SINCE WE LAST SPOKE: 10-2-14
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 5
NATION:
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE IS NO WOLVERINE Go Blue is through. Yes it appears Michigan has quit and many of its loyal fan base have followed suit. Brady Hoke has coached more like Hoker Phillips following up an impressive 11-2, Sugar Bowl Championship, in his inaugural 2011 season in Ann Arbor with diminishing returns 8-5 and 7-6 2012 and 13 campaigns each ending with close losses to bitter rival Ohio State and Bowl setbacks as well. This season has been a train wreck with wins over outmatched Appy State and Miami of Ohio
-who have combined for one victory over someone named Campbell- and three blowout losses. There seems to be no way that Hoke can escape the Grim Reaper. Historical rival Notre Dame’s 31-0 bashing was hard enough to swallow without Utah treating them like New Mexico (26-10) and Minnesota breaking a six game series losing streak (30-14) that had seen the Golden Gophers lose by an average of 4 TDs and won for only the 5th time in 48 years. Adding insult-to-injury both took place in The Big House. Michigan has shockingly lost 9 of their last 14 and you wonder if things will get so bad that they are forced to do the unthinkable –for a prim and proper Big-10 power- and pull the plug on the Hoke era in mid-season.
TWICE AIN’T NICE FOR WEIS: The Posse caught up with Charlie “Big Heist” Weis after only the fourth game of his third season at Kansas. If only his win total matched his arrogance he would be zooming his way up the career victory list rather than ambling down to the unemployment office. Weis –like Monte Kiffin- thought superior NFL intellect would rule the day in the college ranks but proved instead that success as an NFL Coordinator does not transfer to the college ranks. Wise-Weis jettisoned 29 players upon arrival most of which should be pardoned since the genius then went 6-22 in 2+ seasons and 1-18 in conference games. This was on the heels of watching Notre Dame’s program rot under his
leadership as he recruited and coached the Irish into oblivion. He was an impressive 19-6 with players that Tyrone Willingham recruited and a more predictable 16-21 with his
system and players in place. He then went to Florida as the OC and brilliantly directed that unit to a 102nd best performance in America. With that type resume who could blame the Jayhawks for naming him their Head Coach replacing Turner Gill in December of 2011? Uh, how about everyone with a brain? Don’t worry about it Charlie you’re in a forgiving profession. I’m sure either the Jets or Cowboys will soon be banging your door down with another offer. Unless of course NASA beats them to it.
SEC:
EASY TO FORGET; HARD TO REMEMBER Mark Stoops, Brett Bielema and Butch Jones all took over teams in disarray. Whether because of Joker Phillips being appropriately named Bobby Petrino’s monogamy and motor cycle operation shortcomings or Derek Dooley’s arrogance and ineptitude Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee’s football programs were all in sorry states of disrepair. All have succeeded in upgrading the talent level, improving discipline, developing belief in their approach and made strides in changing cultures. What all are apparently too early in their rebuilds to accomplish is reestablishing a memory of victory. The Vols who hadn’t beaten a ranked team on the road in 8 years had every opportunity to exorcise that ghost and avoid the first 5-game losing streak to Georgia since 1909-1924 but gave away two devastating non-contact fumbles and failed to capitalize on Georgia’s errors. Arkansas entering the contest on a 13-game SEC losing streak outplayed and bullied Texas A&M for all but the final minutes but inexplicably threw late-game incompletions instead of “running” clock and returned a gift-wrapped win. Kentucky who hadn’t tasted an SEC win since November of 2012 ended the drought but only because they were up against one of the worst SEC teams in recent memory playing without their first team QB. Positive strides have clearly been made but the most difficult task remains; remembering how to and believing you will win.
CROWING WAKES EVERYONE BUT THE GAMECOCKS The Columbia Chicken Coup clock must have one heckuva snooze button. After yawning through a Texas A&M air raid and three quarters of an East Carolina scare Spurrier’s Gamecocks appeared to awaken versus bitter rival Georgia only to put their pajamas back on for a trip to Nashville. Saturday it became apparent that even a public post game chastising by the Head Ball Coach after the abysmal Vandy performance was only worth partial stimulation. The Gamecocks took a 13 point lead Saturday night with only 7:25 remaining then put their slippers on, poured a hot toddy, put their feet up and watched as Missouri cut the lead to 6 thirty-six seconds later and drive for the game winner five minutes after that. After the giveaway home loss and a road trip to Auburn looming at the end of October Carolina’s chances of representing the East –even in its weakened condition- in Atlanta are slim at best leaving only a state championship to play for. In past years the terms that most aptly described Spurrier coached teams were tenacity, resiliency and consistency. This year the one that springs to mind is narcolepsy.
WHAT WE WILL LEARN IN WEEK 6:
WILD WEST WEEKEND With the improving yet still behind the eight-ball Arkansas Razorbacks –who is already 0-2 in SEC and division play- taking the week off the real chase for the West Division Championship begins in earnest Saturday. Current Division standings show Texas A&M in the lead with a 2-0 record (SC, Ark); Mississippi State 1-0 has a precious division road victory under their belt (LSU); Auburn 1-0 beat Arkansas at home; while Ole Miss and Alabama -both 1-0- defeated Eastern Division foes Vandy and Florida respectively. LSU enters Saturday with the greatest sense of urgency having already dropped a division home game to the Bullydogs. This Saturday the Magnolia State takes center stage with Ole Miss hosting Alabama and State welcoming Texas A&M to Starkville. The West is such a buzz saw that I believe the champion will have at least one loss but –sorry LSU- do not think any can afford to drop a home game and represent the division in Atlanta. The other West matchup finds the aforementioned LSU in a deaux-or-die (I guess that is actually pronounced Dough or Die) matchup in the Loveliest Village on the Plains where they will find an angry Auburn squad intent on avenging their only 2013 regular season loss. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and somehow both Auburn and LSU must overcome history to make Saturday special for their fans. The Rebels have dropped 10 straight to the Tide and State hasn’t beat A&M in the regular season since 1915. In the battle of the Tigers LSU travels to Auburn knowing that the visitor has lost 12 of the last 14 as the home team deals with the mental block of losing 6 of the last 7 to Les Miles troops.
CORNHUSKER CONFIDENCE #19 Nebraska heads to East Lansing to face #10 Michigan State in an important –but not as critical as in past years- contest. Either the Cornhuskers (2012) or Spartans (2011 & 13) have represented the
Legends Division the last three seasons in the Big-10 Championship Game in Indianapolis. With yet another conference realignment they find themselves on opposite sides of the league with State in the East and Nebraska in the West which these days represents sanity. The Spartans are hoping to add a second win in the series after losing the first two games to Nebraska in Big-10 play and standing 0-5 prior to their entry. Nebraska is looking to win their first conference road game for the second season in a row after beating Purdue in West Lafayette last season but this test will be more like their initial Conference road trips in 2011 and 2012 when they lost @ #7 Wisconsin and @ # 12 Ohio State respectively by a combined score of 111-55.
SUNSET FOR SUN DEVILS? Arizona State propelled by wins over both UCLA and USC found them in position to be trashed 38-14 by Stanford in the 2013 PAC-12 Championship Game. As painful as that experience was I’m sure the Sun Devils would gladly represent the South Division again this season but after a humiliating 62-27 home thumping from UCLA they must recover quickly and beat USC in LA for any chance of a repeat. A sloppily played game last season saw the teams combine for 9 turnovers and Lane Kiffin greeted with a pink slip at the airport. Kiffin’s replacement Steve Sarkisian rallied his troops after an inexplicable loss to Boston College with a win over Oregon State that put the Trojans at 2-0 in conference play. Sarkisian had an off-week to orchestrate the turnaround which will probably prove to be more beneficial than the two extra days Sun Devil Coach Todd Graham had at his disposal after the Thursday Night thrashing.
GOLSON DOME? Notre Dame is without question a different team with QB Everette Golson at the switch. The Irish off to a 4-0 start -and as often seems to be the case- are probably overrated at #9 with wins over teams (Rice, Mich, Pur, Syr) with a combine 8-11 record but you need look no further than this week’s opponent Stanford to evaluate the Golson Gauge. Stanford has won four of the last 5 contests with the only Irish victory coming in 2012. That just happens to be Golson’s only start versus The Cardinal.
WHAT WE MUST SEE FROM VOLS vs FLORIDA:
SNAP AND CLEAR THE YEARS: Since Steve Spurrier’s arrival in Gainesville history has not been kind to our Volunteers in the Florida-Tennessee series. The Gators have won 18 of the 24 contests since 1990 including as we are all far-too painfully aware the last 9 in a row. In all likelihood history will be a much stronger opponent Saturday than Will Muschamp’s Gators. The Gators offense is still a work in progress under new OC Kurt Roper and was relying on a defense projected to be among the Country’s best to give them time to gel. Thus far the Florida stop troops have fallen far short of expectations. Phil Steel’s preseason unit rankings tabbed Florida to be the Nation’s 7th best Rushing Defense; 4th in both Scoring and Passing “D” and 3rd in Total Defense. Against a schedule that other than Alabama isn’t exactly murderer’s row (E Mich; Kentucky) the Gators are actually the 6th best Rushing D (in the SEC not the Nation) allowing 128 ypg; 11th in Scoring D allowing 24 ppg; next-to-last in the league in both Passing and Total D at 287 and 444 ypg respectively and against teams that have attempted 101 passes have recorded only 6 sacks. While admitting that the sack total would be greater had the Gators played Idaho in a game cancelled due to weather they still have failed to excel in an area that could hurt the Vols the worst. This is a team that Tennessee should beat and will if history doesn’t weigh too heavily on their mind.
CANCEL THE CATASTROPHIES: When trying to reverse a negative trend you cannot be generous to your opponent. If the Vols allow Gator special team or defensive scores –or point-blank offensive opportunities- the game will turn in a direction hard to overcome. Most of the Vol players haven’t experienced the extended Florida funk but the fan base certainly has and sudden change will without question illicit an “oh hell here we go again” response from the battered Big Orange Faithful that the players can’t help but feel.
TAME THE TURNOVER MARGIN: Despite the defensive shortcomings listed above the Gators stop-troops have largely contributed one of, if not the most, important stats in football; Turnover Margin. Florida leads the league with 12 takeaways and only 4 turnovers for a +2.67 TOs/Game. The Vols may be able to survive a -1 Saturday but if the Gators are +2 -or turn a TO into immediate points- the streak will likely grow to 10.
KEEP WORLEY WORKING: This time last year there is no way you could convince me I would ever write these words but
Justin Worley is critical to the Vols hopes of success Saturday and for the rest of the schedule. Worley is a very respectable 6th in the SEC in Passing at 246.3 ypg and has 9 TD passes with only 3 INTs. Not only has Worley been very solid but Nathan Peterman’s two relief appearances and Josh Dobb’s apparent poor Fall Camp that allowed Peterman to be the backup in the first place DO NOT –in the understatement of the decade- fill me with optimism about their ability to successfully manage a game should it be placed in their hands.
WHAT VOL FANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA?
OFFENSE
After 3 games Florida is averaging 40.7 points/game (29th in the nation) an increase of 21.9 ppg over UF’s 2013 output.
Gators have scored on 14-of-15 red-zone trips this season, which ranks third in the SEC
R-JR QB Jeff Driskel is 14-4 as the Gators’ starter. All four losses have come away from The Swamp, with three of them coming to ranked opponents (#3Alabama-2014, #12 Georgia and #22 Louisville -2012).
RBs Sr Matt Jones (49-264-2) and Soph Kelvin Taylor (27-148-2) produce most of the Gators rushing yards
Soph WR Demarcus Robinson (23 rec 353yds 3 TDs) had 216 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Kentucky; he is the first Gator since 2002 to cross the 200-yard mark
R-Sr WR Quinton Dunbar has a reception in 31 straight games third in Fla history behind Ike Hilliard (35) and Cris Collinsworth (34).
Florida’s utilized 11 O-Linemen vs E Michigan and played an 8-man rotation vs Kentucky and Bama. The Gator’s line has yielded the second-fewest sacks in the SEC (2).
DEFENSE:
Florida is tied for second in the SEC and 14th nationally with six forced fumbles
Jr DE Dante Fowler, JR. (13 tack, 3 tfl, 1 sack, 1 fr) had one sack, four quarterback hurries and a forced fumble vs. UK.
Jr OLB Antonio Morrison and R-Sr MLB Michael Taylor lead the Gators with 21 tackles each
Sophomore Vernon Hargreaves III (13 tack, 1 fr) had four pass breakups against UK, eclipsing his single-game high of three set on Sept.21, 2012 vs. Tennessee.
In SEC play Soph S Keanu Neal has been an impact player recording his first 2 career INTs vs Kentucky and a fumble return for a touchdown and a career-high 10 tackles (six solo, four assists) the next week at Alabama.
SPECIAL TEAMS
10 of Sr P Kyle Christy’s 16 punts this season have soared for 50 yards or more including three of 60+ yards.
Frankie Velez is 6-for-7on FG attempts and 14-14 on PATs this season.
Andre Debose (PR- 4-97; 24.2ypr; KR- 5-129; 25.8) holds the Florida career record for kick return touchdowns with 4, which is tied for the SEC record with Willie Gault, Felix Jones (Ark.) and Brandon Boykin (UGA).
OTHER FUN (or maybe not) STUFF:
UF has outscored UT 281-143 during the 9-game streak for an average margin of 31.2-15.9 (15.3 points).
Gators have won eight of 10 meetings in Knoxville since 1994.
Florida leads the nation with a plus-eight turnover margin.
UN-AIRED RANT: Tony and my friends Russell Smith and Richard Daughtry hosts of
The Drive on WNFZ 94.3 FM (Weekdays 3-6 pm) have a segment each Thursday called
The Whiner Line. Poor timing is all that kept me from participating this week as I have a rant that must be expressed. The Drive’s loss
(I hope Richie D and Dubsy can recover from such a devastating loss) is my loyal blog reader’s gain. Here is my ire in print:
I cannot stand one more consecutive loss to Florida
At the risk of being insensitive I don’t think Ebola could make me as ill as a 10th straight loss
They beat us when it’s sunny
They beat us when it rains
They beat us when it’s calm
They beat us when it’s windy
They beat us in Gainesville
They beat us in Knoxville
I’ve seen them beat us in Jacksonville
They beat us when they rush for more yards
They beat us when we rush for more yards
They beat us with Heisman-winning QBs
They beat us with one performance a year QBs
They beat us with future Hall of Fame Coaches
They beat us with coaches that have someone holding their place in the unemployment line so they can log one more career win prior to dismissal
Hell, once they beat us when our Head Coach was actually already their Head Coach
I’m mad as hell and I ain’t gonna take it anymore
I’m begging Butch Jones DO NOT show our players Florida game film
That has resulted in losing 22 of the last 28 games in the series
Show our players several episodes of Swamp People
Those good ole boys get it
When you have a Gator on the hook you don’t let him go
You jerk him to the surface and shoot him right between the flippin eyes with whatever old rusty firearm you can grab.
THAT is how you avoid losing 10 in a row; analogously speaking that is
I feel better don’t you?
GO BIG ORANGE WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEW
SO LONG TO AN ALL-TIME GREAT: I rarely coach or player worship these days and after Sunday I probably never will again. Not because a human once again let me down but because one said goodbye who didn’t. Derek Jeter –whose last at-bat fell one minute past perfection at 2:23- retired as everything a fan could ask for as a player, leader, ambassador for the game and a man. He played with an infectious enthusiasm and ability to seize the moment that surpassed even the great stats he produced. In the hottest spotlight for arguably the greatest franchise in sports he never failed to live up to even the most unreasonable of expectations. He respected his teammates, the fans and especially the game he so loved to play. The “C” on his pinstriped uniform designated his position as Captain but it would have just as fittingly stood for clutch, charisma and class. He was all of those things and more to this life-long Yankee fan. The only thing he ever did wrong in my eyes was to be so easy to pull for and so productive when it mattered most that Yankee games will likely never seem the same to me without him. Thank you Derek; in an age where I seem to have become more cynical by the minute you allowed me a return to the more unconditional sports faith of my youth. God Bless you and good luck in whatever comes next.
IN A PERFECT WORLD: Florida would never again have more than a two-game winning streak over the Vols