Top-ranked Florida will be without star
linebacker Brandon Spikes for the first half of Saturday's game
against Vanderbilt.

Coach Urban Meyer suspended Spikes on Monday, two days after the defensive captain apparently attempted to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey in a 41-17 victory.

"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."

Spikes issued a statement apologizing for what he did.

"I accept responsibility for my actions and I accept the
consequences of my actions," he said. "I would like to apologize
to my team and the coaching staff and Washaun Ealey. Football is a
very physical and emotional game, but there is no excuse for my
actions."

Meyer's wife mentioned Spikes' actions to him Sunday night, then
defensive coordinator Charlie Strong did the same Monday morning.
Meyer's said his first reaction was to move on. Then he saw a
replay of the incident, which shows Spikes shoving his
glove-covered right hand into Ealey's facemask and moving it back
and forth.

Meyer then spoke to Spikes and determined he was retaliating
after getting his helmet ripped off and eye poked earlier in the
game. Meyer also talked to Southeastern Conference commissioner
Mike Slive, but Florida officials said it was Meyer's decision to
suspend Spikes.

"We understand the game of football," Meyer said. "Some of us
have played it. Very emotional things happened in that game in
particular that were not good for either side, but the bottom line
is we're Florida and he's Brandon Spikes and we expect certain
things. He understands."

The SEC issued a statement saying it reviewed and accepted the
discipline handed down by Florida.

The Florida-Georgia game was filled with chippy behavior, with
pushing, shoving, five personal-foul penalties - three against
Georgia and two against Florida - and plenty of smack-talking.

Officials even gathered Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and
Georgia linebacker Marcus Dowtin together in the second quarter and
warned them things were getting out of hand.

"I don't think that we did anything in that game that they
didn't do," Tebow said Monday. "If you go back and look at it and
study it, you can see it in the film, too. It was an intense game,
both teams were very passionate about it."

Spikes is fourth on the team with 42 tackles and has three
sacks.

He considered entering the NFL draft in January, but decided to
return for his senior season in hopes of helping Florida win a
third national title in four years.

But he's battled injuries all season. He missed time early in
the season because of an Achilles' tendon injury, and sat out most
of two games because of a strained groin. He played only a series
against Arkansas on Oct. 17 and sat out the entire game the
following week.

He returned against Georgia and finished with a team-high 10
tackles. He also intercepted a pass and returned it 5 yards for a
touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"He's very intense and very emotional and very passionate,"
Tebow said. "I think that's what makes him part of the great
player that he is because he brings that fire. People look at him
and the defense wants to play for him. The offense, they want to
score so it makes it easier on him.

"He brings fire and he brings juice to everybody. Without that,
he would not be as great of a player as he is, and he would not be
even close to the leader that he is."