a Moreno fumble and ran it back 20 yards to set up a TD. On the other side of the ball, Tebow exacted his measure of revenge with touchdown passes to Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy plus three rushing TDs. On the O-line, the Pouncey twins spent the day mashing anyone in their way.
The final payback came in the game’s final minute. With 44 seconds left and the Gators leading by 39 points, Meyer called time out after a 14-yard run by Emmanuel Moody. The clock would have stopped anyway, but this was Meyer’s response to Richt. CBS showed Mark Richt staring at the scoreboard which read Florida 49, Georgia 10. The next play Moody went for 17. Thirty seconds to go and Meyer called another time out. Again, CBS zeroed in on Richt who stared at the scoreboard.
So here we are 15 years later. Florida doesn’t have a storming the field incident for motivation and this Florida team isn’t loaded up with All-Americans like Spikes, Tebow, Harvin, Haden, Black, Mike Pouncey and Marquise Pouncey. That 2008 Florida team had the kind of talent that we see now at Georgia. That 2008 Florida team went into every game knowing it was going to win. This year’s team goes into the Georgia game in so many ways still trying to find itself.
On paper it’s a mismatch. Georgia is favored by 14.5 points and if it’s even close, the college football world will be shocked. Does that mean the Gators have no chance at all? Well, South Carolina played the Bulldogs within 10 points in Athens. Auburn, which has one of the worst offenses in all of college football, scored three TDs on Georgia and played the Bulldogs within a touchdown.
Florida is better than South Carolina and better than Auburn. And, Florida has something South Carolina and Auburn don’t have. Mr. Spikes. Brandon Spikes, who is making a difference as a volunteer coach while he completes his University of Florida degree, is with those UF linebackers every day. He’s in the face of Florida’s defenders. He is a walking, talking legend sharing what he knows with the kids on this Florida team. He’s also sharing his passion and you can know this if you know nothing else: Brandon Spikes absolutely, positively despises the Georgia Bulldogs.
Thoughts of the Day: Meet Mr. Spikes
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday
Fast forward to November 1, 2008. Georgia came to Jacksonville 7-1, with only a 41-30 loss to Alabama on its 8th-ranked resume. The Bulldogs were a very confident lot after the way they beat the Gators in 2007. Florida, on the other hand, spent an entire year reminded of Georgia’s entire bench storming the field after a first quarter touchdown, complicated by Georgia coach Mark Richt flat out lying that he was shocked that the Bulldogs would do that. He repeated the lie at SEC Media Days in July 2008. His nose grew at least eight inches.
In Florida’s locker and training rooms, a loop of Knowshon Moreno scoring that first touchdown and Georgia storming the field afterward played over and over, a thousand times over, right up to the time the Gators boarded the buses for Jacksonville on October 31. Moreno ran for 188 yards in the 2007 game. From the moment Georgia stormed the field, Urban Meyer was seething. He wasn’t the only one. Brandon Spikes spent a year planning to decleat Knowshon Moreno.
On the 2008 game’s second play, Georgia ran that same play that was so successful the year before. Moreno off right guard was so successful in 2007. This time it was meet Mr. Spikes. Spikes hit Moreno high around the shoulder pads with such force that Moreno landed on his back with Spikes in his face letting him know what was going to happen the rest of the day. It took Ahmad Black and at least five other teammates to pull Spikes off Moreno.
From that moment, the tone for the entire game was set. Spikes played like a man possessed as the Florida defense carried out a seek and destroy mission. The Gators picked off three Matt Stafford passes (by Joe Haden, Dustin Doe and Ahmad Black) plus Terron Sanders picked up a Moreno fumble and ran it back 20 yards to set up a TD. On the other side of the ball, Tebow exacted his measure of revenge with touchdown passes to Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy plus three rushing TDs. On the O-line, the Pouncey twins spent the day mashing anyone in their way.
The final payback came in the game’s final minute. With 44 seconds left and the Gators leading by 39 points, Meyer called time out after a 14-yard run by Emmanuel Moody. The clock would have stopped anyway, but this was Meyer’s response to Richt. CBS showed Mark Richt staring at the scoreboard which read Florida 49, Georgia 10. The next play Moody went for 17. Thirty seconds to go and Meyer called another time out. Again, CBS zeroed in on Richt who stared at the scoreboard.
So here we are 15 years later. Florida doesn’t have a storming the field incident for motivation and this Florida team isn’t loaded up with All-Americans like Spikes, Tebow, Harvin, Haden, Black, Mike Pouncey and Marquise Pouncey. That 2008 Florida team had the kind of talent that we see now at Georgia. That 2008 Florida team went into every game knowing it was going to win. This year’s team goes into the Georgia game in so many ways still trying to find itself.
On paper it’s a mismatch. Georgia is favored by 14.5 points and if it’s even close, the college football world will be shocked. Does that mean the Gators have no chance at all? Well, South Carolina played the Bulldogs within 10 points in Athens. Auburn, which has one of the worst offenses in all of college football, scored three TDs on Georgia and played the Bulldogs within a touchdown.
Florida is better than South Carolina and better than Auburn. And, Florida has something South Carolina and Auburn don’t have. Mr. Spikes. Brandon Spikes, who is making a difference as a volunteer coach while he completes his University of Florida degree, is with those UF linebackers every day. He’s in the face of Florida’s defenders. He is a walking, talking legend sharing what he knows with the kids on this Florida team. He’s also sharing his passion and you can know this if you know nothing else: Brandon Spikes absolutely, positively despises the Georgia Bulldogs.
