Go Gators!

[jrs2]

A bit of history and present for Bama vs UM.

It really also involves Nebraska as well and FSU.

Bama faced off vs UM in the 1992 NC and beat them handily.  UF in a rebuilding year almost beat Bama in the SECCG so people weren't giving Bama much of a shot.  Bama pretty much dethroned UM.  The following year, UM went to a bowl and played AZ and maybe lost.  But in 1994, UM was in play for a NC bid and got the bid vs Nebraska.  Nebraska won in a close game.  Nebraska had piled up loss after loss to UM and FSU in bowl games it was sick starting in 1983.

Why is this relevant?  Because Tom Osborne got tired of losing to UM and their pro style offense and fast defense and he began changing UN's philosophy.  UM beat UN in 1991 for another NC- but UM elected to play an outmanned UN wishbone squad vs UF who was No.3 and in the Sugar Bowl; wouldn't you?  But because of that loss in 1991, I believe Osborne decided to modernize the Huskers.

So, in 1994, UN played a UM squad that was 10-1 and beat them in a close game.  UF would have played UN but for the Choke at Doak; shout out to Kannell and boo to SOS for sitting on their asses in the 4th quarter.  Anyway, UF could've beaten UN in 1994.  But by 1995 with Frazier, UF got schooled as we all know.  Then in 1996, UN got punked by Ricky Williams and UT in the first Big XII CG which allowed UF to face off against FSU in a rematch where UF plastered them 52-20 for the NC.

In 1997, UN became co-champ by blasting Tenn and Peyton Manning and splitting the title with Michigan and their Heisman winning kickoff returner.  UN was then not as effective the rest of the decade until UM, in 2001, again elected to play a vastly now inferior  UN team (the 5th  down game with Mizzou) in the Orange Bowl over stiffer competition.  And then that was pretty much it.  OU was champ in 2000; OU played for it in 2003 and 2004; Texas was champ in 2005; OU played for it again in 2008.

Meanwhile, Bama won it in 1992 like we said, UF played for it in 1995 and won it in 1996.  Tenn won it in 1998.  LSU won it in 2003.  Auburn was undefeated in 2004 and was shunned by the pollsters.  UF won it in 2006; LSU in 2007; UF in 2008; Bama in 2009; Auburn in 2010; Bama in 2011 with LSU contending; Bama in 2012; Auburn contending in 2013, and then the Playoff era.

Bama won it again in 2015, 2017 over contending  UGA, LSU won it in 2019, and Bama won it again in 2020.

So the SEC has dominated college football as we know.  The Bama teams of the 1970's yielded to Vince Dooley and UGA in 1980, where UGA contended as well in 1982 vs Penn St.  By the time of Herschel's graduation, Bo Jackson and Auburn faced off against UM in '83 and lost, but UF beat UM in '83, but UM still made it to the NC to beat Nebraska.  UF was voted No.1 by the NYT in 1984 but the blunder of the school to elect to receive the sanctions at that time instead of after January 1985 kept them out of the post season to perhaps get a split with BYU or even play them.  When Jimmy Johnson became a road warrior in 1985, he didn't get the bid but faced off against Tenn in the Sugar and got plastered; UF also beat Miami in 1985.  But then with Dennis Erickson in 1989, Miami beat Bama in a close game for another NC in New Orleans; Bama had the tie breaker in an SECC 3-way split with Tenn and Auburn.

So post Bear, the SEC did make major moves and matchups in the '80's but that crystalized in the '90's and went into overdrive in the 2000's.

So now, Bama plays UM in Atlanta.  We're full circle program-wise; Bama needs to bury UM and to not give them any traction going forward. 

[jrs2]

Somebody in the Comments section of one of the UM games, can't remember which, discounted 3 of the 5 of UM's NC's b/c they were played at the Orange Bowl.  I'm 50/50 on this.  The problem is that The Orange Bowl is their home stadium and it is also the bowl that had the Big 8 champ contracted to play there.  Well, that was (as far as Miami is concerned) Nebraska in 1983, OU in 1987, Nebraska in 1991, and Nebraska in 1994.  Miami beat Bama in the Sugar in 1989 and Nebraska in the Rose in 2001.  Miami probably should've been matched up with ND in 1989.

Miami lost to Tennessee in the Sugar in 1985, Penn St. in the Fiesta in 1986, Bama in the Sugar in 1992, Ohio St. in the Fiesta in 2002.

So, with that unique home field advantage, in national title game or equivalents, Miami has this record:

2-4 versus teams in bowls other than the Orange Bowl for the NC

3-1 versus teams in the Orange Bowl for the NC (1991 was a split NC with Washington)

The other college teams that could claim a similar advantage based on their locations (but haven't) are:  Rutgers & Giants Stadium; ASU and the Fiesta Bowl; UCLA and the Rose Bowl.  Miami had the advantage of being in Florida which was a fertile recruiting ground for high school football players for a couple of decades.  You would think UCLA being in LA would have it's pick of the litter; Southern Cal was that team historically though.  Rutgers on the other hand with NY/NJ at it's doorstep was a dud.  

This is why Miami was an Independent for so many years before choosing to conference-up, because if they were in the Top 3, they could choose which bowl to go to for the NC.  They punked college football with that by almost always choosing their home stadium bowl, the Orange, and with the pro-style offense, and it was a great strategy for the time.   But then the Boal Coalition came into being in 1992.  In 1991, Miami played a lower ranked Nebraska team instead of No.3 UF.  I'm sure the SEC beotched about that.  The Boal Coalition changed that in 1992 and MADE Miami play Alabama and Bama crushed them.

The 1992 Bama game and Nebraska changing it's style in 1994 was the one-two punch that took away any advantage Miami once had against slower option teams like Nebraska.  Everybody saw this.  They knew Miami and FSU were pretty much  head over heals better than everybody else for a few years straight, except for a few years where ND and Holtz were very good- pre Bama & Stallings, and a few years where Paterno and Penn St. were very good in the early and mid-80's.

UF couldn't keep Miami out of the 1983 NC game by beating them, but they did in the 1985 season.  In 1985, Penn St. was ranked No.1 and OU was No.3.  Miami beat OU in the regular season, but OU won the Big 8 with an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl, but Penn St., another Independent, outranked Miami and got the bid.  The only way Miami could have claimed a share of the NC would be if Penn St lost to OU and if Miami beat Tennessee in the Sugar.  OU beat Penn St. but Tennessee walloped Miami, end of discussion.  Fascinating though.  UF was on probation and couldn't get the bid to the Sugar, but beat Miami and Tennessee that year in the regular season and finished No.5.

[spenser1058]

How ‘bout them ‘Dawgs?

[jrs2]

On 9/5/2021 at 9:09 AM, spenser1058 said:

How ‘bout them ‘Dawgs?

they look good...on defense.  Uf is gonna lose to them unless their QB can get his head straight quick...

[dcluley98]

We just don't have the firepower we did last year. Such a shame that the offense last year, which was one of the best Gators offense sides I have seen live ever, was wasted with the bad defense. The championships we won were complete teams. Haven't seen that from the Gators in a decade. 

[jrs2]

12 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

We just don't have the firepower we did last year. Such a shame that the offense last year, which was one of the best Gators offense sides I have seen live ever, was wasted with the bad defense. The championships we won were complete teams. Haven't seen that from the Gators in a decade. 

Yeah, I saw some breakdowns of the FAU game.  Emory's passing kind of made it difficult for players like Whittemore to make catches, for example.  He has no "touch."  I believe he can play better because he has before.  AR is very exciting to watch.  I think Bryce Young is a heisman candidate because they hike the ball, he makes his reads, and then passes the ball on time.  Isn't that what all college QB's are supposed to do?  I think EJ may be a head case and that's why Mullen had him deep on the chart and that's why he never transferred.  I think the TE's are fine; the O-Line is okay; the RB's are good.

Regarding Bowman, how does an FAU LB catch him behind the line of scrimmage and bring him down so easily?  If a team performs badly that is a top-down effect, usually the result of a coaching staff; sometimes it is the QB.  The 1988 and 1989 Gators had flat out retarded QB play from Kyle Morris and Herbert Perry.  Because of Brantley' injury, the '11 Gators did too.  Bad QB play also plagued the '13 squad and the '17 squads,   Injuries caused the '13 debacle (Driskel) and '16 and '17 debacles at QB (Del Rio).  

Just as an FYI, the "crapty" 2002 Fightin' Zookers beat UGA and gave them their only loss that year.  The 2003 Fightin' Zookers also beat LSU and gave them their only loss that year (BCS Champs).  But we had Grossman and Leak at QB those two years.  

Where does that leave UF in 2021?  The guy that was supposed to back up Franks and Trask may suck, and the guy behind him may be another Vince Young or Cam Newton.  The problem is that Cam had an entire year at that school to develop before transferring to Auburn.  AR would need to learn on the fly and burn teams with his legs to open up the pass...teams like Alabama, for starters.

So, I think UF is potentially in bad shape right now if they can't right the QB ship.

[dcluley98]

The WR/TEs are just not going to be game-changers like last year. They are not bad, but not like last year. I think AR should start. Emory just does not have the skills/upside that AR has if he reaches full potential. I would rather have AR learn the ropes throughout the season with maybe some growing pains along the way so he is capable at the end of the year. I don't think we have the potential to go to a championship game with Emory starting. 

[jrs2]

On 9/9/2021 at 1:00 PM, dcluley98 said:

The WR/TEs are just not going to be game-changers like last year. They are not bad, but not like last year. I think AR should start. Emory just does not have the skills/upside that AR has if he reaches full potential. I would rather have AR learn the ropes throughout the season with maybe some growing pains along the way so he is capable at the end of the year. I don't think we have the potential to go to a championship game with Emory starting. 

I think you're probably right. Emory did some good things vs USF but then he regressed.  He needs to just run if he takes more than 3 seconds to find a WR.

[jrs2]

I think the line is 14.5.  I'm not sure I would bet on this game.  That would be a 27-10 score or 35-20.

How does Bama win?  They do what they do on offense and defense and capitalize off of EJ turnovers.  Simple, really.

How does UF win?  EJ can't throw any picks.  AR needs a few big runs.  The running game needs to work.  The crowd needs to stay loud.  The D-Line needs to put pressure on Young.  The O-Line needs to protect the QB.  The WR's need to hold their blocks.  No repetitive brain farts on defense.  If EJ throws picks, we don't score 21 points and Bama gets a TD for each pick the other way.  

The odds are that Bama wins 38-21.  This assumes EJ can't make good decisions fast enough.  If they throw in AR, odds are he gets hurt.  Trask was one of the most accurate passers ever.  EJ isn't bad but for taking too long  a few times that resulted in picks.  

UF can line up against Bama and do good things.  The crowd can cause bad decisions by Young...we'll see.  Too bad we didn't have the Tennessee game and/or Kentucky game before this game to at least have an idea of what UF can do with this lineup.

[jrs2]

Soooo...

We'll see how far behind Mullen's team is tomorrow compared to Saban's Tide.  The default here is Bama will win.  It's hard to tell whether the good things Florida can do will be able to be done vs Bama.  Until we see something, we really don't know.  Can you run on the Tide?  Don't know if and for how much.  Can you throw non-INT's on them?  Don't know.

If I was going to bet, I would say Bama scores 5 TD's., and that UF throws at least 2 INT's.

I would also say that whatever scoring gets done would have to get done in the first half en masse, and then a couple scores in the 2nd half.  Saban adjusts at halftime.  Does Mullen?

[dcluley98]

Great game by the Gators, despite the loss. Gators outlined Bama and rushed for 245 yards at a 5.7 ypc average. O line looked great and the run game was dominant. Only a couple of small errors including the missed PAT and interception as well as some drive extending pass interference penalties made the difference. Emory looked good. Wright had a few major plays when needed. 

The Gators are right there in the top contenders this season. They just need to continue to get more experienced and execute. And maybe get some luck. 

GO GATORS!

[jrs2]

On 9/18/2021 at 8:04 PM, dcluley98 said:

Great game by the Gators, despite the loss. Gators outlined Bama and rushed for 245 yards at a 5.7 ypc average. O line looked great and the run game was dominant. Only a couple of small errors including the missed PAT and interception as well as some drive extending pass interference penalties made the difference. Emory looked good. Wright had a few major plays when needed. 

The Gators are right there in the top contenders this season. They just need to continue to get more experienced and execute. And maybe get some luck. 

GO GATORS!

yep.  At the presser, Mullen didn't want to scheme out the 2 pt conversion play for the reporters.  I think he said it was muffed with missed assignments which is why it went nowhere up the middle.

I think UF just put UGA on notice.  I think Clemson just put UGA on notice.  Nobody is saying it but UGA got all that press for their D being so dominant vs Clemson when Clemson can't score points.

I am tickled pink that Emory was as good as he was.  grinding the ball with the run I think took Bama to task.  Now they may bench some of their LB's as a result.

UGA is on official notice.  Their coaching is meh and the hype machine that surrounds them is hype.  No different this year than any prior year.  Ray Goff: we have better players.  Spurrier: fudge you.

If UF runs the table of course they go to ATL.  But I think it would be ever so sweet to beat UGA and ruin their season of entitlement.

Bama is Bama under Saban... 

[jrs2]

Man...watching lowlights of the FSU-Wake game.  If UF's running game stays on par this season, FSU is gonna get embarrassed at The Swamp.

I don't know what's going on in Tallahassee, but, it is fitting that BB passed when he did because he is rolling over in his grave right now dumbfounded at what happened to the football culture he created there.  Yeah, UF had a couple of bad seasons in 2013 and 2017.  In 2013, UF was down to it's 3rd string QB because of injuries.  In 2017, there were also injuries to the QB but the HC was fired mid-season as well; all of that creates a little turmoil in the locker room.  FSU has no excuses; they have a HC, QB's in their lineup; yah dee yah dee yah dah.

They're done as a program.  When they went to the ACC, their mentality was to play down to the level of their opponents.  Wake Forrest is 3-0, yes, so they may be good.  I will say their QB looks pretty good.  And in this day and age, if you go up against a team with a good QB, watch out.  It's happened to UF vs Vandy when they had that Gator Chomp proud parents in the stands guy; vs UK when Foster Grants was the HC with Tim Couch.  

2021  0-3

2020  3-6 no bowl

2019  6-7* bowl loss

2018  5-7 no bowl

2017  7-6* bowl win

So, when UF has sucked, it has been for a very short time and for a good reason:  

Muschamp: UF was 7-6 in 2011 after losing the starting QB and breaking in two freshmen while playing the two teams that played each other for the BCS, LSU & Bama.  They beat a struggling TOSU squad in the Gator Bowl.  Then UF was 11-2 in 2012.  In 2013 they were 4-7, lost to No.1 FSU, James Franklin led Vandy. explained above; the wheels came off completely.  In 2014, they were 7-5, beat Top 9 UGA and won their bowl game.

Under Zook, they stayed ranked in the Top 25 each of his three seasons in 2002, 2003, 2004.

MacElwain: In 2015, they were 10-4.  In 2016, they were 9-4.  Both years they were ranked in the Top 25.  In 2017, see above; the wheels came off with injuries to the QB.

Galen Hall:  In 1986, UF was hampered b/c of probation; went 6-5 though.  In 1987, UF went 6-6.  In 1988, UF started 5-0 (No.11 AP), lost it's QB, main WR, and Emmitt for a few games in a row, ended up 7-5.  In 1989, UF went 7-5 (was ranked at 6-1), lost it's QB.

Every one of these times UF started sucking it was because they either lost their stating QB or their coach got fired or they were on probation or feeling its effects (since 1986).

[jrs2]

Danny White and his gimp John Heupel get their newfound 1 and 1 for eternity or until they're both fired vs UF on Saturday.

UF played a little sloppy on Saturday ala missed assignments, mis-alignments, etc.  Hopefully they clean it up a bit.

Emory played better on Saturday (against infinitely better competition) than two and three weeks ago.  The RB's, Davis, Bowling Ball, Wright, played very well as a unit-- and so did the OL.  So much for Lingard and Bowman unseating them as the starters.  

When doing a backflip, do you use the hamstring muscles?  just wondering...

[jrs2]

UF needs to assert itself against UT on Saturday.  UF needs to set up for a showdown vs UGA in Jax with only 1 loss to Bama.  All the lauding for UGA's defense and Clemson barely scored points vs GaTech.  So much for UGA's defense.  They're riding high.  Good.  If UF runs the table, they face off against Bama again in the ATL- I don't think LSU gets better; Auburn proved to be a nutless wonder vs Quaker State and they aren't that good.  A&M I dunno.  Lane Train I'm not sure; I can't see them being that good but maybe- to beat Bama.  Who knows.

But UF would have to beat Bama in the SECCG to get a berth regardless if it's Bama or Ole Miss or whomever- if they get that far.  

If Emory improves even more vs UT this weekend and doesn't turn the ball over I think UF will be in prime position to have a shot to beat UGA in Jax...

[jrs2]

Did I mention that UF was rated a Top 5 public university a couple weeks ago?

[jrs2]

Gators got to  take Tennessee seriously..  Josh likes the fast pace offense and UF has got to be prepared for that.  All the turmoil of the offseason for UT may not matter that much at this point.  It's odd.  They lost like 20+ players and another team in the NCAA lost like 40 players over a year and a half..  But UT may have their act together already...or partially.  Either way, they have fast WR's and a decent DL.

[spenser1058]

17 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Gators got to  take Tennessee seriously..  Josh likes the fast pace offense and UF has got to be prepared for that.  All the turmoil of the offseason for UT may not matter that much at this point.  It's odd.  They lost like 20+ players and another team in the NCAA lost like 40 players over a year and a half..  But UT may have their act together already...or partially.  Either way, they have fast WR's and a decent DL.

That’s UCFAST!

[jrs2]

So, UF beat UT.  I knew a UT heckler that I met after UT punked UF in Knoxville in 2004 with that retaliation flag against Dallas Baker that got one of the Fightin' Colquitt's into FG range to kick a 50 yarder to beat us.  The following year moving forward, here's how the series went:  05 UF, 06 UF, 07 UF, 08 UF, 09 UF, 10 UF, 11 UF, 12 UF, 13 UF, 14 UF, 15 UF, 16 UT, 17 UF, 18 UF, 19 UF, 20 UF, 21 UF.  When Spurrier became HBC, he penciled in UT as a game UF really needed to win if it wanted to have any chance at winning the SEC- that game and UGA and Auburn.  As a result, it has become part of the UF DNA that they need to win that game.  And so it has been since...  I think Vince Dooley said the same thing and did the same thing vs The Gators starting back in the 1960's in that series.  When a coach sets his sights on an opponent in that manner, that's how it goes.  For UF, Zook understood from his days with Spurrier, but only went 1-2 vs UT.  Meyer went 6-0.  Muschamp went 4-0.  MacElwain went 2-1.  Mullen has gone 4-0 so far.

I think Mizzou has UF on their list; since joining the SEC, UF is around .500 vs Mizzou.  

BTW, I think they benched that kicker that missed the PAT against Bama that necessitated a 2pt conversion attempt that failed miserably two weeks ago.

[spenser1058]

@jrs2: Since you mentioned Tebow earlier on the other thread, I’ll mention a puzzle that has had me perplexed for years. It was brought back to mind reading a recent N-J article about a golf benefit for Danny Wuerffel’s Desire Street program on Georgia’s Golden Isles just before the WLOCP in Jax this year.

We know how the media has endlessly spread the trope of Tebow as this quintessential Christian boy (we should note they said the same thing about good Catholic boy Urban Liar…)

However, if you look back at Danny or St. Bobby and even to some extent (preacher’s kid) SOS in their college days, THEY acted like good Christian boys, complete with the college sweetheart. Tebow never did that, he always was about the glitz and glamour gals and he was well past 30 before he got married. Having been raised in an evangelical church, I know how that’s supposed to go and my grandparents wondered why I never followed the template  (of course, we know why, I was gay - many of my fellow travelers wondered about that with Timmy but that never seemed right to me, either).

The thing is, even while supposedly he has gotten married and has the house with the South African model as the wife, we rarely see her. 

Normally, Tebow could do whatever he wants and it’s his life but, supposedly, folks like Bianchi keep pushing him toward politics. We know that Timmy’s very carefully followed the Barney Frank rule (the msm won’t bother you about being gay or any other activities that might cause a budding politico problems as long as you’re not hypocritical about it), but something just doesn’t quite jive. If he’s going to be our conservative Republican governor one day, it sure would be nice to know what’s up. 

As our Gator who knows stuff, any thoughts?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by spenser1058

[orange87]

And UConn is now 0-5...

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, orange87 said:

And UConn is now 0-5...

It’s good to be consistent. Central Connecticut State had a bad weekend, too *sigh*

[spenser1058]

25 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

It’s good to be consistent. Central Connecticut State had a bad weekend, too *sigh*

Yale did beat Cornell, though - guess you’ll have to stick with the Ivies! Time for a shopping trip to J. Press in New Haven.

Connecticut isn’t all that big - how many schools do they have up there?

Speaking of the Ivies, I’m sad to report Princeton blanked Stetson. Alas, it wasn’t so DeLightful in DeLand, either.

[orange87]

23 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Yale did beat Cornell, though - guess you’ll have to stick with the Ivies! Time for a shopping trip to J. Press in New Haven.

Connecticut isn’t all that big - how many schools do they have up there?

Speaking of the Ivies, I’m sad to report Princeton blanked Stetson. Alas, it wasn’t so DeLightful in DeLand, either.

CT is an education powerhouse, so they have a great selection of schools to choose from for a state of their size.

The best schools in CT are:

Yale University

University of Connecticut

Quinnipiac University

Wesleyan University

Trinity College

Connecticut College

United States Coast Guard Academy

Fairfield University

Edited September 27, 2021 by orange87

[spenser1058]

5 minutes ago, orange87 said:

CT is an education powerhouse, so they have a great selection of schools to choose from for a state of their size.

The best schools in CT are:

Yale University

University of Connecticut

Quinnipiac University

Wesleyan University

Trinity College

Connecticut College

United States Coast Guard Academy

Fairfield University

I always wondered where Quinnipiac was since they pop up in polls all the time. It took forever to learn how to pronounce it.