Latest news with #Spurrier
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Florida Football Preview 2025: Billy Napier Has His Best Gator Team Yet - But Is It Enough?
Florida is supposed to be playing for national the program of Spurrier, and Urban, and Tebow, and fun, and 'n', and gun, and spread, and Wuerffel - and basketball national titles - and Billy Napier was and is supposed to be the guy who came in and got everything back to rough has it been? Starting with the final season under Dan Mullen, the 26 losses mark the worst four-year run of Gator football since 1978 to 1981, and there was a 0-10-1 campaign in that mix. X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN Florida Offense BreakdownFlorida Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to SeasonBefore last year, the three straight losing seasons were the first time that happened since a stretch from 1945 to 1947. And following a 49-17 loss to Texas in mid-November, Florida appeared to be destined for its first four-season losing run since the then the offense clicked, the defense didn't allow more than 17 points in any of the final four games, Napier came up with a strong recruiting class, and now there's hope again that the big production is about to first, Florida just has to get closer to the pin against the good teams. This is the best squad yet under Napier. It was rebuilt to this point with a strong combination of depth, youth, and talent. There weren't any major losses through the transfer portal that can't be fixed, and there weren't a ton of players coming in other than to patch a few lines are strong, there's a rising superstar at quarterback in DJ Lagway, and the kicking game might be the best in the SEC. But the team needs to be in more tight games to let the special teams be the of the 19 losses under Napier, 12 of them were by double-digits, including four of the five defeats last year. And that's where the bar should be set. Of course Florida needs to be good enough to be a regular in the College Football Playoff, and of course Napier needs to do more, but out of those 19 losses under Napier, 13 were against the elite of the elite that finished with ten wins or this year's schedule might be the toughest of the again, it's Florida. It's supposed to be one of those elites among elites that take down all of the other good programs. It might not happen this year, but 2025 has to be the final season before it does. Florida Offense BreakdownFlorida Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ecuador's presidential hopefuls face toxic brew of crime, unemployment
Cartel violence is hollowing out Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil, scaring away tourists, pummelling the economy and leaving whoever wins Sunday's presidential election with a gargantuan problem. In picturesque and once-bustling Seminary Park, these days iguanas almost outnumber visitors. "In the afternoon it feels like a cemetery," said Juan Carlos Pesantes who has sold sweets and drinks from a park-side kiosk for 16 years. "There are no tourists left." Pesantes has watched as several businesses, including a once popular hotel, close down around him. In three years, his income has halved and Guayaquil has been transformed from the beating heart of Ecuador's economy into one of the most violent cities in Latin America. Some months, the country averages more than one murder an hour. The park is now locked by 18:00 instead of 22:00, just in case any visitors are tempted to hang around after dark. Against this grim backdrop, the economy fell into recession late last year. But insecurity is not the only issue ailing Ecuador's economy. Either incumbent president Daniel Noboa or his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez will have to reckon with deep social inequality, unemployment, an energy crisis, low rates of investment, groaning public finances and low oil revenues. Pesantes is "undecided" about which one of the two neck-and-neck rivals to vote for. "There is no confidence" in them, he said. - Going out is risky - Ecuador's woes stem from a boom in Colombian cocaine production and the attractiveness of its ports for shipping the drug to lucrative markets in Asia, Europe and the United States. The bloodshed has increased as a multitude of gangs, cartels and mafias vie to control routes. The surge in gang activity has had a direct impact on normal economic activity. Violence is "affecting consumption. The population has fewer possibilities to go out on the street, to a restaurant, to make a purchase, it's risky," said Alberto Acosta Burneo, an economic analyst at the Spurrier group. In a poor neighborhood of Guayaquil, Paola Valdivieso, a 54-year-old salon worker, talks about the "fear, the dread" she feels when she has to walk "looking in all directions." Bananas, one of Ecuador's main export products -- along with oil, cocoa, shrimp, and flowers -- also suffer from organized crime. "We are victims of drug trafficking," Richard Salazar, director of a banana growers' association tells AFP. "We are victims of crime and organized crime with extortions," and despite checks, drug traffickers use large shipments of fruit to move cocaine, he explained. In a depressed economy, unemployment and underemployment affect almost a quarter of the population and one in three are poor, according to official figures. There is "a lot of informality" in employment, with poorly paid and precarious jobs, Acosta Burneo said. Septuagenarian retiree Gerardo Ortiz explained he can just about "subsist" on his $280 a month pension as he jokingly pointed to his "car" -- in reality a rusty bicycle leaning against a tree. With cash tight and security poor, foreign investors that once flocked to dollarized Ecuador have stayed away. The lack of investment "is reflected in an economy that does not grow as it should," according to Acosta Burneo. In 2023 and 2024, a lack of investment in the power sector and a serious drought caused power outages that lasted up to 14 hours a day. - No easy answers - In response to this multi-headed economic crisis, the presidential candidates propose very different solutions. "Gonzalez's plan is to bring a return of the strategic state" through infrastructure development and investments in public services, according to Christophe Ventura, a Latin America specialist at France's Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS). The leftist candidate advocates for a tax system that imposes a higher burden on the private sector and plans to reduce value-added tax, which Noboa increased from 12 percent to 15 percent. Noboa has backed tough security measures and traditional neoliberal economic policies -- negotiating a trade agreement with Canada to boost extractive industries. esp-arb/tgb
USA Today
08-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Steve Spurrier says Georgia accomplished 'second-hardest thing' in college football
Steve Spurrier says Georgia accomplished 'second-hardest thing' in college football Former Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier does not view the Georgia Bulldogs' 2024 college football season as a failure. We have to agree with Spurrier. Georgia won the SEC despite playing the toughest schedule in the country. Georgia beat the Texas Longhorns in the SEC championship game with its backup quarterback. Yes, Georgia went 11-3 and lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but head coach Kirby Smart really maximized this Georgia team. The Bulldogs were very unlikely to win a national championship with starting quarterback Carson Beck out for the season. Georgia's SEC championship is a nice consolation prize. "You've got some people out there saying Georgia didn't have a good season, and that's ridiculous," said Spurrier in an interview with Dawgnation. Georgia fans should look back at the past to understand how good of a season it was for UGA. From 2006 to 2015, former Georgia head coach Mark Richt did not win a single SEC championship. Georgia broke its SEC title drought with a remarkable 2017 season. The Bulldogs have already won three SEC championships during the Kirby Smart era (2017, 2022 and 2024). Georgia did not even win an SEC title during the 2021 national championship season. Every year can't be championship or bust. There's too much roster turnover in modern college football. Spurrier points out that Smart is the only active SEC coach to win an SEC championship. Georgia had to beat Texas, who was among the top teams in the country twice to win the 2024 conference championship. "That's (winning an SEC championship) the second-hardest thing there is to do in college football," said Spurrier. Georgia fans don't have to look far to see another notable SEC championship drought. Florida has not won an SEC title since 2008, which was back when Tim Tebow played. "Those (Georgia) fans need to appreciate Kirby (Smart)," added Spurrier, who also coached in the SEC at South Carolina. Only LSU's Brian Kelly has even won a division in the SEC, which highlights the gap in Kirby Smart's experience and winning history from the rest of the conference. Spurrier thinks that only Ohio State's Ryan Day had a significantly better season that Kirby Smart.
