Meyer puts gag on Gators
Associated Press
Monday, October 27, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Florida has all the motivation it needs against rival Georgia, and coach Urban Meyer doesn't want to give the Bulldogs any help.

No trash talk. No bulletin-board material. Not even a glimpse of how upset the Gators still are with what went down in Jacksonville last year.

Remember the "Gator Stomp?"

Florida sure does. But Meyer's players aren't allowed to talk about it. Meyer issued a gag order concerning last year's contentious celebration, the one in which the Bulldogs responded to coach Mark Richt's pre-game challenge by running on the field after the team's first touchdown.

It sparked Georgia's 42-30 victory -- the program's third win in the past 18 games in the series -- and plenty of hard feelings in Gainesville.

"I think it's old news and I'm sure that old guy warned our players that it has no bearing on this year's game," Meyer said Sunday. "It's two teams battling for the SEC East."

Yes, the matchup between No. 5 Florida (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) and eighth-ranked Georgia (7-1, 4-1) likely will decide the winner of the SEC's Eastern Division. It also could have national championship implications.

But the Gators might have a little extra motivation.

"Georgia is a game that everybody knowingly wants on our team," linebacker Brandon Hicks said in September. "Everybody wants that game back. It feels like we have something to prove to the world. They came out and everybody thinks they intimidated us. We didn't play good after the stunt they did.

"That's pretty much the team that everybody wants on their list."

The whole thing started when Knowshon Moreno leapt into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. All of his teammates, about 70 of them, quickly surrounded him and started jumping up and down in unison and celebrating wildly.

The reaction drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and forced Georgia to kick off from its 8-yard line. It also drew Florida's ire.

Linebacker Brandon Spikes called it a "big disrespect" after the game. He declined comment Saturday night, saying "I don't want to get in trouble."

Although Meyer has publicly refrained from criticizing Richt, he said in his authorized biography that, "We'll handle it. And it's going to be a big deal."

Quarterback Tim Tebow, who also kept quiet after the Gators thumped Kentucky 63-5 on Saturday night, said early last week that an opponent stomping on the field "means something to you."

The Gators, though, don't plan to orchestrate a similar act in the rematch.

"That's not been our style," receiver Percy Harvin said. "When teams do that, they expect not to score. We plan on putting points on the board, so we don't need that. We don't celebrate here. We go hug a big man and thank the people that got us in the end zone."

From the Monday, October 27, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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