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UF steamed at SEC over kickoff times

 
Published Aug. 26, 2013

GAINESVILLE — Florida opens its season at 12:21 p.m. Saturday against Toledo, but the Gators have let the SEC know they are not happy about another early season kickoff time being slated for the hottest part of the day.

Based on the long-range forecast, the heat index is expected to exceed 100 degrees in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Mike Hill, UF's executive associate athletic director of external affairs, said athletic director Jeremy Foley has sought relief from the SEC.

"We have engaged the conference in significant discussions here over the past few weeks and pointed out the number of early kickoffs we've had in the early season heat," Hill recently told the Orlando Sentinel.

Four of UF's past six openers have kicked off before 12:30 p.m. and last season Florida hosted Bowling Green at 3:30 p.m.

As rights fees to broadcast SEC games have reached $3 billion, "we have less control over that now," said Hill, who noted that some fans have voiced their displeasure with the game time and several thousand tickets remain available.

Southern Cal: Coach Lane Kiffin said both third-year sophomores Max Wittek and Cody Kessler will play quarterback during the opener Thursday at Hawaii. "We look at it as a great thing," Kiffin told the Los Angeles Times. "We've got two guys that we feel great about. We don't feel like we have to limit our offense with either one." Kiffin said he had not decided how much each would play and that he would decide who will go first after the Trojans arrive in Hawaii.

Texas A&M: Starting defensive backs Deshazor Everett and Floyd Raven each will miss some playing time for a violation of athletic department policies, the school announced. Everett, a cornerback, will sit a half game, and Raven, a safety, will be suspended a full game. Both were suspended from team activities for nearly a month after they were charged this summer with two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of criminal mischief stemming from an April fight in College Station.

Tennessee: Junior Justin Worley was named the starting quarterback for Saturday's season opener against Austin Peay, ESPN reported. Worley won a four-way battle with redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman and true freshmen Riley Ferguson and Josh Dobbs.

SMU nets a top basketball recruit

Coach Larry Brown scored the biggest victory in his tenure at Southern Methodist, getting a commitment from Emmanuel Mudiay, the No. 2-rated point guard in the ESPN 100 out of Prime Prep in Arlington, Texas.

Mudiay chose the Mustangs, who haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1993, over Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State. He said he wanted to play close to home and for a Hall of Fame coach.

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More basketball: UNLV coach Dave Rice suspended sophomore Savon Goodman for all of next season, cbssports.com reported. Goodman, who reportedly had a warrant issued for his arrest this month, faces two felony charges on first degree burglary and grand larceny after his arrest on May 18, 2013. He is also facing a gross misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit burglary according to a Clark County case file. Goodman has not been convicted and is due in court for arraignment Friday. Rice said Goodman is still on the team and scheduled to attend classes when they start today.

Soccer: Sarah Miller scored the equalizer in the 69th minute and the USF women team (1-0-1) tied host Texas 1-1 Sunday. … Edwin Moalosi scored both USF goals in a 2-1 men's exhibition victory over the University of Tampa late Saturday to reclaim the Rowdies Cup. The Bulls open the regular season at 8 p.m. Friday at Corbett Stadium against Florida Gulf Coast. … FSU's women's team (2-0-0) beat visiting Auburn 4-1 as Berglind Thorvaldsdottir scored two goals and assisted on another.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.