15 Thoughts Wonders Why My Neighbors are Already Avoiding Me.

Glory, glory to ol’ Georgia!

What a great day in the (south Florida) neighborhood. My wife and I woke up to a breezy and coolish morning in the wake of tropical storm Phillippe, headed out for a stroll as I proudly wore my official Georgia Bulldog T-shirt (I get a new one every year), with the official RGB red values of 186, 12, 47. I had one 10-year old kid scream at me as he leaned out of his parent’s car window. Hey, kid. Don’t grow up to be an asshole. I encountered my Gator-neighbor Richard, who couldn’t bear to look at me in the eyes and casually mentioned in no particular order the words, “Florida Football,” “train-wreck,” “disaster.” Who was I to argue?

Chomp this, o toothless one...

1. We have a definite culture-change. When Jake Fromm threw that 3rd-down pick on our first possession of the 2nd half, who among you reacted like I did (by throwing a physical fit right in the middle of my living room)? In years past, this probably would have been a turning point in the game. Up by 21 points, but with no 2nd quarter points and seemingly dwindling momentum, any post-Vince Dooley iteration of the Dawgs would probably have let the Gators creep back into this thing. Things are different now. Florida ain’t no great shakes, but they’re Florida. Anyway, we hold them after a brief 17-yard drive in our territory, get the ball back and...

2. ...Respond! We promptly go on a 5-play, 74 yard drive and put the game away at 28-0 when Sony Michel had his second long touchdown of the game, a 45-yard scamper, that was set up first by a nifty Jake Fromm run for 13-yards and then a D’Andre Swift catch and run (yes, a slant pass where he bulldozed Florida’s #23 who is probably eating soup this morning) for 18 yards. This was the biggest series of the game in my mind. At that point, it was over. Watch our left side of the line seal everything off:

It was after this play that the orange and blue mass exodus ensued...

Boom!

3. Florida must have had at least 6 procedure penalties in this game, and all told were flagged 14 times for 85 yards. These were really big in the grand scheme of their ineptitude for much of the game. Conversely, we were flagged 7 times for 40 yards. Georgia’s defensive shifts really disrupted and rattled the Gator offensive line early and often. This reminded me of Erk Russell’s defenses way back when. These guys are truly conjuring up some good old Junkyard memories.

4. I was watching some of the late-night post-game wrap ups early this morning. ESPN’s Joey Galloway still seems to think Jake Fromm needs to be brought along and had an issue with throwing the ball only 7 times (and was most effective when doing so except for one bad pass). God, what is it with these people who don’t understand that when you have the lead there is no better way to kill a gator than to keep running, burn clock and give your defense a break?

5. Nick Chubb (13 rush/77 yards 5.9 avg./1 TD) didn’t quite get the holes that Sony Michel got, but still was effective especially early on. What can we say about Sony? He’s getting better and better (6 rush/137 yards 22.8 (!) avg./2 TD). These guys are wearing down defenses. Add in some D’Andre Swift who might have the best hands on the team and then a fresh-as-hell combo of Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien, and it’s a 5-headed hydra of awesomeness that isn’t going to skip for many seasons to come.

6. When Jake Fromm throws, good things tend to happen. This was Happy Drankin’ worthy:

Danielson was right: That was a perfect throw and even better catch.

7. I saw a lot of penalties not called on Florida, especially holding. Terry Godwin was absolutely hooked on a catchable route, and Lorenzo Carter was all-but-tackled several times from his edge position. It didn't matter...but it does. And the lead SEC official yesterday needed a bigger shirt. Jeez.

8. Stereotypes exist because they’re real and they’re spectacular...

The happiest man in American right now? The auteur of the above picture (who happens to hate Florida with the fire of 1000 suns multiplied by roughly another 1000 suns, give or take...)

9. Did you see that play when Julian Rochester took his helmet off after an early stop (Julian had a helluva game, by the way) and Kirby’s reaction on the sideline? That was a teaching moment. I bet Julian slept with his helmet on last night. Good times, better coaching.

10. SBNation calling out and taking out some trash this afternoon. I’m diggin’ it.

11. I was in Jacksonville in 1982 when we beat Florida 44-0 and the Florida fans left in the 3rd quarter. Back then, if I recall correctly, they divided up the old Gator Bowl into quads, not 50-50 down the middle like they do now. I cannot believe it has taken 35 years to beat these guys by more than 35 points. I will say this: The odds of us taking Florida to the woodshed more often than not are certainly better now than they have been in the last...oh, 35 years or so. Things are ascending in Athens. Florida is about to go through yet another coaching change it would appear. Was this game a sort of an exorcism? It could have very well been.

12. Was this the perfect game? No, but the perfect result (except for losing the shut-out late I suppose). I saw a few poor tackling attempts when Florida began to run the ball in the 2nd quarter, and we lost focus a few times with back-to-back delay of game penalties. The thing that most impresses me about this coaching staff is the half-time adjustments they are making and the ability to adapt mid-stream, overcome adversity and stay true to the plan.

13. Right now, South Carolina has a much more tempered attitude when discussing next Saturday’s huge game in Athens (3:30 - CBS). This’ll probably change (remember those words of wisdom: South Carolina Football: The hubris of Alabama, the trophy case of Vanderbilt.)

I need to find a way to come up this weekend...

14. It seems like there will be a ton of coaching changes - like every year - but especially in the SEC either in a few hours or a few weeks. We’ve got our coach. But how strong is the coaching pool? Admittedly, I’m not “up” on the coaching profession nor do I care to be.

15. I’m going to enjoy this win for an entire year down here. I’m flying the flag and wearing my “Power G” polo to work next week to the point where it might get a bit stinky. I don’t care. I interact with a lot of Gators. Something feels different this time ‘round. I think we may have just flipped the script. Now, we just gotta keep chopping wood. Yesterday won’t mean a thing if we don’t take care of business on Saturday.

That’s all I got.

How ‘Bout Them Dawgs!