Monday, October 16, 2017

Showed Me

Well, I didn’t necessarily like being right in the first quarter.  I thought after the UT game that one of the next two would be closer than we liked.  After Vandy, I was trying to convince myself I was wrong.  Eventually, you just get beat on a play.  Somebody makes a play or two.  That’s what happened.  We made a mistake and they got an easy 7 from the 5 on a great play call.  And we won by 25.  As we broke 30 in the 2nd quarter, I was thinking how we couldn’t score 30 for the last 2 seasons.  Like, we literally couldn’t do it. We scored 30 FOUR times last year:  UNC, Tennessee, Lafayette and TCU.  The most we scored was 35 vs. Lafayette.  In 2015, after the Tennessee game, we didn’t score 30 all year.  So, it’s fun to score.  Touchdowns remain fun.

BTW side note:  Washington didn’t turn the ball over 1 time vs. ASU Saturday night.  They just couldn’t move the ball.

Jake Fromm is 6th in the nation in Passing Efficiency.  And I had a thought…right now, who’s you’re all conference 1st and 2nd team All- SEC?  I guess Hurts is All-SEC by default, though he hasn’t been overly impressive.  Is Fromm 2nd team?  I mean, Stidham is in the running, but they’ll get their chance against one another.  I’m not sure with their record if Patterson makes it on any lists.

I really feel bummed for Jacob Eason, because I’m so appreciative of what he did for our team last year (virtually carrying it) and the work I know he put in over the summer.  I hope his time at UGA is a positive for him.  It’s clear that we’ve GOT to dance with Jake for the next 3 ½ years.  The kid’s got IT.  I don’t know what IT is, but he has a moxie about him that is apparent.  I keep saying he reminds me of Zeier more than anyone else.  It’s like if Eric Zeier had played with a defense.  The pick didn’t phase him, and it shouldn’t have if you have the right mindset.  It’s clear the kids are buying into him.  And the zone read at opportune times is darn near impossible to defend.  I have no doubt that we could have been (and probably would have been) 7-0 with Eason.  But we’re not.  And, I’ve shifted in recent weeks to gain more confidence in #11.  With the game on the line, I think I trust him now.  We were at 21 all and in a little bit of a dogfight and he slung it around beautifully.  He’s a gamer.

Saw someone worried about the Gators say that it reminded them of ’02.  Undefeated in 2nd year of coach headed to play a beleaguered Gator team.  It’s entirely possible it happens.  A difference I’d see is a few things:

1.        That ’02 team lived on the edge the whole first half.  We beat Clemson, South Carolina, Bama and Tennessee by the hair on our chinny-chin-chin.  We had come out smelling good in close games and were kind of due to lose one.
2.       That Florida team had Rex Grossman, who probably should have won the Heisman Trophy in 2001.  They were 2 years removed from an SEC title.  They were still very, very dangerous offensively.

This Gator team is not.  I think (if we get most of our guys back) they are going to have a very difficult time moving the ball.  I also think we’re going to play with a boatload of confidence, and they are going to have some unfounded confidence.  I’d guess their mindset is, “Well, we always beat Georgia down there, so we’ll take care of business as usual.”  I don’t think there’s anything about Roquan and his band of Savages that is business as usual. 

My biggest fear is that we get into a dogfight and don’t kind of tense up in the pressure of a tight game.  I mean, we haven’t been in one since South Bend, which pretty much feels like last season.  I think we’re going to throttle them, that we’ll be focused and ready, and that it’s more likely we’re in a tight one the following week vs. the ‘Cocks.  But it is Florida.  We’ve beaten them a handful of times over the years.  ’04 was fun but by 7.  ’07 was fun but tight all the way through till the end.  ’11-’13 were all very, very tight.  ’97 turned into a route late, but they had taken the lead in the 3rd Quarter.  We owe them an epic beat-down where they don’t stand a chance the entire game and they know and we know it and everyone watching knows it.  They’ve given a few of those to us in the Spurrier and Meyer years.  It’s our time.

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