TEBOW, GATORS SUFFERING FROM FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS

The University of Florida campus has been hit hard this fall by the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as ‘swine flu’.  Now it may have stricken the most high profile student on campus.  The Gators’ football team has been struggling with the flu for several weeks, and sources report that quarterback Tim Tebow and two other players have been suffering from an unspecified ‘respiratory illness’ and traveled separate from their teammate for precautionary reasons.

Despite the outbreak of the H1N1 virus on campus, University of Florida officials wouldn’t confirm or even intimate that Tebow, cornerback Joe Haden and safety Major Wright were suffering from the flu.  University sources have officially termed it a ‘respiratory illness’ while a source more familiar with the matter wasn’t much more disclosing, calling it euphemistically ‘a respiratory condition involving congestion.’  The source also indicated that Tebow was ‘pretty weak’ on Friday morning but ‘feeling better’ than he had earlier in the week.

Head coach Urban Meyer confirmed earlier in the week that the team had suffered approximately 35 cases of the flu in the past few weeks.  This week, however, all of the players on the team’s travel roster made the trip.  Receivers’ coach Billy Gonzalez was also in the traveling party after missing a few days of practice earlier in the week.  He returned to practice on Thursday, wearing gloves and a mask.

Meyer also dismissed suggestions that he might rest the sick players:

"That'd be one of the major errors in coaching history to go do that, because you'd go lose. No. Absolutely not. We're going to bring everything and go as hard as we can. That gets you out of the profession, those kind of thoughts. You go as hard as you can. The good thing is I've got a mature group. Not a whole lot of cheerleading going on this week. Got to get better and go play."

Florida defeated Tennessee last weekend by a final score of 23-13, and many Gators’ supporters were unhappy with the relative closeness of the game.  The war of words between the two schools continued after the game, as Meyer suggested that his team’s lackluster performance and conservative game play was due to the flu.  Vols' coach Lane Kiffin countered that Meyer was using the spate of illnesses as an ‘excuse’ to explain away a substandard performance.

The Gators will face the University of Kentucky on the road on Saturday.  Florida is a -20 road favorite with the total set at 53.  The first half line on the game is Florida -12’ with the total posted at 27.  After this game, the Gators will have a bye week to help their recuperation before they play a big game at Baton Rouge, Louisiana against LSU on October 10th.