Bye weeks can be a blessing or a curse. If a team is performing well, it wants to keep playing. If a team is struggling, having some extra time to prepare might be the right medicine. Florida has lost two hard-fought games in a row. The bye week might have come at the right time.
"I've seen it work very favorably for some teams and I've seen it work where it hasn't been so favorable," said Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, whose Razorbacks host Auburn on Saturday. "The biggest thing is you can get people healthy and really zero in on trying to improve, get well rested and have an extra week to get focused on who you're going to play. It's a big difference. It's a huge advantage if your players, coaches, everybody treat it the right way."
Florida has players banged up. Resting this weekend should help. Coach Urban Meyer said fifth-year senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell (knee) was not 100 percent in the 28-24 loss at top-ranked LSU last weekend. Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson (knee) will have extra time to recuperate before No. 13 Florida visits No. 17 Kentucky and its high-powered passing offense next Saturday.
Other players with bumps and bruises, like offensive lineman Maurice Hurt, will have a chance to get better as well. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said one thing coaches must guard against during bye weeks is feeling compelled to put in too much information.
"We were able to rest some guys and you don't have to prepare for a game so that helped us," Fulmer said. "It gave us a lot of time for fundamentals which we took advantage of and our players responded to that. We got a jumpstart on the plan which was a real plus.
"Sometimes, if you're playing really well you might just want to keep playing. Sometimes, you get too much in if you have an open date. You have to be cautious about that. It depends on the year of the team and the maturity."
Despite losing two straight games, the Gators are still in the thick of the SEC East championship hunt. Florida needs to win its final four conferences games (at Kentucky, versus Georgia, Vanderbilt, at South Carolina) and have the Volunteers lose one of its final five conferences games.
Tennessee visits Mississippi State this weekend and then plays at Alabama, has South Carolina, Arkansas and Vanderbilt home and then finishes the regular season at Kentucky. The Gators defeated Tennessee, 59-20. Next week, Florida is not only coming off its bye week but also playing on the road. At least, they have some extra time to get ready for the Wildcats.
"I can't remember a time when Kentucky and South Carolina had one loss this time of year but it's still very early," Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said. "We're halfway through the schedule but Kentucky has only played two (conference games). A lot can happen but it's pretty much wide open."
Said Fulmer: "I don't remember (the SEC East) being this balanced at all. (There were always) three or four at the top you knew you had to deal with. It's a real tough scenario in our division."
More SEC Coaches Quotes
LSU coach Les Miles on keeping players' emotions in check: "The issue is you play within the team concept, that your role is as important as any and that what we're doing is not being drawn into the hype of the game or noise of the crowd or what the opponent may or may not say but between snap and whistle (you go) as hard so your team can count on your role.
"Any guy wearing an LSU helmet playing Saturday (against Florida) would have taken with him every emotion needed. It's important you don't fire them up (too much) because they already have that."
Miles on Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham: "Very talented guy that runs well and really had a big game against us. That Florida defense is very, very talented. If you look at their linebacker play and their defensive front, they played extremely well."
Meyer on whether senior safety Tony Joiner would become a captain again: "I have no idea. I've never done that to a player. That's a crushing blow because forever you're remembered a captain here. He acted like we don't want a captain to act on a Monday night. I haven't given that any thought yet."
Fulmer on freshman kickers in SEC: "It's a little bit of a phenomenon, quite amazing. More people are taking a lot of training as they come up that used to not be there. There are more of those guys around that come in who are fundamentally and technically ready to kick. What a huge kick that was for the Auburn freshman (Wes Byrum against Florida). (There are a) lot of good kickers in this league this year."
Alabama coach Nick Saban on Arkansas RB Darren McFadden: "I said after we played him that you have a healthy respect for the guy as a running back when you watch him on tape. When you play against him you have a better respect for the kind of competitor he is, the kind of toughness he plays with, the kind of heart he has. He has great ability, too.
"That guy is a fantastic player and as fine a competitor and as fine a football player as we've played in a while now."