What started as an innocent matchup between football players and graduate assistants turned into a battle of sandlot football between a Division-I coaching staff and its athletes.
Last Thursday, as UF's bye week came to a close, Coach Urban Meyer decided to have some fun with the Gators by putting on a four-on-four mini-scrimmage during practice.
"I felt like we needed it," linebacker Dustin Doe said. "Who doesn't? At a program like this, dropping two games is huge. It's devastating to us."
Coaches were permitted to rotate, but the chosen players - Trent Pupello, Justin Williams, Tony Joiner and Kyle Jackson - weren't allowed to sub out.
It seems that most of the smiling shone from the players' faces.
On the coaches' first possession, Meyer threw an interception to Williams that brought words from the coach's mouth not fit to print, defensive tackle Javier Estopinan said.
Estopinan said the players were offered more than just bragging rights if they won the game. If the athletes won, they would have a quick warm-up before practice. If the coaches won, however, the warm-up would be much more intense and sprints were to be expected.
According to Joiner, the rules were similar to NCAA overtime regulations: If the players scored, the coaches had to match the points.
Safeties Joiner and Jackson were responsible for the game-clinching play.
Jackson passed to Joiner, who left running backs coach Stan Drayton - a former three-time, first-team All-America running back at Allegheny (Pa.) College - in the dust.
"I just came off the ball, told him I was going to burn him, had a little pivot route, pushed outside and the ball was there," Joiner said.
Not only did the players enjoy winning, but they loved dishing out the criticism they endure on a daily basis.
"Coach Charlie (Strong) - he has terrible football position," linebacker Dustin Doe said. "That's why he coaches us. I saw one play Kyle Jackson just shook him out of his shoes. I said, 'Coach Strong, you've got to stay in football position.'"
Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales didn't receive any love from his players, either.
When a reporter asked how he thought his technique fared in the game, Gonzales looked to Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy for answers.
"Hey Percy, Murph! How was my technique? Good or bad?" Gonzales shouted as the team hiked toward its locker room Monday.
"Horrible," Murphy replied.
Regardless, the coach was able to pull off a highlight of his own.
During one series, Gonzales and Williams were matched up against each other. As the ball was thrown, Gonzales pushed Williams.
"I pushed everyone around me to try to catch the ball, and it basically dropped into my hands," Gonzales said. "I tossed the ball back to J-Dub so he could give it to the official."
Though the coaches had a fun time in practice, don't expect to see them suiting up any time soon - even for an intramural league.
"I called Coach Drayton the next day and I said, 'I feel like somebody just beat me up.' I felt like I was in the ring with Mike Tyson or somebody where my body was just pummeled," Gonzales said. "You don't realize it as a student, fan or coach, but you forget about all the little muscles that you use and the physical strain from running around."
