This is the Season of the Weird

One of Urban Meyer's themes for this season is that there are 12 marbles in the jar. Already, they are down to four.

Actually, the Gators still have six remaining. We just don't know what color the last two are.

We do know that Florida has four regular-season games, an SEC Championship Game and a bowl game remaining. Whether the marble in Atlanta is red and white or purple and gold remains to be seen. The sixth marble, we don't even know where it will be, let alone what color it is.

The reason for Meyer's motivational theme was to make the players understand how special this season is and to treasure each marble.

But that was before the Summer of Stupid morphed into the Season of the Weird.

How many of you would like to take that jar of marbles and dump it out? Just kidding. Nobody wants to go all Cole Hamels and want this season to be over.

But it has been mentally draining whether you are part of the Gator Nation or a coach or a player or even a lowly hack covering the team.

I sent a text to a friend who works in the SEC office Wednesday night and asked him if he had ever seen a season this weird.

"I'm ready for basketball season," he said in his return text.

Because it certainly has been a difficult Season of the Weird for the boys in Birmingham as well.

This week has been bizarre, which makes it typical in the Season of the Weird. Anybody out there breaking down Vanderbilt? Only in this season could LSU and Alabama be playing with one loss between them and be a sidebar.

Instead, the week has been about YouTube, an ever-changing suspension and a $30,000 fine. In essence, Meyer was fined by the SEC for something Lane Kiffin did.

Now that's weird.

There would have not been any new rule passed if the Tennessee coach had not questioned the integrity of the league and the commissioner two weeks ago. The league wanted to shut Kiffin up. Maybe this was, too, part of his master plan. Kiffin should be declared homecoming king of the Season of the Weird.

And part of the SOTW has been the record Meyer set this week.

Maybe you are not aware of it. But Meyer this week broke a long-standing record — most unsolicited advice offered to a college football coach during one season. And with six marbles left!

I think Gerry Faust had the old record.

Meyer has been offered advice by national media, local media, fans, haters, bloggers, chatters, so-called experts, ex-coaches, ex-players, ex-convicts, clergy, convenience store clerks, clerks of courts and court jesters about everything.

Everything imaginable.

Whether to play Tim Tebow after his concussion. How many points to score on Tennessee. What plays to run on offense. What players to run on offense. How long suspensions should be. Whether Tebow should have Bible passages on his eye black. Who should play Gator Growl. When to take Tebow out of a game. What to eat for dinner.

Most of it bounces off the bubble that envelops a guy immersed in trying to make this season special for his football team. But he is aware of the, well, whatever you want to call it.

Nonsense.

Stuff.

Noise in the system.

You don't get this nonsense if you're the coach at Tulane or Wake Forest or Washington State. This comes with the sunshine, 85-degree November days and $4 million a year.

And we all knew this season was going to be different. The bar was set so high it was unreachable. The expectations were so heavy they were suffocating. The spotlight has been so bright it is blinding.

We talked this summer about this being the most-anticipated season in Florida history. That anticipation comes with a certain scrutiny. And in the Season of the Weird, it has become over-the-top.

Which is why a coach who is 8-0, his team winners of the SEC East, who is the winner of 18 straight, who is 52-9 at his current school and 14-1 against the team's rivals can be perceived as doing everything the wrong way.

Don't worry.

It'll all be over soon, this Season of the Weird.

But before it is, I'm guessing something else will happen.

Like we'll actually write about football.