College football
Gators turning road warriors
By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
Published October 16, 2003
GAINESVILLE - Coach Ron Zook still may be downplaying its significance, but Gator players are openly admitting that last week's win over LSU was big.
A loss would have dropped the Gators to 3-4, with two more Top-10 teams on the horizon. The win kept the Gators mathematically alive in the SEC East race, but more importantly, instilled some confidence in a team struggling to find its way.
"It was really big," running back Ciatrick Fason said. "We had a lot of people that were down on us after Ole Miss beat us two years in a row. We were watching the whole weekend about how everyone was saying we were going to lose to LSU after the beating they put on us last year. We just had to play hard and tell the people that Florida was still here."
Zook has said the team often plays better with its back against the wall. Maybe there is some truth to that. Zook, who is in his second season, is 8-4 overall in the SEC, but his teams are 5-1 on the road in league games. "We have a lot of focus while we are on the trip," center Mike Degory said. "Sometimes when you play at home you can get distracted. We have been in the spoiler role a few times too and I think this team strives on that. ... There is nothing like playing at home, but I kind of like being the hated guy."
Florida will star in that role when it visits Fayetteville. Though the Razorbacks lost at home Saturday to Auburn, they have lost consecutive home games under Houston Nutt just once.
T-SHIRT TIE-IN: Last week, with the outside world closing in, a 3-3 record and preparing for then-No. 6 LSU, Zook and the coaching staff wanted to help keep the players solid in their commitment to each other.
They settled on T-shirts.
The players said they found them hanging in their lockers after the Ole Miss loss. The gray shirts include the Nike swoosh and "TEAM" in big, blue letters across the chest. HOG-LIKE: Just call Shawn Andrews a hog. Literally and figuratively. The junior Arkansas lineman is teetering close to 400 pounds (he is listed at 370) and holding his own on the offensive line. A preseason consensus All-America selection, Andrews is a member of the unit nicknamed "Hogmolies," one of the most experienced groups of offensive linemen in the SEC. Andrews doubles at another position, sort of. In a play dubbed the "refrigerator," he lines up at fullback.
NO DOUBTS: He entered the season with grand expectations, but touted receiver Dallas Baker has yet to become the star everyone predicted. After working with the scout team last season, Baker, a sophomore, has just eight receptions this season and zero touchdowns. He didn't play in the Ole Miss game and afterward Zook said Baker needed to make some improvements in his game. This week the coach backpedaled.
"Dallas Baker is on his way to being a great football player," Zook said. "It all goes back to being consistent. When your opportunity comes, you have to make the plays when you're there.
RECRUITING UPDATE: The Florida basketball team picked up its third oral commitment this week with Joakim Noah, a 6-foot-10 forward from Lawrenceville, N.J. Last year, he averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. He is the son of former French Open champ Yannick Noah.
- Antonya English covers Florida athletics. She can be reached at 813 226-3389 or english@sptimes.com
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