Urban Meyer wades back into Florida-Georgia rivalry with message for Gators
By Keith Farner
Published:
Urban Meyer is staying active in college football even though he’s stepped away from the sidelines this season. The former Ohio State and Florida coach is an analyst on FOX Sports, and has already made national championship picks for Clemson and Alabama at different points this season.
But this week offers a game Meyer is well aware of as the big game in Jacksonville is set to kick off between top 10 teams.
“Go Gators, beat those Dawgs,” Meyer said in an Instagram video, which also tagged TIAA Stadium.
Meyer has had the rivalry on his mind a lot lately, as he shared some memories on The Buddy Martin Show.
He recalled the so-called “payback game” in 2008, when Florida won 49-10.
“We had two (timeouts); I wish I had three, but we had two,” Meyer told said. “The one thing I want to add is that we came down in the pre-game meal. I’ll never forget. Usually I come in and I speak to the team before we get on the bus and go. I came down, and as I walk into the room, all the players stand up and start going (wild). You could tell that team was on fire to play that game.”
Meyer said he never discussed the 2007 game with Mark Richt when Georgia sent its entire team to the end zone to celebrate a touchdown, and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. But Meyer admitted he obsessed about it for a long time.
“My biggest fear was that when your manhood gets challenged like that, are you going to do something to retaliate?,” he said. “The biggest thing was … I talked to our players non-stop about ‘Do not get involved.’ Every reporter was asking our players ‘What was going to be the payback?’”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
