Model Ships Blog

Despite a subpar game from quarterback Tim Tebow and a determined effort from the host Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Florida Gators remained undefeated by scrapping out a 29-19 victory. Florida led by only 3 points at halftime before pulling away in the fourth quarter. The usually efficient and accurate Tebow had two touchdowns returned for interceptions and passed for only 127 yards with no touchdowns. Florida improved to 7-0 while Mississippi State dropped to 3-5.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the +22′ with Mississippi State as a home underdog enjoyed an easy pointspread cover. The Bulldogs improved their ATS record to 4-3 with the cover, while Florida evened their college football pointspread record to 3-3.

While Tebow wasn’t talking, head coach Urban Meyer accepted much of the blame for his team’s substandard performance:

“I did not coach well tonight. I put Tim in some tough situations. As an offense, we’re not well right now. Tim’s not trying to be a hero. But we might be asking him to do too much.”

The Gators’ are 76th in the nation in red zone efficiency, and Meyer took the blame for that fact as well:

“The problem is they’ve got a coach that wants to score so damn bad that he’s pressing them and some of those guys aren’t ready for that.”

Defensive end Pernell McPhee gave Tebow fits all night and talked about his team’s effort after the game:

“We knew they liked to get the ball to Tebow there. I felt like we frustrated them and made them do some new things they did not usually do tonight. They got in the I formation tonight and that is the first time I have ever seen them do that.”

Florida led by only 3 points heading into the final quarter but used a Chris Raney 8 yard rush and a Dustin Doe interception return for a touchdown to open up some breathing room. Jonathan Banks cut into the lead for Mississippi State late in the game with an interception return for touchdown of his own.

The Gators face a tough challenge next weekend as they enter into their matchup against University of Georgia-what used to be known as ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’ until officials of both schools thought that portrayed a negative (though largely accurate) image of the colleges. They’ll face Vanderbilt the next week before heading to Columbia, SC for a game against the University of South Carolina and their longtime coach Steve Spurrier. Mississippi State will play at Kentucky next weekend before a bye week. They’ll return to action on November–th at home against the University of Alabama.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Florida Gators would go on to win the NCAA Football Championship, but it was a 31-20 victory over #1 ranked Alabama in the SEC championship game that got them there. The Gators scored– 4th quarter points to secure victory in a contest that was an epic struggle for three quarters with five lead changes and two ties.

The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly counterpunched, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida responded in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips’ yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained the momentum in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them down for the count in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.

As was the case more often than not during Floridas run to the BCS title game, Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer wasnt hesitant about praising Tebow effusively in his post game comments:

“I’ve had some great players, and I’ve got some great players on this team. But I’ve never had one like this. Tim’s got something special inside him. I’m not talking about throwing. I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.

Alabama coach Nick Saban agreed:

“He’s a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he’s going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them.”

The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden the world has underestimated their toughness:

“Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We’re just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time.”

Even in defeat, it was impossible to overlook the remarkable resurgance of Alabama football. The team was only two years removed from a 6-7 record in their last year under Mike Shula. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a’-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Clemson Tigers used a touchdown pass on their first possession of overtime to upset the Miami Hurricanes 40-37 on Saturday night to cap a back and forth game. Miami kicked a field goal on their first possession of overtime to take the lead, but Clemson responded with a seldom used play on third and 11 to get the victory as quarterback Kyle Parker completed a 27 yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Ford. Clemson improved to 4-3 with the win while Miami slipped to 5-2.

College football betting devotees who backed Clemson as +4 road underdogs eventually cashed their tickets, but they definitely earned their money in a game that saw twelve lead changes and two ties. Clemson improved to 5-2 against the spread with the cover, while Miami dropped to 4-3 against the money.

After the game, Jacoby Ford explained his logic for suggesting the surprise play in the huddle:

\”We knew this game was going to come down to who made more plays. And we did.\”

Miami has a history of winning when their offense is clicking-this loss was only the second in 115 games when the Hurricanes score 37 or more points dating back to\’85.

For his part, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is glad this one is over:

\”I have a birthday next month and I think I\’m going to turn 50 instead of 40. We had to put on Superman capes. We made plenty of mistakes that could have lost us the game, but they played with poise and confidence. We just kept battling.\”

CJ Spiller was also a big factor for the Tigers as he set a school record with 310 all purpose yards including a 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also added 81 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving with a 56 yard touchdown catch.

Clemson QB Parker suggested that last week\’s win over Wake Forrest was a turning point for his team:

\”I think last week we realized that we could be really good and this week we acted on it. I thought we really got some explosive plays and we played well.\”

Miami\’s quarterback Jason Harris sounded a different tone in his postgame comments:

\”This has to be my toughest loss here. We fought so hard throughout the game as a team and didn\’t come out with the victory. We let Clemson outwork us, we turned the ball over too much — little things that made us get to this point.\”

Clemson will host FCS foe Coastal Carolina next Saturday before resuming ACC play the following week at home against Florida State. They\’ll travel to North Carolina State on November–. Miami plays two of their next three on the road, starting next weekend at Wake Forest.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in boxing, college football and NFL betting. He serves as a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook in Costa Rica and is a noted authority on Internet sportsbook betting of all forms. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and several pet geckos.