No. 11 Florida undefeated after 4 games again

Florida has been in this position before. Last season, in fact.

The Gators were highly ranked and undefeated after four games in 2011 before collapsing in October.cheap kids jerseys

Players and coaches don't expect it to happen again. They insist there's a completely different feeling this time around - stemming from more talent and experience, increased confidence, late-game success, a developing quarterback and several key players returning from injury.

''We are a better team,'' Florida coach Will Muschamp said following Saturday's 38-0 win against Kentucky. ''We are a more physical team on both lines of scrimmage. I think we're deeper and more mature, and I think we handle things a lot better. We are a year older and more experienced, and I think all of those things factor in when you're dealing with young guys.

''I think we are a more talented team than we were a year ago in some critical spots, but we have to continue to press forward because we are not where we want to be.''

The 11th-ranked Gators are off this week before hosting No. 3 LSU on Oct. 6. Games against No. 6 South Carolina (Oct. 20) and fifth-ranked Georgia (Oct. 27) also loom next month.

But Florida feels it's better equipped to handle the tough slate.

''Last October was rough,'' quarterback Jeff Driskel said. ''We don't really like to mention that around here. It was definitely a tough time, but we're really confident going in this year and we feel like we can really close out. Last year we got outscored by these guys tremendously in the second half and in the fourth quarter, and we've shown this year we're really a second-half team and can really finish in the fourth quarter.''cheap Tom brady jerseys

Florida has been stout at times, even dominating Texas A&M and Tennessee down the stretch on the road. The Gators have outscored opponents 64-13 in the second half, including 34-0 in the fourth quarter, this season.

Driskel continues to make progress. The sophomore is keeping plays alive with his feet and maintaining eye contact with receivers while scrambling. He has completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 698 yards, with four touchdowns and an interception. He also has 148 yards rushing and a score.

Senior Mike Gillislee has been the offense's main threat, running for 402 yards and five touchdowns behind an improving line.

Defensively, the Gators have failed to generate a consistent pass rush and have had some tackling lapses. But the unit expects significant improvement with the return of defensive end Dominique Easley (knee) and linebacker Jelani Jenkins (thumb). Both should be ready to play against the Tigers.

''We haven't played our best game yet,'' receiver Frankie Hammond said. ''We have a bye week and we're going to take advantage of it.''

Injuries were a key part of last season's 0-for-October, a month in which Florida lost to Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia.

That 4-0 start raised hope that the program had returned to prominence following a dismal final season under former coach Urban Meyer. Those feelings were short-lived.

The Crimson Tide manhandled Florida in Gainesville, knocking quarterback John Brantley out of the game in the first half and overwhelming Driskel in the second.

Without Brantley, Florida also lost to LSU and Auburn. Brantley returned against Georgia, but clearly wasn't the same, and the Gators faded in the closing minutes.

Florida scored just 11 second-half points - none in the fourth quarter - in those four October losses. And the Gators were outgained 804-175 on the ground in those games.

Players anticipate different results this year.

''Any time you're 4-0 to me, it's great,'' defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. ''It's a great feeling. But I think people say that because they feel like this team is more mature and more together. We pulled these wins out together as a team and I think every guy is buying into the team concept and it's really working for us. cheap Tim tebow jerseys

''Any time you can go on the road, especially being in the SEC, and pull out two road wins, it's definitely big. We've got a lot of young guys, and being able to take them on the road and a new environment like that and come out successful, it's big. It brings a team together.''

And that could set the stage for a more enjoyable October.

''We're not done yet,'' Driskel said. ''We're going to keep working hard and keep playing hard.''

Earnhardt: 'It needs to happen now'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. left Chicagoland Speedway last Sunday wanting more.

Earnhardt says he was “a little bit disappointed” by his eighth-place finish — even though there have been years he would have yearned for 18 top-10 finishes in a season let alone 27 races. youth jerseys cheap

Yes, it’s been eight years since Junior enjoyed the consistency he’s experiencing now with the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team. But as competitive as the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is this year, Earnhardt knows it will take more than top-10 finishes to win the 2012 championship. It will take wins.

On Saturday in Happy Hour, Junior’s top lap was 130.595 mph (11th) — the same as his teammate Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. Yes, the Chase field is that close. Seven Chasers posted top-10 times on the speed chart in final practice with Denny Hamlin on top (132.053 mph).

Fortunately for Earnhardt, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a track where he feels he can win.

“This is a track that I feel like owes me one,” said Earnhardt, who has 11 top-10 finishes at the Magic Mile in 26 starts. “We’ve been running here for a long time. We’ve had some good cars here, and we’ve had some cars capable of winning races. We just haven’t been able to finish the job.

“So, I kind of feel like it’s got to happen sooner or later, and I feel like that it needs to happen now. There’s a bit of urgency. Not a whole lot, just enough to keep us motivated and real positive. I feel pretty positive . . . I know what the possibilities and the chances of us having a good run and winning the race here (are). I feel like we are really close. Hopefully, we can hit on a few things in practice and really get the car moving.”

After 12 years of competition at NHMS, Earnhardt knows what he’s looking for in the feel of the car. Although he has never won at the flat-mile track, he has posted seven top-five finishes. More importantly, the style of racing suits him — and that’s half the battle.

“You go to certain tracks, like Bristol and Atlanta, you are like, ‘Man, I want to win here. This is a track I enjoy racing on,’” Earnhardt said. “You have really have fun racing on the track. I’ve really loved running here. It is so much fun to race here. It is so challenging to pass. Just how the car has to roll the center. You work so hard trying to get that to happen all day. It is just a fun place to race.

“I enjoy short-track racing, and the corners and the speeds here kind of lend itself to that style. It’s just a little bit frustrating that I haven’t won here because I feel like it’s a track that I should be capable of doing that.”

At 37, Junior spends more time reflecting on his tenure in NASCAR. While he hasn’t taken his time in the sport for granted, there have been plenty of missed opportunities along the way that might ultimately affect his legacy — including here at New Hampshire. Earnhardt says looking back he wishes he would have been more responsible in the past.

“I could have put forth a better accountability and a better account of myself overall as a competitor,” Earnhardt said. “At the time, you don’t realize what kind of opportunity you have got. . . . And, there’s a lot of trappings and things that you want to do that don’t involve racing. Just go have fun, so you goof-off a lot.”

Those days are over. Earnhardt’s attitude toward himself and his team has changed dramatically since crew chief Steve Letarte came on board. Earnhardt spends time with the team absorbing as much information as he can about the cars and strategy. He also spends time with the crew after hours to improve the relationships. nfl nike jerseys wholesale

And Earnhardt is taking better care of himself. His morning ritual of oatmeal has replaced his penchant for Bojangles (a Southern fast food chain specializing in fried chicken) biscuits. And he’s working out. With his teammates Johnson and Kasey Kahne running triathlons — they’ve set the bar high.

Kahne hasn’t worked out alongside Earnhardt yet, but he has noticed a difference.

"Just looking at him, and talking to him, and seeing him after the races, he looks really good,” Kahne said. “I feel like he is definitely after it. So, that's good. That's neat that he is doing that and trying something a little different than what maybe he's done in the past."

Earnhardt acknowledges that getting in shape “is not easy.” While he has never been in bad shape, a regular workout routine has not been part of his lifestyle.

“It’s just real hard,” Earnhardt said. “It takes more work than I am accustomed to doing on that front, just on that front in general. I’ll be honest with you. . . I’m always learning how to improve my diet. I’m curious, and I ask questions about that to people and change what I hear I need to change or what I think I need to change.

“I think that accompanied with a couple of other things improves endurance and improves your overall well-being. How you are feeling in the car. How you deal mentally when you are kind of physically taxed. When you get tired physically, you can get lazy mentally. So I think that being in a little bit better shape, being in a little bit better conditioning has helped me quite a bit because some of those races are really tough. The Sonoma race, the races at Bristol, those are really tough races. Think I need to get tougher to be able to do what I need to do out there.”

Considering that Earnhardt has two champions under the Hendrick roof with Johnson and Jeff Gordon and 32-year-old Kahne looking to make a statement in his first season with the organization, there could not have been a better time for the driver to step up his game.

Still, Earnhardt has no regrets about how he handled his career up until now; he just wishes the epiphany would have occurred sooner.

“I can’t really sit here and have regrets about opportunities and chances gone by," Earnhardt said. “I do find it a bit unfortunate that it took me this long to realize how much more work I could have been doing and how much more I could have invested in the overall schedule of events and just what you do on a weekend. We had a lot of fun back then, and we didn’t have as much success as we probably should have. Those were the reasons that I felt like were the case.

“Now, I enjoy working harder. It’s not like it’s a burden. I enjoy the relationship I’ve got with my crew chief and my team. I enjoy how things are going. I see a big contrast in that now and the way things used to be. . . I guess we all get a little smarter and get a little older. That’s all that has really happened.”

MUSICAL CHAIRS

It’s that time of year when free agents step up their game to start auditioning for next year’s ride.

The short list of candidates contains a wide array of resumes from former champion Kurt Busch to Brian Vickers — who has used his try-out with Michael Waltrip Racing this season to produce three top-five finishes in six starts — and relatively new applicant Regan Smith.

David Ragan, 26, was once on Roush Fenway Racing’s fast track — until a lack of sponsorship derailed his future with the Ford powerhouse. Although Ragan was considered at candidate for the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge, that dream evaporated when AJ Allmendinger was selected for the ride.

Desperate to continue in the Sprint Cup Series, Ragan landed at Front Row Motorsports in the No. 34 Ford. But his contract is up at the end of the year. Ragan says he’d like to “be in a more competitive car week in and week out,” and he’s not discounting the ability for FRM to continue the building curve.

“Everyone goes into these final 10 races with a few different goals in mind,” Ragan said. “You have some guys trying to win a championship, some guys trying to get into the top 35 and some guys trying to save their rides. I’ve been there and done that.

“For our Front Row Motorsports team, we’re just trying to get into the top 30 for the first time.”

Ragan and his FRM teammate David Gilliland are currently 29th and 28th, respectively, in the point standings.

NUMBERS GAME

3 — Practices that Denny Hamlin topped the speed chart.

8.5 — Best average finish by a Sprint Cup driver (Hamlin) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

103 — Laps ran by Ryan Newman in the past two practices Saturday — most in both sessions.

SAY WHAT? cheap yankees jerseys

Tony Stewart on whether any of the Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers have an advantage:

“The reality of this is on any given weekend, 65 percent of what goes on on the racetrack is out of our control,” Stewart said. “Now you go into a Chase where 12 drivers are running for a championship and there’s now 31 other drivers on the racetrack that we can’t control too that can dictate the outcome of it on top of the 65 percent. Nobody can predict what’s going to happen. You can guess, but that’s all it is. It’s not a prediction. It’s a guess of who is going to win the championship.”

Smith to be inducted into Ring of Fame

Rod Smith hangs on to a grudge almost as well as a pass.

Even 18 years later, the former Denver Broncos wide receiver still remains irate over not being drafted.

The Broncos took a chance on the unheralded wideout from Missouri Southern and he blossomed into the team's all-time leader in virtually every receiving category.

Always a fan favorite, Smith will hear the roar of the crowd again Sunday when he's inducted into the Ring of Fame at halftime against the Houston Texans.

Throughout his career, Smith used his resentment over not being picked to give him an edge and an attitude. He hardly ever took a day off, even in the offseason, and always believed that each week just might be his last in the league.

''I would sneak up on my locker and just pray that my name was still there and say, `OK, I've got one more day,''' Smith said Thursday. ''I would think that if we lose that day, they're looking to move me around. That's the way I believe. That's what kept me with my head down working.

''They (other players) worry about contract-to-contract or year-to-year or game-to-game. No, mine was second-to-second. It worked for me.''

Smith may have been overlooked coming out of college, but he wasn't once he stepped onto the field. He always tangled with the opposition's top cover guy. That started early, too. He spent his first season on the practice squad in 1994 and then was thrown into the action.

His first catch was on Sept. 17, 1995, when he hauled in a 43-yard pass from John Elway as time expired to lift the Broncos to a 38-31 victory over Washington.

''I don't know too many people whose first catch has probably been that dramatic,'' said Smith, who finished his career as the team leader in receptions (849), yards receiving (11,389) and TD catches (68).

Even more than his receptions, Smith set a standard that even the Broncos receivers of today are striving to emulate. Around the complex, his work ethic will always be revered.

''I didn't squander a day,'' Smith said. ''That's the mentality you have to have at the beginning. I had that mentality when I was broke. I had that mentality when I was hungry. I had that mentality in college.

''If you set some standards early on in your life and you live by those standards because you believe in them, the rest of the stuff just falls into place.''

Smith possibly could've squeezed in a few more productive seasons, but he couldn't stay healthy. His last season was 2006 as an aching hip finally forced him to the sideline.

To this day, the injury still bothers the 42-year-old Smith.

Smith left behind quite a legacy, setting a club record with eight 1,000-yard seasons. He also has three of the top-10 single-season reception totals in team history, including a 113-catch performance in 2001.

Not only that but he helped Denver to seven postseason appearances, three AFC West crowns and, of course, two Super Bowl titles.

A Hall of Fame worthy career?

''I never thought about it until I watched John Elway get inducted and then I thought to myself, `Why not me?''' Smith said. ''I worked just as hard and I put in just as much time and I put up the numbers.''

He has Champ Bailey's vote.

''Everything about this guy screams Hall of Fame,'' Bailey said. ''One day, I'll look to see him in there.''

Or maybe even back on the field.

Although Smith has no desire to catch any more passes — not even from Peyton Manning, though enticing — he wouldn't mind being a consultant or a mentor for the Broncos.

''Being able to help some guys ... I can definitely do that,'' Smith said.

He certainly knows what it takes, even if NFL scouts missed on him.

''I'm still mad about that, by the way,'' Smith said. ''Some people weren't too smart, because they measured all this other stuff and they didn't measure a person's heart. They don't have a machine for that. The Broncos gave me a chance. That's all I care about.''

Mannone: Manchester City battle I have good ideas want to lock goalkeeper

Mannone firmly believe that, if the Arsenal stadium in Al Ittihad beat Manchester City , then the team is the first thing to do is to control the game. Recently Wenger maintained in all competitions three consecutive victories, in-form, but for Arsenal on Sunday away to defending champion is the most severe challenge. Mannone, Arsenal must try to control the game, in order to obtain good results.

Mannone said: "That will be a tough game, we played a good game in Liverpool , Arsenal at Anfield really started the journey of the new season. Manchester City are the defending champions, we we must deal with, in order to win in this match-ups, the first thing to do is to control the game. "

Mannone played an important role in Arsenal's dream start, In Szczesny three games due to injury, the Italian goalkeeper only lost 1 ball. Mannone want to lock the position of the goalkeeper, he said: "I always focus on the first two starting me without conceding a goal against Southampton before Wenger talked to me, and then I realized that, the coaches know I goalkeeper has been prepared against Montpellier dry, I am currently focus on competition for the goalkeeper position, and prove to the coach this season, I was able to help the team win trophies. "