From PalmBeachPost.com:

GAINESVILLE — What a difference one week makes for Florida. On Saturday, the Gators were all smiles as they turned in their most complete performance in more than a month in a 41-17 rout of arch-rival Georgia.

Just seven days prior, an emotional group of players had aired their grievances to each other in the locker room following a 29-19 win over Mississippi State.

It was UF's second straight disappointing victory, following a close 23-20 win over Arkansas. Although UF had improved to 7-0, rumors surfaced last week that team leaders Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes got into a heated argument in the locker room following the MSU game.

"It wasn't nothing. It was all positive," Spikes said. "We came together, me and him, got the team together, and we kind of got things right."

Urban Meyer denied any rift.

"There was no skirmish. There was some words said, and it was much more than Tim," Meyer said. "It was a bunch of guys taking fault for not playing well. I was right in the middle of it. As a head coach, I said, 'I shouldn't have called that play from the 4-yard line.' ... Mike Pouncey said, 'Hey, I got to play better.' And there was no finger pointing."

Besides the 30-minute, closed-door meeting after the MSU game, Meyer also had UF basketball coach Billy Donovan speak to the football team leaders Thursday about sticking together. On Friday night, Meyer spoke to his team about not letting outside influences affect the season.

"We had a lot of motivation coming into this game that I can't really talk about," senior linebacker Ryan Stamper said. "But that pretty much got us ready to play."

UF (8-0, 6-0 SEC) dominated Georgia in all areas. And with South Carolina's loss to Tennessee, the Gators clinched their third SEC East division title in four years to earn a spot in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5.

Meyer was asked if the locker room scene after the MSU win could be this team's "Ole Miss" moment - referring to Tebow's speech after last year's loss to the Rebels that many say inspired UF to win the national title.

"At some point, I think in February, you do reflect upon moments in the season," Meyer said. "Not now."

The rumors say Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes got into a shouting match following Florida’s ugly 29-19 win over Mississippi State eight days ago. Sunday, Urban Meyer first denied any such rift occurred, then said that his team had a group therapy session that was “all positive.”

All we know is this – SOMETHING happened in the locker room that night in Starkville. And whatever happened – the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle – it worked in yesterday’s 41-17 thrashing of Georgia.

“We had a lot of motivation coming into this game that I can’t really talk about,” senior linebacker Ryan Stamper said. “But that pretty much got us ready to play.”

The Gators, despite their undefeated record, had a lot of conflict last week. The offense was struggling mightily, especially in the Red Zone, and Tebow, Meyer and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio were taking a lot of heat.

“Last week it was, ‘The Ship is sinking. The boat’s got holes in it,’” Meyer said.

“It was a hard week on all of us,” Addazio said. “These kids feel and hear all this stuff going on. You’re sitting here, you’re having a hell of a year, you listen to this stuff, it’s like, ‘Wow.’ It can tug in a lot of places.”

Then rumors started to fly that Tebow and Spikes had a nasty exchange in the locker room in Starkville. Spikes was asked about it after the Georgia win.

“It wasn’t nothing. It was all positive,” Spikes told reporters. “We came together me and him, got the team together and we kind of got things right.”

“It was a hard week, because we were frustrated,” Tebow said. “We weren’t living up to our potential or executing as well as we should have been.”

When asked about it Sunday, Meyer denied that any rift occurred between his two star players.

“There was no finger-pointing speech, and there was no altercation. I’m not sure where you’re gathering your information,” Meyer said. “There was a very positive speech about staying focused. … Very passionate locker room about how we can play better, but there was no altercation whatsoever.”

Later, Meyer admitted that words were exchanged — by everyone.

“There was no skirmish. There was some words said, and it was much more than Tim,” Meyer said. “It was a bunch of guys taking fault for not playing well. I was right in the middle of it. As a head coach, I said, ‘I shouldn’t have called that play from the 4 yard line.’ … Mike ‘Pouncey said, ‘Hey, I got to play better.’ And there was no finger pointing. … It was all positive. It was all really good stuff.”

“It wasn’t two guys, it wasn’t four guys. It was a team.”

Meyer preached all week about sticking together. Thursday, he asked UF basketball coach Billy Donovan to speak to the football team leaders about the same thing.

“It was a great speech,” receiver Riley Cooper said. “We took it to heart.”

“I want to thank Billy publicly,” Meyer said. “What he did for our team, that’s real stuff. To have a resource like that an eighth of a mile from my office, it’s kind of cool.”

Friday, Meyer delivered one more fiery speech to his players at the Sawgrass Marriott hotel about not letting outsiders or distractions ruin their national championship dreams.

“This was a hard week,” Meyer said. “Hard week on the coaches, hard week on our quarterback. It was real hard. There’s only one way to have fun around here, and that’s go sing the fight song after the game.”

Which the Gators did Saturday after cruising to a 41-17 victory over their arch-rivals. Meyer agreed that Tebow and the Gators really needed a strong performance Saturday after letting expectations get to them in games against Tennessee, Arkansas and MSU.

“Yesterday was about as pressure packed a game as I can remember around here,” Meyer said.

“We have a lot of doubters, Gator haters,” Stamper said, “and I think when we hear a lot of negative stuff, it gets guys pumped up.”

To reward his players for sticking together, Meyer awarded a game ball to every senior on the team.

“Very emotional locker room in there,” Meyer said. “One of the best team wins we’ve had at Florida.”

Meyer was asked if the locker room following the MSU victory could be the team’s “Ole Miss” moment.

“At some point, I think in February, you do reflect upon moments in the season,” Meyer said. “Not now. Our focus is on Vanderbilt.”