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The Kickoff: Kiffin has juiced up rivalry with Florida

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Peter Schrager

Peter Schrager is a frequent contributor to NFL and college football coverage on FOXSports.com. Feel free to e-mail him at peterschrager@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Sep 18, 2009 12:57 AM ET
     
 
1. Kid Smirk and a 30-point spread College football head coach introductory news conferences are usually pretty standard fare. Like one of those pep rallies they used to have on "Saved by the Bell," they bring out the cheerleaders, the leading school officials, and the AD introduces the new man with one of those firm handshake/man hugs. Sometimes, they're serious in tone. But more often than not, they feature the pomp and circumstance you'd expect from such an "event." Seen one, seen 'em all. And after Bobby Petrino's midnight "Pig Suey" presser in 2007, I thought I'd certainly seen everything imaginable. And then came Lane Kiffin's "Welcome to Knoxville" news conference last December. With Tennessee colors draped along his every side (and his blog-star wife in a stunning black dress and pearls in the stands), the 33-year-old, first-year college head coach looked sternly into the audience, stared directly into the cameras and said he looked forward to "singing Rocky Top all night long" after beating Florida next season in the Swamp. And he didn't start hysterically laughing afterward. Quite the contrary, actually. No, for the first time maybe ever, Kid Smirk wasn't smiling at all. He was dead serious. Yes, he was talking about the same Florida that went on to win the 2008 BCS title a month later. The same Florida that had beaten Tennessee four straight times. The same Florida that squashed the Volunteers in '07 and '08 by a combined 63 points. But Kiffin wasn't done there. In February, he publicly accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of committing an NCAA violation by phoning wide receiver recruit Nu'keese Richardson while Richardson was on his official recruiting visit to UT last January. It turned out the act was not a violation at all. Though Kiffin later apologized to Meyer and the University of Florida after he was reprimanded by SEC commissioner Mike Silve, a fire was officially lit. Meyer went on to tell the Orlando Sentinel in March the incident was "not humorous," and he could "think of a few other words that I'm not going to say, but certainly not humorous." In August, Gators offensive lineman Matt Patchan called Kiffin a "bozo." Ah, do you smell that?! It's good, old-fashioned SEC hatred! And you know what? It smells wonderful.
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The Florida-Tennessee rivalry — something that in recent years has looked more like a bully whooping on a defenseless sap in the school yard than anything involving two football teams — is suddenly alive again. The offseason's back-biting and serve-and-volley game of potshots brought back memories of the good ol' Steve Spurrier "You can't spell Citrus Bowl without 'UT'" days. Sure enough, the Florida message boards were alive with Kiffin vitriol all summer, while Vols fans emerged from their bunkers of shame to throw back some heat at their SEC East brethren. The two teams meet Saturday at the Swamp. Had Tennessee not looked like a high school squad last weekend against UCLA, there'd likely be a bit more national spotlight on the rejuvenation of this rich tradition. A 30-point Vegas spread doesn't exactly help the hype machine much, either. But don't fool yourself -- there's juice behind this one. In his dealings with the media this week, the usually uber-focused and super-reserved Tim Tebow let his guard down a bit: "I don't like anyone talking about Coach Meyer," Tebow said Monday. "I try to not let it affect me, although I always have Coach Meyer's back in anything because I know what type of person he is and I know what he believes in. I know what he stands for." In other words, talk all the smack you want about me (ask former FSU player Geno Hayes or LSU star Ricky Jean-Francois about that), but don't try to take on my coach. That's the line you don't cross. Tennessee looked as impressive as any team in the nation two weeks ago against Western Kentucky, only to look worse than it probably ever has before last week against UCLA. Calling quarterback Jonathan Crompton's two 2009 performances Jekyll and Hyde-ish would be an insult to anyone with dual personalities. He was wonderful Week 1. He was beyond awful Week 2. But the Vols come into Saturday's meeting with nothing to lose. They're playing the underdog card this week, and team leaders seem to be buying into that wholeheartedly. "We're underdogs. That's the history of Tennessee," junior safety Eric Berry said on Monday. "Everyone always says that we're the underdog. That's one of the reasons I came here. I like being the underdog. I like being the dog on the bottom that has to fight his way to the top."
Kiffin waged this war on Dec. 1, and the Vols have talked the talk every step of the way. Now, they just need to show up on the field. The folks in Las Vegas think it's unlikely. Bodog.com sports book manager Richard Gardner explained the 30-point spread to me on Wednesday: "At first glance, it seems very high. But Florida won by 24 last year in Tennessee and rolled the Vols at home in 2007 by 39. Florida's got the No. 1 offense in the nation and bettors' short memories of how disappointing Tennessee played last week are driving the action towards the Gators." So here we are, Kid Smirk. Put up or shut up. If you're a Kiffin fan, you're pulling for the guy to pull the upset of the year. If you're not, you can root against him and his mouth. Either way, you'll be watching. Let's see if Tennessee can pull this one out. Or at least keep it within four touchdowns.
2. The freshman quarterback we haven't spent the whole week hearing about There has been a lot of talk (and rightfully so) about Michigan and USC's freshman quarterbacks this week, but there's a 19-year-old frosh up in Chestnut Hill turning some heads this month, too. Justin Tuggle, the son of former Atlanta Falcons star Jessie Tuggle, is rotating at quarterback with a guy nearly seven years older. David Shinskie, 25, the other Boston College QB, spent the past seven years playing minor league baseball. Together, they make an interesting, if not dynamic, 1-2 duo for coach Frank Spaziani's Eagles. Thus far, they've both played well in BC's two wins. Tuggle has completed 52.9 percent of his passes and hurled three touchdowns, while Shinskie is tossing at a 61.5 percent completion rate for 183 yards per game. Neither has been frazzled. Tuggle red-shirted last season and has technically started the first two games. But he and Shinskie have pretty much split snaps and have been inseparable performance-wise. With the Eagles notching victories over I-AA Northeastern and MAC doormat Kent State by a combined 88-7, assessing which quarterback is more ready for the big time hasn't exactly been easy. We'll find out this weekend. The Eagles, predicted by most pundits to finish dead last in the ACC's Atlantic Division, make their first road trip of the year to take on Clemson Saturday in their conference opener. With BC's young and inexperienced group of linebackers, this one has the chance of getting ugly early. Clemson Heisman hopeful C.J. Spiller could very well have 150 rushing yards and three scores in the first half. Even against a veteran crew of Eagles linebackers last season, Spiller put up 234 all-purpose yards on BC. But what if the young defense holds its own in Death Valley? What if Spiller does his thing but the Tigers' passing game stalls? Then it might very well come down to the play of the BC quarterbacks. Spaziani has been very Mangini-esque on just who will be starting Saturday, but there's a good shot Tuggle gets at least half the snaps. And if the Eagles somehow pull the upset with him under center? Well, then get ready for a busy week of chatter about a master performance from a freshman quarterback from a major conference. Yes, another one.
3. Some Charlize Theron talk Cal coach Jeff Tedford spent much of last season getting roasted by the media for his Bears' horrendous first-half performance in their early season loss at Maryland. A team with Rose Bowl-worthy talent, Tedford's boys looked sluggish, slow and uninterested in the first half of their 35-27 defeat at College Park last year. The game had barely started before the Terps took a 21-3 lead. Cal fought back in the second half, but fell short. Cal wouldn't win another road game the rest of the year. The major knock on Tedford was not for his play calling or his postgame demeanor, but rather his team's curious travel plans. Cal arrived in College Park on the Friday evening before the Maryland game last year. The Bears went straight to the stadium for a walkthrough, ate dinner, and then went to bed. They woke up, were on the field by 9 a.m. Pacific Time, and were getting their butts handed to them by 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The whole ordeal was over -- along with any national title hopes -- by noon, NoCal time. Tedford has never apologized or gone as far as saying the decision to travel six hours on a Friday for a game played on the East Coast Saturday morning was a foolish one, but the Bears are flying to Minnesota on Thursday for their 9 a.m. Pacific Time battle with the Gophers on Saturday. In Tedford's eight-year tenure at Cal, it's the first time the Bears have flown out on Thursday instead of Friday for a game that kicks off before noon PST. When asked about the decision to take an travel extra day this time around, Tedford said on Tuesday: "I don't want to be hardheaded about it. I'll see if it's better. I don't think there's ever an issue with going a day before the game. "You don't have anything to compare (the normal schedule) to unless you try it. We're going to travel there on Thursday and see what that's all about. But, really, it's only changing our schedule by about three hours." My take? Well, I was at the U.S. Open Sunday in New York and saw Charlize Theron (looking terrific, by the way) sitting in the stands about 7 p.m. ET. She and I -- along with thousands of other people -- saw Roger Federer take down Novak Djokovic in the men's semis. The next night, I saw Theron on "The Tonight Show" in Los Angeles promoting her new movie. She was on her game. She looked great, was funny and hit all her cues. The point? If Charlize Theron can be in New York one night well into the evening hours and in L.A. the next day and still look stunning, fresh and intelligent -- then a Rose Bowl-worthy Cal Bears team should have been more than capable of showing up to play a football game the morning after they traveled across the country. I blame the players, not Tedford. (This all makes sense in my head, I swear. By the way, did I mention Charlize Theron looked amazing in person?) Rested or not, Cal shouldn't have many problems with Minnesota. Look for an old-fashioned blowout in the TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday. And if the Bears don't come out looking fresh and ready to play in the first half? Well, then maybe Tedford will have to give a Wednesday travel day some consideration the next time the Bears travel east.
4. Muncie Madness My FOXSports.com colleague Jason Whitlock probably has a lot more to say about his Ball State Cardinals' embarrassing start to the 2009 season than I do, but even a novice to Muncie-related subjects could tell you things aren't pretty. The Cardinals, legitimate BCS bowl candidates just a year ago, are 0-2 with home losses to North Texas and Division I-AA New Hampshire to start the season. The latter of the two duds -- the program's first loss to a Football Championship Subdivision opponent since 2006 -- has everyone in Muncie scratching their heads this week. So, first-year coach Stan Parrish is mixing things up. With quarterback Nate Davis now playing for the NFL's 49ers and four new offensive linemen, the offense has been nothing short of nightmarish. Freshman quarterback Kelly Page -- who started both games -- will start Saturday against Army, but four-year backup quarterback Tanner Justice -- a kid who has thrown just six passes over the course of his career -- is going to get some snaps, too. "I don't really care about reactions," Parrish said on Tuesday. "I'm trying to do what's best for this team." On all the negative local media attention the Cardinals have received this week, Parrish added: "We're going to be in this alone. We realize that. Those people that want to put a nail in our coffin this early in the year are certainly going to do it. "It's sunny and 82," Parrish said. "The sun has got to come up. I don't have any options." I like this Stan Parrish -- 0-2 record or not, he's good for the game. Here's to his Ball State Cardinals coming to play Saturday against Army. And for a little sunshine when they do. They sure as heck need it.
5. Arian Foster's hands Each week, we like to give the blogs a little love. The Florida-focused "Everyday Should Be Saturday" is required reading. In recapping Arian Foster's case of fumble-itis against Florida a few years back, ESBS writes: "Arian Foster is sorry he dropped your baby on his head. He would have held onto it, but it flew out of his hands while he was busy trying to catch the coffee he'd just dropped, which he paid for with money that slipped out of his hand while attempting to pay, which came from a wallet he also fumbled onto the pavement, which he dropped while thinking about the other cup of coffee he'd just dropped on a woman, staining her dress permanently, something he'd done while trying to hold a door for her, which he'd let slip and crash into her forehead, knocking her onto the pavement, where he'd dropped the coffee on her while simultaneously trying to catch her baby, who she had dropped because Arian Foster cannot hold onto things for longer than a second before his hands repel matter and send it crashing to the ground, because he is Arian Foster and has powers like that. "Fortunately, Dallas Baker came in, caught everything before it hit the ground and saved the day." Read the rest and check out a bunch of other Florida-Tennessee memories from the Gators fans here.
Last week's upset picks I was 1-1 last week -- on the money with Louisiana-Lafayette taking down Kansas State, but wrong about Washington State toppling Hawaii. Overall upset picks record: 2-2. This week's upset pick No. 1: Mississippi State over Vanderbilt This week's upset pick No. 2: Colorado State over Nevada
Tagged: Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Texas, Ball State, Kent State, Mississippi State, Western Kentucky, Washington State, LSU, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, Louisiana-Lafayette, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, Kansas State

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