Not much cheer at Cocktail Party for Bulldogs lately

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Quarterback Tim Tebow grew up in Jacksonville and went to the Florida-Georgia game just about every year. Although he knows plenty about the storied rivalry, his memories are pretty much one-sided - much like the series has become.

Tebow's earliest recollections begin around 1990, the same time Steve Spurrier arrived in Gainesville and turned the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" into his own little shindig.

The Gators have celebrated nearly every one since.

They have won eight of nine and 15 of the past 17 in the series, giving Tebow plenty of fond memories heading into his first Florida-Georgia game as a starter.

"Any time Florida won was a good one," Tebow said.

The BCS No. 11 Gators (5-2, 3-2 SEC) will try to extend their dominance today when they facethe 18th-ranked Bulldogs (5-2, 3-2) for the 63rd consecutive year.

This one, like many others, has implications.

Florida controls its path in the conference race. The Gators beat Kentucky 45-37 last week and got losses from South Carolina and Tennessee to move back in the driver's seat.

But the next three games - against Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina - will determine whether the Gators head to Atlanta for a shot at the league title and a Bowl Championship Series berth or slide into a second-tier bowl one year after winning thenational championship.

"It's the best feeling in the world," defensive tackle Clint Mc-Millan said. "You don't ever want to have to be dependent on someone to lose. It's good that we got all of that out of the way. In three hours, we went from fourth in the SEC East to back on top. All we have to do is handle our business, win the rest of our games."

Georgia, meanwhile, has a much tougher road.

The Bulldogs need a rare victory against the Gators, then would have to beat Auburn and Kentucky next month and hope the Volunteers and Gamecocks falter down the stretch.

Nonetheless, those losses by Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee last weekend put Georgia in a much better position than it was a few weeks ago.

"It's a wild year, isn't it?" Coach Mark Richt said. "I'm just taking this baby one at a time. I quit worrying about the other stuff. I'm worrying about who we have thistime around. I'm done looking too far ahead into the future, at least this year."

No one really knows what will happen to the series in the future.

The current contract expires after the 2010 game, and Georgia officials haven't committed to keeping it in Jacksonville. They seem to prefer moving it to campus sites or alternating years in Jacksonville and Atlanta or possibly mixing the two.

Florida fans, naturally, argue that Georgia's complaint stems from the recent lopsidedness of the series. They might have a point, too. After all, aside from victories in 1997 and 2004, the rivalry has been more frustrating than fulfilling since 1990 - a big turnaround after the Bulldogs pretty much controlled it in the 70s and 80s.

"A rivalry game needs to be more equal in who wins and who loses, which it hasn't been lately," Richt said. "It's been a rivalry of streaks, and I don't know how often it's been back-and-forth, backand-forth like our rivalry with Auburn, which just seems to be very, very close games but also spread out pretty good where no one had a huge run.

"Florida's just been dominating as of late." SOUTH CAROLINA-TENNESSEE Playing for pride

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Both South Carolina and Tennessee have something to prove.

The No. 16 Gamecocks were booed on their home field last weekend in a 17-6 loss to Vanderbilt while the Volunteers fell apart on the road in a 41-17 loss to bitter rival Alabama.

A victory tonight in Knoxville would help either team prove those losses were flukes.

"We have to get that out of our system," South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said. "It's history. It was a lousy offensive game. We have to get our confidence back and get ready to play Tennessee."

A victory still means more than just pride.

B oth teams are in the middle of a free-forall in the SEC's Eastern Division and can't afford another loss. TheGamecocks (6-2, 3-2) and Volunteers (4-3, 2-2) are among five teams with two SEC losses.

Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer compares the SEC race to the playoffs fans have long wanted.

"The highs are high, and the lows are low. It's important to put each one of those behind you as fast as you can," he said. "You can look at this like a singleelimination tournament. I told the guys on Sunday, it's like the NFL trying to get in the playoffs. It's one and done."

Spurrier and Fulmer haven't had time for the trash-talking they enjoyed when Spurrier coached the Florida Gators. They've had too much to worry about trying to salvage this season.

The Gamecocks haven't scored a touchdown in six quarters, and Spurrier isn't sure who will be his quarterback today.

Freshman Chris Smelley has started the past four games. But after throwing two interceptions against Vanderbilt, Smelley might be sharing time today with fifth-year senior and former starter Blake Mitchell and thirdstringer Tommy Beecher.

Regardless of who is throwing the passes, Kenny McKinley will be at the other end to catch. The junior is averaging 65.6 yards receiving a game.

Tennessee's defense has struggled all year against the pass, ranking 11th in the SEC with an average 249 yards passing allowed. The Vols' young secondary gave up 363 yards through the air to Alabama.

"We've got a lot of things to correct, and certainly that's one of them," Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis said.

AUBURN-MISSISSIPPI Tigers nursing title hopes

AUBURN, Ala. - No. 22 Auburn is holding out hope that this wacky, upset-filled season will somehow end with the Tigers getting a shot at an SEC championship.

Mississippi, on the other hand, just wants to finally win a league game.

The two teams meet today, trying to rebound from tough blows to their seasons. The Tigers lost in the last seconds at No. 3 LSU, and the Rebels remained winless in the SEC, losing 44-8 to Arkansas.

"They won't play two games in a row like they played last week," Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville predicted. "This willbe a game in which they can change their fortunes around."

It holds a different kind of significance for the Tigers (5-3, 3-2), who will need to win their final three SEC games and get plenty of help from other teams to win the Western Division. It's a slim hope at best, and they know it.

Still, it's a season of surprises; Mississippi State upset Auburn, Vanderbilt beat South Carolina and Kentucky knocked off LSU.

"You've got to motivate yourself," guard Tyronne Green said. "With the way this season's been playing out, anything could happen in the SEC. We're trying our hardest just to win out the rest of these games and hope for the best. Maybe we'll still have a shot at the SEC. It's easy to motivate yourself."

The Rebels (2-6, 0-5) have lost their first five SEC games for the first time since 1984 but have flirted with upsets of Alabama and Florida.

The meltdown against theRazorbacks left plenty of questions for the team, especially at quarterback.

Coach Ed Orgeron said Seth Adams will remain the starter despite throwing for just 79 yards and getting intercepted four times against Arkansas. Brent Schaeffer came in and threw a late touchdown pass.

Sports, Pages 27 on 10/27/2007

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