Going up: Zook's wild ride keeps spinning

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - When they booed him, doubted him, presumably wanted him gone, Florida coach Ron Zook called the fans-turned-naysayers the ``noise in the system.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Last week, the ``noise in the system&#39;&#39; was cheering him.<br> <br> A coach who looked like firing material last month could now be considered a legitimate candidate for Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year. No. 17 Florida has a three-game winning streak heading into Saturday&#39;s meeting with Vanderbilt, and the Gators (6-3, 4-2 SEC) are surprisingly back in the race for the conference title.<br> <br> Going against the Commodores (1-8, 0-5), a team with a 22-game conference losing streak, it seems unlikely that fickle fans a fickle sport, really will bite the mercurial coach this week. If nothing else, though, Zook has learned over his year-plus as Florida&#39;s coach to take absolutely nothing for granted.<br> <br> ``I&#39;ve got some guys I&#39;m very close to in the NFL, and they used to say, everyone has to have some fear for your job,&#39;&#39; said Zook, a former NFL assistant. ``It makes you work a little harder and it keeps you on edge. I know this: We&#39;re 60 minutes away from being right back where we were.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Regardless, it&#39;s a better position than Zook was in just four weeks ago.<br> <br> Bad-looking losses to Ole Miss and Tennessee left the Gators at 3-3. Their offense looked disorganized, their defense callow. While the coaches and players insisted there was still hope, the ``noise in the system&#39;&#39; was making different sounds.<br> <br> ``I judge how bad it is by how far away people call me from,&#39;&#39; Zook said. ``If they call me from the West Coast and say, `Man, are you OK?&#39; then I know it&#39;s pretty bad.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> For the time being, though, things are pretty good.<br> <br> Freshman quarterback Chris Leak is getting a little better each week, and so is the Florida offense. Once derided as little more than an unimaginative series of screen passes and draw plays, the Gators are showing more variety. And that once-predictable ``bubble screen&#39;&#39; to the sidelines has produced two long touchdowns in the last three games.<br> <br> ``We believed in the system, we just knew it would take some time to set in,&#39;&#39; offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher said.<br> <br> Throw out Florida&#39;s 71-13 pasting of the Commodores in 2001, and Vandy has a history of playing the Gators tough. Last year, Florida won 21-17 and in 1999, it was a 13-6 game. Still, the &#39;Dores can be tempting to overlook. This year&#39;s team is in line to become the first in program history to lose 11 games. Vandy hasn&#39;t won an SEC game since November 2000.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a streak that shouldn&#39;t be here,&#39;&#39; receiver Erik Davis said. ``Obviously, we&#39;re in a conference for a reason, and it&#39;s not to lose.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Were Vandy to unexpectedly get it together and pull off an upset, Florida would be out of the SEC race and Zook would be back to where he was a month ago actually, probably lower.<br> <br> If things hold to form, the coach would be another win away, next week against South Carolina, from having a legitimate chance of winning the SEC.<br> <br> Florida would win a two-way tie at 6-2 with Georgia. If Florida, Georgia and Tennessee end in a three way tie at 6-2, athletic directors would meet to decide the SEC champion.<br> <br> It&#39;s a far cry from where this team and this coach were just a month ago.<br> <br> ``Sometimes, you&#39;ve got to keep on keeping on,&#39;&#39; Zook said. ``Obviously, there&#39;s a lot of faith involved. But we&#39;re going to get to where we&#39;re supposed to get. We&#39;ve just got to stay the course.&#39;&#39;

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