Winning is everything for Urban Meyer and the University of Florida.

It’s the only logical excuse I can come up with for why Meyer suspended star linebacker Brandon Spikes for one half for eye gouging Georgia running back Washaun Ealey last Saturday.

The video started hitting the web after the game as it went unnoticed by the announcers during the contest.

Punching a player after the game like LeGarrette Blount did is one thing.

But trying to poke a guy’s eye out is another and it’s a total joke that Meyer is only suspending Spikes for one half.

“I don’t condone that,” Meyer said. “I understand what goes on on the football [field], but there’s no place for that. We’re going to suspend Brandon for the first half of the Vanderbilt game. I spoke with him. That’s not who he is. That’s not who we are. He got caught up in emotion.”

I would never expect a player to bench himself, but if Spikes were truly sorry, he would sit out the entire game next Saturday against Vanderbilt.

Yawn.

So much for an exciting National Championship game.

Florida defeated Oklahoma 24-14 on Thursday night, ending the 2008 college football season with a disputed champion in the Gators.

And before the clock could hit 0:00, the Tim Tebow love slurp fest by the media was already in full force.

Tebow is officially the Tyler Hansbrough of college football.

And unless he declares for the NFL Draft, which is unlikely, get ready for another 12 months of hearing about how much heart and determination #15 has.

On the eve of the National Championship in college football, Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has openly come out and discussed he hasn’t had an opportunity to serve as a head coach at a college program.

Strong’s theory – his white wife.

“Everybody always said I didn’t get that job because my wife is white. If you think about it, a coach is standing up there representing the university. If you’re not strong enough to look through that (interracial marriage) then you have an issue.”

Turner Gill, head coach of Buffalo, is also married to a white woman and the rumor is it might have been a factor when Auburn was interviewing for their head coach opening.

Is a white wife really the kiss of death?

Even in 2009, with a President taking office in less than two weeks who is a product of a bi-racial relationship, are we really still hung up over color?

The Yale Bulldogs football program is expected to introduce Tom Williams as their new head coach on Wednesday.

Williams will become the first Black head coach at the Ivy league program and just the second Black coach overall.

The 38-year-old Williams comes from the Jacksonville Jaguars where he served as an assistant the last two seasons.

Last season the Bulldogs went 6-4 under previous head coach Jack Siedlecki, including a 10-0 loss to rival Harvard.

So much for Texas making a claim at being National Champions.

A late touchdown by Quan Cosby saved head coach Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns, pulling out a 24-21 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl.

And Brown had the nerve to utter these words after the game:

“I wasn’t sure before, right now, in Friday morning I’m going to vote Texas No. 1 because I think this is the best team in the country.”

You’re kidding, right?

Did you not watch the same game the rest of the country saw on Monday night?

Tonight’s performance by both schools gives Utah fans even more reason to be upset about being 13-0 and shutout of any realistic chance of winning a national championship.

Playoffs, anyone?

DeWayne Walker is expected to be named the new head coach of the New Mexico State football program on Tuesday, becoming the seventh Black head coach at the major NCAA level.

Walker spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins and was a candidate for the head coach vacancy last season in Westwood before the Bruins decided to go with Rick Neuheisel.

Walker joins the likes of Ron English (Eastern Michigan), Mike Haywood (Miami of Ohio) and Mike Locksley (New Mexico) of Black coaches that have been hired this offseason.

Having Black coaches is one thing, but outside of Randy Shannon at Miami, the schools that are hiring these guys aren’t known for their college football programs.

Until a major college football powerhouse such as a Ohio State or a USC hires a Black coach, the same guys that are getting hired now will be getting fired three years later and won’t get the second opportunities like their white counterparts.