Georgia Bulldogs v. Florida Gators: Too Much Information Foresees Certain Doom
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 5:30 PM EDT
in Georgia Bulldogs Football
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PrintThis is the part of the week I have been dreading. This is the part of the week in which I provide you with historical details and statistical minutiae, all with an eye toward providing you a measure of insight into the Georgia Bulldogs’ upcoming contest. I call this segment "Too Much Information," because, ordinarily, that is what I offer.
This time, though, I’m not sure what information I have to bring you that you don’t already know. I already brought you "The Feel Good Stat of the Week," and, frankly, that tapped out my last reserve of optimism. Accordingly, this is all the information I have to give you, and, I am afraid, all the information that matters:
3-18.
You’re tired of hearing it. I’m tired of hearing it. It’s stupid, really, to segment the history of the series in such terms. That 21-season stretch, after all, included all or part of the tenures of three Georgia coaches and all of the tenures of three Florida coaches; a fourth such Gator skipper will be on the sidelines for this Saturday’s edition of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
Moreover, that 21-year period has had two distinct phases. From 1990 to 2000, the Florida Gators finished atop the SEC standings seven times, and represented the Eastern Division in the SEC Championship Game seven times, while the Red and Black finished with six or fewer wins five times. It was the best of (pre-Urban Meyer) times for the Sunshine State Saurians, and the worst of (post-Johnny Griffith) times for the Classic City Canines, and that reality is reflected in the fact that Georgia went 1-10 against Florida during that period, with six of those losses being by more than 30 points. The Gators were just better, period.
Following a transitional year in 2001---Mark Richt’s first in Athens, and Steve Spurrier’s last in Gainesville---the two programs’ stories have been quite different from what came before, and quite similar to one another’s. From 2002 to 2010, the Bulldogs made three SEC Championship Game appearances, winning two of them, and the Gators made three SEC Championship Game appearances, winning two of them. The comparable caliber of the two teams was reflected in the results in Jacksonville, as six of those nine series meetings were decided by margins of three (2003 and 2010), four (2005), or seven points (2002, 2004, and 2006) . . . yet still the Athenians went 2-7 against the Orange and Blue during that stretch.
These are equally strong programs---at the end of the day, Georgia may even be out-recruiting Florida, at least in post-attrition terms---but something is preventing the ‘Dawgs from clearing the hurdle of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, to the point that Bulldog fans feel the need to formulate false (albeit humorous) histories just to cope. It’s maddening. It’s inexplicable (or maybe not). It’s unfathomable. And yet, it’s there, it’s unmistakable, and it is what it is.
What it is, is 3-18.
I am 42 years old. Between the day of my birth and the year I celebrated my 21st birthday, the Georgia Bulldogs went 16-5-1 against the Florida Gators; six days after I emerged from the womb, the Red and Black trounced the Orange and Blue in Jacksonville by a 51-0 margin en route to a second SEC title in a three-year span. I was born, and grew to adulthood, in a world in which Georgia beating Florida simply was to be expected, an immutable fact of the natural order, like the seasons changing or the sun rising. The certainty of victory, whether in a lopsided beatdown or through thrilling eleventh-hour heroics, was every bit as entrenched, and every bit as warranted, then, as the certainty of defeat is today.
For that reason, I spent much of the 1990s believing what we were seeing in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was a mere aberration, a bizarre anomaly that we later would look back on as a temporary oddity, as baffling and surreal as the idea that Jimmy Carter was ever the president of the United States. As the decade dragged along and the outcomes were not altered, however, I came to accept the depressing reality. In the second 21 of my 42 years, the Bulldogs have gone 3-18 against the Gators.
3-18.
3-18 is the reality of our lives until, finally, it isn’t. I entered the week hopeful, recognizing that all trends must end, but, ultimately, I have come to view this merely as wishful thinking, born of the fervent desire that I’m not going to have to put up with this crap for the next 21 years, until I’m 63 and even more crotchety and embittered by this nonsense.
Should Georgia win this game? Yeah, probably, but Georgia should’ve won last year’s game under virtually identical circumstances, as well. Meanwhile, despite discouragingly encouraging early reports, none of the pertinent news that has arrived at our doorstep in the last two weeks has been promising. Kwame Geathers and Shawn Williams are suspended. John Brantley is probable. Malcolm Mitchell is doubtful. Aaron Murray spent his idle Saturday unwisely. In a series as hallmarked by bad luck for the Bulldogs as this one has been for two decades, those aren’t indicators, they’re omens. Every portent signals doom, and the lyrics of Creedence Clearwater Revival run through all of our minds. Don’t go ‘round tonight, ‘cause it’s bound to take your life. There’s a bad moon on the rise.
I predicted another 34-31 overtime setback on two podcasts this week, but I have grown more dour with each passing hour, secure in the knowledge that shows of confidence prior to neutral-site games against orange-and-blue-clad opponents we once owned are merely expressions of hubris, the characteristic displayed in the first acts of Greek plays whose second acts end unhappily.
The closer we get to kickoff, the more convinced I get that we don’t just lose, we lose badly. Yeah, the Gators have lost three in a row . . . to the top two teams in the country and the defending national champions, with two of those games being played on the road and all of those games being played at least partly without their starting quarterback. We’re a marginal top 25 outfit at best, Brantley is back, the game is at a neutral site at which Florida fans will be holding half the tickets, and the Sunshine State Saurians are coming off of an open date. (Sure, we are, too, but how much good did that do us last time?)
Maybe the hiring of a University of Georgia alumnus in Gainesville will mark as stark a sea change in the course of the rivalry in 2011 as the hiring of a University of Florida alumnus in Gainesville did in 1990, but, at this stage of the game, 21 years and half my life removed from the era in which the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was anything other than the World’s Largest Outdoor Wake, I’m all out of hope. Like doubting Thomas, I will need to see it before I believe it, and, I’m sorry, but this one has "Gator blowout" written all over it. I hope I’m wrong, and that all of you get to come back here afterward and say, "I told you so," but I’m calling it like I see it, and I see it as a bloodletting.
My Prediction: Florida 42, Georgia 13.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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/sits down solidly next to Kyle. Hate to say it, but Unbridled Pessimism – it’s the only way.
I can bake like a demon.
It's this mindset that bothers me...
I truly hope our coaches and players don’t feel like many of the fans…
Why even bother taking the field, since we’ve already lost?
Trust me, being pessimistic hasn’t worked, for I’ve been pessimistic about this game for most of my life. Maybe being optimistic about this game is what needs to happen!*
GATA!
*We can go back to being pessimistic about other games the rest of the season, including NM State, but, just this once, let’s call it like is: UGA is the better team and will win this year. Period.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
Excessivus sez:
We only allow 10 offensive points. However, we give up 42 on special teams.
I’ve revised my earlier prediction from the Podcast.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
I understand and respect your point of view, Jman781, and I'm not trying to change your mind.
I share your hope that our coaches and players feel differently, and, as I said, nothing would please me more than to be wrong about this one. I just have a very, very bad feeling about this one. I freely admit that my analysis is far from rational, but, with Brantley’s return, Mitchell’s absence, Geathers’s and Williams’s suspensions, our special teams woes, and everything else, well, at a certain point, I lost faith. I hope to have my faith restored, but I feel like I owe an obligation of honesty here, even if I hope I’m wrong.
Go 'Dawgs!
Wow.
Okay.
So that’s where we’re at.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see us losing, for we lose to them more often than not; but 42-13? We only lost to Boise State by 14, yet you think a mediocre Gator team will win by over twice that amount? Are the Gators with Brantley twice as good as Kellen Moore and the Broncos? No. Last time I checked, Brantley wasn’t the second-coming of Danny Wuerffel—no matter how you slice it, John Brantley is still John Brantley.
We can’t lose to them for the rest of eternity, and it ends this year.
I’m calling it UGA 24 – Florida 10.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
I think his overarching point is that in the CMR era - stats don't matter in this game, at all.
Look how many times something stupid or crazy has happened.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Exactly, tankertoad.
I would add, Jman781, that the final score of the Boise State game was in no respects indicative of the magnitude of the beatdown; the Broncos were way more than 14 points better than the Bulldogs that night, on the field if not on the scoreboard. Furthermore, if Boise State and Florida had swapped schedules at the start of the year, the Gators would be undefeated, and the Broncos likely would be 5-2. I’m not so sure Florida is markedly inferior to Boise State, and there are psychological factors in play here, in any event.
That said, Jman781, I like your prediction better than mine! I hope you get to say, “I told you so.”
Go 'Dawgs!
I understand but the final score was 35-21
While you can argue the beat down was worse than the final score indicates, the score is what is: a 14 point win for the Broncos, which is a team I believe is better on both sides of the ball than Florida.
If you’re allowed to discredit the Dawgs for their 14-point loss to Boise and argue the game was more of a blood-letting than the score indicates, I can point to the South Carolina, Miss. State and Ole Miss games and make the opposite point: UGA out played each team and should have won by way more than they did or, in the case of South Carolina, flat out won. But I cannot do that, for the scores of each of the Ole Miss, Miss. State, and South Carolina games are what they are, as is the Boise State game.
I sincerely apologize for the tone some of my comments the past few days may have emitted, but I am frustrated that people now expect UGA to not only lose to the Gators, but to lose by nearly 30 points. Why? Because we’ve lost to them in the past? That’s the gambler’s fallacy right there. This is a completely new season; I’m aware of our history, but what happened in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and the 00s hardly matters at this point.
Let’s look at the facts:
1. UGA’s defense is much improved from last year, and if the offense showed up at all in the first half against Boise State, the defense would have played better in that game, too (also, it didn’t help that in game one, Ogletree went down in the first half, causing the Broncos to exploit the hole left by his departure). Just look at our defensive rankings. They’re solid if not great.
Sure, we’ve played offensive powerhouses like South Carolina, Tennessee, Miss. State, etc., but credit must be given, for this same defense struggled mightily at times against inferior offense the past couple of seasons.
2. UGA is relatively healthy. The only major injury we have is to one WR (I know he’s been our best WR, but he’s still a true freshman). We’ll have all of our other weapons at our disposal, including Ogletree.
3. Geathers and Williams are only out for one half. Even you acknowledged on this site this is not that big of a deal, assuming we can keep it close in the first half. Heck, I think having Geathers fresh for the second half is an advantage. Thus, you must feel Florida will be up 28-3 at halftime, for they will struggle in the second half once we have everyone back. (This point does not even mention that Washington will be back and, hopefully, angry.)
4. The only difference between crappy Florida and the Florida you expect to kill the Dawgs: a gimpy Brantley. Brantley suffered a high-ankle sprain. These injuries do not heal quickly, and as evidenced by Michael Turner’s play in 2009 for the Falcons when he suffered such a sprain, the injury lingers. Thus, one of your bad omens is a mediocre QB on a gimpy ankle going against a completely healthy and blood-thirsty defense? A team that couldn’t muster hardly any offense the past three weeks (even if playing solid opponents) will suddenly light up the scoreboard because of one mediocre, injured player? Why?
Once again, Florida is a good team, not great, but good, and they very well may win the game if we have bad turnovers or our special teams falter yet again. But we only lost to the Gamecocks by 3 points and the wheels came completely off in that game. Why would a similar, unlikely scenario in the WLOCP result in a 30-point loss? As mentioned above, the Boise State Broncos, even if toying with us, only won by 14 points. We’re a better now than we were in that game, and Florida is not Boise State, at least not this year.
To predict defeat is one thing, for Florida is capable, but to predict and expect a beatdown is insulting to our team. They deserve better from our fans. Once again, I’m not challenging your fandom, for I know you’ll be screaming your head off on Saturday, probably louder than anyone else. You’re one the good guys, but you have to see why this prediction ruffles many feathers.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
by Jman781 on Oct 28, 2011 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
3-18
you’re trying to analyze a series that’s beyond rational explanation. I was were you were two season ago.
Twitter:ChopAttack
Irrelevant.
I’m not analyzing the game based on 3-18 at all, for it’s irrelevant.
As many have indicated:
1. UGA dominated the series in the past, yet Florida managed to turn things around. Why?
2. Florida in the 1990s was the superior team, so let’s throw about 10 games out right there.
3. Florida was better if not equal to UGA many of the past 10 years. Thus, them winning may not be because we blew the game, but because they outplayed us.
Thus, we’re looking at maybe 3 games total where UGA should have won but didn’t. Three. This is what we’re all fretting over? A random Edwards dropped pass? A ill-timed Shockley injury? Come on.
If we win tomorrow, we’ll be 3-5 in the last 8 games (which include the Tebow years). That’s hardly lopsided to me.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
I certainly understand why it ruffles some feathers, Jman781, . . .
. . . though that wasn’t my intention, nor was it my intention to insult our team. To repeat, I hope I’m wrong, and I freely admit that my analysis is less than rational. I’m just sharing my opinion, and asking for the opinions of others in response. I appreciate and respect your sentiments, and I regret it if I annoyed or offended you.
Go 'Dawgs!
Nope.
I’m only annoyed and offended by the Gators.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
by Jman781 on Oct 28, 2011 8:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I don't speak for tKK or anyone else, but
Please consider that we at this site, while intending to bring solid analysis of UGA sports, also are UGA fans, so all analysis comes from a fan’s perspective. Please consider further that superstition is an integral part of many fans’ experiences, as is a deep desire to preserve decent mental health in the face of a rivalry series that’s been psychologically challenging for a generation.
Also, I think my podcast prediction matched yours, Jman.
by NCT on Oct 29, 2011 9:10 AM EDT via iPhone app up reply actions 1 recs
I am not dumb
I fully comprehend his post.
It appears some around here are going out of their way to predict a Florida victory, when we could just as easily predict our own victory.
I find it interesting that many neutral sites are taking the Dawgs, yet some argue that my optimism misplaced.
It’s sad, really, that I can’t be optimistic on here. This is the only team that generates this much pessimism, and they aren’t worthy of such energy.
This is merely my opinion. I’m not an idiot merely for thinking we can win. Conversely, I respect, and acknowledge, that we could lose by 30 points, too.
GATA!
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
by Jman781 on Oct 27, 2011 10:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I don't think anyone called you dumb, Jman781, and I'm sorry if anything came across that way.
I predict outcomes based upon my belief of what those outcomes will be. If I think we’re going to win by a lot, win by a little, lose by a little, or lose by a lot, I say so, and I say why. I freely admit that I am frequently wrong.
I believe recent developments—-Geathers’s and Williams’s suspensions, Brantley’s return, Mitchell’s likely absence—-operate for them and against us. Reasonable Georgia fans may disagree, and I apologize if anyone has given you the impression that such disagreement (particularly when such disagreement represents faith in the Bulldogs) is unwelcome. I tried very hard not to give that impression, but, if I failed, I’m sorry.
As I noted above, I’ll be thrilled to be wrong. I’m just offering an opinion, and welcoming others. If you could point to a specific instance where I did so poorly, I would be appreciative, as I would like the opportunity to address your concerns specifically.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Listen to the Dawg gone podcast
you’ll get at least one prediction you like.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
I'm halfway through...
It’s good stuff, but nearly 2 hours long!
I plan on listening to the rest while “watching” Game 7 of the WS tonight.
OT: Game 6 last night was awesome.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
I feel like the banhammer should be out in force at any sign of optimism.
We don’t want to talk the football gods or Penn Wagers.
Once again...
Show me proof that pessimism has served us well in this game?
Come on people; let’s get behind our team for a change!
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
Pessimissim
would serve you (and the rest of us) well going into this ;)
by Jason Marcus on Oct 27, 2011 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions
While I wouldn't go as far as GShock (I'm fine with folks expressing genuine optimism, . . .
. . . even though I don’t happen to share it), I don’t think it’s fair to accuse those of us who are pessimistic of not being behind our team. I’m behind our team every single week; I always have been, and I always will be. Strongly supporting someone in an endeavor, and believing deep down that the endeavor will be successful, are two different things. It is possible to do one without doing the other.
Go 'Dawgs!
Surely
I’ve been around these parts long enough for you and the other regulars to know I’m not questioning any of y’all’s fandom.
In fact, the reason this is my favorite blog because of the passion each of y’all have for the Dawgs, combined with the great writing, information, and wit.
I apologize if my desire for us to rally behind our team was misinterpreted as questioning your fandom. I know you want us to win, even if you don’t think we have much of a chance.
Simpy ask yourself this question: would the prediction be the same if we were playing the same set of players, but, as vinyarddawg has posed, they were wearing Kentucky uniforms?
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
by Jman781 on Oct 27, 2011 10:16 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think we all agree on this Jman781
The only problem with playing Florida is their Florida.
"I don't care for Auburn."
check that before ol' Vine shows up :-)
by dgreene on Oct 28, 2011 10:38 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
check that before ol' Vine shows up :-)
by dgreene on Oct 28, 2011 10:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm sorry I misinterpreted you, Jman781. My bad.
The prediction would be very different under those circumstances, of course. However, the circumstances are what they are, and the trend is what it is. I know it will end, and I hope it will end on Saturday, but I’m at the point where I’ll believe it when I see it. I freely admit that this does not reflect well on me, but, having seen my team dominate for half my life and be dominated for half my life, I simply have trouble treating bad news heading into Jacksonville as anything short of disastrous.
(By the way, this isn’t your fault, and I’m not calling you out on this specifically, but I’ve been saying for years, including here at the blog and on podcasts galore, that, if we could win the coin toss in Jacksonville and elect to have Florida go back in the tunnel and come back out wearing Tennessee uniforms, we’d beat them half the time. Now vineyarddawg steals my bit, dumbs it down, and says Kentucky instead of Tennessee, and all of a sudden everybody wants to credit him with my insight! The nerve!) :)
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
A little bit too much pessimism
You forget that we have a defense thats solid, plus well be getting back one of, if not best players on the team in ogletree. And I think we all know how bad brantley is
Thanks, Dawgs013.
You make very valid points about our defense, and about Alec Ogletree. However, I am by no means convinced that John Brantley is bad. The Gators were 4-1 in games he started, and 4-0 in games he both started and finished.
Go 'Dawgs!
Tosh damit, no matter how many times I lose to UF at NCAA Football 12, no matter how many bad feelings I have, the number of times odds see Florida over Georgia, I am STILL a DAWG. We need to bite these Gaytors in the ass, and we need to ride and love our truck like never before, and we need to hate our Florida each and every day like it’s the last. We need a good showing from Blair Walsh and Drew Butler, and we need Murray to be his best. This is the most important game of the season, because if we lose we can essentially kiss an SEC East title goodbye. We have Crowell and Mitchell well rested, we need Ogletree (#9) there. We need Geathers and Jenkins to be the badassest looking nose guards there is, and we need our 329.5-average pound biggest in NCAA and NFL offensive line to block like their lives to depend on it, and we need Crowell and Thomas and Samuel to run like hell, and we need to STOP THEIR GAYTOR ASS. And we need to LOVE OUR TRUCK.
My dad taught me how to make meat for sloppy joes and my mom let me turn over hot dogs on the grill.
by ChopMaster on Jun 25, 2011 7:25 PM CDT
by justincredubil02 on Jun 28, 2011 9:50 PM EDT reply actions
"Here in the National League where we play REAL baseball, DH means double-header." -Me.
Dawg Sports -Georgia Bulldogs. When life gives you Gators, make Gatorade.
Uh,
Mitchell is very unlikely for this game, and getting him more hurt would be a mistake. I hope we arent dependent on our kickers, because that means punts and FGs. Ogletree was the main man, and the biggest dawg, but he is coming off a broken foot and hasnt played in over a month. Geathers is suspended. The day I see RSIV run like hell I will look for the rapture.
But I like your last last line a lot. )
"I don't care for Auburn."
Thanks, ChopMaster.
I admire your enthusiasm. However, I would echo Mr. Sanchez’s polite reminder. While I am perfectly fine with derogatory remarks about the Gators (within reason), let’s not malign innocent bystanders by lumping them in with the Florida faithful. Fight the real enemy!
Go 'Dawgs!
Whatifsports.com
Has this as a very even game. With UGA coming out ahead 26-21. The box score prediction shows VERY little of any difference. But they are 13-1 with regards to predicting the 14 games these two teams have played (they predicted a win over the Gamecocks for us)…
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Much obliged, Dawg2011.
That’s some interesting information, of which I had not been aware.
A 26-21 Georgia win wouldn’t hurt my feelings a bit. I seem to recall such a final score at least once before, as a matter of fact. . . .
Go 'Dawgs!
80 and 81...same score 26-21 Dogs
…82 44-0 which I like mo better
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the Dawgs of war; - Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 1
by Vietnam Dog on Oct 27, 2011 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions
As much as this pleases me
it’s going to be incorrect. I could (could) see Florida’s defense keeping UGA under 25, but there’s no way UF puts up 40+. I know the recent history of this series suggests weird things happen (in Florida’s favor, generally), but 42 points is not happening. Brantley or no, an offense this fundamentally dysfunctional doesn’t go off on good defenses like that.
Now, if UGA has a special teams meltdown….
Oh, come on. Don't leave your uncle T-bag hangin'.
I appreciate that, Troll2Troll.
Your closing comment is noteworthy, however. Both Georgia and Florida have areas of special teams in which they are good, and other areas of special teams in which they are bad. The kicking game could be a huge factor here, and either team could make a big play, or encounter abject disaster, in that area. The Gators, for instance, could easily block a punt to get good field position, but they could just as easily muff a punt to give the Bulldogs good field position. The Red and Black easily could return a kickoff for a touchdown, but they just as easily could give up a punt return for a touchdown. Special teams easily could be the difference in this game, in either direction.
Go 'Dawgs!
Agreed entirely.
As a football dork, the thing I probably loved most about Meyer was his special teams excellence.
Watching UF muff punts and rugby punt and blow kick coverage this year has depressed me. Especially the muffed punts. How the bleeping bleep does the University of Florida not have someone on roster who can field a punt?!
Blair Walsh still scares me, even if he’s struggled this year. Sturgis has been having a Groza Award type season, but a tight hamstring for a kicker is the death knell.
The only special teams area I have any real hope for on Saturday is the punt block unit. If it were me, I’d call for the block on every punt and not even bother trying to field them. Normally you’d run the risk of fakes in that gameplan, but Richt is a pretty conservative coach, especially in Jacksonville. Who know, though. Maybe Evil Richt makes an appearance.
Oh, come on. Don't leave your uncle T-bag hangin'.
The problem I've seen
with UGA’s kicking game is that we are easily tricked. If the kicking team doesn’t try any tomfoolery, we do pretty damn good. If the kicking team doesn’t do exactly what we think they should be doing (kicking the ball to us and no funny stuff!), we get caught with our thumbs up our butts. It’s happened on a few occasions it seems.
Not sure if it’s different for Fla. Sounds like an execution problem for the Gators, which can be fixed. Not sure being easily fooled can be fixed as easily.
Back off, man. I'm a scientist.
by Droz on Oct 28, 2011 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
After SC
I doubt that TG will ever take another punt off. EVER
by ChoppingTalk on Oct 28, 2011 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
We don’t have a chance in hell of putting up 40+ points. Starting with the 1997 game and continuing on until UGA stomped in the endzone, no team scored 40 points. 40 points haven’t been easy to come by lately in the rivalry.
This ain’t the Florida team to do it either.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.
South Carolina didn't have the offense to score 45 on us, either.
However, the Gamecocks’ offense was enough to generate 17, and Georgia’s offensive miscues and special teams gaffes gave them the other 28. That could happen here . . . rather easily, in fact.
Go 'Dawgs!
Yeah, but with Chris Rainey’s apparent depth perception problem, any bonus we get on special teams could be negated by that.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.
Oh … well, carry on then.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.
Fla is pretty level headed.
UF is just a mess right now.
I, on the other hand, am a dyed in the wool pessimist. Everything I know about football, this Florida team and this Georgia team screams “UGA by 21” to me. The only reason I have any hope (something I did not have at all vs. LSU) is UGA’s fairly robust recent history of inventing new ways to lose in Jacksonville. I doubt that will be enough for the Gators this year, sadly.
Oh, come on. Don't leave your uncle T-bag hangin'.
Y'all have been a mess all month...
but that almost makes me scared y’all are due for a good game. You’ve had two weeks to pound back fundamental football in their heads, and there’s just something about this game where y’all have for the last 2+ decades, gotten your act together in it. Under Zook, last year, etc. I don’t trust y’all to play anywhere near as bad at the Cocktail Party as you did the last 3 games.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
I never understand the 'bye week to learn things' argument.
Isn’t that what peewee, middle school, high school, and summer/fall workouts are for?
We basically fought Auburn to take the win. LSU showed a severe lack of assignment football and exposed us to a bleak truth about our teams ability to settle into a new system/playbooks. The punt-run by Wing for a TD was perhaps the saddest thing I’ve ever seen from the stands. Even in the nosebleeds, it looked like our coverage team stood up and ran to the opposite sideline.
Hopefully our coaches have instilled some kind of confidence in our receivers and perhaps simplified some route trees. I still expect a ‘trick’ play in the first 5 to be scripted in regardless of location (see flea flicker, double pass, etc) to try and get a boost. Then I’m hoping for shallow crosses and short outs to keep whomever is at QB mildly comfortable and out of pressure situations. Then dump Rainey and Demps (if he can go) and hit the pile with Joyner and MIKE FUCKING GILLISLEE and just go North and South. The sweeps and multiple cuts for the speedsters don’t work when people play assignment football.
...My soul ain't sold, but I've got it up for sale...
by Boozy McHound on Oct 28, 2011 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions
The 'bye week' argument
is from not having to game plan, or install game plan materials during the week. You can do that some, but you don’t have to spend the majority of your practice going over what you’ll want to do or expect your opponent to do. You can spend a lot more practice time on basics, blocking technique, tackling technique, your general schemes, etc. It’s a time issue, and during the bye week, you just have more. You have those other areas to begin with as you say, but the extra week allows for a bit more work, and a bit of fine tuning in case things have gotten sloppy since fall camp.
And I’d almost guarantee a “trick play” or some other misdirection, reverse type play early in the script. A common issue we’ve seen on our D is problems with backside containment. Demps and Rainey, among others, have more than enough speed to burn us big if we haven’t corrected that issue.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 28, 2011 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
We’ve been a mess all month mostly due to the fact that we’ve had no quarterback. Which apparently, has lead to other issues.
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Wile E Coyote always had a good feeling
about this next encounter with the roadrunner. No other cartoon is a finer metaphor for the UGA v UF series post-1990. Coyote’s determination and endurance are out shined only by his consistent bad luck, occasional mental lapses, and poorly timed mechanical failures.
I liken the green notebook to the Acme Corporation. To quote Wikipedia:
“The Acme Corporation.. features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times”
"When something is f**ked up, someone made the decision to let it be that way"
by the dawg abides on Oct 27, 2011 8:09 PM EDT reply actions
Certain doom?
Though I am a huge fan of the blog and of your writing style, I have rarely posted. This column, however, was so disappointing that I had to say something. To fear that we’ll lose is one thing, and understandable. To say so is also acceptable. But this over the top demonstration of pure fear? It feels like a weak-kneed display of public cowering. It just strikes me as wrong. I consider you to be a fan beyond par. I would never question it. At the same time, this over the top vocalization of pure fear and panic in the face of the enemy feels like an insult to our side and our troops. It’s so exaggerated (42-13, "bloodletting," "Gator blowout written all over it"), so riddled with pure knee-shaking terror, that it practically feels like Gator propaganda. "Give up! There’s no hope! We’re going to die!" "Certain doom"? Get a hold of yourself, man! I’m not a trash talker at all, and understand the reluctance to express confidence about this game, but give me some boldness, some guts, some backbone at least. . . . Particularly in public!
First of all, UGA '93, I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
I certainly understand and respect your reaction. Honestly, all I can say is that I began the week with a reasonable degree of confidence, only to find myself feeling a mounting sense of dread as one bit of unwelcome news after another either rolled in or hit home. In my defense, I demonstrated boldness before the Boise State game, and my confidence was misplaced.
As someone with no inside information or, frankly, particular qualifications beyond the same passionate devotion we all share, I am able to offer only honesty, which sometimes is not going to be pretty, and, as you say, sometimes may reflect poorly upon me. I have a bad feeling about this game; I hope I am wrong; I appreciate your understanding; I admire, and even envy, your contrary viewpoint, which I welcome and encourage; and, again, I thank you for commenting. It made me feel better to read it, and I hope it made you feel better to write it, as well. Much obliged.
Go 'Dawgs!
Hey, you can like Faulkner, but if you are going to start blogging like him...
"I don't care for Auburn."
Here's my feel bad stat ....... 1-11
The SEC record of the teams we have beaten in the SEC. (excluding their collective defeats to us.) Of course I realize that the teams that have beaten us have only lost 1 game between them, but this just doesn’t stick with me like the other.
Yep.
We’ve lost to good teams and beaten bad teams. Florida is an unknown quantity, about which I might feel good, if it were any other team but Florida!
Go 'Dawgs!
Well they may get Brantley back
But we’ll have Ogletree there to welcome him back. I can live with that.
Yes indeed
Honestly, I don’t trust Muschamp saying Brantley will be ready. He might play, but it just doesn’t make sense that he can go from being in a walking boot to 100% (or near enough to play) in less than a week.
Here’s something to chew on: We all know that the Georgia program is more transparent than Florida’s. With regards to Mitchell, sometimes I wish Richt wasn’t so candid when announcing that he’s doubtful. But my point is that Georgia is very transparent with the goings on, positive or negative. I believe Muschamp, and Florida as a whole, to possibly be attempting to gain a competitive advantage by making everything sound just cheesy in Gainseville.
What say you, hbtd and/or Kyle?
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Honestly, I don't have a problem with this kind of gamesmanship.
Coaches have no responsibility to tell the outside world about the health of their players, and there’s an argument (due to privacy concerns) that they have an obligation to obfuscate.
If I thought Malcolm Mitchell was 100 per cent and Mark Richt was lying to fool Will Muschamp, I would feel much better about this game, for many, many reasons, and I wouldn’t think one iota less of Mark Richt.
Go 'Dawgs!
As a Florida fan
the opacity of this staff crossed the line during the Bama/LSU/AU stretch of games. I understand wanting to keep every advantage you can, but some of the things they said in those press conferences were essentially lies, not coachspeak.
I suspect that Foley might have had a talk with Muschamp about it, because they’ve been a fair bit more open since the bye week started.
Oh, come on. Don't leave your uncle T-bag hangin'.
He’ll play.
Any word on Malcolm Mitchell?
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I think so too
I just wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t play a whole lot, either. That is to say I don’t trust anything Muschamp says.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah…
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Doubtful. Yeah, doesn’t sound good.
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Most all reports are that MM is not even close to 100%. I dont expect to see him.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Ahhh. Thanks.
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But. we got these other dudes, that played really well without him. We are fine in WR depth. )
"I don't care for Auburn."
Care to share any? Doesn’t have to be this weekend, but for the rest of the year?
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Marlon Brown is probably candidate 1A to fill that deep threat void
I’d include Tavares King, but his hands have been problematic.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Brown is averaging almost 18 yards per catch this season. Doesn’t have many catches, but still, 18 yards per, is nice. Sounds like Roberson will be covering him.
Which is advantage to UGA.
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Yeah, but we're so-so in "guys who can catch" depth, . . .
. . . and Mitchell is our deep threat. Without him, the Gators can stack the box, shut down a dinged-up Isaiah Crowell, and force Aaron Murray to beat them with his arm, which, after last year’s first-half and overtime performances in Jacksonville, I’m not convinced he can do.
Go 'Dawgs!
Man, depressed Kyle is full on. I aint skerred in this area.
Bobo, Murray, O Line, Special Teams, they scare me a lot.
"I don't care for Auburn."
It is our goal, that by Saturday night, y’all are questioning Mike Bobo like you were at the beginning of the season.
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We never stopped questioning Mike Bobo.
He is our Steve Adazzio, except he’s an alum. It’s like if Ray Goff had been our offensive coordinator.
Go 'Dawgs!
I see.
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I would also add
That the beginning of this season isn’t when the questioning began… its become a consistent and reliable way to mark the beginning of each and every Fall. Hell, I could probably set my watch by it.
Sacrificing goats, chugging Maker's Mark, and walking underneath The Arch.
by RedCrake on Oct 27, 2011 9:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
If anything, Bobo might be more frustrating than The Dazzler.
Adazzio was just clueless from the start. Bobo clearly understands offensive play calling, he just can’t call a complete game to save his life. As someone raised on Spurrier Florida teams, the whole concept of taking your foot off the gas once you get up 21 or so is repulsive to me. If Florida ever starts doing that on a consistent basis there might be riots.
I admire the patience UGA fans have displayed with Bobo, and showed Martinez in the past. Gators were not so slow with Zook. I personally called for Adazzio to be fired after his third game calling plays in 2009 — a season we went 13-1 in. How ever many years Bobo has been in Athens would have driven me to an early grave by now.
Oh, come on. Don't leave your uncle T-bag hangin'.
Haha. I tell you what, I will do the same.
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That’s why I was asking. I’m doing my weekly video breakdown preview, and I’ve noticed that with Georgia, Mitchell is the deep threat.
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Our TEs are deep threat if used properly..... (key words: if used properly)
"I don't care for Auburn."
Tight ends are not listed under 'Deep Threats' in the green notebook
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm thinking of skipping the game on Saturday . . .
. . . and watching Mike Bobo’s favorite pornographic movie, “Deep Threats Behind the Green Notebook,” instead.
Go 'Dawgs!
Hahaha
I knew there was a joke in there somewhere for ‘deep threats’ and ‘tight ends’.
And who do I see about getting my hands on a copy?
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions
I kinda think the reverse
I’m more inclined to say that “guys who can catch” are all that’s left after Mitchell. He was the “guy who can catch AND stretch the field”. Bennett, Charles, and Brown seem to be sure handed enough to count on, in my opinion.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Fair point, Swarles_Barkley.
I was mainly thinking of Tavarres King, whom I am going to disown as a family member if he drops another ball that hits him on the hands.
(We’re not really related, by the way.)
Go 'Dawgs!
It is very frustrating
Can’t decide, though, whether I’m more frustrate with the dropped balls or his inability to put on the afterburners when Murray overthrows him by half a step. Dropped balls are definitely worse, but I just wanna reach through the TV and give him a shove in the back to reach those bombs they haven’t been able to connect on.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions
This is a good X and O point -
A WR must run through the ball if overthrown (which is how MM got hurt). Ideally, the WR never breaks stride and runs through the ball because the ball is so perfectly thrown.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Very true
I didn’t mean to sound like King was to blame. It’s Murray’s fault for not hitting him in stride. Just venting frustration at watching it fall just out of reach of King’s hands.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions
It takes two to tango. AM needs to be more on, TK needs to run through the ball and catch it with his hands, look the ball into his hands.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Well I must say...
You and I seem to have a grasp of this concept. Perhaps they’d let us give it a go on Saturday.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I wish we could say the same. Our WRs are weak…their backups must be really bad. Although our best RB rarely plays.
That’s why I asked if they would want to share any.
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What happened to Mack Brown?
he was supposed to be big time when y’all signed him last year. I thought Weiss’ switch to a more I set offense would let him get out there.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
He broke his leg in the spring, recovered in the summer and as a result, will probably take/or at least ask for a medical redshirt.
He’s been hurt ever since his junior year of HS though.
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Yeah, I don't either
I must ask, though, whether or not you agree with my sentiment that Coach Richt should, from time to time, not announce when a player is going to sit out. He does this with disciplinary actions, but he never seems to try and hide injuries to get that competitive edge.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Good question, one TKK just answered above.
I dont think CMR should say a dang word. And dress everyone IAW NCAA rules of course.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Thanks
Didn’t see Kyle’s response what with the 10 comments a minute being posted. And thank you for responding as well.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I mean this only as critical analysis and not a pessimistic or optimistic point
This is the first game coming back after a broke foot. He may still be a little hurt. He may need to knock some rust off. I want him back, we need him back, but I trust more in CTG to use the guys that have been getting it done that ’tree right now.
However, if ’Tree lays Brantley out, I will have tears of joy running down my face.
"I don't care for Auburn."
Here is UF's feel bad stat...0-7
That is the record of the teams they have beaten in the SEC. Add in their OOC games against 1-6 UAB and 0-7 FAU and exactly who have the Gators beaten? Total record for the teams they have beat this season is 7-21. So yes it is true we haven’t really beaten anyone but just what have they done to be feared?
Very good point.
I think there is a large chasm between the teams that have beaten us and the teams we have beaten. That means we don’t really know as much as I thought we would this late in the season.
46-40-2.
That’s my stat. It’s taken us over twenty years to get close. Keep on chipping away!
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47-40-2.
Around here, we count all the games our schools have played, including the one y’all pretend didn’t happen! :)
Go 'Dawgs!
Either that or
UGA is 1-0 against the University of Florida and 46-40-2 against some impostor….
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
But we didn’t even have a team in 1904! … Club teams don’t count!
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Yes they do
When asked, they replied “yep, we’re from Florida”. Don’t like it, tough. If we can’t beat y’all any more, I’m taking the 1904 win all day.
by Swarles_Barkley on Oct 27, 2011 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions
What about in the 80’s, when you know, we couldn’t buy a win. Literally.
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by FlaGators on Oct 27, 2011 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Okay. Now that’s funny.
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That is a novel way to forget about bad seasons
Just change the address of the school and the season don’t count because the campus moved….hmmmm
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Ours is of course under the banner of “consolidation”
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True, but the Lake City school went by the "University of Florida" name, . . .
. . . and the guy who was president of the University of Florida in Lake City moved with the school, and became president of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
I’ll put it this way: If those teams had beaten Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Georgia, instead of losing to Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Georgia, y’all would count those wins.
Go 'Dawgs!
University of the State of Florida. But close enough. You’re also forgetting the 77-0 loss to GaTech that year as well.
Hmmmm …
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They may have used both, . . .
. . . but there are published schedules from the 1904 season that show both Auburn and Georgia playing “The University of Florida.”
I wouldn’t wish a 77-0 loss to Georgia Tech even on y’all. :)
Go 'Dawgs!
Florida Agricultural College was another.
I’ve never seen that published schedules. If I do … that might change things. If they are legit. Unlike that Seminole Firewater “published” garbage.
And … Haha. Yeah. Thanks.
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Do you have a copy of Cale Conley's War Between the States?
Copies of the schedules are reproduced there. Cale cites Tom McEwen’s book for much of the Gators’ early history.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I do not. But I’ve heard of it. And now, I pretty much have to read it. I’ll probably end up ordering it (I’m sure it is on Amazon) tomorrow when I’m bored at work.
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You may be able to order a copy . . .
. . . at RivalryBooks.com.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh nice. Thanks! As for the other book there, I must order that one as well.
Apparently, when you order those, you have to submit a form first. I’ll give it a week or so to see what develops.
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Conley isn't biased or anything
he’s only a double dawg….
My source for historical football records is college football data warehouse which doesn’t indicate any 1904 season. Plus, what happened to 1905? Are we to believe that the program was in existence in ‘04, disappeared for a year, then reappeared in 1906? Obviously, records were pretty spotty back then – they don’t even know where some of the ’06 games were played!
And then there is this…I like.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
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Yeah, Cale is a two-time Georgia graduate . . .
. . . who wanted to sell books to fans of both schools. As someone who has written a manuscript on a rivalry involving my team, I can assure you that there was a genuine effort at impartiality.
In all sincerity, skigator93, have you even read War Between the States? I ask that because I don’t believe anyone who’s read it could honestly claim Cale’s account was biased, and, frankly, your apparent assumption that anything written by a Georgia fan about Florida is not to be trusted, sight unseen, is both beneath your normal level-headedness, and insulting to me, both as a Bulldog fan and as a friend of Cale’s.
Go 'Dawgs!
I also find it curious that Cale went from writing about the Florida/UGA rivalry to writing about the Florida/FSU rivalry. I think my classmate Cale is a closet Gator fan.
p.s. No, I have not yet read the book. And yes, my statement was made tongue in cheek. Kyle is just overly sensitive this week!
Imma tender this:
http://www.cfbtrivia.com/cfbt_detail.php?teamname=Georgia&fry=1892&thy=2011&oppname=Florida&jpl=on
And, btw, “club sport”? What the hell does that mean? Do you honestly think that there was anything but “club sports” in 1904? I can assure you that the boys hanging out of their dorm windows to watch their classmates play football on What would become Herty Field had no idea that tere eventually would be this high-dollar enterprise known as college sports and a distinction between Varsity Football and Club Uktimate Frisbee. 1904 club sport, indeed. I scoff — SCOFF, I say — at the notion.
by NCT on Oct 29, 2011 9:36 AM EDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Nah. I count from 1906 on. When varsity football became a sport at UF.
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I find that interesting since
The 150 Years at the University of Florida website has the following statment:
“Following the implementation of a football team in 1907…”
SO I must say that since even the University cannot agree on when its records start you must fall back to those that keep better records and accept the 1904 season
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Tank, I know I am breaking my own Cardinal rule
But sometimes it is so fun to feed them
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Nah, FlaGators is good people.
He’s true to his school, which I hold against him because of the school to which he is true, but he’s no troll.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
He seems like a good gator
but sometimes you cannot resist the urge to poke a little…
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Nah. It’s 1906. That article appears to be a project website by a journalism student. Just another reason why journalism in the country at major universities is falling apart.
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Hmmmm.
Haven’t seen that before. Even though it is an FSU thing (which automatically brings into question … everything about it) …
I now have no comment about the situation until I speak to a lawyer. And T Kyle, for this purpose, doesn’t count. Conflict of interest kind of thing.
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I understand and respect your desire to seek independent counsel.
I take great pride in my partiality here! :)
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Oct 27, 2011 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Can’t say I fault you either. No qualms.
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I think Kyle would represent you properly
and give you the correct advice on how to properly proceed (it may include burning all orange and blue items in your possession and renouncing your errant ways)
I HATE ORANGE and GREEN notebooks
Was? ;-)
… are.
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History and Its Relevance
Much as I love this site, and everything TKK brings to this abundant table, the “TMI” feature is my least favorite, because it operates (yes, I know, partly tongue-in-cheek but partly seriously) from the dubious premise that history, recent and ancient, has a direct bearing on the likely outcome of games played between teams whose personnel turns over every 3-5 years.
Said history obviously affects the emotions and expectations of us fans who turn over less frequently, but that’s another story altogether. Sometimes I wish college football players shared our long memories of rivalries, just as I often wish young people generally knew the first thing about American and world history. But they don’t, and truth be told, probably half the players on the field Saturday grew up cheering for some other team, or focusing their passions on the NFL or some other sport.
So I’m totally down with TKK’s pessimistic analysis of what the Gators and Dawgs have done this year and even last year, and yes, I think we could easily lose and yes, if Brantley is totally healthy and our ST guys play like winos and our OL finally blows up and AM loses his cool, we could lose decisively.
But if that happens, it won’t be because Ray Goff didn’t have a clue or because Jim Donnan didn’t have the horses, or because a lot of Georgia fans think of this game and quite naturally have a feeling of dread as strong as Gator fans had before 1990.
Well, dang, donkeydawg, you take all the fun out of it! :)
You have to admit, though, sometimes a parallel comes along that’s just too striking to ignore. Admittedly, it’s a rarity, but, sometimes, I nail it.
Go 'Dawgs!
True
But so does the I Ching.
Didn’t mean to spoil your fun, though. I enjoy doom-saying as much as the next guy.
Bad moon
T. Kyle-I get where you are coming from and completely agree. Last Monday morning rolled around and I woke up feeling like Florida was already up by 7 and we’d just missed a field goal. And, as the week has progressed, the knot in my belly hasn’t eased. Maybe I’m just too acquainted with what 7:00 pm usually feels like on the last Saturday in October to let myself believe anything otherwise. Here’s to hoping that we’re both proven to be fools. GO DAWGS!!!
I'm pessimistic and all, but I do have some problems with this over-the-top post.
For starters, the circumstances are not identical to last year. Georgia’s defense is improved in every area. Last year’s Georgia team also rolled in with a 4-4 record featuring losses to Mississippi State and Colorado. COLORADO! As for Auburn being the defending national champs, meh. They’re a 5-3 team that gives up well north of 400 yards a game on defense. Florida gained 194. This game will not be a bloodletting. Georgia should win. I simply think they’ll find a way not to, but if this game was played a million times Florida would never win 42-13.
We rotated 2 true freshmen QBs (and a tight end) in the Auburn game. A senior is scheduled to start this one – so I wouldn’t draw too many parallels from the Auburn game and our lack of offense in that one. Oh yeah, one of our senior RBs didn’t play that game either.
He didn't say y'all wouldn't win...
But 42-13? No way, for Brantley doesn’t make that much of a difference.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
That's a fine excuse for gaining say 320, mostly on the ground against Auburn...
194 is unfathomable. Utah State gained over 400 with a Freshman QB. Mississipi State did it with f-ing Chris Relf.
by Biggus Rickus on Oct 28, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, but...
… I think some of those Florida guys were really trying to gain 420 IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
by vineyarddawg on Oct 28, 2011 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
I just pictured that Golden Flake commercial with Tuberville beckoning his player
to the end zone, but instead of Tuberville and the end zone it’s of Chizik holding a baggie of weed and beckoning Rainey to the sideline. TIME TO GET HI BITCH
by Biggus Rickus on Oct 28, 2011 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
History, relevance, feel bad stats, feel good stats, 3-18, 47-40-2, trends, partridges in pear trees...
…will not matter after 3:30 tomorrow. Our season officially kicks off then. Nothing before then matters.
The King is dead. Long live the King!
CMR...
has to win this game. I’m not sure his job depends on it, but my faith in him will never recover if we lose. If he goes 0-2 against the Gators in their two down seasons he’s never going to beat them in a meaningful game.
Let’s face it a win tomorrow is nice, but we haven’t beaten UF in a meaningful game in decades. In that 3-18 timespan Kentucky and Vandy haven’t beaten UGA more than we’ve beaten Florida.
Florida’s dominance over the Dawgs is one of the most puzzling lopsided rivalries in CF. Until we beat them a couple of times in a row UGA can’t be considered an elite program.
How’s that for pessimism?
UGA 13 – UF 31
Twitter:ChopAttack
Y'all all have very good points.
I just wanted to say…
I HATE FLORIDA, AND I WANT TO BEAT THE EVERLOVINGJESUSSNOT OUTTA THEM.
That is all.
Let us sit in darkness.
We’ve earned the darkness, and we should expect it. The long, low, withdrawing roar can be ignored but it cannot be silenced. It will change, if ever, at the turning of the tide. For that day, my friends, for that day we wait and we hope.
by first and thom on Oct 28, 2011 11:48 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I think buried in the malaise of our annual close win versus Vanderbilt
was a Georgia offense that scored on six straight possessions (yes, too many were field goals, I know). But without a solid ground game, Aaron Murray managed with maturity and capability and moved this offense down the field. As noted in this week’s podcast, Murray’s stats are on track to put him at (or near) the top of all-time Georgia passers. This week is his game to step forward and get that signature win that good quarterbacks achieve. He was solid against Florida last year. This year Murray’s generalship carries us to victory.
This does assume that the defense continues its solid play and that the special teams get unscrewed (just sayin’).
Those are a lot of "if"s, but I admire your enthusiasm, . . .
. . . and you make some fine points. Well put.
Go 'Dawgs!
This smacks of reverse psychology
I had to sign up just to respond to T Kyle’s panic attack.
Why not try catastrophic thinking when it comes to UGA-UF? If you’re right, you appear to be both brilliant, insightful, and a hard-core realist. If you’re wrong, everyone comes back and gives you a hard time and you say, “Aw, shucks, way to go, Dawgs.” Every serious UGA fan is afraid we’ll never win another one. I feel the same way except, no matter what the circumstances, I always seem to believe we have a shot. Does any of this affect the outcome? Nope, it’s the players and coaches to win or lose. Go Dawgs, GATA! The future of the SEC East and not just this year is up for grabs.
Well, y'all told me so, . . .
. . . and you’re welcome! :)
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
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